Narrative Analysis Essay Assignment

Stories about families are often some of the most interesting, especially when told in a compelling manner. For this assignment you will "deconstruct" the storytelling structure of one of the family texts we read in class. Specifically, you will examine the manner in which the text tells its story. For example, how does the text hook in a reader, build tension, and attempt to draw commonalities? Is it formal, casual, or conversational in tone—and what is its overall effect on the text? Keep in mind, this essay should emphasize structure over content, so you're analysis should be less about what the text is about and more about the way in which information is presented.

Requirements:

• MLA format
• 2-page minimum

Due: Thursday, April 16th

Can you hear me? Dad smashes daughter's phone over huge text bill

By Michael Winter at 07:07 PM/ET, April 08, 2009, USA Today

Dena Christoffersen likes to text.

In one month alone the Cheyenne, Wyo., 13-year-old sent 10,000 texts and received about 10,000, mostly at school.

As KUSA-TV calculates, that works out to more than 300 texts over eight hours, every day. It all adds up — especially if your family's phone plan doesn't include texting. Dad hit the roof when the bill arrived: $4,756.25. Then he hit Dena's phone — an LG — with a hammer.

"It just hit us like a rock, like you're stepping into a bus," Gregg Christoffersen said. He and his wife, Jaylene, thought texting had been disabled on their Verizon plan.

Dena learned a valuable math lesson: Good grades are inversely proportional to the amount of texting. "She went from A's and B's one semester to F's in two months," dad said. Now that her texting is down to zero, Dena's grades are on the rise. Being grounded until the end of the school year also is boosting her academic signals. "I felt really bad, and I have learned my lesson," a contrite Dena told KUSA, head bowed.

Neighbors and Strangers Pull Together for Provo Family

Reported by Fields Moseley, KUTV Utah
Last Update: 4/06 11:02 pm

A Provo family received much needed lift from the community. The Jensen family came home to a house completely renovated that meets their needs.

Before they got there neighbors and the team from Heart2 Home added some final touches, sweeping, scrubbing and hosing off the driveway. They made two weeks of construction disappear in a few hours.

Outside the home at around 4:30, a crowd erupted into cheers.

"Oh my gosh," uttered Natalie Jensen as she exited a giant stretch SUV limosine and saw the fresh stucco and siding covering the old orange brick.

That was the shock. The awe came a few a minutes later as every room revealed a new surprise.

"Oh, it's absolutely perfect," Jensen squealed at the sight of her boys' room.

The older boys, Zach and Brady, will sleep in the shadow of Lavell Edwards stadium. A giant picture covers one wall and a scoreboard hangs on the opposite wall. It is appropriate, since BYU lineman, Jason Speredon helped get the project done.

"We had about ten or twelve guys come over and do some sheetrock and that went really fast because we were able to hold it up there on the ceiling," said Speredon.

But it wasn’t just that. Speredon knew someone with a connection to the organization Heart2Home. The group helps families like the Jensens remodel their homes when they can't do it themselves.

"I have a fairly good job, but the medical bills are overwhelming," said Nathan Jensen while sitting on the couch in their new family room. He suffers from a disease similar to Lupus called sarcoidosis. He started transforming this house last fall to accommodate their four children, two of whom have muscular dystrophy.

"So far Zack has not been able to ride his wheelchair in a house at all, and just being able to have him move around will be amazing," said Natalie fighting back tears.

The Heart2Home designers and contractors made the doors are larger, there is a bathroom that allows wheelchair access, and every child has a bed. The Jensens story brought strangers together and proves this is the house that love built.

"They are so inspiring to me," said Speredon knows the family through his LDS Ward. "Through their trials and adversity, they’ve kept a smile."

Palin Family Bristles at Levi Johnston's Criticism of Teen Mom Bristol

Sarah Palin's Family Lashes Back in Harsh Statement Against Teen Father

By Andy Miller, Jean Garner, and Sarah Netter, Newsweek
April 6, 2009—

The war of words, slights and raised eyebrows between the family of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Levi Johnston, the father of Palin's daughter Bristol's 3-month-old son, has escalated.

The latest salvo comes from Johnston who in a TV interview talks about how he's being snubbed by Alaska's first family.

In an interview airing today on "The Tyra Banks Show," Johnston says while he's still able to see his son, he's getting the distinct impression that Bristol Palin no longer wants him around much.

"She says that I can come see the baby and that kind of thing but won't let me take him anywhere," Johnston told Banks.

The 19-year-old also told Banks that Sarah Palin -- whose family values was part of her platform when she was the GOP vice presidential candidate -- almost certainly knew the two teens were having sex before her daughter got pregnant.

"I'm pretty sure she probably knew," he told Banks.

"Were you practicing safe sex?" she asked.

"Every time," he said.

But when pressed, "every time" turned into "most of the time."

In response to the remarks, the Palin family released a harsh statement, saying, in part, "We're disappointed that Levi and his family & are engaging in flat-out lies, gross exaggeration and even distortion of their relationship."

Johnston was almost son-in-law of the governor. He began dating her eldest daughter while the two were in high school just days after Sarah Palin's bid for vice president was announced, so it was a bombshell when it was revealed that the conservative candidate's daughter was pregnant with Johnston's child.

Now, months after the birth of son Tripp Easton Mitchell and just weeks after the couple's breakup, the Palins and the Johnstons have made no secret of the trouble between the families, a far cry from the campaign days and the talk of wedding plans.

Now, with this latest round of interviews, civil may be out the window.

"It is unfortunate that Levi finds it more appealing to exploit his previous relationship with Bristol than to contribute to the well-being of the child," the statement also said.

Even after the teen couple ended their relationship, the two seemed cordial. In an ABC News interview outside his home last month, Johnston said he was still talking to Bristol Palin and seeing his son whenever he wanted. The two were civil "for the most part," he said then.

Johnston has had more troubles than his high-profile relationship with the daughter of a sitting governor.

His mother, Sherry Johnston, was arrested in December on drug charges.

Despite the hard times and more that may be to come, Johnston said Sarah Palin can count on his vote if she makes a run for the White House in the future even though, he said, it would not be easy on him.

"I'd be happy for her if she made it that far," he said, "but at the same time I think it would make things even harder than it is now."

Week 12: Family

“There is no such thing as fun for the whole family.”

-Jerry Seinfeld

Tu 4.7
READ: CR—“This Blessed House” by Jhumpa Lahiri; “Terwilliger Bunts One” by Annie Dillard IN-CLASS: Reading discussion; Presentations

Th 4.9
READ: CR—“Raising Cain” by Debora J. Dickerson; “Three Fathers” by Kevin Sweeney; “Bumping into Mr. Ravioli” by Adam Gopnik
IN-CLASS: Watch—Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (Kuenne, 2007 USA)
JOURNAL 4 ASSIGNMENT: Using Family Legend” from This American Life (60 min. audio file; choose “Full Episode”) from the eR as a basis, write about a family (not necessarily your own) that you admire. What is it about this family that you like? Is your family like them in any way? Are you envious of this family?
DUE: Journal 4

UPCOMING
Tu 4.14
READ: CR—“Bienvenidos a Newport Beach” by Firoozeh Dumas; “Selling in Minnesota” by Barbara Ehrenreich, p. 121-149
IN-CLASS: Reading discussion; Presentations; Preview—Persuasive Essay
DUE: Narrative Analysis Essay

Th 4.16
READ: CR—“Selling in Minnesota” by Barbara Ehrenreich, p.150-191
IN-CLASS: Watch— People Like Us: Social Class in America (Alvarez/Kolker, 2000 USA) JOURNAL 5 ASSIGNMENT: Using “Social Networking and Class Warfare” by Steven Levy from Newsweek (eR) as a basis, explore the function of social networks (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, MySpace) in your life and those around you. Does your participation in these sites say anything about your social class? Why or why not?
DUE: Journal 5