Hi Class,

For Tuesday, bring in a complete draft of Essay 3 for peer review. And also bring in your Freewrite Portfolio, which consists of:

Three freewrites from the semester–either photocopy them or type them and print them out. Attach these three freewrites to a one-page typed reflection on freewriting. Consider these questions in the freewrite:

  1. Why did you chose these three?
  2. What do you like/dislike about the freewriting process?
  3. How do you plan to use freewriting in the future?

 

First page example:

An American Icon of Hope and Tourism

 

Just as the twin towers were struck by 19 plane hijackers with box cutters, devastating an entire city of New York, and bringing tears to millions across the world, Saddam Hussein became the national image of terrorism. But how does one event lead people to label such meager events into an icon, an image, thus unconsciously correlating terrorism to a single man? Whether big or small, mankind has been defined to label their surroundings, whether it be people, objects, society, or whatsoever that is deemed irrational. As a little kid, I used to look at pictures and posters of the Statue of Liberty and remark to her being the “green lady who wore a sari,” a sari being a traditional Indian clothing dress worn by married women. With age, I came to realize that this colossal monument isn’t just an ordinary woman cradling the tablet of law and torch that shines freedom, but a woman who faces the Old World, lighting the way for all immigrants. But how exactly did the Statue of Liberty become the American icon for hope, and how did it become the central tourist attraction for the city? [missing: methodology]

America’s symbol of freedom is ironically, however, French. The idea, the design, the fabrication, and the financial contributions were all provided by the French. According to Wilton S. Dillon’s and Neil G. Kotler’s Statue of Liberty Revisited, it was actually during a dinner party in 1865 hosted by Edouard de Laboulaye that the conversation began (5). The topic of discussion was a set of ideas for ways to commemorate the alliance between the United States and France during the American Revolution, as well as, according to the National Parks Services website, to “create something honoring America’s commitment to freedom and liberty and present it to the US in time for the nation’s 100th birthday celebration in 1876.”