Page 269 - Wordsmith A Guide to College Writing

And those dead folks would give anything, anything at all for just five
minutes of this weather or ten minutes of that plowing that person was

grumbling about. So you watch yourself about complaining, Sister.

What you’re supposed to do when you don’t like a thing is change it. If

you can’t change it, change the way you think about it. Don’t

complain.”

Thinking about the Essay

1. Examples provide specific instances that help a reader

understand a more general point. Look at the two specific

examples of complainers: Brother Thomas in the second

paragraph and an unnamed whiner in the third paragraph. How
do those specific examples help you understand what a whiner

does in general? In other words, if you were the proverbial

visitor from another planet where whining did not exist, how

would you describe a whiner after reading about the two

whiners in Angelou’s essay?
2. Narration helps essay writers make a point by telling a story.

Although the point may become evident as the story unfolds,

writers often reinforce the point at the end of the story. Based

on the last paragraph, what is the point of Angelou’s story?

Which character is used to convey the point?

3. Description helps readers understand an essay in the same
way that they understand the world: through sight, hearing,

taste, touch, and smell. Look at the words used at the

beginning of paragraphs 2 and 3 to describe the voices of the

whiners. Then look at the description of the grandmother’s body