Duquesnel 1

Michael Duquesnel

Professor Lindsey Gevry

College Writing

27 August 2019

Literacy Narrative

The literacy journey that I have been on throughout my life is one of ups and downs.

Whenever I think of literacy, a part of me tenses up a little bit. This is due to the plethora of

events that have happened over my lifetime. Although I started off really enjoying reading, a

couple of negative experiences in my early teens really turned me off of reading. This stigma has

stuck with me this whole time, but I try to move beyond it. The beginning of my literary journey

begins in my elementary school days, where reading time was quite enjoyable to me. Commented [GL1]: This is a very strong intro that helps
the reader understand the kind of story you will tell and
what it is about!
I can think back to the classroom in which reading became a joy in my own life. It was

Mr. Tabor’s fourth-grade class and we were reading the book, Old Yeller. Never before had I

ever been so invested in a novel than I had with the adventures of a boy and his dog. If my

memory serves me correctly, I remember that we were reading the book as a class, but I was so

invested that I started to read ahead. Little did I know, spoiler alert, that the dog dies in the end.

In my mind, I see my head leaned against the desk, tears streaming down my face as my best

friend, Carson, taps me on the shoulder to make sure that I was ok. This novel changed my

opinion of reading. Never before had I ever been so invested in a novel, and from there, I had

really loved reading books for the emotions that they tried to convey. Commented [GL2]: This example is so powerful and
speaks to you as a reader and the power of reading.
From this example, I can really see how much you put
Then the teenage angst days started to roll in. When the hormones started to pump, I into reading and how you got carried away in books.
Do you ever still get this feeling when you read?
became less and less enthusiastic about reading books. Being told to read a novel in which I had
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no interest in even opening really upset preteen me. The final straw was in the eighth grade when

Mrs. Lowman, my English teacher, who I was not very fond of, was giving out the last book of

the year. At this point in the school year, I am looking to take it as easy as possible. I was always

placed in the hardest book group and this time,time; I was looking for a change. Approaching

Mrs. Lowman, I asked her if I could be placed in the group that was reading The Outsiders, the

middle difficulty group, instead of the highest difficulty group, who would be reading Gulliver’s Commented [GL3]: I gave up reading this book a long
time ago!
Travels. In the end, it turned out that my request was in vain; I was placed in the group I had Commented [GL4R3]:

tried to avoid being placed in. Now I was forced to read to a novel in which I had absolutely no Commented [GL5]: Why do you think she put you in
that group? Did you disagree with her decision for
reasons other than wanting to read a less difficult
interest in reading. This also started me down a road of falling asleep when I have been bored book?

with reading, which definitely had consequences down the road.

Although this seems incredibly simple and not that big of a deal, it was enough of a push

in the wrong direction to scare me away from reading for a while. This mindset is one that I took

into the first couple of years of high school. I was always disappointed with the choices of books

that I had to read in class. Deep down, I enjoyed reading books like Of Mice and Men and To Kill Commented [GL6]: Do you know what it was about
these books that made you enjoy them? I remember
reading Of Mice and Men in one sitting and enjoying it
a Mockingbird, but I refused to let my enjoyment show through my facade of teen angst. This immensely. That started my love of Steinbeck!

facade was not taken down until junior year when I was in for a true literature surprise.

At the end of my sophomore year, I decided to enroll in the International Baccalaureate

program. I had heard from my peers that the teachers in the program were all amazing, so I

decided to give it a shot. This entailed taking IB English Literature, a class in which I had no real

interest in taking but figured I could survive through it. The teacher, Mr. Stetson, was one that I

had previously and I had enjoyed his class, so what’s the worst that could happen? When he Commented [GL7]:

brought out the first book of the semester, A Thousand Splendid Suns, a book about people living

in Pakistan during the war, I had no idea what to expect. What I was not aware of was how much
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I would enjoy this book. It caught my full attention as I read page after page to reach the
conclusion of the book, even reading ahead at some points because of my enjoyment of the book.
My love for literature had come back!
This wasn’t the only book that helped in bringing my love of literature back to the
foreground. Seeing the future through Aldous Huxley’s eyes as he explores the utopia of Brave
New World recharged my imagination. Exploring the Japanese countryside from the alternating
perspectives of Kafka and Nakata in Kafka on the Shore had me clamoring to solve their
mysteries. Running from the police with Said in The Thief and the Dogs kept me on the edge of
my seat, as I turned the page in suspense! I only have Mr. Stetson to thank for this boost of life
into literature. Without my IB English literature class, I would not be in love with literature as I
am today.
Through the roller coaster that is my literary journey, I have gone through more ups and
downs than I wish I did. Although this may seem like the end, my journey still has a long way to
go. As of right now, I have a pretty good outlook on reading and writing and do not dread it as
much as I used to. Although I would love to say that the cold shiver that reading gave me has
gone completely away, I would be lying. Deep down, I am still skeptical of it all, but that’s the
thing about a journey, it does not always need to have a definitive ending, and that’s alright.
Commented [GL8]: Can you think of any reasons other
than the book choice that contributed to your love or
reading returning? Was there something that your
teacher did or said or an attitude he had that helped
you enjoy the book? Was it the subject of the book, the
style of writing, etc.? You do a great job of including
very specific examples that are really helpful and clear!
Now just dig deeper and give the reader even more
insight into those memories and emotions.
Commented [GL9R8]:
Commented [GL10]: Do you think Mr. Stetson just
selected interesting books? Or did he something else
to help you dive back into literature?
Commented [GL11]: Before your next draft, focus on
defining literacy and writing and incorporating your
understanding of each into your narrative. Your examples
should be used to support your views on literacy and writing
and help you make an overall statement about
writing/literacy. You provide so many detailed, vivid, and
interesting examples of reading, do you have any examples
of your writing? How can you cohesively incorporate writing
into your next draft?