Skunk Dreams

Louise Erdrich writes from The Georgia Review a fasinating, yet unique and slightly confusing piece called "Skunk Dreams."

As i read the title "Skunk Dreams", I couldn't help to think that this was going to be just another stupid little article about skunks and the dreams that they have, however, as I started adventuring through, my assumption was quickly proven wrong. Erdrich starts the article in a very interesting way explaining how she was sleeping on a football field under the beautiful spring North Dakota night, when a skunk suddenly sat down and slept right next to her. Terrified at first, Erdrich did not move a muscle. Though within moments, she describes how she becomes relaxed and her mind drifts, beginning to wonder if skunks have dreams as humans do.

As the story progresses, Eldrich has a detailed dream of a fence, fully grown trees, an elk, and much more. I became very intrigued and actually thought more to myself the dreams animals might have and if they relate to human dreams in any sort of way.  

Eldrich moves out of North Dakota and into New Hampshire where she has forgotten about her dream. At first she does not like New Hampshire. She explains how she has become "urbanzied and sedentary." "The woods seemed bogus"--she writes. "The sky small and oddly lit, as if by an electric bulb." However, after a few years of living in the contry, she finally realizes that to "get outside" is not a fifteen minute car ride, it is simply right infront of her very own eyes.

Eldrich soon begins to adventure outside, and she realizes that she becomes fasinated with the scenery and especially the wind. She takes a stroll into the woods and finds trees everywhere, big ones and small ones. She finds  X wire, elk, and even a fence. Just like her dream. She wanted to get inside and explore with the animals. Overcome that obstacle. Eldrich learns that this is a hunting club and soon finds a gab in the fence to see what lies ahead.

After reading this story, I was a bit confused. I felt as if it jumped around and I often found myself lost in what I was reading. I found the whole story to be very well written, I thought the beginning and the end were very clear, the middle is where I drew confusion. Eldrich overcame her obstacles and makes a great point when she writes "Without obstacles, the notion of developmetn is inconveivable." This quote made me really think, and try to place it into my very own life.

Overall, this story was very well writen and made some very good points. I just dont understand exactly what the point of this article was, but hopefully after some discussion with some class mates I will get a better grasp on things.

Talk of the Town...What's My Opinion?

John Updike and Susan Sontag both share their personal experiences and opinions on the effects and causes of 9/11 in an essay from The New Yorker's "Talk of the Town." Each writer has their own indivudal style and belifes. These things are heavily portrayed in each article, making myself become engaged and quite interested.

If I had to choose one out of the two articles that I liked better, I would have to go with John Updike's. I love the way the article was written as a whole. Updike witnessed 9/11 through an apartment building in Brooklyn Heighs; he explained everything he saw and experienced with such detail that I thought as if I were there as well. Updike painted clear images in my head throughout the whole article, "The bodies are beneath the rubble, the last-minute cell-phone calles--remarkably calm and loving, many of them--are still being reported..." Updike's article went out with a bang, setting the scene very well; however, although the ending was happy and peaceful, I was not a huge fan of the way the article was finished. In my opinion, the ending was weak, and I was hoping for something more.

Apart from John Updike's article, Susan Sontag writes in a completely different manner. Sontag is a very opionated woman, who evidently is not a fan of our goverment. The beginning of this article was a bit fuzzy to me, but as I continued to proceed, it imporved and became more powerful. She emphasizes that everything is not O.K and the public figures in our office need to stop avoiding the truth. Reality needs to be met, and we as a country, desearve to know what is going on. Unlike Updike's article, Sontag's ended with that bang. She says it how it is.."Let's by all means grieve together. but let's not be stupid together." I really liked this quote, because it made a lot of sense to me. It stated what needed to be said in a short and simple way.

9/11 was a terribly horrific event that really tested how our country could come together. John Updike shared his experiences through his very own eys, portraying that image that was easily detected. On the other hand, Susan Sontag criticizes the government and may just be a little too opionated for some. I, myself being one of them.

All about Me, Myself, and I

Hello there, my name is Michelle Elizabeth Witt and I am currently seventeen years old. I enjoyed Composition my junior year, so I decided it might be fun to take up AP Composition my senior year. I have heard it is a lot of work, reading, and writting; but, I am up for the challenge. I am not the best writter to begin with, so hopefully by taking AP Comp this will change.


Some things everyone might want to know about me is that I have lived in McFarland basically my whole entire life. I am also a very athletic girl and I love to play volleyball and run track. I started playing club volleyball in sixth grade and I have loved it ever since. I'm excited for my senior year of volleyball and hope the team can get a conference win! I also am hoping to continue to play the sport in college as well. Besides for volleyball, I often am hanging out with my freinds or found outside enjoying the weather.


As far as the future, like I mentioned before, I am hoping to play volleyball in college. With that being said, I really have no idea where I want to go to college. It is all up in the air as of now. I intend to persue a career in the Medical Field; however, I am not exact on what I want that to be. I always wanted to be a child psychologist when I was younger, but that dream has drifted to physical therapy, occupational therapy, or something along those lines. Hopefully I will make up my mind soon, I'm sure this year will go quickly.


This is only a little bit about my life, but hopefully you now know more about me, some of the things that I enjoy, and the goals that I have for myself in the future. I can't wait for AP Comp!