Multigenre Responses

Miriam’s Song:

To state it bluntly, this essay was really good. I think all of the excerpts were chosen wisely and the whole thing was well put together. It was a very emotional reading, and it made me feel so bad for Melinda, her brother, and her mom. I am not a religious person, but I really enjoyed the pieces from the Bible that Melinda put into her essay; the story of Moses’s sister, Miriam, fit well with the story of Melinda’s mother. There is a short description from Melinda’s English teacher at the beginning of the essay which discusses the struggle that she faced in writing it, and I can now see why she had such a hard time. Her topic was extremely personal, and it was very brave of her to share it in such an artistic way.

Cosmetic Clips:

This essay was also very good. It was extremely depressing, but not in a sad way that “Miriam’s Song” was—it was just plain, old depressing. It made me feel bad for the writer who obviously hated her job. She was a busy, over-worked, tired, unsatisfied mother who wanted more out of life than selling hundreds of dollars worth of makeup and perfume to customers. Although it doesn’t express it in the actual essay, I am glad that the writer finally got out of that job and found something more worthwhile.