Assignment 9

I feel that when I write, I am building relationships with those who have similar opinions to myself about certain issues such as that in my most recent paper "Lifelike". I initially took the stance that I thought "Taxidermy was a disgusting hobby to dabble into because one was dealing with dead things" and knowing the messy and gruesome details of the process it takes to do such work. After rereading the "Lifelike" essay, I found out that the essay was being told from the viewpoint of a reporter. Knowing this small but crucial detail helped me to understand the essays purpose and to think about not just my opinion but to submerge myself into the mindset of others in the hopes that my audience will see the other side of things. As I have written in "Lifelike," I took the time the to put myself in the shoes of the Taxidermists to understand from my perspective and see how the art of dealing with dead animals has transformed into recreating the most precious and rare moments in the nature of animal lives.

In my writing, I am building relations with people who are against mistreatment of animals with the hopes that they can see in some way how Taxidermy is a growing art made to show appreciation for animal lives and their contributions to the world. I did a little bit of research on Susan Orlean the author of "Lifelike" to help me understand that she was a journalist who wanted to shed light on the art of Taxidermy. I made connections with my audience by saying that "I was disgusted by the gruesome amount of dead deer that Taxidermists used." I also felt that I made a stronger connection with my audience as I gave descriptions of what was seen as well. “The deer came in herds, on carloads, and on pallets: dozens and dozens of whitetail and roe; half deer and whole deer and deer with deformities.” (Orleans 1). I felt like this description also led into the idea of Taxidermy as an art to acknowledge talent and also the beauty of dead things. "Deer were sneezing and glowering and nuzzling and yawning; chewing apples and bucks nibbling leaves” (Orlean 1)." Understanding and giving background on what the author does and has done is a key part in understanding me as a writer and my purpose for writing.

I think that the ethical dimension of communication to me means the beliefs and values that I regard as essential to the world or what I believe to be write and/or wrong. I think that my work engages in the ethical dimension of communication because I let my readers know how I feel about t what I believed Taxidermy to be as an improper form of using dead animals and seeing how this has transformed into an admirable art form. I allowed myself to visualize and understand that not all people share similar beliefs of Taxidermy and being able to explore this through writing has shown me this to be true. I always thought badly about Taxidermy because of all the stories that I hear of animal poaching, cruelty, and etc. . “It was precise and lovely, almost haunting, since the more you looked at it the more certain you were that the birds would just stop building their nest, spread their wings, and fly away” (Orlean 6). This quote especially has shown me the other side of this art. What I initially saw as creepy and sometimes revolting, I then saw the beauty within this form of the restoration of animal life within time. 

Revising My Paper
- Be more specific and focus on the main idea and writerly choices that support
- Being concise
- Pick good writerly choices and establish the connection that they have in relation to my purpose
- Arranging my text in a way that makes sense and helps the readers understand me as a writer