Anxiety of Influence: Frankenstein style!

Hi everyone!

So for English, we had to conduct a project about anxiety of influence. The definition of anxiety of influence is how an author feels pressure from authors before them. In order to combat this feeling, they take ideas from the preceding author, tweak and change the ideas a little bit, and then combine all these different ideas to create their own novel.

This idea was first brought forth by Harold Bloom. When I first heard of this idea, I really didn’t understand what it meant. However, from certain activities, and tons of times being proven wrong, I finally understood what it meant! So for my group and I’s final project, we held an activity to help people truly understand what anxiety of influence is.

First we baked giant sugar cookies!

The cookies looked like these! Then our group bought ingredients in order to decorate the cookies. Each group received green frosting, black icing, and M&Ms. Each group’s goal was to create a cookie that best looked and represented the creature. However there was a catch! Each group received a special item that was suppose to represent anxiety of influence. They got an “odd ingredient” that was suppose to symbolize the other great ideas of predeceasing authors. The groups had to incorporate the odd ingredient and transform it, make it their, their own creature.

Here’s the picture of the group with the raisins:

I really like how they utilized the green frosting to fully cover the face, as well as use the raisins for the lower part of the jaw of the creature, and a little bit for the hair. It made the presentation of the cookie cute, ass well as unique.

Here is the picture of the cookie from the group who had to use white chocolate chips:

From this group, I was honestly a little surprised they didn’t use the green frosting. I feel like the creature is usually typified as being green, but I love how they incorporated the white chocolate chips to sort of act like the smile for the creature!

Here is the picture of the group who had to use pretzel sticks:

I honestly thought that this odd ingredient would be the hardest to incorporate, I told them they could break the pretzels apart, but they seemed to keep them mostly whole. However, I really liked how they used the pretzels to poke through the creature’s head, as well as get the true face shape of the creature I like it.

I felt that this activity really helped students to understand the difficulty of anxiety of influence. They felt pressured by these great ideas (the yummy ingredients), so instead they had to incorporate them into their creation (haha punny), to make even a more beautiful masterpiece. Viola! Lesson to be learned here: sometimes food just really helps the learning process, plus its fun to eat ! 🙂 Happy eating!

The Anosognosia of Butter Cookies

Butter Cookies. One of the few delectable morsels that someone may stumble upon once in a lifetime.  They are delicious. I wanted to combine this recipe with the idea of Anosognosia, because these aren’t just any ordinary cookies. They’re tricky. Anosognosia divides knowledge into three parts: the things we know we know, the things we know that we don’t know, and the things that we don’t know we don’t know. It mainly focuses on the fact that there are things we don’t know we don’t know. With these cookies, titles can be decieving. What many people don’t know is that these butter cookies are delicious, they’re not all oily because of the butter, they are pure deliciousness. What people don’t know is how to make them, and they don’t know that the main “secret” ingredient is not the butter, but the cream cheese. The cream cheese is what brings all the flavor, and the fluffy texture to the cookie! People don’t know that they don’t know that cream cheese is what bring it all together. They are unaware of this fact. This is why the cookies are so delicious. Have you ever heard of anything that was not delcious that did involve cream cheese?! I didn’t think so !

I highly reccomend you make these cookies, they’re easy to make, delcious, and different from the ordinary chocolate chip cookies.

Here’s what you’ll need:

– 1 egg

– 1 8oz. cream cheese bar

-1 yellow cake box mix

-1/2 cup of butter

-1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

-powdered sugar (sifted)

1. Beat in butter, vanilla, egg, and cream cheese until fluffy.

2. Mix in cake mix.

3. Put in the fridge for at least a half an hour (I put mine in for 2 hours). Afterward, it should look a little something like this: (the white sprinkles on top are just some tidbits of powdered sugar I accidently spilled).

4. Roll the dough into balls and dip them into the bowl of powdered sugar. I like a lot of powdered sugar, so I wasn’t afraid to be generous.

5. Bake in the oven for 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, add more powdered sugar on top if you want. My cookies ended up taking more like 15-20 minutes in the oven, but my oven may be different than yours. So be sure to watch the cookies.

6. After that enjoy.

I hope after you try these cookies you realize the potential and are willing to broaden your horizon of cookies, other than sugar cookies or chocolate chip cookies. The title can be deceiving, butter cookies are not boring. The cream cheese helps to make these cookies what the truly are, rather than the butter. These cookies are delicious and sweet, just like you.

Feed the SWEET TOOTH !

The most important step about feeding the need is to realize what the people want. I think that is the main reason that oreo balls were discovered. Oreo balls are one of the most delectable desserts that can be had. One of the multiple ways that they “feed the need,” is that they are so easy to make. Plus, they’re so neat and convenient! The simplicity of the recipe, and the fact that it is perfectly travel/bite size, will have moms on their knees begging for the recipe. They’re that delicious. Whenever my mom makes them, they are gone in heartbeat, and hardly anyone ever waits until the refrigeration process is complete because no one can ever wait that long. These oreo cookie balls taste just like cookies and cream ice cream, but without the ice cream! It saves the hassle of getting out the ice cream and the ice cream scooper, then the bowl and having to wash everything. These oreo cookie balls are no mess, easy and hey no dishes to wash!…

Okay enough with the praise, now it’s time for the recipe!

What you’ll need:

-1 package of Cream Cheese (softened)

-16 oz of  melting chocolate (that’s about 4 packages)

-36 oreo cookies crushed (that’s about 3 cups)

1. Scoop out the cream from each of the oreos and set them aside. (This step can be skipped, but it makes the cream towards the end frothier).

2. Place the chocolate cookie parts of the oreos in a big ziploc baggie and crush them.

3. Mix the cream cheese and cream from the cookies together with an electric beater. (Or if the first step was skipped, just mix the crumbs of the cookies and the cream chese together).

4. Mix the cream cheese and cream from cookies filling back with the oreo crumbs and shape them into balls.

5. Place the oreo balls on a sheet covered in wax paper.

6. Melt the chocolate, place the oreo balls on a stick and dip them in the chocolate.

7. Optional: Melt white chocolate as well and put some on top of the milk/dark chocolate on the oreo balls in a criss cross pattern.

8. Place the oreo balls on a sheet which is covered in wax paper into the fridge for at least one hour.

These oreo balls are delicious and I highly reccomend them! They are sweet, so they should be enjoyed with a nice glass of milk. These will definitely feed your sweet tooth, and save a potential mess from happening.

Happy eating and making !