Wednesday, September 01, 2010

 

Freewrite: Cyber-Assignment Sept. 1-2

Today in the afternoon class, only a few students completed the reading so we spent the first half of the class reading half the first chapter (page 20). We talked about certain ideas in the first chapter such as how Robbins, Henry's owner treats the boy's parents, from changing the price for Henry's freedom at will, to depriving the boy's parents of Henry's presence and encouraging Henry's neglect and disregard of his parent's feelings.

In the morning class, students read the first chapter, so we were able to discuss them at length, identifying where they appeared first in book and profiling them.

Homework/classwork for both classes
Homework for the morning class is to respond to the freewrite here. Both classes are to read Chapter 2 in The Known World and keep a reading log to share at the next class meeting. Continue in SPHE. Complete or finish the section on paraphrasing.

Many students this afternoon did not complete their essays, so you can report it later. You will have two posts. I wanted to see what you had written, so this is fine. Make sure you have the correct MLA for the heading.

Classwork for the morning class is posted below. We will do this Wednesday for the afternoon class.

What are the qualities of good writing as illustrated in Edward P. Jones's The Known World?

In the three paragraph essay use examples from the book: free paraphrases and direct quotes. Include the page numbers in parentheses at the end of the sentence.


Here is an example:

In Edward P. Jones's book The Known World he takes his audience on a journey into another land. He baits his hook with an all-star cast of interesting and strange characters who act as guides into and beyond the Townsend Plantation and Manchester County, Virginia. When I read the lovely passage of overseer Moses out in the field tasting dirt, a man bound to and by the land, the way he was bound to slave owner, former slave himself, Henry Townsend, I was hooked. Certainly a quality of good writing is not being able to put the book down even to sleep (smile).

Jones's writes of Moses, "He was the only man in the realm, slave or free, who ate dirt . . . because it tied him to the only thing in his small world that meant almost as much to him as his own life" (1-2).

Another quality of good writing is mystique or the writing's ability to arouse one's curiosity. I found myself on a number of occasions interrogating the text, asking questions, pausing in disbelief.

Again, it was a character, Alice who made me wonder if she was really as crazy as she seemed. With a black slave owner, at a time when more often, Henry's kinfolk (other black people) were enslaved--makes one question the shear impossibility of such an idea. This in turn made me question everything. it seems that Jones's Known World makes even simple things like a child's love for his parent, seem wrong. But that was the nature of slavery. Black people didn't have anything like a family, society recognized, yet, Henry as an adult, helped a prostrate enslaved woman, Alice up when she slipped and fell when slave catchers brought her home (13).

I don't think he helped her up because he was protecting his property; it seemed as if he cared about her well-being. Henry does horrible things or has horrible things done to his slaves, yet this one act, complicates one's desire to condemn him completely.

As I read the book, I withheld judgement because after this brief and all too early sojourn between the pages, I begin to question what it is I used to think true about human nature, about slavery, about kinship and history.

Imagine Henry's father's dismay when his son begins to love his owner more than he loves his father and mother, and the ease with which Augustus's child's alliances to the man who loves him slip and fall.

When his present owner, Robbins, realizes Henry's value, he begins to use the boy as a gambling chip on a table where he holds all the cards and the wheel's lever, and the killer is, boy helps him. This is a sad day for his father who in death holds the papers for his son, Henry, the slave owner's freedom.

The irony of an institution where one would think its victims automatically champion freedom, yet don't, is captured in the personalities of free slaves owning blacks. The brilliance of Jones's book lies in this ethical and moral contradiction. His characters keep me on the edge of my seat as I try to anticipate what turn the story will take next and find I have not only missed an exit, I am up to my chin in rancid water.

The author says in an interview published at the end of the novel that he is the "god" of Manchester county and all who reside therein, so he has to maintain consistency and authenticity in this 388 page journey, so his audience will believe what he says is true. This means he has to remember the details of his people and their lives...especially the ones who live into a ripe old age like Tessie.

In answer to a question about the way he tells the story, its nonlinear trajectory, Jones says his intention was to tell the story in a straightfoward manner, but if a character lived a long life he might have to reall events that happened in the distant past (P. S. 4).

"I, as 'god' of their ... first days and their last days and all that was in between [means] What Tessie the child did one day in 1855 would have some meaning for her fifty, seventy-five years later. She might not be able to look back and see that moment, but her creator could. That perhaps, is why she says something about the doll her father made for her to Caldonia and Fern in September 1855 that she will repeat on her deathbed, some ninety years later; she might not even remember the first time she uttered those words, but I can't afford to forget if I'm trying to tell the truth" (P.S. Insights, Interviews, & More 4).

Comments:
Some qualities of good writing has compelling characters, background information to support arguments, creativity, different perspectives, consistancy, etc., to make stories, novels, or books more interesting. The Known World by Edward P. Jones uses various qualities to insist that his writing is good.
For instance, Jones specifies a person when he speaks plurally. He explains, “The evening his master dis he worked again well after he eneded the day for the other adults, his own wife among them…” (1). As he says “the other adults,” he points out his wife, that she is one of the adults he “sent back” in exhaustion. This is similarly close to clarifying whom he is addressing for the readers to know and that he is not onlying addressing any adult that was present then. Being specific in a story is good writing because you would not want the reader to misunderstand anything.
Jones also makes his writing vivid to make the readers feel that they know what is surrounding that character and the movements they make to give the greater quality of his writing. Jones illustrates that “The leaves seemed to soften the hard rain as it fell and it hit his body and face with no more power than the gentle tapping of fingers” (3), making the readers know how the character feels and what kind of thoughts are going through their minds for the readers to understand and feel the vividness.
Furthermore, quality in good writing is the different characters that apper in the book, Jones briefly gives the reader a thought of mind of how and what that certain character acts. Introducting new characters into the book, the author must provide a small description of that character otherwise, the readers would be confused and wouldn’t know who is who. Jones adds, “Alice, the woman without a mind who had watched Moses be with be with himself in the woods…” (12), here Jones gives the reader a brief description of who Alice is and what she has done giving the story a better perspective of the character.

- Dalina Le, English 201A 1-250PM
 
There of many qualities of good writing but there are also bad qualities. I am going to focus on the good qualities. In the “The Known World” author E.P Jones uses a wrote the book very well using varies types of writing. Every story or book needs a good introduction, a beginning that captures the readers’ attention and he has that in the book. I only read a couple of pages and I already want to read more.
E.P Jones used a lot of description to describe the characters in the book and also the setting and time period in which the story took place. An example of description the setting “On a night with the moon he could see some smoke rising from the world that was the lane- home and food and rest and what passed in many cabins for the life of family”(2). He described Moses with the setting “When he, Moses, finally freed himself of the ancient and brittle harness that connected him to the oldest mule his master owned, all that was left of the sun was a 5-inch-long memory of red orange laid out in still waves across the horizon between the mountains on the left and one on the right” (1). Many of the characters in the book that were created and described like if they were real people. Made them seem real or alive instead of fictional characters like other books that make stories seem fictional like talking animals and such.
The author included many racial slurs that white men used against black slaves. He even described black families that were free but still owned slaves. He also included different perspectives of some slaves and white slave owners. Just by reading this book I can picture everything in my head by the way he describes it. I can foreshadow what might happen in the next few chapters. I am looking forward to finish reading this book.

Miguel Ahumada ENG201A 100pm-2:50pm
 
Kaja Anderson
Professor Sabir
English 201B 1-2:50PM
1 September 2010

What are the qualities of good writing illustrated in E.P. Jones’s “The Known World”?

Most good writing is created by outlining the main points, starting off with a first line attention grabber, giving very detailed information, including characters, making sure the writing is written to where it makes sense, give supporting arguments and supporting details including examples that pertain to the main point of the written piece of work.
As written in the book, “The Known World”, by Edward P. Jones, he shows examples of good writing by making sure everything is well organized. All of his characters are never left to question who they are and what their purpose in the story as of now is. Edward P. Jones gives very descriptive details in his writing to where his readers’ can paint a vivid image in their head of exactly what was written. For example, “When he, Moses, finally freed himself of the ancient and brittle harness that connected him to the oldest mule his master owned, all that was left of the sun was a five-inch long memory of red orange laid out in still waves across the horizon between two mountains on the left and one on the right.” (1). Quoted from the book, Edward P. Jones describes the feel of freedom from his owner in a vivid image.
Another example of E.P Jones’s good writing is where he describes his characters, like his character Caldonia who is said to be “a colored woman born free and who had been educated all her days.” (5).
 
Rachel Marra
ENG 201A
MW 1-2:50

There are many qualities of good writing that are shown in the book The Known World. In the book, there are many scenes that are descriptive and also clear. The author goes into detail and the ideas he presents are creative and different unlike what others would describe. Also, the author has a strong view and perspective on the topic he’s writing about. The author of this book not only had a strong message he also knew how to word and describe situations he encountered.
In the book, the author makes each sentence descriptive and lets the reader be able to imagine exactly what’s going on. “What he wanted was to love her, to get up from the sickbed and walk under his own power and take his wife to the bed they had been happy in all their married days” (pg7). This quote shows that Edward P. Jones takes what he wants to say and turns it into an image. From that quote, I can just imagine him getting up and taking his wife to this exact place he is describing.
Instead of putting words into a sentence being general, Jones makes his writing better by being different and presenting ideas in a creative way. “Moses walked out of the forest and into still more darkness toward the quarters, needing no moon to light his way” (pg4). He does a great job at describing the situation in detail. He also elaborates on what he is saying by describing the situation in detail which gives the readers a better understanding of what he is trying to say. The author has a way of describing situations that makes you feel as if you are there in the scene along with him looking at it through your own eyes.
Since the author has a lot of knowledge on the topic he is writing about, his message comes out more clearly and has an affect on people. Jones doesn’t elaborate on a topic he’s not that familiar with. As a reader I can tell that Jones has personally been in a situation and witnessed what he is writing about which shows through to the readers. “Henry covered his face and began to cry” (19). This quote shares with you the importance of feelings and how Jones describes his characters and their feelings.
 
There are many qualities that contribute to good writing. There are things such as being creative, having compelling characters and good story lines. In The Novel The known World, the author has a way of writing that lets the reader feel the emotions that the character is feeling. In the book it states, “…Moses, finallly freed himself of the ancient and brittle hardness that connected him to the oldest mule his master owned, all that was left of the sun was a five inch long memory of red orange laid out in still waves across the horizon between two mountains on the left and one on the right.”(1) In the sentence the author, Jones is able to portray a scene that the reader would be able to invision and feel the emotions the tiredness of the character.
Another is that Jones’s also makes his writing as creative as he can make it. He adds on a bunch of personification into his writing that you can see throughout the story. For example in the story it states, “… The sun was a five inch long memory of red and orange laid out in still waves across the horizon…”(1) Jones’s is talking about the setting sun and as he talks about the sun it gives it human like features. Author’s who add little detail into their stories like the quote here makes it all the more interesting and intriguing for the reader. It makes everyday things that have no life all of a sudden spring up full of life.
Jones’s writing also gives another perspective on slavery. When people are reminded of the slavery days people often think of white people owning black slaves. In this book it shows a Black master with a black slave, it makes the story even more interesting because we almot never hear about that. In the book it states, “Henry Townsend – a black man of thirty one years with thirty three slaves and more than fifty acres of land that sat him high above many others.”(5) This makes the book all the more interesting due to the fact that not many stories about slavery have black masters that own black slaves. Jones was very smart to add this little bit into the story because it makes it stand out from the rest.

Meuy Saetern
ENGLISH 201B 1-2:50PM
 
There are many qualities that contribute to good writing. There are things such as being creative, having compelling characters and good story lines. In The Novel The known World, the author has a way of writing that lets the reader feel the emotions that the character is feeling. In the book it states, “…Moses, finallly freed himself of the ancient and brittle hardness that connected him to the oldest mule his master owned, all that was left of the sun was a five inch long memory of red orange laid out in still waves across the horizon between two mountains on the left and one on the right.”(1) In the sentence the author, Jones is able to portray a scene that the reader would be able to invision and feel the emotions the tiredness of the character.
Another is that Jones’s also makes his writing as creative as he can make it. He adds on a bunch of personification into his writing that you can see throughout the story. For example in the story it states, “… The sun was a five inch long memory of red and orange laid out in still waves across the horizon…”(1) Jones’s is talking about the setting sun and as he talks about the sun it gives it human like features. Author’s who add little detail into their stories like the quote here makes it all the more interesting and intriguing for the reader. It makes everyday things that have no life all of a sudden spring up full of life.
Jones’s writing also gives another perspective on slavery. When people are reminded of the slavery days people often think of white people owning black slaves. In this book it shows a Black master with a black slave, it makes the story even more interesting because we almot never hear about that. In the book it states, “Henry Townsend – a black man of thirty one years with thirty three slaves and more than fifty acres of land that sat him high above many others.”(5) This makes the book all the more interesting due to the fact that not many stories about slavery have black masters that own black slaves. Jones was very smart to add this little bit into the story because it makes it stand out from the rest.

Meuy Saetern
ENGLISH 201B 1-2:50PM
 
The qualities of good writing in Edward P. Jones where he was descriptive , he gave us a compelling sotry to make us wonder, creative and unorthadocs with his words and risk taking with his descriptions.He gave us solid background information that gave him support tohis argument . in addition he gave us a different perspective on how we look at story we already knew .
In the story he was very descriptive in how he began to tell us his story . He began by telling us with a much detailed explantion on how the life on the plantation went about and how it was hard. For example this quote from the book “When he, Moses, finally freed himself of the ancient and brittle hardness that connected him to the oldest mule his master owned, all that was was left of the sun was a five-inch-long memory of red orange laid out in still waves across the horizon between two mountains on the left and one on the right. He had been in the fields for all of fifthteen hours”(1). It shows us how creative he was with his writing and pulled the reader in with a description such as “ the sun was a five-inch-long memory of red orange laid out in the still waves across the horizon ..”(1). He was very clear on what he had said and makes see this in your head.
Another example of good quality he had was that stirred ones emotions with his unorthadocs way of thinking. He showed us another side of the story that we all knew and gave 180® turn around on what we already knew. An expample would be when he talked about african americans owning other african american slaves and how that was imteresting look at things and it all happen. He was risk taking with his words on how he put them to gether to actaully make you feel that you where there .

RICARDO CAMPOS
ENGLISH 201A 100-250
 
Jimmy Tran
Professor Sabir
English 201A
September 1, 2010

In the following book “The Known World” by Edward P. Jones, the author shows good writing by showing the realistic experience to the audience of a community of black and white, that deals issues with family and people. Edward P. Jones also shows good writing by creating a fiction that seems real by showing the fictional laws that was occurring in chapter one. An Example that would support this would be when the writer shows Mr. Robbins had approached to Augustus talking about how he had touched his son or his so called property. Another Example that he would use was creating the censuses to create a sense of real life situations.

The first situation of how the author shows good writing by displaying realistic experiences of a community of black and white is by drawing out the characters conversations of Mr. Robbins and Augustus and how Mr. Robbins was accusing him of touching his boy. For Example, in chapter it states “ The next Sunday Robbins was waiting. “I heard you did something to my boy, to my property,” he said before Augustus and Mildred were down from the wagon. “No, Mr. Robbins. I did nothing’” Augustus said, having forgotten the push. We wouldn’t “ Mildred said. “We wouldn’t hurt him for the world. He our son.” Robbins looked at her as if she had told him the day was Wednesday. “I won’t have you touching my boy, my property.” (19).
 
Some qualities of good writing are having compelling characters, being clear and concise, a topic, well informed background information and a well universal perspective. In writing, there are many factors to determine which is considered good or bad. Every one has different styles and formats they like to use. Personally, I like writing with an unexpected story and a thrill to it. It keeps me interested and entertained. Pulitzer Prize winner The Known World illustrates good writing because Edward P. Jones informs us with background information, clear and concise wording, and descriptive characters.
When E.P Jones starts to describe the characters, he paints us a picture of how these characters appear as without giving us the whole story. “Henry Townsend – a black man of thirty-one years with thirty-three slaves and more than fifty acres of land that sat him high above many others…”(5). This quote explains how we view Henry Townsend already. The quote just shares a bit of information of him and we all have a vivid image. And this is a example of descriptive characters which I consider good writing.
E.P Jones also shows great background information while being clear and concise. “The census of 1860 said there were 2,670 slaves in Manchester County…” (7). This quote shows us that there is accurate information which teaches us history and interesting information. “The next Sunday Robbins was waiting” (19). The quote shows how clear the writing details are. All of these different quotes demonstrate good writing.

WINNIE LI
ENG 201A 1:00 - 2:50
 
Charles L. Ross
Professor Sabir
English 201A 1-2:50pm
1 September 2010

What are the qualities of good writing illustrated in Edward P. Jones’s The known World?

As I began reading Edward P. Jones’s The known World. I was pulled in with the very first sentence. The evening his master died he worked again well after he ended the day for the other adults, his wife among them, and sent them back with hunger and tiredness to their cabins (1). This first sentence jumped out and grabbed me, because it is describing a person being dedicated to their job and not stopping until the job is completely finished. I believe if a writer can write a book and the very first sentence grabs a reader’s attention. That is an excellent quality of good writing.

Another example of good writing quality is used in the following sentence as well. Moses closed his eyes and bent down and took a pinch of soil and ate it with no more thought than if it were a spot of cornbread (1). The reason I chose this sentence. Is because the author is writing a very descriptive sentence that you can almost picture in your mind. In my opinion to be able to allow the reader to draw a picture in their mind off of a certain sentence in the book. That shows that it is an excellent writing quality.

Although this novel is filled with great writing quality examples. My final example is the following sentence. He was thirty-five years old and for every moment of those years he had been someone’s slave, a white man’s slave, and another white man’s slave and now, for nearly ten years, the overseer slave for a black master (4). This sentence is illustrating a great writing quality, because the author is able to describe to the reader about his characters life in one sentence. To be able to sum up a characters life in one sentence is a super writing quality!
 
Edwin Peabody
Wanda Sabir
2/ September/ 2010
English 201A 8-850
In the Edward P Jones book, The Known World, he creates a Townsend plantation and Manchester county, virginia. In this town, there are black and white slave owners. The book first discusses the illness of Henry Townsend, a black slave owner. He is described as being weak and close to dying. Later throughout the book, the author goes into Henrys life as a slave under the power of Mr. Robbins, a slave owner. Through out the first chapter, Augustus and Mildred, Henrys father and mother are introduced. They are also former slaves of Mr. Robbins who have paid their way to freedom and are now seeking to free their son Henry. As I continue reading the book, my imagination wonders, thinking about how long it would take for Augustus and Mildred to finally free their son. I love the way the writer keeps my imagination flowing, which is one good characteristic of the writing.
Another good example of the writing in this book is how the author keeps the reader entertained with the character Alice, a women people said to have lost her mind by being kicked by a mule knocking all the common sense out of her. Alice had started going about the land in the night, singing and talking to her self, and doing things that some times made the hair on the back of the slave patrollers necks stand up.”(12) She grabbed the patrollers crotches and begged them to dance away with her because her intended was forever pretending he didn’t know who she was.”(12) I still haven’t come to a conclusion weather Alice is insane or not, but I can say although everyone thinks that she is crazy, there is one man that finds her to be a harmless good worker, which is Henry. Alice is a very interesting character who I look forward to learning more about.
Another quality of good writing in the book, is how hard it is for me to relate to. Because I cant relate to it, it makes me more curious in what the author is trying to say in his writing. I have never experienced any type or form of slavery in known world. I find it very fun and exciting to try to self reflect on the subject of slavery.
 
Adalie Villalobos
Professor Sabir
English 201B
2 September 2010

There are many qualities of good writing in Edward P. Jones’s book. Jones creates great characters by describing whom they are connected to and giving them a great story. He creates imagery, which allows the reader to create an image in their head while continuing to read the book. He also gives a sense of what the characters have been through in such a short time. One quality that I find is great in his writing is suspense.

E.P Jones describes the characters in a way that the reader knows who the character is connected to and the reader wants to know who. The way E.P Jones uses imagery is fantastic. For example, “The ground was almost soaked. The leaves seemed to soften the hard rain as it fell and it hit his body and face with no more power than the gentle tapping of fingers.” (3). This quote shows that E.P Jones wants the reader to have an image of what a character is doing, where they are, and a sense of how they feel. When E.P Jones names a new character, he describes the characters past allowing the reader to get a sense of what that character has been through. For example, “Henry Townsend-a black man of thirty-one years with thirty-three slaves and more than fifty acres of land…sat up for most of his dying days, eating a watery porridge and looking out his window at land and his wife…”(5). From this quote, E.P Jones describes the character Henry Townsend’s past and what he was doing at the moment.

E.P Jones’s way of writing makes the reader want to keep reading and wanting to know more of what happens in the book. He creates a story that leaves the reader asking questions and wanting to figure them out. Although it is only the beginning of the book, E.P Jones has shown that it will not be easy to understand at times but will soon connect somehow. The suspense, and imagery are great factors in his writing and will keep the book interesting. E.P Jones has many good qualities in his writing and that is what will keep the readers wanting to know more.
 
Bundarin Ouk Jr
Eng1A 1:00pm-2:50pm
What are the qualities of good writing illustrated E.P. Jone’s The known world?
It takes a lot of patients to make writing have good qualities. It needs to have detail and a good picture of what is going on. Writing needs to be clear and straight to the point when talking about a subject. The best technique is trying to make the reader being in the book’s shoes and imagining what it would be like. Get the reader to be in the tone of what the book is getting at. Having many descriptions and background information would get the reader relate to the book.
Having a picture in your mine of what is going on is critical to what you are writing. In this quote “Then he undressed down to his nakedness and lay down. To keep the rain out of his nose, he rolled up his shirt and placed it under his head so that it tilted just enough for the rain to flow down about his face” (3). This quote shows a lot of description of what he is doing and detail of what he is describing.
There’s has to be some kind of setting mood or tone in the writing. “Moses went into his cabin and met the darkness and a dead hearth. Outside, the light of Elias’s lamp learned this way and that and then it dimmed even more. Elias had never believed in a sane God and so had never questioned a world where colored people could be the owners of slaves, and if at that moment, in the near dark, he had sprouted wings, he would not have questioned that either” (9). The tone to this quote is silent and dark. It’s like your imagining that is cold and lost when you read that quote.
“The leaves seemed to soften the hard rain as it fell and it hit his body and face with no more power than the gentle tapping of fingers” (3),this last quote puts everything together and shows the quality of the charter emotions

Bundarin Ouk Jr
Eng1A 1:00pm-2:50pm
 
Meuy Saetern
ENGLISH 201B 1-2:50PM

I would have to agree with this student because it do takes alot of contribution to writing

Bundarin Ouk Jr
eng 1a 1:00-2:50pm
 
I have to agree with Rachel Marra because I think Edward P.Jones has a very descriptive and detailed writing.

WINNIE LI
ENG 201A 1:00 - 2:50
 
Martin'aye Bullock
Professor Sabir Eng.201B 1-2:50
2/September/2010

What are the qualities of good writing illustration in E.P. Jones' "The Known World"?

It took me a few sentences to get into the book because at first I was just like "WooHoo another book" but as I started reading it got more interesting.
"When he, Moses, finally freed himself of the ancient and brittle harness that connected him to the oldest mule his master owned, all that was left of the sun was a 5-inch-long memory of red orange laid out in still waves across the horizon between the mountains on the left and one on the right"(1). This sentence gives you a brief visual of the exact moment that took place, when you can visualize something so intense that you can place yourself on the scene that's a good quality.
"The leaves seemed to soften the hard rain as it fell and it hit his body and face with no more power than the gentle tapping of fingers" (3), the quality of giving the reader a good insight on the characters mind and showing their emotion is also a good written quality.
Good writing grabs the reader's attention early in the book, making them want to continue reading further into the book. A good written visualization is always something that you want from a book because it helps you map out whats next.
 
Response to Miguel Ahumada

I have to agree that Edward P.Jones does have an amazing introduction for his book to grab the readers attention. Good work on grabbing that out.

Jimmy Tran
Eng 201A 1- 2:50PM
 
Joshua Gonzalez

Professor Wanda Sabir

English 201A 8a-8:50a

7 September 2010

In The Known World by Edward P Jones, he lays a basis of some important essential characters. He creates a world which it easy to get lost in. The story telling of Moses, the overseer of the slaves, and the other people who live in Manchester County. Through reading the first chapter I discovered that one characteristic of good reading is character development. For example, the character Alice is developed in several places throughout the chapter. She is depicted as a slave who is out of her mind after supposedly being kicked in the head by a mule who wondered around aimlessly (3-4). Not only that, but she is later described as, “Going about the land at night, singing and talking to herself and doing things that sometimes made the hair on the back of the slave patroller’s neck stand up. She spit at and slapped their horses for saying untrue things about her to her neighbors” (12). This gives the reader to see Alice as a deranged crazy woman somewhat catatonic and unpredictable.

Furthermore, Edward P. Jones provides the reader the opportunity to have detailed pictures of events in his or her mind. More specifically, when Moses went into the woods on that rainy evening, the author uses very descriptive terminology. “Then he undressed down to his nakedness and lay down. Too keep the rain out of his nose, he rolled up his shirt and placed it under his head so that it tilted just enough for the rain to flow down about his face” (3). This image is so descriptive that the reader can visualize this for him or herself.

Finally, the author draws you in to the story in a way that evokes emotion. When Henry Townsend dies there is a very emotional moment when his wife Caldonia discovers that he slipped into eternity. He describes her going to him screaming and weeping while shaking him. She then enters a state of denial and attempts to conjure up ways that she can bring her beloved back to her (11-12). In closing, good writing evokes emotion, develops the characters, and paints a detailed picture for the reader. After reading the first chapter in The Known World, Edward P. Jones have mastered the art of all three.
 
Response to Miguel Ahumada

I agree with you as well. I feel that the introduction to the book has a lot to do with good writing.

Adalie Villalobos
English 201B
7 September 2010
 
Vanessa Dilworth
Professor Sabir
English 201A
9 September 2010

The Known World

The qualities of good writing vary from word choice to the ordering of paragraphs. In
Edward P. Jones’s, The Known World, he does a great job at both of these attributes and much more. The setting Manchester, Virginia, is fictional but I found myself from time to time questioning if indeed the book was made up. His realistic number of people in the
census, states of the United
States, and overall post Civil War life had me convinced of Jones’s imaginary county in Virginia. The other aspect that made it even more real was how the story would begin in present and jump into the future. This quality captivated
me; he truly led me on the path that he intended me, his reader, to take. Another great trait was his descriptive word choice, which effortlessly painted a detailed picture in my mind.
I think one of the most persuasive things he did to make it reasonable to believe in Manchester, Virginia was his research on the southern
surrounding states and countries.
In his writing a lot of characters travel to tangible places. “‘Don’t send me back. Don’t send me back,’” Rita pleaded. “Rita did not know if she was in New York or merely in a house only a plantation away from William Robbins”(52) A frightened slave by the name of Rita traveled in a box to the state of New York, unbeknownst to the purchaser, Mary, who emigrated from the well known country of Ireland.
Also the timeline of the entire book would shift
unexpectedly from the present to the distant past. In one moment I would be in the home of Henry Townsend with his parents, in a flash his childhood, and yet another imagining his death. “The day Henry sent them home, his parents had come upstairs and kissed his smiling face good-bye, his mother on the lips and his father on the forehead, the way it had been done since Henry was a boy. His parents as a couple had never slept in the home that Moses the slave had built, choosing to stay in whatever cabin was available down in the quarters. And they would do it that way when they came to bury their only
child.” (6)
“The leaves seemed to soften the hard rain as it fell and it hit his body and face with no more power than the gentle tapping of fingers.”(3) The moment I read these words I knew that Jones was a gifted writer. The feelings which he evokes and the imagery he
creates are astounding. On the very first page I encountered a very vivid passage it read, “…all that was left of the sun was a five inch-long memory of red orange laid out in still waves across the horizon between two mountains on the left and one on the right”(1)
The qualities that a writer has or the lack there of will show up in their work. In Edward Jones novel The Known World he portrays the qualities of a very talented writer. In my opinion, a true writer can lead you on any path that their imagination can fathom and Jones accomplished this. He also led me through time which was a very different, yet intriguing experience for me. With his colorful words and absolute time approach it is no wonder that this first publication won the Pulitzer Prize.
 
Vanessa Dilworth
Professor Sabir
English 201A 8-8:50
9 September 2010


I agree with Rachel, Edward Jones has very descriptive writng skills.
 
Mayra S. Cortez

English 201A 8-850am

September 9, 2010

In the novel The Known World by Edward P. Jones gives great sensory details, such as seeing hearing,touching, smelling and tasting. You imagine how the atmosphere is like, how the characters feel, and it reminds you how the dirt smells once the rain hits it. "Moses smelled the coming of rain. He breathed deeply, feeling it surge through him." (2)

Using words that appeal to your senses gives the reader much more urge to keep reading.
 
Evelyn V. Rodriguez-Gonzalez
Professor- Sabir
English -201A        
September 1, 2010
What are the qualities of good writing illustrated in E.P. Jones’s, The Known World?
                A quality of good writing is being descriptive. It is important to be descriptive because the reader will be able to imagine what is going on in the story.  Being descriptive will be helpful to the reader because the story will make more sense and it will be easier to understand.  If the story has a lot of details it will get the reader more enthusiastic to keep reading. In the novel The Known World,by E.P. Jones, the quality of being descriptive is shown. “Moses closed his eyes and bent down and took a pinch of the soil and ate it with no more thought that if it were a spot of corn bread. He worked the dirt around in his mouth and swallowed, leaning his head back and opening his eyes in time to see the strip of sun fade to dark blue and then to nothing. “(1) Being descriptive allows the reader to visualize what the characters are living in the story.
                Another quality of good writing is being creative and writing about different topics. Writing about different topics is always interesting because the reader gets to read about new things. It gets boring when all the books talk about the same things.  In the novel The Known World, not only does it talk about slavery, but about slave masters that were black themselves; “Moses had thought that it was already a strange world that made him a slave to a white man, but God had indeed set it twirling and twisting every which way when he put black people to owning  their own kind. Was God even up there attending to business anymore?”(9). This story is interesting for the fact that you don’t really hear about black masters having black slaves.
Jones makes his novel interesting for using personification. Using personification helps the novel become more interesting and it also helps you look at thing in a different way. An example of how Jones uses personification in his novel is when he was describing the setting of the day one of the characters in the story became a free man, “...all that was left of the sun was a five-inch-long memory of red orange laid out in still waves across the horizon between two mountains on the left and one on the right.”(1) Jones gives the sun a human feature as describing the setting.
 
Folami Brumfield
Professor Sabir
English 1:00- 2:50
7 september 2010

Anonymous had some good points when they said Jones explores alot of avenues by using a desriptive choice of words in his writing. They also had a good point of saying that Jones has great characters in his writing which equals a great book.
 
Evelyn V. Rodriguez-Gonzalez

Professor- Sabir

English -201A

September 1, 2010

What are the qualities of good writing illustrated in E.P. Jones’s, The Known World?

A quality of good writing is being descriptive. It is important to be descriptive because the reader will be able to imagine what is going on in the story. Being descriptive will be helpful to the reader because the story will make more sense and it will be easier to understand. If the story has a lot of details it will get the reader more enthusiastic to keep reading. In the novel The Known World,by E.P. Jones, the quality of being descriptive is shown. “Moses closed his eyes and bent down and took a pinch of the soil and ate it with no more thought that if it were a spot of corn bread. He worked the dirt around in his mouth and swallowed, leaning his head back and opening his eyes in time to see the strip of sun fade to dark blue and then to nothing. “(1) Being descriptive allows the reader to visualize what the characters are living in the story.

Another quality of good writing is being creative and writing about different topics. Writing about different topics is always interesting because the reader gets to read about new things. It gets boring when all the books talk about the same things. In the novel The Known World, not only does it talk about slavery, but about slave masters that were black themselves; “Moses had thought that it was already a strange world that made him a slave to a white man, but God had indeed set it twirling and twisting every which way when he put black people to owning their own kind. Was God even up there attending to business anymore?”(9). This story is interesting for the fact that you don’t really hear about black masters having black slaves.

Jones makes his novel interesting for using personification. Using personification helps the novel become more interesting and it also helps you look at thing in a different way. An example of how Jones uses personification in his novel is when he was describing the setting of the day one of the characters in the story became a free man, “...all that was left of the sun was a five-inch-long memory of red orange laid out in still waves across the horizon between two mountains on the left and one on the right.”(1) Jones gives the sun a human feature as describing the setting.
 
What are the qualities of good writing illustrated in the book E.P Jones “The known World”
The books that I often read has excitement, romance and also conflict, without it, I would just lose interest. There are many qualities of a good writing in a book. It could have a descriptive details, interesting stories, creative ideas and examples; also it could have filled with many emotions. Edward P Jones’s book “Known World” has the qualities of a good book. In the first chapter, he gave the readers solid background information about the life in plantation, and how the slaves worked hard during a hot sunny season. “This was July, and July tasted even more like sweetened metal than the dirt of June or May. Something in the growing crops unleashed a metallic life that only began to dissipate August, and by harvest time the life would be gone altogether, replaced by a sour moldiness he associates with the coming of fall and winter, the end of a relationship he begun with first taste of dirt.” This quote explains how the plantation and the worker had created a special bond between the two, and how Moses learned his harvest and crops grow.
Also creating a picture in the readers mind is a good writing. The book has so much descriptive details, and imagery that I know exactly how the characters look like, and what they are exactly doing. It’s like I’m watching a movie in my head. Having a picture in your mine of what is going on is critical to what you are writing. . In this quote “Then he undressed down to his nakedness and lay down. To keep the rain out of his nose, he rolled up his shirt and placed it under his head so that it tilted just enough for the rain to flow down about his face”. He shows a vivid image of what the character is exactly doing in the forest.
Finally the author has interesting characters that makes the reader more into the story. “Alice, the woman without a mind has who had been watching Moses, be with himself in the woods, had been Henry and Caldera property for some six months the night he died.”(12) She might be little bit crazy, but there is a reason why she is still there at the plantation and as I finish the book, I will find the reason why. All in all he wrote the story with interesting characters that have conflicts and that’s the kind of book that I enjoy.
Dulguun Enkhtsogoo
Engish 201 B
1-2:50
 
Most parts of the chapter shows alot of creativity of The Known World. His characters are very different from ant book I have read where the characters play a big role in the story. Like for instance Alice pg.3 "A woman people said had lost her mind." But also explains how she has been kicked by a mule. On pg.4 Caldonia Townsend " Moses master's wife had for the last six days & nights only been catnapping, as her husband made his hard way towards death." To me this is deep because each character that has been introduced in the 1st chapter has a deep part which explains alot of detail of the characters.

Like Fern Elston pg.6-7 " Her husband had 12 slaves to their names. In 1855 in Manchester County, Virginia there were thirty-four free black families, eight of those families owned slaves and all eight knew one another's business. Moses for an example "had thought that it was already a strange world that made him a slave to a white man, but God had indeed set it twirling and twisting every which way when he put black people to owning their own kind. Was God even up there attending to business anymore. To me Edward P. Jones really got deep with that particular peace from this novel which explains to me how good of a writer he is.

Edward P. Jones used words in this chapter ive had heard before, and never seen in my life but he really used them well to express how these characters react, think, speak, and feel towards one another. Jones writing is also so deep to the point he sucks you in with deep story telling or the dialog of the characters words being phrased in such a vivid surrounding form of writing. As another example Louis pg.23 " He was a man who changed for Caldonia which led them to marriage, just like Henry & William Robbins pg.28 there almost paternal because at a certain point you would almost think that Robbins could actually be Henry's father based off how he would speak & treat Henry.

Edric Kinsey enlish 201A 8:00-8:50
 
Sakima Williams Professor Sabir
Eng 201A
September 8th2010
Bundarin Ouk Jr,

I like the way that you touched on the overall sombre mood of the first chapter. “The evening his master died he worked again well after he ended the day for the other adults, his own wife among them, and sent them back with hunger and tiredness to their cabins.(1)
E.P Jones wastes no time painting the canvas with scenes of an evening met with exhaustion, hunger, and death. Even moments of light like purchased freedom are darkened by rejection and misfortune. With events that pull at your heart strings, and leave you troubled long after putting the book down. The way I judge a good move is if I felt something after it was over, even if I didn’t like it. The chapter left me wanting to know the fate of all the characters, that’s a good writer.
 
Thu Houang
Professor Sabir
English 201A (8-8:50)
9 September, 2010
Free-write on Chapter 1 of “The Known World”
In the book, "The Known World", written by Edward P. Jones. I felt like I was actually there and everything that Edward Jones described in the book sound so realistic. It sounded like this book actually happened and telling us everything that they have been through. While reading this book, I can actually imagining that I was there and I can feel what the characters are feeling in the book which made me want to read more about it. The more I read the book, the more I started to lose focus on whether it was fiction or nonfiction because to me everything sounded to real and I couldn't imagine it was a made up story.
 
Folami Brumfield
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 201A 1-2:50 p.m.
1 September 2010

What are the good qualities of good writing, illustrated in Edward P. Jones’s, The Known World?

A quality of good writing is paying attention to detail. This author takes you on a lot twists and turns with this story, making it hard to put the book down. The way the author describes events in this story makes the reader feel like they’re on a roller coaster ride that never-ends. Another quality of being descriptive allows the reader to visualize the characters and time in which the story takes place, almost making the reader feel like they are one of the characters getting lost in the chapters, among the other characters.“He worked the dirt around in his mouth and swallowed, leaning his head back and opening his eyes un time to see the strip of sun fade to dark blue and then to nothing” (1).

Another quality of good writing is being creative. The creativity in this book takes the reader going to all these different places while reading the book. Every time you think you are going one place, there is another turn down the chapter. It is like you are heading to one destination, but Jones makes you stop at another place before you get there. This book is engaging and informative at the same time. For the book to acquire all these qualities at one time makes E.P. Jones a very talented writer. Here is an example of some of the creativity in this book, “Toward the middle of her third week as Henry and Caldonia’s property, the patrollers got used to seeing Alice wander about and she became just another fixture in the patrollers’ night, worthy of no more attention than a hooting owl or a rabbit hopping across the road.
 
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