Essay Responses

The three essays, "Silent Dancing", "The Stunt Pilot", and "Ali in Havana" all had their own unique tones and purposes, but still maintained what it is that makes a good essay. Each of the essays were very descriptive. They included conversations and events that were unique to their experiences. Another thing I realized is that each story was telling an event or a group of events that lead up to something that changed how the author view something or acted from that point on. The essays had meaning and purpose to them; they weren't just pointless stories for entertainment. The essays were still very different, however. "Silent Dancing" was a much more personal story, letting the reader know the kind of life the author lived. Ortiz uses her native language in many of the descriptions and explanations, which really gives the reader a better feel for how things are where Ortiz lived. There is a lot of culture in this essay, and she does a good job of showing it. "The Stunt Pilot" had a lot more informative observations, but it was still told in a story format. I liked how this was done, because it gave a lot of good information, while keeping the reader interested. "Ali in Havana" was sort of an in between story for me. This story was still based on being informative, but it had more of a personal feel to it than did "The Stunt Pilot". However, it was not as abstract as was "Silent Dancing."
Overall, every essay had the same basic principles to them; keep the reader interested, be organized, and have a purpose to the story.