"I" and "Eye" Essays

In the last class, we discussed the three essays we read the previous week, and the three essays we read for yesterday. The first three essays were considered "I" essays, and the last three were considered "Eye" essays. In literal terms, "I" essays are written from the authors memory and their experiences personally, and "Eye" essays are written about someone else's experience, story, or point of view. However simple that may seem, there is much more to that explanation of those two types of creative non-fiction. I and Eye essays can intermingle with each other. For example, a writer could be talking about someone else's story, but putting themselves in the story as well.



One of the texts that spoke to me the most was "Secret Ceremonies of Love and Death" by Beverly Lowry. It drew me in right away because the story was not just intriguing but also left the reader to really think at the end. Something that really irked me about the reading was in the end of the story, we did not know the author's opinion on whether or not Karla should be on death row. I knew that while I was reading the story I was to form my own opinion on whether or not people can change after committing a horrible crime such as murder, however I was very interested in the author's opinion as well. Another thing about this essay, was that it is considered an "Eye" essay, and is the first example in the textbook of what an "Eye" essay is. However, I felt that this was not just a story about another person, but a personal story from the author. Yes, it was about Karla Faye and her tragic story, but it was also about Beverly Lowry and her story as well. We don't know much about the author except that she felt drawn to Karla Faye, and that she had a son that died in a hit and run accident. That background information immediately puts Lowry right into the story, because we as the readers are interested why she put that into the story, and how it will effect the story as well.