IM GEEKING OUTT!!! I freaking love Frankenstein don't even get me started.... BUT the commentary here is straight facts, especially about what the monster is representative of, is literally sticking to my soul. I wish Foster would have expanded a bit more on how the industrial revolution affects this story, but I digress... STILL i'm geeking. The monster represents everything, it represents that human fear of the unknown and at the same time, human emotion and all of it's monstrous parts.

Yes! Which could all tie back in with development and plot right? It's crazy to think of how while yes, there are stories tied to the scars or wounds which humans bear in real life, it can transcend beyond this within literature. I know I talked about this in my last annotation, but still. We are differentiated from each other (in real life) by our markings (and that could mean anything which consumes identity), but within literature there is always a deeper meaning to this. Character development; who is the hero? And how this can show who is the strongest character. Idk if anything here made sense but yeah.

Ah I see... and then put this into literature and BOOM! You have symbolism, you have something there which holds a deeper meaning. I have a mole in my eyebrow, doesn't mean anything in real life except maybe I should see a dermatologist, but if I put that into a poem (and only saying this because that's what I am skilled at), it becomes something so much more, it can be both a metaphor for anything, like a monster or even a biblical reference. I love that so much, that is genuinely so cool omg. It just all relates back to the deeper meaning of everything within literature.

FRANKENSTEIN MENTIONED!!!!!!!! lets go

Even after reading this chapter, I am not sure where I stand with irony, so he is true within this statement, lol. I think i will definitely have to open up to more irony pieces though, to be able to see if this is really for me, or maybe even try writing my own to grasp it. I feel like, with the way that Foster is discussing this topic, irony and ironic can be two different realms, and I cannot expand further I fear I do not know why, but it makes sense in my head. There are surface levels of irony and deeper levels of irony.

So basically what I am hearing is that anything can be turned into irony, and by "anything" I mean any form of symbolizing object or setting within literature. Lowkey, this just makes me want to try my hand at writing an ironic piece which utilizes something like a billboard (though I probably wouldn't use this) to underline an ironic message. Also, really am loving the sentence "spring comes and the wasteland doesn't even notice," very poetic love it. But, maybe I just haven't read enough irony and that's why I am not grasping this fully, but I feel like as long as there is an underlying ironic message of some sort like "seatbelts save lives," any type of literary object could be used. I would definitely try this out within a piece of my own.

This whole paragraph gave me flashbacks to The Road by Cormac McCarthy.... never again.....lol

But...even while this is true, and every writer connects with the other writer, I feel like that's what makes it NOT just one story. Sure, we all take inspiration from each other, but one narrative is completely different from the other, making it not the same story even if it was taken for inspiration, if that makes sense at all. I feel like this is a statement which gets thrown around a lot, especially within writers about the "one story," and I despise it. While I have taken inspiration from writers that came before me, because that's just what you do, I like to think that we have different stories to tell.

While, at one point I feel like there can be some truth behind this statement, I want to disagree with this. While I like how Foster states that this one story is "what it means to be human," (and trust I really like that statement), I feel like narrative cannot be boxed into "one story," then it would just be harmful. There cannot always just be "one story," because then... what makes my story important if it is just the same as the "one story"? What if my experience of "what it means to be human" is completely different from someone else's? I get it, that either way it is all part of the narrative of existence, but I still disagree with the "one story," I feel like there has to be more than just one. Having more than just the "one story" is what makes literature and story-telling (especially) so interesting and exciting. I have never thought of it all as just one story.

Yeah I definitely understand how harmful this is. I feel like on one level the gen alpha slang can get offensive, and then with other words within this realm, it's funny and grouping. Everytime I see this type of comment online, though, I actually can't stand it. I think that the whole "chat am I cooked" thing is funny, but when it crosses a line like this it quickly becomes weird and offensive.

I think that it can definitely become a distraction within the classroom, especially with gen alpha, but I do not think all of this slang should be diminished to something to "defuse." I hear how a lot of gen x absolutely hate gen z and gen alpha slang, but I feel like, at the same time, it can be something that brings a certain group together, and we have to have some level of empathy for that.

I understand this, I feel like sometimes when I am talking with new people who are around my age I am looking for something to determine that they get my humor, like with gen z slang. When I am talking with others my age and they'll say something like "cooked" or something like that, something in my mind is like oh! they get you, idk if that makes sense.

I'm literally cracking up. After so long of social media joking about Ohio and "Ohio rizz," every time I hear the word "Ohio" it just reminds me of gen alpha slang and I laugh. My younger sister also is always talking about something "ohio rizzler gyatt sigma huzz" like hello.

Yes and it's crazy to hear sometimes lowkey!! Working at Claire's, a store where gen alpha usually shops, I hear so many crazy terms being thrown around and it's sometimes pretty jarring, lol. One time a kid said to me "you look so skibidi!" not even joking... and I laughed because it's pretty funny lol.

As opposed to the other article talking about "sigma" and other terms, "chat" and "cooked" are words that I often hear my friends and myself actually using. like the term "I'm so cooked," I have definitely used this in reference to when something bad is happening, lol. It's interesting to see how this is considered "gen alpha" and how gen z language has also transformed into this, if that makes sense.

I really enjoy this conclusion to the article, I feel like the gen z slang definitely does help us bond more as a group, in one way or another. It is ironic language, so I am glad that the author recognized this, I never use the word "sigma" when I am being serious lol, it's always to poke fun, and even better when it's poking fun at incels.

I know exactly which Tiktok audio this is referring to, and I remember when it became popular and everyone was calling it "gen alpha" language, rather than gen z. I feel like while this type of language is definitely common in younger gen z and gen alpha, I do not think it can be related back to older gen z, for sure. Sometimes I'll say things like this because it can be funny, but I am not saying it because its a part of my everyday vocabulary. I literally had to google what skibidi meant when it first got popular, lol.

Hearing about 4chan in 2025 is literally so horrifying, and I am intrigued to hear more about how maybe the slang used on 4chan relates back to gen z slang. I know that 4chan has become a very popular thing to joke about, and for good reason because it was filled with hatred, but I honestly have never done much research into what 4chan was actually like, all I know is that it is "incel territory"

This word literally plagues me. My younger sister uses this all the time, and same with all of the kids who shop at where I work (Claire's). There have been so many times where I am explaining something to someone who is younger gen z at my work and they'll reply with something like "that is so skibidi sigma rizz" like.... but it's so funny though.

This is so interesting to learn about because my friends and I reference "red pill or blue pill" all the time, and I knew it was from the Matrix, but never thought about how this is derived from incels. I have definitely heard a lot of people using "maxxing" though, but I feel like this is more common in the younger gen z/gen alpha.

This reminds me of another article we read last week, how where you are from follows you everywhere, and it makes up your identity which must ultimately be recognized. The stereotype following Appalachia is a concept that undermines the Black Appalachian experience, it does not allow for Affrilachia to be heard, so it is pleasing to see how after the term was coined more and more people shared their stories and creativity regarding the subject. Like it is mentioned in the last paragraph following this, this is what can push that stereotype out of the picture when it comes to Appalachia, shining light on those who have "been pushed to the margins."

30 years... and it's unfortunate to just now be hearing of the term "Affrilachia," I feel like this should have been something taught to us a long time ago, especially being on the borders of Appalachia. It goes to show how there is truly more than one story to be told, and this can allow for the Affrilachian artistry and identity to be explored and heard even further.

This is genuinely such a hard-hitting line, truly illustrating how the Black residents of Appalachia can be seen by the white residents, in one moment, friend and the next something to prey on, if that makes sense. I will definitely be reading up more on Affrilachian poetry, I am deeply interested in this topic. Feldman, within just this small excerpt, does such a great job at highlighting the race "dynamic" within Affrilachia.

I think that this is such a great example to bring up in this article. I remember watching this TED Talk and having it really stick with me, and I believe this excerpt from it does a great job in relation to the story of "Affrilachia." The becoming of "Affrilachia" shows how this one story, or one narrative, is not the only story behind Appalachia, and how there are more voices to be heard.

I love how the author brought back the concept of the quilts near the end, because at first I was confused as to why they brought it up near the beginning, and how this would fit in. I realize now that the quilt within this statement is a symbol or metaphor for the narrator's own person experience with identity and language. Rather than a quilt, they thought that fitting in and the other "style" would be "easier" than the "log cabin" = Appalachian dialect. I really love this symbolism here, and how there was a deeper meaning added to the quilts.

I feel for the narrator in this moment, because this is so painfully relatable, especially when it comes to dialect and the stereotypes others have about the area you're from. I remember an experience I had in my first year of college where I went with a friend back to their home state. I can't remember exactly what I said, but they replied "that's not how you say that!" I laughed along in the moment, and changed my grammar, but it left an icky feeling inside of me. I thought that I shouldn't have to suppress my language just because I'm in another state, or something like that. It seems like an easy thing to laugh along with these stereotypes but ultimately, it brought me to feel more proud of where I'm from than anything else.

Right off the bat, this is very relatable to probably everyone, or at least to me. Well, not about "Haywood County" but for me, about "Allegheny County" and Pittsburgh as a whole. I didn't realize it when I was younger, or even when I was still growing up in Pittsburgh, but I realized that after I came to college, it did become a marker of identity, that I am ultimately happy with. Going back to the conversation about stereotypes, it would be a common thing during ice breakers in class to say where we're from. When I said "Pittsburgh," people were nodding, when I said Braddock, and given those who were from the area and knew about Braddock, it was like I saw those stereotypes people had about Braddock emerging, it was actually quite interesting to see, lol.

Firstly, media, and the portrayal of certain groups within media, is a huge problem with perpetrating stereotypes. This reminds me of a conversation I had with my grandparents once who are from Appalachia. They were telling me about a family who moved down the street who was from the city, and the little kid was talking to my grandma about how they're "hick" now and they're "poor" and I was like ?? that's crazy that a little kid was saying these things, but it's because of the media and probably the biases/stereotypes which those within more urban areas have with those within rural areas, and vice versa! I know my grandparent's have some stereotypes about those who live in urban areas too, and it's crazy to think about.

True! I feel like language varies throughout so many different regions, cities, cultures, etc, but many people have formed their own biases against certain language variations or groups of people with those language variations. I wonder if these biases stem from things they were taught at birth or from certain experiences they've had with language variation growing up?

The amount of times I use "like" or "was like" or "be like" in my everyday language is insane, and this is just a reminder of how I do so, lol. I feel like this has just become such a normal part of everyday vernacular, a lot of people overuse "like" in their sentences as a filler word, I feel like it makes the conversation more casual than anything else. But, this data is interesting to look at when specifically in the Appalachian region. It make me think of my dad who is from Central PA who uses "like" and "was" in these scenarios, if that makes sense.

Which is also just interesting to think about. Having a family and a parent who grew up in Appalachia, I constantly been surrounded by such aspects or language of Appalachia and never thought about how this came to be, or thought about how others perceive Appalachia, but I should have. I knew that people thought of Appalachia as "hillbilly" or something like that, I just thought it was because it was more rural, but regardless, is a negative stereotype. It's interesting to think that others perceive Appalachia as "frozen in history," this had never stumbled across my mind before.

It's crazy because it's such a large joke to make about someone using big words, I never really wondered where that stemmed from.

This reminds me of when I was breaking down the root of environment-related words for my environmental ethics class last semester. We looked at words in English and in other languages like "earthworm," "dirt," "soil," etc. It was so interesting to see the different connotations/definitions for each word.

And I think that's the thing about it all. A lot of people have become very caught up in what is "natural" for them, and don't empathize much with what might just be "natural" for others.

That's actually kind of crazy to think about, how a language can be transformed just like that, by speaking in a "bad" version of it! Before this, I never gave much time to thinking about how the English language was derived from Old English.

This excerpt not only made me think of Pittsburghese, but also broken English as well. My grandmother is from Vietnam and English is her second language, so I can see how English has been transformed within the homes and areas which people grew up within. Like with Pittsburghese how there's different words for "shopping cart" and "nosey."

This is the kind of thing I really struggled with when I was learning French, specifically. Less about the verbs and more about the use of adjectives and where they would go when describing a subject/noun.

Being able to broaden your knowledge on different languages and translations is something that I think would really help with literary analyzation. When reading Beowulf in class, I was very immersed and wanted to learn more about dialect and the translations between other literary texts, I feel like it would also make analysis come more easily.

I really love the simile they made here about the monolingual tendency and how it's like a fish not knowing that it is wet. I feel like the "english = normal" it is a very common mindset (unfortunately), and this sentence really goes to show how this can be interpreted, if that makes sense.

I don't know exactly how to put this into words, so I will try my best here, but this is something which I find myself thinking about a lot, especially when I am writing. Lately, as I have been writing, I find myself looking at the words and trying to make sense of their spelling, how non-English speakers would perceive them, etc.