Homework 25- Story Comments and Analysis

Comments:
Kate-
I really liked your story because it was new and fresh. Most people talk about how the popular girl is cool because she makes fun of others, but in your story your girl is cool because she stands up for others. That was a nice twist, and i really liked how you wrote your story and how it flows. Great job =)
-Rachel

Henry,
I really enjoyed reading your story. i like how you wrote it, and how the story flows. Your story did an amazing job of explaining your point of view on what or who is cool, and what goes into being cool. good job =)
-Rachel

Jia Min,
I love your story. The dialogue makes the story easy to be able to connect to, because i can imagine these people talking. I also like how you made your character cool because of the fact that she stood up for another person. She wasn't afraid to stand up for someone who couldn't stand up for himself. Your story did a great job portraying what you thought the definition of cool involved.
-Rachel

Amber,
Although your story was short, i think it clearly got your point across. You incorperated so much into so little, if that makes any sense. i like how you portrayed the "cool" girl as the girl who does not care what authority thinks of her. I have read several other people's short stories, but yours is the first one to focus on rebelling being cool. great job =)
-Rachel

Maggie,
I really like your story. No dialogue is used, nor is it needed. Your point gets across clearly and your story makes so much sense. Your cool girl doesn't need the popular girl or the jock, she doesn't need several friends. She's just herself. I also like how your story flows, and how you described the girls clothing, to paint an image in our mind.
great job (:
-Rachel

Carrie,
I really like your story. It flowed nicely, and what your definition of cool was shown in this story. Your character captivates her audience by just being herself. I also agree with Jia Min, your last sentence was a great ending and my favorite line in your story.
-Rachel

Analysis
In several of the stories I have read, I have noticed that everyone has different definitions of the word “cool”. Some people perceive the word cool as that popular rebel character, as shown in Amber’s story (http://amberm93.blogspot.com/), or they perceive the word cool as the character who helps our others, as shown in Kate (http://kated2010.blogspot.com/) or Jia Min’s stories (http://sy17.blogspot.com/). Reading these stories helped open my eyes to the fact that many people perceive what is cool in different ways. There is not one universal definition of cool, rather several definitions, fit to the person who states it.

In Kate and Jia Min’s story, they chose to portray their character as cool because they helped others out. To them, being cool is about helping others. I also noticed that in both stories, the person in need was less “cool” or less “popular”, more along the “geeky” or “nerdy” type. In our society, we connect being uncool with be the geek or the loser.

In Maggie and Henry’s stories, they portrayed the cool character as the “quiet” type. They didn’t feel the need to talk to other people, or associate themselves with the whispers around them. By reading their stories, I came to the conclusion that Maggie and Henry believe that cool people don’t care what other people think, and they don’t feel the need to associate themselves with everyone.

In Amber’s story, the main character rebels against authority, She does not care what her principal says about her, and dares him to expel her, as he threatened to do. This shows me that Amber’s definition of cool involves not listening to adults, or rebelling.

Everyone has a different definition of the word “cool”, and after reading these stories, I was able to have a glimpse at what other people’s definition of cool is. These stories were interesting to read, and it was fun to read stories made by my classmates and friends.