Sally Has No Shadow

Tompkins's essay discusses her history of writing in the father tongue. Summarizing her struggle to write in a personal tone validates her continuous justification for such creative and personal essays. On page 174 she elaborates on her ability, or rather lack thereof, to write in both tones. She feels as if she abandons one in order to embrace the other. "You can't get behind the thing that casts the Shadow. You cast the shadow. As soon as you tun, the shadow falls in another place." Although I understand her view point I disagree with it. Critical writing does not have a set recipe. You can add an extra ingredient or two. A pinch of creativity in my opinion makes the essay yummy. Correspondingly, taking a critical approach to one essay does not dismiss your creative and personal work. The shadow descripion in her essay should be explained as guilt. I don't think the rest of use should be taught to embrace the guilt but rather should be taught and encouraged to successful write critically and personally.