Reading Response to Narratives and "The Sanctuary of School"

A good narration is a recollection of an event that happened in that person’s, or someone else’s, life. A narrative can be very short and simple but it can also be very long and complex. The reasons for writing a narrative are usually to make a point or support an argument.  The key to writing a good narrative is to add strong details. To create new ideas for a narrative the questions who, what, where, when, how, and why should also be answered so that the reader will understand the point of the story. After producing these ideas, the next step is to organize them and write a draft. A narration should be thought out and expressed in a way that will grab hold of the reader’s attention.  The narrative needs to be put in chronological order to do so. Then it is time to state the point of the narrative. In order to do that, the writer must write a thesis statement to explain to readers what he is telling them. It is also very important to use verb tenses properly and to check for grammatical errors in the dialogue, if used, when writing a narrative. The use of verb tenses will help the reader to connect events in time. Errors in dialogue can only lead to miscommunication of what the author is trying to tell the readers in the story. Correct grammatical use in a narrative will help the story flow swiftly.

The narrative “The Sanctuary of School” is a compelling story that explains why art should not be cut from the public school system. As a reader, this story touched my heart and I felt sympathy for Lynda Barry. Being ignored by the ones you love the most can be a very tough and emotional struggle that children have to face. The fact that she was able to slip out of her own house without her parents knowing immediately that she was missing is a sure sign of neglect. I love that she was able to find art and have that be something in her life that she cares so deeply about. Art was able to let out all her emotions and let her be heard when no one in her family heard her. Personally, as a reader, I cannot relate to her story. I was never interested in visual arts growing up, such as drawing or painting, mostly because I am a terrible visual artist. I also was not neglected growing up, but I do know people who were, and it is not an easy thing to go through. Having that one thing in life that can lift up your spirits is a great necessity. Due to this neglect, art in the public school system should not be taken away from children who do enjoy it and feel as though it is a new gateway to possibilities.

As a writer, I was pleased with her introduction. It made the reader question why she was really running away. Her narrative contained no grammatical errors and she used her verb tenses properly. The story answered the questions who, what, where, when, how, and why with powerful details that made the reader connect emotionally with the writer. Lynda Barry was able to get her point across very well in this narrative by convincing the reader through her influential story that art needs to be kept in the public school system.  

She states her point most directly in the last few paragraphs of her narrative. Art gave Lynda Barry a chance to express herself and be heard when no one else was listening. She thinks that it is very sad that parents neglect their children. If they have nowhere else to turn, she believes that art can help them to broaden their horizons and learn more about themselves, rather than to stand in front of a television set all day and be ignored. Barry uses the word light to mean many different things in her narrative. She first uses the word light in the phrase “light of our lives” to mean that television was one thing that made her and her brother happy when dealing with their family’s neglect. She also uses the word light in the phrase “a thousand points of light” to explain that parents are leaving their children to defend themselves by using good organizations that will help them in their lives rather than their parents showing them the way.