Elyse's journal entry for Sat., Sept.5th, 2009-Introduction summary and Main Points

Summary

I must admit, I found the introduction quite interesting but dense. It took me a good chunk of time to get through. What Lopate set out to do was not only tell us the main points of an effective personal essay but also distinguish it from other types of essays such as the formal essay and the familiar essay, which the author cites as almost indistinguishable from the personal essay. He uses many quotations from some his favorite essayists to describe the various aspects of the personal essay, using Montaigne as a main focal point.
Not surprisingly, the "I" of this particular genre is its foundation. The honesty and personal integrity involved brings us as the reader into the essayist's life and experience. Every author has their own particular style of writing and the personal essay really allows that style to reveal itself. Lopate notes that humor and irony often play a large role in this form of essay and that personal essayists often choose subjects that "go against the grain of popular opinion."
He explains why he laid out the book in the manner that he did. Beginning with essays from the Greco-Roman world, moving through an entire section focused on Montaigne, onto the English essay and concluding with essays from other cultures, Lopate offers reasons for omition of some other noteworthy pieces, such as his resistance to using excerpts from some lengthier essays and the fact that some cultures simply do not generally use the personal essay as a form of literature. The African essayist, for example, tends to have a preference for the public over the personal voice".
Lopate does a tremendous job in his Introduction in sharing his vast knowledge of this form of essay. Like Jim said in class, the Introduction alone is worth the price of the book. His in-depth analysis of not only what does but does make an essay personal is well-researched and presented. This entire section, to be a textbook in itself.


Five Main Points


The conversational element, the first main point, is one of the cornerstones of the personal essay. Dialogue between characters is helpful in establishing the author's relationship with characters he encounters. Another point would be integrity. If the raw honesty of the essayist does not come across, then the essay will most definitely fall flat to the reader. A third main point would be humor. This could come across as outright laugh-out-loud descriptions of people or events or simple observations dripping with irony. One point I particularly enjoyed as part of the introduction was the point of idleness as a facet of the personal essay. Most essayists use everyday, somewhat common experiences to fill their page. Using the past to tell a story would be a final point component of the personal essay, having experiences from our past to reflect upon is the whole point after all.