Cover Letter
Orders of my works:
1. Draft Three: The Greatest
Love in the World
2. Draft Two: With Love3. Draft One: It Is Love That
Spans the Generation Gap
4. Final Time-writing
5. Reading Log
June 20, 2007
To Whom It May Concern,
I am heartily grateful that you take time to read my works in the portfolio. As is listed above, there are five works in my portfolio, including draft three, draft two and draft one, the three of which are essays towards The Americanized of Shadrach Cohen by Bruno Lessing, as well as my final time-writing and the best reading log out of the four I have written in the Academic Writing Class this semester.
The Academic Writing Class ---- my first class by foreign teacher in the past two years’ university study, really helps to improve my English writing skills a lot and realizes my wish to learn from foreign teachers. My teacher Mr. Corio, a kind casual styled uncle with smiles around his mouth all the time, gets the class proceeding orderly and gives detailed comments to our assignment every time, imparting formal writing skills and instructions to us through his comments and the teaching materials. After attending university, I have much less English assignment than in high school, which was the main reason why I felt a little painful at the beginning for its homework after every week’s class. But speaking frankly, obvious effects appeared soon. Instead of hesitating for about an hour before my first word, I had clear ideas just a few minutes after I understand the story thoroughly. As I was writing, many splendid types of sentences rose in my mind and my train of thought continuously gushed forth. Not only do I find back the writing inspiration but I learn a lot of skills and rules in formal writing, which I have never got in touch before. For instance, the normative usage of upper and lower case, the expression of numbers and processes of academic writing, etc. It is such an extraordinary and helpful experience for me that I will treasure and benefit from it all my life.
The third draft of my final essay is the first work that I place in my portfolio presented. It is the longest English essay I’ve ever written and by far the best I think. It presents my writing skills along with my structured ideas best. For about two months I have been working on the essay about my viewpoint towards The Americanized of Shadrach Cohen, and I have written three drafts in all. From draft one to draft three, I made a lot changes according to my teacher and my peer group mate’s opinions as well as my more and more profound understanding of the story. The changes I made involved different aspects, such as the usage of phrases, the arrangement of paragraphs, the frame of the essay, the format, and so on. Certainly there are still some weaknesses in my final draft, and different voices are welcomed from the bottom of my heart here.
Besides the three drafts, my 45 minutes’ time writing and a reading log which is also towards The Americanized of Shadrach Cohen are also posted. Assumptions of Mathilde’s (heroine of The Necklace by Maupassant) new life if she had not lost the neck are told in the time writing. Actually words in this time writing are the most of three, which witnessed the progress I have made. Last but not the least, my reading log, which actually can be called the rudiment of my essay, expresses my original thought toward The Americanized of Shadrach Cohen. Contrasts can be made between my drafts and the reading log, and I do believe that advancement is obvious.
Thanks for taking time to read my works. Hope you will enjoy them and get what I learned in my class. Of course, I am quite anxious for your comments.
Sincerely,
Sophia
Draft Three
Sophia Ruan
June 13, 2007
Draft 3The Greatest Love in the World
With a great amount of description on dialogs and movement in The Americanization of Shadrach Cohen, Bruno Lessing narrated a story about the process of contradiction, conflict, and reconciliation in a newly Jewish immigrant family in New York. Shadrach Cohen, the hero, invited by his two sons, came to the United States dreaming of the reunion of the family. However, discord arose soon after his arrival in view of the discrepancy caused by the wide generation gap. Then one day, when Shadrach was fed up with their rude and contempt manner, his temper finally erupted and it burst out to be a conflict, since when his sons were no longer allowed to run the business but assigned to be salesmen with no objection. Instead, Shadrach himself took over the business and by use of his rich experience and outstanding talent in business management; he made a tremendous success and won his sons’ admiration. In the end, with both great efforts, they reached the balance of their previous contrary attitudes towards whether to become Americanized. It was love between Shadrach and his sons that spanned the wide generation gap which aroused disharmony, and moreover, conflicts.
The thesis boils down to two aspects: love from father and love from sons.
To begin with, Shadrach never concealed his affection to his sons, which was the main reason why he always accepted any financial demands raised by the sons and put up with their defiant manner to his living habits and beliefs.
Disappointed as he was, Shadrach always tried to control his temper with greatest tolerance. Every time Abel and Gottlieb requested that Shadrach should change his life style and get Americanized to adapt himself to the US society, what Shadrach did was just “shut his lips tightly for a moment” and “keep his beard as it is” (46), though surprised, without irritation. As long as the sons raised a claim for money to run their business, Shadrach never asked too much but just gave support. He “seemed to take no interest in their business affairs”, but “responded cheerfully to all their requests for money” (47). Sometime he was so dismayed that he even felt money “was the only bond between him and his sons” (47). It can be concluded that disappointments inevitably arose in his heart, which was concealed before his sons and could only be occasionally confided to Marta, the maid having accompanied him for years. What he had been looking forward to in Russia, the dream of having a easeful life with sons, is broken. An old man living miles away from his homeland, whose only relatives were two disappointing sons, isn’t it love that carried him through all these depressions and estrangement with sons?The deeper the love reaches, the more severely the feelings get hurt. When Gottlieb refused to take Shadrach to meet his girlfriend on account of Shadrach’s way of life and appearance, Shadrach’s temper finally erupted, which burst out a dumbfounding tone, which “Gottlieb had not heard since he was a little boy” (45). Feelings of disappointment, aggravation and depression, repressed since he stepped on this continent, came flooding all at that moment. It was because of love that he felt disappointed when the sons asked him to abandon his ways. It was because of love that he was enraged when Gottlieb rejected his sincere and fervent wish. It was because of love that he finally came round becoming stern and unyielding. The purpose was to let them rediscover what is respect and personhood, which is also every parent’s supreme desire.
When it comes to the other line: love from sons, clues can be found from the following plots between lines. When the business began to prosper and they finally “saw vistas of prosperity beyond their wildest dreams”, the brothers “began to look upon their father with increasing respect” (50). That was when admiration first arose in their mind. Gradually they “yielded to the shrewdness of his brain”, and “became proud of their father” (50). From asking for money only to “learning the value of discipline, the beauty of filial reverence and the severe joy of the earnest life”, from urging Shadrach to become Americanized to picking up the praying habit themselves, Abel and Gottlieb’s attitudes changed sharply as Shadrach had shown his great talent in making money.
Dramatic conversion made his appearance for certain reasons. Nothing but the love brought about this tremendous change. Generation gap is the core of this story. Five years of separation in two distant countries with extremely diverse culture and religion believes largely responsible for the gap, the difference in thoughts and life styles, also the weakened relationship. There are no children who have an aversion to their parents. So it was with Abel and Gottlieb. Perhaps years of separation diluted their feelings of affection, and maybe in America, so commercialized a country, they lost their original guileless character and earnest life. Nevertheless, love shouldn’t be ignored. Having become Americanized, they felt that Shadrach was out-dated and old-fashioned. Misunderstanding brought about disrespect and impiety. But Shadrach’s fantastic business skills conquered them and lit up the extinguished fire of love to the father. If there are not affection and identification with Shadrach implanted in both of their minds, they would not appreciate or be proud of what he did but just keep on asking for money all day and being two bad halfpennies. After all, in spite of the vast differences of their living habits and beliefs, they are still lying in one of the most intimate relationship in the world ---- father and sons. No matter what dilutes the instinctive feeling, as long as some stimulus appears, in this story, Shadrach’s extraordinary talent, love from the deepest their hearts comes out. That’s why they behave so differently, as Gottlieb brought her girlfriend to Shadrach and they both picked up the praying habit.Love between parents and children is human nature, which can never be expunged. It is born before the children are born, when they are still in their mothers’ uteruses, and dies after the parents die, who leave all they have to their beloved children. When you face severe pressure in career, parents’ love gives the strongest support. When you are trapped in your dream of romance world and can’t help yourself out, parents’ love provides the warmest solicitude. When you make a great mistake which even can not be forgiven by yourself, parents’ love offers the broadest tolerance. Only love can help a person overcome all the reverses and change him thoroughly. Like Shadrach and his sons in this story, they made changes to meet each other’s demands and finally found the balance, retrieving the most valuable relationship.
Only love----the greatest thing in the world----can make it through all the obstacles.
Work Cited:
The Americanization of Shadrach Cohen by Bruno Lessing(1870-1940), United States, 1903
Draft Two
Sophia Ruan
May 22, 2007
Draft Two
With Love
With a great amount of description on dialogs and movement in The Americanization of Shadrach Cohen, Bruno Lessing narrated a story about the process of contradiction, conflict, and conciliatory in a newly Jewish immigrant family in New York. Shadrach Cohen, the hero, invited by his two sons, came to the US dreaming of the reunion of the family. However, contradiction arose soon after his arrival, in view of the discrepancy caused by the wide generation gap. Then one day, while Shadrach was fed with their rude and contempt manner, his temper finally erupted and it burst out to be a conflict, since when his sons were no longer allowed to run the business but assigned to be salesmen with no objection. Instead, Shadrach himself took over the business and by use of his rich experience and outstanding talent in business management, he made a tremendous success and won his sons’ admiration. In the end, with both great efforts, they reached the balance of their previous contrary attitudes towards becoming Americanized.
From my point of view, it is love between Shadrach and his sons that spans the wide generation gap, which arouses disharmony, and moreover, conflicts.
It can be reduced to two aspects to demonstrate my point: love from father and love from the sons.
Firstly, also the obvious one, Shadrach never concealed his affection to his sons, which is the main reason why he always accepted any financial demands raised by the sons and put up with their defiant manner to his living habits and beliefs.
To find out more details to demonstrate my viewpoint, let us refer to the original text.
When Abel and Gottlieb met Shadrach at the pier, their first reaction was not to take him home with them, but to ask him to “go to a barber to trim your beard and make you like more like an American”(Line 1, Paragraph 6). And their explanation was “no one wears a beard like yours except the newly landed Russian Jews” (L1-2, P9). What Shadrach did was just “shut his lips tightly for a moment” and “keep his beard as it is” (P11), though surprised, no irritation.
Shadrach “seemed to take no interest in their business affairs, but he responded, almost cheerfully, to all their requests for money. He began to feel that this, after all, was the only bond between him and his sons.”(L5-8, P23) As long as the sons raised a claim for money to run their business, Shadrach never asked too much but just gave support. From the latter quoted sentence we can conclude that disappointments inevitably arose in his heart. What he had been looking forward to in Russia, the peaceful life with sons, is broken. Isn’t it love that carried him through all these depressions and estrangement with sons?
When Gottlieb refused to take Shadrach to meet his girlfriend on account of Shadrach’s way of life and looking, Shadrach’s temper finally erupted, which burst out to be a dumbfounding tone, which “Gottlieb had not heard since he was a little boy”(P45). Feelings of disappointment, aggravation and depression, repressed since he arrived in this land, came flooding all at that moment. It is because of love that he felt disappointed when the sons asked him to abandon his ways. It is because of love that he was hurt when Gottlieb refused his sincere and fervent wish. It is because of love that he finally got mad and became stern and unyielding, taking over the business himself and demoted his sons. The purpose was to let them rediscover what is respect and personhood.
When it comes to the other line: love from the sons, I have to read between lines to find the clues. But it can still be inferred from the following plots.
“As the business of Shadrach Cohen increased, and even the sons saw vistas of prosperity beyond their wildest dreams, they began to look upon their father with increasing respect.” “They promptly yielded to the shrewdness of his brain.” “The sons of Shadrach Cohen became proud of their father.”
Obviously, Abel and Gottlieb’s attitudes towards Shadrach had a tremendous change after he took over the business.
Shadrach having shown his great talent in making money, Abel and Gottlieb’s attitudes changed from asking for money only to “learning the value of discipline, the beauty of filial reverence and the severe joy of the earnest life”, from urging him to become Americanized to picking up the praying habit themselves.
Let us return to the fundamental question of “what causes the generation gap”. In this case, I consider that 5 years of separation in two distant countries with extremely diverse culture and religion belief is largely responsible for the gap, the difference in thoughts and life styles, also the weakened relationship.
There are no children who have an aversion to their parents. So it was with Abel and Gottlieb. Maybe years of separation dilute their feelings of affection, and maybe in America, a so commercialized country, they lost their original guileless character and earnest life. Nevertheless, love shouldn’t be ignored. Having become Americanized, they felt that Shadrach was out-dated and old-fashioned. Misunderstanding brought about disrespect and impiety. But, Shadrach’s fantastic business skills conquered them and lit up the extinguished fire of love to Father. If there aren’t affection and identification with Shadrach implanted in both of their minds, they would not appreciate or be proud of what Shadrach did but just keep on asking for money all day and being two bad halfpennies. After all, in spite of the vast differences of their living habits and beliefs, they are still lying in one of the most intimacy relationship in the world ---- father and sons. Maybe years of separation dilutes their feelings of affection, as long as some stimulus appears, in this story, Shadrach’s extraordinary talent, love from deep into their hearts comes out. That’s why they behave so differently, when Gottlieb brought her girlfriend to Shadrach and they both picked up the praying habit.
Love between father and sons is human nature, which can never be expunged. Just as I always believe, only love can overcome all the crisis and change a person thoroughly. Like Shadrach and his sons in this story, they made changes to meet each other’s demands and finally found the balance.
Only love can do.
Draft One
Sophia Ruan
May 8, 2007
Draft One
It Is Love That Spans The Generation Gap
In the ending of The Americanization of Shadrach Cohen, the Cohens finally reached the balance of their previous contrary attitudes towards becoming Americanized. From my point of view, it is love between Shadrach and his sons that spans the wide generation gap, which arouses disharmony, and moreover, conflicts.
It can be reduced to two aspects to demonstrate my point: love from father and love from the sons.
Firstly, also the obvious one, Shadrach never concealed his affection to his sons, which is the main reason why he always accepted any financial demands raised by the sons and put up with their defiant manner to his living habits and beliefs.
To find more details to prove my viewpoint, let us refer to the original text.
When Abel and Gottlieb met Shadrach at the pier, their first reaction was not to take him home with them, but to ask him to “go to a barber to trim your beard and make you like more like an American”(Line 1, Paragraph 6). And their explanation was “no one wears a beard like yours except the newly landed Russian Jews” (L1-2, P9). What Shadrach did was just “shut his lips tightly for a moment” and “keep his beard as it is” (P11), though surprised, no irritation.
Shadrach “seemed to take no interest in their business affairs, but he responded, almost cheerfully, to all their requests for money. He began to feel that this, after all, was the only bond between him and his sons.”(L5-8, P23) As long as the sons raised a claim for money to run their business, Shadrach never asked too much but just gave support. From the latter sentence we can conclude that disappointments inevitably arose in his heart. What he had been looking forward to in Russian, the peaceful life with sons, is broken. Isn’t it love that carried him through all these depressions and estrangement with sons?
When Gottlieb refused to take Shadrach to meet his girlfriend on account of Shadrach’s way of life and looking, Shadrach’s temper finally erupted, which burst out to be a dumbfounding tone, which “Gottlieb had not heard since he was a little boy”(P45). Feelings of disappointment, aggravation and depression, repressed since he arrived in this land, came flooding all at that moment. It is because of love that he felt disappointed when the sons asked him to abandon his ways. It is because of love that he was hurt when Gottlieb refused his sincere and fervent wish. It is because of love that he finally got mad and became stern and unyielding, taking over the business himself and demoted his sons. The purpose was to let them rediscover what is respect and personhood.
When it comes to the other line: love from the sons, I have to read between lines to find the clues. But it can be inferred from the following plots.
“As the business of Shadrach Cohen increased, and even the sons saw vistas of prosperity beyond their wildest dreams, they began to look upon their father with increasing respect.” “They promptly yielded to the shrewdness of his brain.” “The sons of Shadrach Cohen became proud of their father.”Obviously, Abel and Gottlieb’s attitudes towards Shadrach experienced a tremendous change after he took over the business, on account of his talent in running a company and making money. In my opinion, what caused this change is the love from the sons to their father. If there aren’t affection and identification with Shadrach implanted in both of their minds, they would not appreciate or be proud of what Shadrach did, even if Shadrach achieved a great success in his business. After all, in spite of the vast differences of their living habits and beliefs, they are still lying in one of the most intimacy relationship in the world ---- father and sons. Maybe years of separation dilutes their feelings of affection, as long as some stimulus appears, in this story, the great success Shadrach achieved, love from the bottom of their hearts comes out. That’s why they behave so differently, when Gottlieb brought her girlfriend to Shadrach and they both picked up the praying habit.
Love between father and sons is human nature, which can never be expunged. Just as I always believe, only love can overcome all the crisis and change a person thoroughly. Like Shadrach and his sons in this story, they made changes to meet each other’s demands and finally found the balance.
Only love can do.
Final Time Writing
0557113
Sophia Ruan
June 21, 2007
Time-writing Three
From the Necklace, what might have been the quality of Mme. Loisel’s life if she had not lost the necklace? Is her life better or worse now?
As vanity was planted deeply into Mme. Loisel’s mind, even if she had not lost the necklace, her life would not be improved a lot. From my viewpoint, though she might lead an easier life without the oppressive debt caused by the lost necklace, but her life is rarely better than the original one. It is nothing but her characteristic of vanity that determines her fate.
To figure out this problem, we have to find out the essential cause of Mme. Loisel’s tough life. She as well as her husband had to work from dawn to dusk for twenty years in order to pay back the debt borrowed to buy a new necklace which was meant to cover for the lost one. And the original necklace was borrowed from her friend to and lost in the party. As a matter of fact, a necklace was unnecessary for the party. The reason why Mathilde insisted on wearing one was her vanity, dominated by which she thought that a beautiful woman like her ought to have the fairest evening wear and jewelries and dress like a princess. So she urged her husband to buy her a new dress and borrowed a necklace from her friend, which were all done to cater for her vanity. As is said, vanity led to her tragic life and it is her destiny.
The lost of the necklace was just an occasional incident. Even if Mme. Loisel had not lost the necklace, other forms of these “incidents” would have happened in her life as long as her vanity still existed in her mind. What the probable circumstance would be like is that she does not have to work so hard and struggle for the debt for years, while her husband has no choice but work even harder to satisfy her. They are not to become rich but to stay poor all their lives, the quality of which is low, and their life is hardly better. Perhaps twenty years of the terrible owing-debt life gave her an opportunity to speculate her fault which could not be obtained in other circumstances.
Reading Log----Americanized
Filial piety is the first priority to other virtues
While reading “The Americanization of Shadrach Cohen”, what impresses me most is the attitude in which the two sons treat their father, in that it recalls me my bad temper and impatient tone when talking with parents.
Like Abel and Gottlieb in this story, sometimes I just find it difficult to get into their world and understand how things work in their mind, maybe just as how they think of me along with my “stupid” and illogical behavior.
As the freshest and the most vigorous generation in the society, I take it for granted that youths like us should seek something funny and risky, enjoy every gathering moment and keep passionate pursuing what we long for, even though at times it’s a bit far from routine. There are no less than 10 times that I quarreled with Mum about my dress and appearance. She always complains about my “too fashionable” toilette, while I’m not satisfied with her out-of-date garmenture. Although after every argument I would say sorry to Mum on the next morning, disagreeable feelings have inevitably aroused in our hearts and done harm to our relationship. In fact I always feel regretful for what I said and the bitter reaction I behave immediately I have calmed down and gone over the whole argument. But somehow I just can’t control my awful temper at that very moment, for which I’m quite annoyed with myself.
The more tolerant my parents are, the more ashamed I feel of my poor manner. As the Chinese saying goes, filial piety is the first priority to other virtues. Trying to be more amiable, which is also a symbol of maturity to me, is what I’m making great effort to achieve right now. Changing one’s character is somewhat like walking on thorn with barefoot, tough but worth trying, as long as it is advantageous to relationships between someone you really care about and yourself.