First off I would like to briefly talk about the author of, “Becoming a Writer”, then I will move on to talk about the essay. Russell Wayne Baker (born August 14, 1925) was born in Virginia and was the oldest of three children. When he was only five years old his father died of diabetes. Because of this and the great depression it brought about really hard times for his family. He eventually ended up attending John Hopkins University in 1947, were he received his Bachelors from the School of Arts and Science. He is a two time Pulitzer prize winner, and he is most known for he autobiography, “Growing Up”.
After reading the essay I thought it was very inspirational to me as an amateur writer. I think his purpose in writing this essay was to convey a story about the experience that lead him to becoming a writer. I think a essay like this would definitely reach out to a audience of potential writers as a motivator to pursue a writing career. The tone of the essay definitely leans toward informative and inspirational as does the genre of the essay. I think his most important point he is trying to get across to his audience is for him nothing else really matters, and if you want to become a writer you shouldn't let anything stop you.
It starts out by talking about how at first in his early years he thought that writing was only something rich people did. That it was not a real job at all, but it was the only thing that actually interested him on any level at all. He then states how that initially he thought English was quite a dull subject. Then he goes on to talk about a experience with his eleventh grade English teacher that would change his life forever. His eleventh grade English teacher Mr. Fleagle was known for being a dull teacher so he already had no interests once again in his English class. At first his predictions for the class for the most part came true. It was not until they where