Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Critical Reading

Summary:
     Thinking and reading critically are both important in helping to improve one's own writing. However, criticizing does not imply that one has to be mean or ruthless (which a lot of people think it does because of its bad connotation), instead it means applying one's judgement and analyzing the piece. In analyzing writing, not only is it necessary to identify a meaning and/or thesis behind the author's words, it is also required to infer the reasons behind certain messages and to link several messages within the writing to form a purpose for everything that the author chose to do. After analyzing and reading critically, one will be able to identify the pieces of writing most unified and most coherent. With this important experience and knowledge, one will be able to improve one's own ability to write uniformly with depth and purpose.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

American Tones

- What's voice in literature?
In literature voice is the tone and personality of the author. It's also the attitude the author uses to get across what he/she is trying to say. We can tell the voice of the author by the word choice and phrasing the author chooses.

- How do you create voice in literature?
Voice is created by a mixture of everything in your writing piece. For example, your choice of adjectives adds to your voice and the style you choose to write with also adds to it. You can't create voice through one specific element, voice is created by the overall mood and tone of the piece.

- Is creating voice intentional or not?
I think that when the author writes about an unfamiliar subject or to an unfamiliar audience, the voice he/she chooses to use is intentional. However, when the author is comfortable and familiar with the subject/audience, his/her voice is unintentional.

- What can we learn about the author from how they approach a topic?
One thing we can learn from the way the author approaches the topic is their personality, for example, if they're straightforward, or if they prefer to talk around the subject.

- Why and how is voice important in different genres?
The voice the author uses sets the mood for the piece and certain tones fit genres better than others. For example, the voice in a children's fairy tale would have a very different voice than that of a book for a college course. It's important because it determines what sounds more appropriate for what occasions.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Eleanor Rigby- Pain vs. Beatles

- I like the original version (Beatles version) better because it's a lot more calm and easier to understand. Also, it has more meaning since they wrote the lyrics and came up with the idea of the whole song.
- The original is also more aesthetically pleasing to listen to because it's less harsh and more laid back sounding. Also, the instrumentals are more soothing to listen to, for instance the violin makes the feeling of the original a lot more comfortable than the Pain version (which you can just hear a lot of loud screaming).

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Sign Language

- What single effect did you get from this short film?
After watching the video, I'm left with one single feeling, a single effect. Everything I feel during the film leads me to the feeling of appreciation. Throughout the film, I experience emotions of happiness, hopefulness, and even loneliness, but all these emotions add up in the end to give me the feeling of appreciation.

- Give 3 specific things that led you to that single effect.
In the film, Ben's costume helped me to find the single effect of appreciation. The weather is cold and rainy, and instead of complaining about it, Ben is bundled in many jackets and gloves speaking comfortably and with a tone of satisfaction and pride. This helped me to realize that even with foul weather and sad things in life, we can always find a way to appreciate other things. Also, the way that the camera zoomed on the girl's face when Ben said "the beautiful things" helped to emphasize that we need to appreciate the love and beauty in life. Lastly, the way that Ben managed to find happiness in a job that most people would find a hassle, made me realize that we can always appreciate the things we have.

- If you could change one aspect what would it be and how would it change the film's single effect?
If we changed the music, the entire film would loose the feeling of calmness and peacefulness. This would be bad because the watchers may find the film too busy, and not be able to see the single effect of appreciation in the film. This would be a negative change.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

"Shooting an Elephant"

SUBJECT
            The subject of George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” is imperialism. In his essay, George Orwell explains that he personally would not have liked to kill the elephant, however to prevent ridicule and humiliation from the natives, he shot the elephant. This is all connected to imperialism because, the British tyranny in Burma at the time caused the natives to despise Europeans, and George Orwell (being a European) was highly disliked. To maintain his superiority to the natives, George Orwell presented them with what they asked of him, he killed the elephant.  

OCCASION
            “Shooting an Elephant” was set during the 1920’s in Burma (or present day Myanmar). The action of the story takes place in the town of Moulmein, in Lower Burma. Through George Orwell’s writing, it is made pretty clear to the audience that his narration was set in a time of British oppression. For example, George Orwell states that while in Moulmein, “[he] was sub-divisional police officer of the town, and in an aimless, petty kind of way anti-European feeling was very bitter,” from this we can infer that there was a general hatred towards Europeans in the area. Also, George Orwell straight up claims the tyranny of the British by saying, “I thought of the British Raj as an unbreakable tyranny, as something clamped down, in saecula sauculorum, upon the will of prostrate peoples,”

AUDIENCE
            George Orwell’s specific audience for “Shooting an Elephant” is Europeans in general. The author’s target audience is revealed by his constant inner-debate about who he hates more, the oppressive British, or the jeering Burmese natives. George Orwell hated the Burmese because they made his life difficult and harassed him. At the same time, he hated the British tyranny because it caused the Burmese’ hatred towards Englishmen. This shows that his essay is geared towards Europeans because it shows that he’s trying to suggest to them that major issues lie within British imperialism.

PURPOSE
            George Orwell’s purpose in “Shooting an Elephant” is to express his opinions on imperialism. George Orwell most blatantly points this out when he says “I had already made up my mind that imperialism was an evil thing and the sooner I chucked my job and got out of it the better.” He also supports his opinion throughout the text. He suggests that British oppression is degrading to the natives of the country and that it also causes Englishmen to act on the favor of the natives in order to maintain their superiority.

SPEAKER
            George Orwell believes that conquerors of a foreign land should not oppress the natives of that land. George Orwell emphasizes that when he claims that “[he] was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British.” He supports his opinion when saying this because, as the readers, we know that George Orwell hated the Burmese and for him to be able to agree with them on their anger towards the British oppressors was a big deal.
            George Orwell expresses his opinion through the format of a short story. By making his statement through his story about shooting an elephant, he was able to retain the readers’ attention. It also made his essay a lot more entertaining. All this, helped to attract more readers and thus, spread his opinion.

TONE
            George Orwell’s tone throughout “Shooting an Elephant” was friendly yet stern. George Orwell was friendly through his use of a personal experience. Also, in the beginning, he writes as if he were speaking to his reader one-on-one. At the same time, George Orwell’s voice is stern because he is addressing an issue that is serious to him and of concern to him. 

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Rockwell's "The Runaway"

         Rockwell's painting of "The Runaway" depicts a young boy sitting at the counter (of what looks like an old fashioned cafe) with an officer. The painting gives the feeling that American lives are stagnant and everyday culture is the same. Because of the time period, the painting emphasized just how much change was in society. It shadows America's counter culture by providing a memory of culture before, almost wishing to go back to the days where nobody spoke of reform and thoughts were simple. However, we know that this was not the case, and therefore, Rockwell's "The Runaway" overlooks the fundamental rift that was rising in America throughout the 1950's - an emerging counter culture that was not concerned with how things were in America but rather how things are.

"Across the Universe"

- Identify three images in this song.
1. "Pools of sorrow, waves of joy drifting through my open mind" This provides the image of a person experiencing and accepting all kinds of emotions.
2. "Sounds of laughter, shades of joy" Here, you can see happiness all around the world.
3. "Limitless undying love, which shines around me like a million suns, it calls me on and on across the universe" You see a person surrounded by love.

- Are any of these images symbols in context? Explain.
In this song, the speaker's world/universe is a symbol of his life and all the components included in his life. And using the previous symbol, the "love like a million suns [that] calls [him] on and on across the universe" is a symbol of the loved ones in his life, supporting him throughout his life. In context, these images are symbols because it is the universe is the focus of his song and the "love like a million suns" provides a connection to his life.

- Explain one symbol that you know to be symbols. What makes it more than an image?
The world/universe is a symbol of his life, it is more than an image because it is a reoccuring subject and signifies something more to him than just the surface definition.