Monica Wood - Disappearing (Overview - Part 4)

This is the fourth part of the overview to Monica Wood's short story "Disappearing" which covers the story's themes: body image, assistance, silence, and acknowledgment.

If you want to read an introduction which includes a link to the story, a short biography of the author, the setting of the story as well as the characters that interact in it, click here. 

Part two deals with the plot and the "growth" process through which Wood intimates how destructive others can be and how -- as traumatizers -- they can permanently stunt development (to read that, click here). 

Part three about the story's point of view and symbolism can be found here.

C2 Sample Essay 27 (Past criminal record)

Writing at C2 level (Proficient User) on English language examinations is the same no matter the awarding body when it comes to writing essays. If you are a candidate giving an exam in English, make sure you read my earlier post What do I do with the sample writing found on this blog? to get the most out of the sample essays provided on Argute Legacy.  
 
  If you are not taking an exam but need to discuss whether a jury should have information about a defendant's past criminal record or not, then read on and note down what you deem useful. If you intend to use this essay as part of an assignment, remember to paraphrase so as not to plagiarize.

Monica Wood - Disappearing (Overview - Part 3)

This is part three of the overview to Monica Wood's short story "Disappearing". It covers the story's point of view and symbolism. 

If you want to read an introduction which includes a link to the story, a short biography of the author, the setting of the story as well as the characters that interact in it, click here. Part two deals with the plot and the "growth" process through which Wood intimates how destructive others can be and how -- as traumatizers -- they can permanently stunt development (to read that, click here.)

10 More IELTS Cue Card Questions (Part 5)

Please note that the following questions are not only for those sitting the IELTS examination. Teachers, students or anyone who wants to improve their spoken English can use them to practice speaking.
All you have to do is practice with a tutor or speaking partner, or even by yourself. Use a stopwatch to time your answers -- a reasonable answer should last 2-5 minutes. 
For IELTS test takers, this is the fifth list of cue card questions, so if you haven't seen the previous lists, here are the links: 
10 More IELTS Cue Card Questions (part 1)
10 More IELTS Cue Card Questions (part 2)
10 More IELTS Cue Card Questions (part 3)
10 More IELTS Cue Card Questions (part 4)

Remember to limit your answers to 2 minutes.

IELTS candidates should also read the tips for Part 2 of the Speaking section here:IELTS Speaking: Part 2 Sample Questions (List 1) & Tips.

C2 Sample Essay 26 (Reasons for attending college)

Writing at C2 level (Proficient User) on English language examinations is the same no matter the awarding body when it comes to writing essays. If you are a candidate giving an exam in English, make sure you read my earlier post What do I do with the sample writing found on this blog? to get the most out of the sample essays provided on this blog.  
 
If you are not taking an exam but need to discuss the reasons why people decide to attend college, then read on and note down what you deem useful. If you intend to use this essay as part of an assignment, remember to paraphrase so as not to plagiarize.

Grammar: Wishes

Please read the first two paragraphs from Grammar: The Subjunctive by way of introduction to this series of blog posts regarding grammar.

Knowing how to properly use constructions that contain wishes in them demonstrates a better knowledge of English, which is why it is taught to students preparing for a B2, C1 or C2 level English examination (IELTS, ECPE, ECCE, ESB, LRN, MSU-CELP, MSU-CELC, TOEFL, TOEIC, ALCE, to name a few).

In English, wishes are expressed either using the verb "wish" (which is a regular verb) or the phrase "if only" stated just before you say the thing you wish for.

It is easy to learn how to express wishes if you divide them into three categories.

The Latest Word: Paroxysm

Today's word is one that is found in a near-identical form in many other languages, as it's been borrowed from the Greek word παροξυσμός or the verb παροξύνειν. Simply take a look at these translations:

Monica Wood - Disappearing (Overview - Part 2)

This is the second part of the overview of Monica Wood's short story "Disappearing". Before reading, please take a look at the introduction I've written here which includes a link to the story itself, a short biography of the author, the setting of the story as well as the characters that interact in it.

This second part will cover the plot and deals with the "growth" process the story describes. Through this process, Wood intimates how destructive others can be and how -- as traumatizers -- they can permanently stunt development.

In part 3,  the point of view and symbolism are discussed.

Monica Wood - Disappearing (Overview - Part 1)

People's cries for help often go unnoticed because as a society we have either become immune to other people's plight or we have become too self-centered to notice others at all.

Monica Wood captures this feeling of insignificance, a kind of nullity of human existence imposed by others by dint of their disregard for their fellow man (and woman, naturally), in her short story "Disappearing". 

The title says it all. The passage from one existence to a non-existence is depicted in a matter of pages. Twenty-eight paragraphs is all it takes to erase one's physical identity. Yet how much longer it takes to erase an individual's entire existence -- both body and mind -- is what lies at the heart of this story. The answer to this question is a terrifying "few people, a few comments, several reactions" rather than a specific time period. In fact, I would contend that this is not a story just about anorexia --  anorexia is simply a by-product of a greater disorder plaguing society. What "Disappearing" truly achieves in doing is highlighting the encounters rather than the time span or symptoms of a medical condition that afflicts over 2.9 million people (see the study here). Through these encounters, readers understand what someone has to put up with, why they obsess with body image and especially body weight, and how the desire to erase yourself from the face of the earth starts well before the idea itself consciously materializes.

If I could phrase the gist of the story in a sentence, it would be the following: When we efface others regularly, we enhance their longing to reduce themselves to nothingness.

Commentary: How does Literature instruct?

I've loved books ever since I can remember. They're the only thing I've consciously made a choice to collect. I love how they smell, how the pages feel, the different textures of their covers and the way they look as they stand, motley-colored and neatly arranged on bookshelves. If I hadn't become a teacher, I'd work in a library or a bookstore, such is the extent of my obsession. My love of books is so great that I can't imagine why others don't understand their importance. 

This is what brought me to write this post, in fact. A few weeks ago, I'd seen a question posted by someone online (no doubt a desperate student who was assigned the question by a teacher) asking how Literature instructs, and wondered why on earth anyone would ask such a self-explanatory query. After all, the reason I revere books doesn't merely come from the satisfaction I get as I turn pages over or capture the scent of a book the minute I open its cover. I've always felt they were, each and every one of them, fascinating worlds -- both real and imagined -- in their own right, with heaps of knowledge to be garnered. 

So I said to myself that it was about time I got my ducks in a row and expressed in writing what I'd felt to be true for a long time now by pinpointing how in actual fact books benefit mankind. I especially hope my thoughts on the topic will change the way people view studies undertaken in the Humanities (seeing as there is a declining trend in the number of students who enroll on Literature courses at undergraduate level these days). 

How Does Literature Instruct?

My dad wanted me to become a lawyer and sure enough, I'd seen enough Perry Mason and Matlock episodes in my youth to know that lawyering on screen was about as dazzling as it could get. Gregory Peck got it right in To Kill a Mockingbird, Charles Laughton in Witness for the Prosecution, but I was quite sure real life was in no way bound to be like that. Besides, stories are what really mattered to me and I dreamed of being able to teach others to squeeze the life out of them and make it their own as I myself had done so.