Alexander Mora, author of the literacy narrative, “Two Stories That Changed My Life”(2023), shows the way he was able to overcome the obstacles of reading and writing. Throughout his narrative, he was able to show the way he found himself enjoying both reading and writing through his interests. This was possible through his peer who introduced him to reading a book based on of a show he watched. As well as through a film he watched a few years ago that helped him see and appreciate the work of writers and writing in general. Over the last week, we were able to converse and explore the aspect of his viewpoints in both reading and writing.
Mora’s journey is an interesting one that helps the reader see things in a new perspective. Throughout his writing journey, Mora talks about the way he found a different way of thinking about writing when he was watching a movie. When asked about the way he interprets writing, Mora states, “… I try to put myself in their perspective…”. The way he interprets writing is something that is intriguing because it all happened due to a film that moved him very much. And when questioned about how he came up with that thought, he stated how,”…in the night I just thought of that…”. As a writer he shows how he is able to see things in a different way and it helped him find interest and appreciate writing.
In the Literacy Narrative, Two Stories That Changed My Life (2023), Alexander Mora, college student, asserts that he used to dislike reading and writing and suggests that through certain influences and experiences, his viewpoint on reading and writing changed and made him find joy in them. He backs up this claim by doing the following: first, he explained how he would prefer watching cartoons and video games and how it just wasn’t his favorite thing to do; next, he talked about the turning point of his view when his 4th grade classmate showed him a manga on his favorite anime, Naruto, and a few years ago when he watched a movie that touched him a lot; lastly, he explains how the manga helped him change his view on reading and how up to now he still collects this manga and how the movie helped him appreciate writing because of how much meaning a writer put into it. Mora appears to write in hopes to change how we view this and to realize that we can find joy in these things by finding something in relation to this in order to make the negative connotations associated with reading and writing stop in the reading society. Because of the author’s casual tone, it seems as if he writes for an audience who don’t think they’ll ever find any joy in these based on the difference in their likes and preferences compared to reading and writing.
The way the author uses certain words to convey emotions is interesting because he is able to make the reader relate or fully understand his emotions. He used words like “hate” or “enamored” which showed how he felt towards reading and writing in different points of his life. He starts off describing the way he felt toward reading and how much he dreaded it and later on explained how fascinated he felt after finding a good reason to read. The same way about writing, how he at first wasn’t so comfortable with writing, and still doesn’t love it, he expresses how much respect and admiration he has for writers after a touching experience with a movie,
“ I started to love analyzing people’s writing and the ways they would write their stories.” His ongoing use of emotion helps the reader understand and relate to his experiences by putting the reader in his shoes and his perspective.
Works Cited
Interview Transcript Kimberly Rivera, Alexander Mora
