Reading Critically: The Summary

The key things to look at before you begin reading an essay are the title, background information about the author, where the work was originally published (to find the audience) and when it was first published.  While reading, it is helpful to keep a pencil handy so as to be able to annotate the piece. After reading, it often helps to summarize the contents of the essay, so that you can see its shorter form, its barest elements. After all of that is done you need to analyze the essay, which is a multi-step process in which you first analyze it by separating it into its parts, then make inferences about the work based on what you already know, synthesizing it all, or putting it all back together, and for some works the last step may be evaluation, in which you make a judgement on the quality of the work. To help you with this, you can pay attention to the writing strategies used by the writer, as well as the language or tone that the essay has, which tells a lot about who they are aiming the work at, as well as affected how effective the piece is as a whole.

"Battling Clean-Up and Striking Out" SOAPSTone

Subject

The subject of Dave Barry's “Battling Clean-Up and Striking Out” is that of gender differences. The topic of what makes men and women tick is illustrated by his very first sentence, in which he says that “the primary difference between men and women is that women can see extremely small quantities of dirt.” This immediately steps into the topic by illustrating one of the differences he sees between the two genders, namely that women can see dirt at the molecular level.

Occasion

“Battling Clean-Up and Striking Out” was written during the 1980s.The essay's time of creation is conveyed by the level of technology shown in the piece, as many of the issues that men and women had could have been solved through technology that we have today, such as how Maddy's husband gets away from the gathering to watch the World Series by using their baby as an excuse, whereas now he could have just watched it on his phone or some other thing like that. The probable place of the essay's creation is Miami, as it says that that Dave Barry lives in Miami in the blurb about the author at the beginning of the piece.

The time and place of the essay's creation influence the essay by causing problems that would not happen or not have as much impact in today's world. This is shown through the before example of how the husband makes an escape rather than just being able to watch the game on his phone or some other thing like that.

Audience

Dave Barry's specific audience for “Battle Clean-Up and Striking Out” is that of married men. The author's target audience is exhibited by the joking way is refers to woman’s ability to “see” every single speck of dirt in the area, as that is the type of humor that a married man would find funny, such as the historical story of Pompeii with a special “Dave Barry twist” added so as to make it funny to the readers. Through the story, you can tell that he wants to get to people who actually understand what subject he's trying to make light of.

The author's general audience for the essay could be married men and women. The author's general audience if shown by his added details about the need to watch sports that men have. While this part is seen by him as more serious, you can also tell by the way he writes that while he is more favorable towards sports than cleaning, you can also see that he is trying to make jokes about both. While men would laugh at the part about how much women can see dirt, women can also read the part about men and sports as quite funny as well, especially because of how serious Dave Barry seems to be about it.

Purpose

Dave Barry's purpose in “Battling Clean-Up and Striking Out” is the entertain readers with a topic that would otherwise be hard to talk about. He tries to makes light of a subject that, if taken in a serious way, could make some people angry or mad, while they just laugh and agree since it is written humorously. This attempt to make a serious topic funny is illustrated by his wording on the topic, such as when he talks about getting “the Standard Male Cleaning Implements, namely a spray bottle of Windex and a wad of paper towels.” In this quote, he not only sarcastically says that he thinks all men think that you can clean everything with Windex and paper towels, he also uses something that everyone would know was wrong, such as just spraying Windex on everything.

Speaker

Dave Barry, a popular humor columnist, believes that a subject can be talked about as long as one approaches it with humor, or at least in the right way, just as he approaches that topic of gender differences with a humorous tone, as otherwise he would have had his readers up in arms. When he says “...a hormonal secretion takes place in women that enables them to see dirt that men cannot see, dirt at the level of molecules, whereas men don't generally notice it until it forms clumps large enough to support agriculture.” This statement is obviously supposed to be funny, as it makes fun of both genders, but if it had been meant in a serious way, then fewer people would have found this essay to be good, and more so they would have just found it insulting.

Dave Barry's use of sarcasm is evident in his use of specific words, such as in the line, “...over to her house for an evening of stimulating conversation and jovial companionship...” where his vocabulary suddenly expands and he starts to use words that are much bigger than he had been using for the rest of the essay. This use of sarcasm manages to get across the humor that he means to go with the essay, which helps him out as it makes his essay readable and so that people don't get mad at him for not taking the subject the right way.

Tone

Dave Barry exhibits a light and sarcastic attitude about the differences between men and women in “Battling Clean-Up and Striking Out.” These attitudes are expressed by the words “stimulating,” and “jovial,” as stated in the last paragraph. They get across the light and sarcastic tone of the essay. This tone helps make sure people know that he does not actually think what he is saying, or at least he does not think it seriously. This makes sure that the readers know that he wants to entertain them with what could be a very touchy topic.

A Person's Voice

What is voice in literature? What writing devices are used to create it?
Voice is the specific way a person writes, whether by certain writing devices or through word choice. All of it goes together to form a person's voice.

Write a sentence or sentences about a topic of your choice. Then explain how that example reflects your own voice, What writing devices did you use?
"Nic Smith Vantas-Egbert is quite the odd child, as both of his parents are themselves odd and he reflects that. No, many paragraphs would have to be used to truly describe the way Nic is odd." This reflects my writing because I tend to be very self aware when I'm writing, mentioning specific writing devices, and I also try to make those reading it laugh.

According to the documentary, people in eastern Kentucky talk around a subject. Identify a topic you would talk around, and explain why you would handle the topic in that manner.
If I were asking for something I most likely talk around the subject. For most things, I really do not see myself as trying to talk around something, as I tend to bluntly say whatever I'm thinking.

Why is voice important in nonfiction? What are some things we normally avoid in academic essays?
People usually try to avoid first person pronouns, though "we" isn't that bad, it's "I" that people avoid, and they also try to be concise with their writing and not beat around the bush.

What are some ways we can develop our own voices?
The best way is to just keep writing. The you writing, the more your voice will develop.

Dubstep vs Beatles- Eleanor Rigby

Which version do you like better? Why? 
I prefer the original myself, but I probably have a disposition towards that one that I have heard already. Also, I am not a huge fan of dubstep, and much prefer the original dubstep, and much prefer the orchestral sounds of the original as opposed to the "WUB WUB WUB" sound that the dubstep version had. I also don't like the repetition of it, and it is easier to the lyrics in the original, and the lyrics are very important to the song.

Which of these is more pleasing to listen to? Why?
I think that the orchestra makes the original one sound more pleasing. It is smoother to listen to the original as opposed to the repetition of the same sound that the dubstep has. The lyrics are also more obvious in the original, which if how it is supposed to sound.

Kandinsky vs Pollack

Which of these do you like better? Why?
I personally like the Kandinsky better, because it looks like he tried more. It looks like he had something in mind, in stead of just flinging paint at the canvas without much in mind but the colors.I like that the Kandinsky obviously had more planning too. I also really like the way it is painted and the shapes he used (I really like the angular look it has.)

Which of these is more pleasing to look at? Why?
Again, I think that the Kandinsky is more pleasing to the eye. It used color that wasn't usually associated with poo, in which the Kandinsky used bright colors (green, blue, red) and makes it look like it was actually supposed to look the way it looks. The problem here, I think, is that what people think, their opinion, will affect how they think something is pleasing. The word "pleasing" is an opinionated word, and the only way to say something is pleasing is for a person to think it is pleasing.

Sign Language - A short film

What single effect did you get from this short film?
Throughout it I got a very ironically optimistic effect. The main character seems very optimistic, but everything around him remains dreary and dull. It's not until the end that the optimistic part really hits you and makes you think that it had been truly optimistic all along.

Give 3 specific things that led you to that single effect.
"That's Harry, he's a joker...He must be thinking about something right now" The person he points to is leaning depressingly against his sign.
"There's so much community, so much life." As he says this, everyone is passing by without talking or looking at each other.
"Thought the guys might give me a send off or something." He says this, then looks around only to find nobody doing anything. Then, slowly, it turns out that he was right, and they did have a send off for him.

If you could change one aspect, what would it be and how would it affect the single affect?
I think that it would really hurt the single effect if there had been fewer people passing by in the background. The hustle and bustle is a good counterpoint for the dialogue and plot, as it shows off the irony and optimism that the main character has.

Harry Nilson, "Good Old Desk"

SOAPSTone this song.
Subject-He's talking about a desk he uses a lot
Occasion-60s-70s America
Audience-The typical American listener
Purpose-To inform people of how much he loves his desk (and what it stands for)
Tone-It's very happy and calm, nothing very upsetting in this song

What is he talking about?
At first I thought he would be talking about an old normal friend, but once I learned he was talking about God, I realize that he could still be talking about an old friend (if he sees God in that way, which it sounds like he does.) These quotes show how he is actually talking about God, instead of a desk:
"Such a comfort to know it's go no place to go"
"It's the one thing I've got, a huge success"
"Such a comfort to know, it's dependable and slow"

"Shooting An Elephant" by George Orwell

Subject: The subject of George Orwell's “Shooting An Elephant” is the “evil” of British imperialism. The subject of the evil of British imperialism is illustrated by how the narrator felt that he must kill the elephant, even though that did not agree with his personal opinions, just because the Burmese wanted him to. This demonstrates, in turn, that when a ruling power turns into tyrants, they at the same time turn into puppets, because the narrator felt the need to shoot the elephant just because that was what the Burmese onlookers expected him to do.

Occasion: “Shooting An Elephant” was first published in 1936, and at the time of its publish, Britain had been ruling Burma for about one hundred years, as a part of it India up until a year after this essay was published, when it became a self-governing nation of its own. It is shown in the essay that he is living in Burma as a police officer for the government that he hated, while being spat upon himself by the natives who saw him as a sign of the government they detested.

The time and place of the essay's creation influence the entire theme of the essay-British imperialism, in a country not as well known as the more common India. Today, the British are not known for their imperialism in anything but the history books-this essay would be out of place today. But as of the time of the writing, Burma was a part of the British empire, and the Burmese very much so disliked Europeans that even as a police officer, the narrator was treated to “insults hooted after [him] when [he] was at a safe distance.”

Audience: Orwell's audience for this piece is that of a political British citizen, one who actually takes the time to have an opinion about the empire one way or another. This target audience is demonstrated by the simple fact that he talks of the British Empire as an “us” and the Burmese as a “them.” This at least explains the fact that it is aimed at Brits, but it is further narrowed down to those who care about politics by the statement, "when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys."

Purpose: The purpose of “Shooting An Elephant” is persuasion; more importantly, it's a call to end imperialism. This is illustrated through the heavy political message that comes in throughout the piece, as well through his many statements which try to persuade the reader that imperialism, and indeed, any totalitarian regime, is not the way to go, politically. One of his strongest bits of wisdom was the line, “when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys." The connotations of the words in this line lead it heavily negative, with words like “tyrant” and “destroys.” The call to action is an undercurrent throughout the piece, which is his way of trying to tell his readers that they need to end imperialism in all its forms, everywhere they can.

Speaker: George Orwell is very well known for his books entitled Animal Farm and 1984. He was born in India, yet he spent most of his life in England, where he grew up. While he is said to not have had such strong political opinions until when he moved to Burma to be a police officer, once he did, he became famous for his essays and novels, depicting the evils of totalitarianism. Himself a democratic socialist, he was well known for his novels, and has even managed to be the source of the term “Orwellian,” now a byword for any authoritarian or manipulative social phenomenon opposed to a free society.

Tone: His overall tone is very serious and professional. While it does not seem as serious at first, the further into the essay, the more serious the tone becomes, talking about the death of the elephant and the tyranny of a totalitarian government. This is demonstrated through his somber tone throughout the description of the dead man, lying in the mud and mutilated from the elephant attack. This tone is very fitting for the subject and the purpose of the essay, as it manages to pull together the seriousness of the subject, while also using the professional tone to make the reader think that he knows what he is talking about.

Rockwell's "The Runaway"

In Rockwell's "The Runaway," Rockwell shows a portrait of a happy society, with a picture of little kid looking up adoringly at the police officer, a figure of authority. This picture focuses on a police officer peacefully talking to a kid, one who does not look to be in any fort of distress. Here, Rockwell ignores how life in America is-not peaceful, not calm, but distressed in the backdrop of the Cold War and the Red Scare. Rockwell instead focuses on how America used to be-if it used to be seven year old runaways calmly talking to a police officer in a diner, that is, rather than trying to that the boy home, or for the boy to show dislike of authority. Rockwell's "The Runaway" overlooks the fundamental rift that was rising in America throughout the 1950's-an emerging counterculture that was concerned not with how things were in America but rather how they are.

"Across the Universe" by The Beatles

Identify three images in this song.
"Images of broken light/which dance before me like a million eyes"
"Sounds of laughter shades of life/are ringing through my open ears"
"Thought meander like a restless wind inside a letter box"

Are any of there images symbols in context?
I don't think so...

Explain one symbol that you know to be a symbol. What makes it more than an image?
A rose is a very common symbol, specifically a red rose. A red rose commonly represents love, while other colors of roses mean various things, depending on the color. Red roses, however, is a very common symbol regarding love, associated with dates, and a boyfriend/girlfriend, or a wife/husband. Red roses symbolize romantic love.