Blog Post 10

Beck’s “Life’s Stories” was pretty straight forward the first time. It was somewhat easy to read because of the way she sets up her argument and explains her self. There were some sentences and paragraphs throughout the essay that had me confused, but reading it over a second time and annotating it again had really helped me. I also found myself viewing the argument from a different point of view, which allowed me to see all aspects.

The class discussion and small group discussion also really helped me understand Beck even more. It opened up my mind, and I could comprehend the information better. The biggest thing that I have a lot of trouble with is reading quotes and studies, then relating them back to the argument. It is hard for me to see the connection between the two, so having these discussions is good because it helps me learn. Talking about it in class not only allowed me to hear how other people interpreted this article, but it also allowed me to clear up any confusion that I did experience. I was very confused about the redemption and contamination themes because I had never heard of it before. After talking to a few classmates about it, we all shared our different interpretations of it and it helped to “clear the fog”.

I annotated this for the second time after reading Strawson’s article. Reading this for a second time also allowed me to see places where Beck’s argument supported and contradicts Strawson, which will help me with prompt 2 later on. Beck also believes that a person telling their own life story can manipulate it in a way to fantasize themselves, which I did not interpret before.

Reading this article for a second time definitely helped me to understand the author’s argument and relevance better. I might even read it for a third time so I can be an expert on it.

Words I didn’t know:

Empirical: “Based on, concerned with, or verifiable by observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic.”

Coherent: “(of an argument, theory, or policy) logical and consistent.”