Great Writers and Masterful Endings

Walking the eight blocks home from Briar Books, Sadie pondered the elderly clerk's use of the word "masterful" to describe the written work of Virginia Woolf. The clerk, Mrs. Wendell, discussed literary marvels with a young man at the cluttered counter in the used bookshop. Sadie examined outdated fifty-cent paperbacks, while eavesdropping on their conversation.

In Sadie's vision of herself, she anticipated being a "great" writer some day. Mrs. Wendell's use of the word "masterful," though, left her to contemplate the intention of "great" writing versus "masterful" writing. While she waited for the "walk" signal at Lyndon and Green, Sadie also thought about Virginia Woolf.

Vividly she recalled; when she was young, her great aunts engaged in serious debate over the writings of Virginia Woolf. One of her old-maid aunts could "make no sense" of Virginia Woolf's literary form and the other was a staunch supporter of the author's impact on society at that time.

When she was much older, Sadie promised the aunts she would read some of Virginia Woolf's work. She did try her best to stay connected while reading Woolf's 1925 "Mrs. Dalloway," her Aunt Audra's all-time favorite character. Unfortunately, Sadie found the reading tedious, much to her Aunt Anne's delight of course.

As Sadie walked back to her apartment, still pondering the word "masterful," the thought crossed her mind that Emily Bronte was in her opinion a "masterful" writer. Certainly, no one would deem her merely a "great" writer, which is exactly what Sadie had always labeled Emily Bronte, thinking the word "great" was more than adequate to describe a writer of her stature...until today.

Turning onto Dowdy Street, Sadie picked up her walking pace a bit because a light rain began to fall. She folded the top of her canvas tote bag over and tucked it under her arm so the four paperbacks she bought from Mrs. Wendell did not get wet.

Her thoughts drifted back to Emily Bronte. For the remainder of her walk, she rehashed "Wuthering Heights" in her mind, which she read at least five times. It amazed Sadie that "Wuthering Heights" offended and puzzled people in 1847, when it was first published.

Finally reaching her building, Sadie began the long climb to her fourth floor apartment. On the way up the stairs, she wondered how Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights" went from being offensive to a nineteenth-century masterpiece.

Smiling as she unlocked her door, Sadie thought; in the end, maybe a "great" writer becomes a "masterful" writer simply because of the reader!

This AC assignment, asked that we open a dictionary and with eyes shut, place a finger on a word. From the random word, we had to build a story. The word I ended up picking was "masterful."