Write!

A few weeks ago we had an assignment in a Theory of Writing class about "writing as punishment." We had to create an imaginative representation of writing as punishment and something that created a new insight into the whole subject. So I made fortune cookies...... which I called unfortunate cookies. They were filled with all these rather discouraging messages such as "Your GPA is too low," "You will never fit in," etc. Just things kids might hear in high school that would really screw with their self-worth and idea of self.




People brought up some really good things in class about how for some reason we see writing as way more authoritative than speech, because supposedly we have to pause and think before we actually put pen to paper, or finger to keyboard, whatever the case maybe. People also brought up how the "destiny" aspect of picking out your own cookie, made it seem like that cookie was meant for you, and maybe your GPA is too low. The comment I liked the most was that you can't talk back to a written message like that, just a terse line about your failings. There is no explanation on the part of the writer and no ability to defend yourself on the part of the reader.