photo from The New York Times
In an opinion essay in today's New York Times entitled "Amelia Earhart, Found and Lost," Jane Mendelsohn explores the inspirational role of Amelia Earhart in her life.
In paragraph two, Mendelsohn symbolically applies the imagery of Earhart's journey to the author's own life when she was younger: "Perhaps this was because I felt at the time as if I were flying hopelessly around the world and searching for land, longing for one of those islands of stability some of us keep looking for in our 20s, a braceleted wrist held up to the face, hand shielding our eyes from the harsh sun of adulthood, not realizing that we will have to build that island for ourselves."
In the ideal, aren't we all are continually creating those "islands of stability" for ourselves? For example, this blog is part of my journey as an educator into some academic areas that I have never flown before: you doing a bit of reading, critical thinking, thoughtful commenting, and engaging in interactive dialogue with your classmates all through the medium of this here blog.
So, please read the essay and then choose one of the four following responses:
In paragraph two, Mendelsohn symbolically applies the imagery of Earhart's journey to the author's own life when she was younger: "Perhaps this was because I felt at the time as if I were flying hopelessly around the world and searching for land, longing for one of those islands of stability some of us keep looking for in our 20s, a braceleted wrist held up to the face, hand shielding our eyes from the harsh sun of adulthood, not realizing that we will have to build that island for ourselves."
In the ideal, aren't we all are continually creating those "islands of stability" for ourselves? For example, this blog is part of my journey as an educator into some academic areas that I have never flown before: you doing a bit of reading, critical thinking, thoughtful commenting, and engaging in interactive dialogue with your classmates all through the medium of this here blog.
So, please read the essay and then choose one of the four following responses:
- Write 40 to 80 words on the author's style, tone, diction, structure, theme, historical context, or your reaction;
- Write 40 to 80 words on how you are, in one sense or another, building a part of your own "island" this summer;
- The author asserts that "the 21st century is the century of women." Visit one or two of the websites that she cites and comment on what you think she means by this statement;
- Watch the short video "Why Should Men Care?" narrated by actor Matt Damon and offer a 40 to 80-word response to the question in the title.