Throughout this semester, several highly acclaimed novels were read and analyzed. They were Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, and The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers. To go along with the impressive selection of literature was a portfolio of six literary works among which were lengthy essays, analyses, comparisons, and fictional stories. This semester did well to improve vocabulary, expose students to new pieces of literature, and promote writing skills as well as provide education in web site design and HTML work.

Reflecting back, I feel that my most impressive and strongest piece of writing was my final project on the Catcher in the Rye. The category that I selected was "Holden, Ten Years Later." Catcher in the Rye was probably my favorite book in this semester’s curriculum. I wholeheartedly enjoyed Holden’s point of view, his language, and his use of humor and exaggeration. The simple narrative allowed me to associate with Holden fairly easily. When the last page was finally finished, dozens of ideas flowed through my head, and "Holden, Ten Years Later" provided me with a ground to utilize them. I wrote the short story in the same manner that the novel was presented. The opening sequence took place in the near past, close to the present. It was followed by flashbacks leading up to the present. The only trouble that I encountered was creating an opening sequence. After that, the plot developed easily because I had so many ideas and scenarios that I wanted to include. The style in which the story was written matched Holden’s personality. This and an elaborate plot, which I am very proud of, served to create an exciting story full of the usual Caulfield humor and wit. It was very interesting writing the story, and it was actually hard to stop. I could have written more and more. I do not know how others will view it, but I definitely consider it to be my strongest piece.

As always, a strong piece is balanced by a weak one and this semester, I feel that my weakest work was my essay on the extended definition of the word "phony." My writing was not very creative. Looking back on the essay now, I feel that much of the language is dull. The piece itself is not very interesting to read because my extended definition of phony does not differ much from the dictionary definition. I just provided examples and elaborated a bit. I also did not enjoy this assignment because I did not feel that the word "phony" required an extended definition. The dictionary one was sufficient, in my opinion. My best literary work is revealed in short, fictional stories, not innovative definition essays.

Overall, however, I feel that this essay was the only weak piece that I wrote this semester. I am happy with everything else.