When reading, I will often highlight what I think are the central points of the article. Often, I will use different colored highlighters to distinguish different viewpoints or supporting evidence for certain arguments. I find that this helps me when looking back to reflect on the information given because I’ll know what to look for instead of shuffling through a fluorescent jumble of words. I also find it very helpful to write comments in the margins of the paper that I’m reading. If I have a thought that seems to fall in line with a statement in the reading, I’ll jot it down on the side. If I find something confusing, I might put a question mark next to it or describe it in my own words in the margins. This allows me to capture each connection or thought I have about the article before I forget. This method comes in handy especially when I need to write a paper or reflection on the topic later. By reading my footnotes and skimming what I’ve highlighted, I can refresh my ideas about the subject rather than starting with a completely blank slate.
Anything that sticks in my head throughout the entire reading may be compelling to others as well, which gives me the confidence to draw upon that idea when writing a reflection. I will then go back into the reading to find supporting evidence as to why I believe my point is compelling enough for a reflection. Often, I will link the author’s experience to one of my own, making it more personal and connecting two likely or unlikely scenarios. I also like to describe how the reading made me feel as this is important when connecting with your audience. If an article makes me feel a certain way, chances are others do as well. People are drawn to arguments that they, too, can be engaged in whether they agree or not. This is why it’s important to not only write about the statements provided but how those statements make you feel when reflecting upon a written work.
Resources:
Journal #24
While reading Madelyn’s response to the poem, I too, found the imagery disturbing. When Voigt describes killing the cat and X-ing the door with its blood, all I could think about was having to do that to my own cats. At first, I had wondered why they would do this, but I had heard about religious rituals where families would mark their door with an X of blood to keep away evil. While I would like to say I wouldn’t do it, people at that time truly believed that this would draw the flies away from the house, in turn driving away the illness. After all, as Madelyn mentioned, we are following in the footsteps of our ancestors who dealt with the 1918 flu by keeping ourselves locked indoors, unable to interact with those outside of our immediate family. Recently, I have heard that the morgues have become so full, unclaimed bodies are being buried in mass graves in a park in New York City. this lead me to wonder if this had to be done during the pandemic of 1918 as well. Madelyn mentioned in her response that “we see the habits that we need to form for this time come up as patterns in past events,” leading me to think that this may have been a recurring theme of these pandemics as well.
Reading Emily’s response to Voigt’s poem, I realized that I hadn’t even considered the stench that probably emanated through the house. Although families were encouraged to stay inside away from other people, this family went to extreme lengths, doing everything they thought of to hold the illness at bay. This draws a parallel between today and the 1918 pandemic that I didn’t notice before. Similar to then, some people are doing the bare minimum to help prevent the spread of disease, while others are going to extreme lengths to keep themselves and their families safe. Instead of slathering ourselves with camphor and mustard, we are bundling up in masks and gloves, washing our hands more thoroughly than ever before. Similar to today as well, Emily mentions that “although these preventative measures seem extreme, they did not know the cause of the flu so they had to try different remedies to keep it away and cure it.” we don’t know exactly how this disease can be transmitted yet, so we must take all the measures we can in order to keep the spread at bay.
