In 1940,Wilder’s literary agent George By,wrote Wilder to tell her that he had sat up
until two o’clock in the morning reading the manuscript for’The Long Winter,’
and then had trouble going to sleep for thinking of the plight of the Ingalls family and that awful winter.
The book was published later in 1940 to critical acclaim.
For sheer gallantry,the story can’t be beat.It puts iron into the imagination.And full … Read the rest
Category: Literature Reviews
These Happy Golden Years: Literary Overview
Laura Ingalls Wilder considered ‘These Happy Golden Years’ the end of her ‘Little House’ series. The book was published in 1943,
14 years before her death in 1957.
She submitted no more manuscripts to Harper & Brothers, nor to her daughter Rose Wilder Lane, who died in 1968,
25 years after “These Happy Golden Years’ was published.
The book is essentially a coming-of-age and a courtship novel.
Laura becomes a … Read the rest
Using Critical Sources and Maintaining Academic integrity
Certain literary works, because they offer intriguing difficulties, have attracted professional
critics hy the score. On library shelves, great phalanxes of critical books now
stand at the side of James Joyce’s Ulysses and T. S. Eliot’s allusive poem The Waste
Land. The student who undertakes to study such works seriously is well advised to
profit from the critics’ labors. Chances are, too, that even in discussing a relatively
uncomplicated work, … Read the rest
Final Advice on Rewriting
» Whenever possible, get feedback from a trusted reader- In every project,*
there comes a time when the writer has gotten so close to the work that he or
she can’t see it clearly. A talented roommate or a tutor in the campus writing
center can tell you what isn’t yet clear on the page, what questions still need
answering, or what line of argument isn’t yet as persuasive as … Read the rest
Revising
A writer rarely—if ever—achieves perfection on the first try. For most of us, good
writing is largely a matter of revision. Once your first draft is done, you can—and
should—turn on your analytical mind. Painstaking revision is more than just tidying
up grammar and spelling. It might mean expanding your ideas or sharpening the focus
by cutting out any unnecessary thoughts. To achieve effective writing, you must
have the courage … Read the rest
Writing a Rough Draft
Seated at last, you prepare to write, only to find yourself besieged with petty distractions.
All of a sudden you remember a friend you had promised to call, some double-
A batteries you were supposed to pick up, a neglected Coke (in another room)
growing warmer and flatter by the minute. If your paper is to be written, you have
only one course of action: collar these thoughts and for … Read the rest
Developing a Literary Argument
Once you have finished a rough outline of your ideas, you need to refine it into a
clear and logical shape. You need to state your thesis (or basic idea) clearly and then
support it with logical and accurate evidence. Here is a practical approach to this
crucial stage of the writing process:
Consider your purpose- As you develop your argument, be sure to refer back
to the specific assignment; … Read the rest
Prewriting: Discovering ideas
Topic in hand, you can begin to get your ideas on the page. To generate new ideas
and clarify the thoughts you already have, try one or more of the following useful
prewriting strategies:
m Brainstorming- Writing quickly, list everything that comes into your mind
about your subject. Set a time limit—ten or fifteen minutes—and force yourself
to keep adding items to the list, even when you think you have … Read the rest
Planning Your Essay
If you have actively reread the work you plan to write about and have made notes or
annotations, you are already well on your way to writing your paper. Your mind has
already begun to work through some initial impressions and ideas. Now you need to
arrange those early notions into an organized and logical essay. Here is some advice
on how to manage the writing process:
® Leave yourself … Read the rest
Reading Actively
Most people read in a relaxed, almost passive way. They let the story or poem carry
them along without asking too many questions. To write about literature well, however,
you need to read actively, paying special attention to various aspects of the text.
This special sort of attention will not only deepen your enjoyment of the story, poem,
or play but will also help generate the information and ideas that … Read the rest