"Equipment For Living"

In her essay Tilly Warnock talks about how writing is viewed by most people. She argues that it is either seen as a way of living or a kind of coping mechanism. She quotes Burke several times, using his ideas and beliefs as a basis for her own. She goes on to say " I advocate a rhetorical approach to writing and living that provides 'strategies for coping' and 'equipment for living'" (37). Warnock also supports the reader and writer coming together to find meaning in a piece. She argues that this invites readers to come to their own conclusions based on their own experiences rather than just going along with what the writer wants. She delves into a short personal essay that details this, arguing that as a child she was taught how to behave, react, and think about society. She says "the power of language to reflect and deflect and to construct reality was a lesson for white children, who were taught once, implicitly and explicitly, that half f the people in their world did not exist as human beings, and taught later, explicitly and implicitly, that this view was wrong, immoral, and illegal" (39).

This part of the essay related well with the first chapter, when it was said that children quickly learn how to behave based on the people around them. Warnock states that she made her way through school by going along with what was expected of her, by pleasing her teachers with "correct" answers. She also stresses the importance of letting life write you rather than just writing  for life. She uses her mother's needlework as an example of the delicate dynamic between writing life and letting life write you. Warnock goes back to Burke to talk about the importance of revision and argues that he shows readers how to keep revising. She points out another important aspect of Burke's argument, which is comic perspective. But she challenges these ideas as well, bringing them into the classroom and pointing out the flaws that could occur.

My favorite part of her essay was where she went into her personal life and how writing has shaped her into the person she is. Rather than telling us about how she was lost and struggling in life until she found an outlet for herself in writing, she instead tells us that writing was always there and it was her who put it aside to care for her family.