Analysis of "The House"

An Analysis of “The House” “The House” by Kim Krupp Pepe is a selection about a girl and her memories of her old house as a child. The main idea is that she is grown up and will never experience the same memories as she once had, but she also cherishes her memories of the house that she once lived in as a child. For example, in the last paragraph, she states that “Now I’m always kind of torn between being sad because I feel like a child and yet knowing I am not and can never be again. Another part of me feels happy for having a place where all my past is stored and secreted away.” The rhetorical purpose of this selection is expressive. In an expressive paper, there is self-definition. Kim Krupp Pepe uses self-definition when she says, “My sisters and brother and I grew up there.” Another example of self-definition in the selection is revealed in paragraph five when Kim says, “All my childhood memories still live in that house and out in the fields and woods.” Throughout the article, she supports the self-definition with emotional language - her own language. For example, in paragraph one, she uses emotional language (feeling words) when she says, “It is a very pleasant place.” Kim also uses the autobiographical perspective as part of an expressive writing. For example, in paragraph four Kim says, “I used to hide and secretly look at the world through the gingerbread trim. No one ever found me there." She also uses another characteristic of expressive writing, the superlative several times throughout the selection. For example, in paragraph three, she says, “Here I was a world class gymnast on afternoons after school.” An expressive paper also has a perspective. In her paper, Kim uses a personal prospective. In the personal perspective, the self is explored and is found in the third paragraph where Kim says, “As I look around, so many memories flood through my head.” One method of organization used in this selection is a narration of event. A narration of an event records a sequence of actions in five stages that occur once and never occur again. The five stages of a narration are the potential, disturbance, conflict, crisis, and the resolution. In the article, the potential is revealed in the first paragraph when Kim states, “The house sits on the highest hill in the county.” Following that, the disturbance is revealed in the second paragraph where she says, “As I walked up the driveway, I glance at one of my old climbing trees.” Next, the conflict is revealed in the fourth paragraph when Kim says, “When I visit now, many things are much the same, but nothing is exactly the same or nearly as big as I remember them.” Next, the crisis is revealed in the fourth paragraph when Kim says, “Now I’m always kind of torn between being sad because I feel like a child and yet knowing I am not and can never be again.” Finally, the resolution is revealed in paragraph five when Kim states, “Another part of me feels happy for having a place where all my past is stored and secreted away, always waiting for me to come back and make the little girl dance and laugh and run through the dewy grass.” Another method of organization that she uses is a description in this selection, Kim uses an inside-to-outside description using spatial words. For example, in paragraph one, she says, "The house sits on the highest hill in the county." Following that, also in the first paragraph, she goes on to say, "The huge trees in the lawn cover the house and grass in dappled shade." Also, uniqueness is displayed when Kim says, "The house sits on the highest hill in the county." In order for a selection to be effective as an expressive paper, it should have the following characteristics of expressive writing: self-definition, autobiographical, emotional response, writer’s own language, superlatives, and two of the four kinds of expressive writing perspective, which are personal perspective and autobiographical. This selection by Kim Krupp Pepe contains all six characteristics as shown in the second paragraph of this selection; therefore, it is an effective expressive paper. A narration of event method should have the following guidelines: a potential, disturbance, conflict, crisis, and a resolution. Kim Krupp Pepe's article has all of these guidelines and is shown in the third paragraph. The description method assesses spatial words organized from inside to outside and also displays uniqueness as shown in paragraph three. Kim's article has both of these characteristics; therefore, it is an effective description.