After reading the essays by Lowry, Vowell, & Bellow, I was able to see more clearly the differences between the "I" and "Eye" perspectives in personal essay writing. Like I said in my previous blog, I thought the "I" essay was mostly an interesting account of one's personal life, whether past or present, positive or negative. Now I see it as so much more! It is more than just relating a story that happened in your life. It's more than just your perspective. You need to question whether you are telling the truth or your truth. You need to self-reflect. Am I telling it through my eyes now or then? It is constantly questioning yourself to be able to best describe the story you are telling.
The "Eye" as shown by the 3 mentioned essayists was incredibly interesting. Although I enjoyed Vowell's personal accounts and feelings of Gettysburg and Bellow's point of view on how or if photographs can really show a person - and what to believe if you see one image, I was most struck by Lowry's essay on Karla Faye. She spends the time getting to know Karla Faye and see things through another's eyes. I especially liked the part when she talks about "...would your feelings change." We are usually so set in our thinkings and views and justifying them, that we seldom stop to think of another scenarion and how we would react. This also seems to be questioning the truth as in "I" essays: what is it we believe and why?
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