Weblog Entry 7

Why are writers driven to write, according to Tobias Wolff? Also, what does Wolff say should be our motivation in reading short stories?

Tobias Wolff gives evidence throught different parts of the text to identify the reason to why writers are driven to write. Firstly, he states one of his own opinions saying "Seldom have I been more hungry for a sign of favor." This shows that as a writer, even a little favor from his readers encourages him to write and gain confidence, soon looking for more favor. Also, Wolff writes "It's a gracious moment when you meet one." when he talks about finding a reader that has equal passion as the writer about the book. In my opinion, authors in general look foward to sharing emotions with her audience through their words. near the beginning of the text, the author describes writing as "the social act of a solitary man.". This shows how powerful words can be, since even a solitary man would use it to convey his emotions and opinions. It's almost like another langauge that the author can be fluent at.

There are various motivations for us in erading short stories. I think they are mostly linked to emotional connections. Firstly, Wolff mentions "that sense of kinship is what makes stories important to us.". This explains how stories and people that appear in it can become so attached to us we will want to read more. Through short stories, we feel extreme emotions, sometimes emotions don't come across our lives very often. We can feel "outraged, exposed, in danger of heartbreak and change." and these feelings given motivate the audience to read more and get a sense of those emtional levels. It sometimes become seared to our memoires. Positive memories can change a person, who will be motivated to read more and mature as a reader.