Excerpt from "All Over but The Shoutin'" by Rick Bragg

Selection from "All Over but the Shoutin" by Rick Bragg. 

        He was living in a little house in Jacksonville, Alabama, a college and mill town that was the closest urban center—with it's spotlights and a high school and two supermarkets—to the
country roads we roamed in our raggedy cars. He lived in the mill village, in one of the houses the mill subsidized for their workers, back when companies still did things like that. It was not much of a place, but better than anything we ever lived in as a family. When I knocked a voice like an old woman’s, punctuated with a cough that sounded like it came from deep in the guts, told me to come in, it ain’t locked.
It was dark inside, but light enough to see what looked like a bundle of quilts on the corner of a sofa. Deep inside them was a ghost of a man, his hair and beard long and going dirty gray, his face pale and cut with deep grooves. I knew I was in the right house because my Daddy's possessions, a velvet-covered board pinned with medals, sat inside a glass cabinet on the table. But this couldn't be him.

How to Write with the Senses

You are always writing with sight.  Every time you describe something you are writing with the sense of sight.

Outside the street was empty and it was not until noon that the street filled with a large crowd of bystandaers who were all dressed in green.  

Among the crowd was a twelve-year-old boy who followed the crowd as they meandered down the street all set for the Saint Patrick's Day Parade.

Remember do not say I could see. You have already shown the image and you do not need to say you see something.  Just describe it.

It should be the same with sound. Simply describe the sound.  

The alarm began to beep loudly, jarring me out of sleep.

You do not need to say you hear it.

The hardest part is Smell, Touch and Taste.

The simple rule is never touch a touch.  Never smell a smell. Never taste a taste.

When you are descibing touch describe the physical aspect of interacting  with objects.

Michael ran his hands over the smooth service of the car, and then he stopped and checked the tires by kicking them. 

When you are showing the sense of smell--do not use the word smell. 

Use odor or scent or sniff or inhale or describe the effects.

And when you are describing taste do not say taste. Say flavor. 

Or bitterness. Or sour. Or describe putting food in your mouth.

The most valuable lesson is that writing with the senses is used primarily when you are showing emotions.

119)

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What is a Literacy Narrative

A Literacy Narrative is a story/narrative that usually details a person's experience with Reading and/or Writing.

Usually a person starts at a young age but the writer of the Literacy Narrative has some experience under their belt which allows them the knowledge of types of forshadowing and also the creation of metaphor or symbolism.

Take "The Second-hand Bookseller" by Marina Nemat (From Prisoner of Tehran.)

The author is writing about a time when she was very young.  So the opening paragraph is also filled with lots of things:

I attended an elementary school with vine-covered brick walls.  This 

was during the time of the shah.  My school was a ten-minute walk 

from home, so I walked there and back by myself.  The old school 

building was originally a two-story mansion, and my friends had 

told me that the principle, Khanoom Mortazavi who had gone to 

university abroad, had turned it into a school once she had returned 

to Iran. Although every classroom had tall windows, because of a 

few ancient maple trees that grew in the yard, it was always dark 

inside, and we usually had to turn on the lights in order to be able to 

see the blackboard.  Every day, after the final bell, Sarah and I 

would step out of school and cross the street together, but then she 

would turn left and I would turn right.  I would continue south on 

Rahzi Avenue and walk past the tall brick walls surrounding the 

Vatican embassy, past Ashna restaurant, which filled the air with the 

smells of aromatic rice and barbecued beef, and past a small 

lingerie store with a window displaying lacy, delicate nightgowns. 

Without my mother dragging me along and telling me to walk 

properly, I sometimes pretended to be a little white cloud drifting 

across the blue sky, a ballerina dancing in front of a large crowd, or 

a boat traveling down a magical river.

As you can see Nemat starts out describing her 

surroundings—she paints a picture of a young 

child, but she also throws in a little symbolism and 

forshadowing which centers around her friend 

Sarah and the Catholic Church and the change 

brewing and predicted by the takeover by the 

Ayotollah.  

Most literacy narratives begin this way. This was 

why I have you describe the setting for a bit before 

you begin. That way you can show your age or 

allows you to think a little about your past.

In may own Literacy Narrative I start out 

describing the school I went to. 

"Learning Astronomy"

Now I write a lot about kids that ride the bus and 

the landscape of my school such as the woods.  All 

of this is foreshadowing, trying to show you how 

dangerous it was in the 80's.  There is even some 

foreboding imagry of the school being 

inescapable.  

All of it shows my age and how the child of the 

80's had little escape from Bullies and things that would not change until I was older.

In Rick Bragg's "All Over But the Shoutin." 

Bragg describes how his father is living alone--he 

is sickly and how Bragg is trying to forgive his 

father.  The setting is described and it foreshadows 

his loneliness and regret.

Now in a Literacy Narrative the protagonist (That 

is you.) Goes through Reading or writing and a 

journey of discovery and at the end experiences 

some type of emotion. That is why I asked you to 

name the emotion in your outline.  

In your outline you can name it.  But in your actual 

Literacy Narrative you have to show it.  Both 

Marina Nemat and Rick Bragg have experience 

with Reading and Writing, and they describe in 

detail how they were changed and showed what 

emotion they experienced. 

So now you will go through your project and 

narrate what you did.  Then you will show me the 

emotion in the five ways we talked about.  You are 

not allowed to name the emotion—you must show 

it. 

Finally you will have to formulate an ending. 

Today you are moving through your project. 

Link to Paste

 Susan Kenra

Mr. Enelow

English 1301

9 October 2015

Chocolate: An Annotated Bibliography

            The purchase, manufacture and creation of chocolate dates back to before the 18^th century, though it comes to prominence in the U.S. through a process created by American entrepreneur known as Milton Hershey.  Prior to Hershey’s mainstreaming of milk chocolate, a process which was simpler than the earliest South American and European crafters, chocolate had been thought of as a “artisan task suited to only the most noble of families and locked away from the eyes of most men” (Walker).  Milton Hershey’s creation, paved the way for chocolate to be manufactured, differently than before, mass produced and redefined its form. The production and formation of “chocolate making” has been one that many folks have studied, and had often delighted most folks of wealthy means, in fact prior to 1850, any purchase of chocolate was merely the hobby and luxury of wealthy men.

Chocolate mass production became the mass fad of the 20^th century, and its taste and essence are included in most things we drink and eat and a fraction of the cost of the past.  Today the fascination and use of confectionary creations is a prime fascination to most people, so my study of chocolate attempts to cover its earliest origins and manufacturing up to the most modern creations and techniques.

Among the latest innovations in the field of chocolate, there is a divided world between European artisans, and American chefs.  Swiss Chocolate makers hold to time honored traditions passed down from master to apprentice, though confectionary ovens have changed and Swiss

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Chefs changed with them.  South American techniques of chocolate making are a fusion of old and new concepts, though the use of hot peppers is a staple to their many old techniques (Brendon 208).  Perhaps the most interesting techniques are those being used in African Countries which rely on “smaller amounts of sugar, and milk” than American varieties (LaTour 24).  However, American and British chefs lead the way in the most advanced techniques, using modified ovens and molecular templates that seek to flash freeze or shape chocolate in new and interesting ways (Marko 36).  My study will cover the earliest sources possible, including notes from Henry Jacques a French confectioner writing before the French Revolution. Through great resource and determination I was allowed to study his archives in the collection at the Louvre.  This study claims a complete overview of chocolate from early processing to more modern production.

            The bibliography I have compiled attempts to be complete, and includes several modern sources including Byron LaTour’s recent article “The Chocolate and the Printer: A Love Story,” as well as Maurice Toussaud’s book, Sweetness of Life, a seminal work on chocolate creation, studied at the Cordon Bleu for at least six centuries.  Of the 400 works listed here in my research there were however some I left out, being they were extremely dated, or the information was covered in more detail in another work.  My study attempts to be a thorough as possible including even translations of work published in French, Italian and Spanish.  The sources

presented in this bibliography are as up to date as I can possibly make them, barring being printed before the year 2016.

 

 

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LaTour, Byron. “The Chocolate and the Printer: A Love Story.” Confectioner, vol. 26, no. 4,

1998, pp. 595-600.  Humanities Index, wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/6/6/00-0607_article. Accessed 3 Feb. 2015.

This article by a leader French researcher details the study of how modern technology and “old world” confectionary skills culminated in the use of a 3D printer (LaTour 596).  Byron LaTour a leading French artist used his own laser printer to shape chocolate in a dozen different ways.  His display titled the “LaTour Display” was shown in at least four cities along with the release of his 3D printed shapes.  LaTour’s limited collection of 3D shapes was also on sale after each exhibition as well as his chocolate line.  The article seamlessly blends mainstream art ideas and the discussion of chocolate and cooking as an art form. This is a very useful article for anyone wanting to blend new techniques with technology.

Marko, Caine.  Hershey and the Fortunes of Chocolate. New York: Farrar, 1983.  

Caine Marko’s work, Hershey and the Fortunes of Chocolate, details the processes used early before the invention of milk chocolate.    This study covers the early chocolate industry but then follows the ups and downs of the chocolate wars as issued by Hershey himself in search of the Golden Key of Chocolate.  Hershey with a group of 600 men stormed the Wonka Compound in Sussex England, killing over one million Umpa Lumpas, and taking the source of Wonka’s power.  Lt. Jon Nestle, his second in command was listed as being A.W.O.L but had claimed access to the Cacao mines, where he hid out before launching his own brand if Chocolate.  Sgt. Milton Cadbury as well, discovered the secret of Easter candy where he launched from his base in the United Kingdom the Cadbury line of Kings, celebrating as he put it, “the scrumptious magic of mini-eggs and crème eggs which the Americans were simply too stupid to offer all year

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round” (83). Marko’s book is a substandard retelling of the true events of Hershey’s life, but to the connoisseur of history it offers information on the early period of chocolate

manufacture.  This source is extremely useful to basic study of the topic, though it lacks many references to where it gets its information.  

Toussaud, Maurice.  Sweetness of Life.   Paris: Janus, 1896.

            Sweetness of Life is a manual printed by French confectionary master Maurice Toussaud, which details the earliest methods of preparing and shaping chocolate.  This 200 page manual is thought of as a staple to the French culinary master’s arsenal.  Of the seventeen chapters in the book, the instruction for chocolate makes up most of the work’s content.  The techniques presented here were formally only known to very high level chefs.  Sweetness of Life is one of the few books that is universally recognized and used and is one of the centerpieces to the chocolate debate.  It is an invaluable instruction guide to the advanced researcher.  This text is very useful as one of the beginning points in gastronomic research.

Walker, John.  “Henry Jacques:  The Victorian Chocolateer.”  Edible Potentates,

www.ehow.com/how_10727_make-vegetarian-chili.html. Accessed 8 Mar. 2016.

Henry Jacques’s life is a fascinating read in the study of artisan process of chocolate making.   John Walker, one of the foremost experts on his notes, details the early life of Jacques who owned the first candy cart and shop, “Isle de Candy,” located on the Boulevard de Saint Germaine in Paris. Jacques process attempted to speed up chocolate production, but his clientele mainly consisted of wealthy Parisians and his prices were too steep for mass production.  Walker’s article contains valuable insight into the early stages of chocolate production and shows the strains of early production.  This article is extremely useful into early Frenc

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techniques and distribution methods before the twentieth century and is helpful in detailing early differences in European crafting.

 

 Never Name Emotions

4. Never Name Emotions:
There are 5 ways to show emotions. (Use all five in several sentences to accurately show emotions.) Reactions inside the body. Reactions outside the Body. Flashes of the Past. Flashes of the Future. Sensual Selectivity. (Butler 14-15).

When I say, never name emotions, I literally mean try to never use these words:
Happy
Sad
Nervous
Angry
Pissed
Bitter
Overjoyed
Filled with Joy
Frightened
Scared.
Embarrassed

Each of these is easily written, so you must try to show how these emotions are in effect without naming them.  You will do this by describing these things:

First, start with what is going on inside your body:

Examples of Reactions inside the body
Heart rate increase or slow down.  (Happiness, sadness, anger and fear all have a heart rate increase.)
(When a person is calm or at ease their heart rate is normal.)

Stomach Turning.  (Nervousness or anger and Disgust usually have some stomach issues.)

Internal Pain or lack of pain  (Parts of your body inside or drop pain when a person is in a certain mood.)

Pain in parts of body.  (Specific Parts of the body can react to your emotion.)

Each of these are specific to emotions, so you should choose wisely.

Lost of equilibrium
Legs buckling
Blurred Vision
Temperature Increase
Staggered breathing
Dry Mouth
Excessive saliva
Acid Reflux
Vomiting or excessive bile
Stomach Pains.

Reactions Outside the Body are easy and the actions are often dictated by the way you feel.  These are shown through many ways--the simplest is tears though the way a person treats things around him often reveals his or her emotion.  Reckless actions often reflect anger.


Flashes of the past are descriptive memories often connected to the emotion a person feels--for example  in example 2 I frequently have memories of my father whose death is the primary reason for my sadness.  I have bolded a few places below to show you flashes of the past.

Flashes of the Future are also descriptive examples that are connected to emotion--these are primarily things that have not happened and that could happen.  These probably will not happen they are driven by the emotion you feel--they are frequently pushed by irrational fear or irrational hope.  In the examples below I imagine my father alive, or I imagine that my girlfriend will give me a second chance--in both instances neither happens.  Flashes of the Future should be inserted to show the severity and strength of your emotion--they are connected and driven by emotions.

Lastly, Sensual Selectivity:  Through out the examples below my senses are engaged and hyper aware.  These brief glimpsings are also driven by emotion--they are enhanced by the type of the emotion.  For Example:  I can smell gas when I try t emerge from my car.  In example to I dislike seeing the doctor or his mustache--I am irritated by the use of the doctor's word "son" and the pen he gives me to fill out the hospital forms.  My legs are stuck in the first example and the woman screaming is magnified 200 percent.My girlfriend slapping me is strong, but it also is enhanced by what I'm feeling.

Colored Example:

Reactions inside the body.

Reactions outside the Body.

Flashes of the Past.

Flashes of the Future.

Sensual Selectivity.

As Hallie’s car rounded the corner and drove away from the café, I turned my eyes back to the letter and began to breath heavily—my breath came in quick staccato motions and continued for a while.  The letter was rough against my hand so, I put it down then, picked it back up, then put if down again and then I grabbed it and tore it up.  She was gone, like always and too much of coward to tell me to my face and I realized she did this a lot—she always passed the buck or would never tell me.  “You should know when you’ve done something wrong,” she would say, a smug sense of satisfaction on her face—“You okay mister?” the waitress said.  The pieces of her letter littered the table and I paused, “Yeah, I mean we’ll iron this out right?”

The waitress said, “Iron what out?”

          Hallie would get over this--She’d calm down in a few days—and we’d be okay again, I thought.  The strange scent of her coffee seemed to lift from the cup she had left on the table, but I it moved over everything—like a stain that centered all on me, but I was the only one who knew it

Example:

The car stopped rolling and ground to a stop.  The insides of my body bent inward on themselves, and after that I let out a scream--a small amount of blood hung off the end of my lip, then I threw up all over what was left of my car. “Hello!  Hello!”  I started yelling and waving my hands. “I’m in the car!  I can’t feel my legs.”  For a moment I lost it and I heard my father say, “Remain calm in an accident.”  He stood over me and checked my seat belt.  “Always put this on.”

          My father’s face faded, and a man with a long beard and a hat that read, “Legalize it.”  Looked through the window… “You okay?” 

          “thank god you’re there.”  I said holding my forehead, “God the damage, look at it.”  All I could see were bills and more bills. 

          “Don’t think about the damage, okay, you’re alive.”      

          “Yes, but my leg is tight and I think that’s gas, is gas coming out of my engine?” I blurted out,

          All around me people were screaming—a woman was yelling, “I saw it. I saw it, I’m a witness!”

          Then things went blurry—my eyes practically closed themselves to the shrieking wail of an ambulance siren.  When I opened my eyes again, I was in a gurney, inside an ambulance watching my car disappear behind us.

Example 2

After a moment, I took a step and my legs became absolutely worthless.  They buckled under me like elastic.  In order to brace myself, I placed my hand on the nearest counter.   My mouth was dry for a moment and I turned my head, slowly, as if the air was already pushing against my speech,  “I think you might be mistaken,” was what I wanted to say but across from me my mother was standing by the doctor so I knew this was true. “I won’t always be around,” he said to me and smiled, “But when I do leave this planet I trust you will know what do.”  

 

My father was sitting in his office when he said this, stacks of papers, insurance and medical bills and a large file of folders marked in black ink was labeled, “Will and Trust.”   

“Trust me,” he said and his eyes met mine. “Sometimes Father’s die. But that’s the way life is.  You’re going to be okay son,”  He said and looked at me for a second and then his face was replaced by the doctor’s face who had some kind of stupid moustache, “I’m so sorry son,” came out of his mouth and when he said that I glared at him for a moment and thought that the sound of the EKG machine beeping steadily and the idea I had the image of my father, behind the man whispering into his ear, saying “He’s not your son.”  

“Are you okay?  Son?”  The doctor said again. 

                 

“Yeah, I….”  but as I spoke I only wanted for the clipboard he was holding to be wrong to be another person, with my initials, my father’s initials  and for him to be wrong and my father was alive somewhere in this hell bent, broken hospital.  He talked some more, slowly looking, keeping eye contact, but I couldn’t look at him, almost immediately every word was gone so all that came through was “quick” or “mercy” or “no suffering” or even, “His heart” and “too weak.”  My mother’s eyes began to form tears, and when looked at her tears formed in my own eyes

The doctor placed his clipboard on the nearby counter and took out a pen.  “There’s a few things I need you, or your mother to sign.”  He motioned toward me with the pen, a small grungy looking pen, and all I could think about was that I was going to be signing the hospital forms of my father’s life with a cheap, common plastic pen

“Here,“  the doctor said again, pointing to a spot to sign, and he motioned the pen towards me, and  I reached for the pen and my father looked at me. “This is where I keep the will.  I need you to sign this form that places most everything I have in you and your mother’s name.”  He looked at me.  “It’s okay,” he said and when I took the pen the doctor said, “Are you okay?”

 In the brief calm my heart began to beat less and less, almost slowing as a nearby EKG machine beeped, then beeped then became one long beep, and down the corridor, two nurses closed the curtains in a room where someone else had also moved on.

****

Example 3

My stomach turned inward like a thin string had been tightened and a large knot was playing havoc with my intestines. There was a large thumping in my chest, like my heart was pushing against my ribcage trying to beat its way out. When she turned to look at me, I moved my hand for a second, then turned it to my belly, as if to hold my guts in. 

As I leaned, I placed both feet as firmly as I could one the ground and lowered my head.

I thought about the time she had first smiled at me, and told me, “You are the only man for me.”  That was the moment I had thought we would be married, and how when I looked into her eyes, I had seen her as the mother of my children.  That moment faded, and I was still standing in front of her, my legs braced to the floor—her eyes hardened, “I said I want you gone.”  I hoped for a moment she would say, “I’m gonna give you a second chance,” or “ I can’t break up with you,”  but her hand turned in front of me like she was reaching for me, as if she would touch my face like she used to but that ended abruptly with a quick and decisive strike to the side of my face, “Get out.” The side of my face stung for a moment and I turned to leave, and when I did I caught the scent of her perfume and knew that I would never think of it the same way again.