Close Reading - Nov. 18

Brian Fischer: The President Sins on National Television

http://www.afa.net/Blogs/BlogPost.aspx?id=2147529292

Brian Fischer: The President Sins on National Television points out the obvious reasons why Obama has sinned on national television. After all, he must be the root of all evil for wanting to raise taxes on the rich. Through its use of diction, detail and syntax this article shows the evil that is Obama.

Brian Fischer: The President Sins on National Television uses strong pejorative connotation to knock-down all that is Obama. He uses words like "ugly", "sin", "hurt", "lust", "slavering" and "slobbering" all to describe Obama, his party and their policies. If that's not strong connotation, I don't know what is. All of these words are given to drive home the idea that Obama is leading 'Merica down the road of sin and corruption.

Fischer also uses a lot of detail to make his awesome, and obviously correct, opinion. By throwing in details like "...he is compelled to take more money from the rich. This is a direct, public and disgraceful violation of the 10th Commandment."  Wow. Really, just wow. I never knew the president made public statements. Also, I didn't know he was all for stealing from another man's wife, possessions, or anything that is his (achem... the 10th commandment... essentially). That added detail made me really think twice about our president and his duty to the country to be a good christian...

Lastly, Fischer gets creative with his use of syntax. He mixes it up quite often, and it always seems to have a purpose. Superb syntax usage, Fisher. Well done. Often, there is a strong statement that is a single sentence, acting alone as a paragraph. Yes, that is journalistic technique my friends, short paragraphs. However, that single sentence paragraph is usually followed by a longer paragraph to support his single sentence. What is in these longer paragraphs? More information about Obama and all of the rules he is breaking. This structure supports the general theme of his article: Obama is a crazed sinner that is terribly leading our country.

The use of diction, detail and imagery in Brian Fischer: The President Sins on National Television is all there for the purpose to show readers just how horrible president Obama is. So horrible, in fact, he got elected to a second term. Maybe that means we're all going to hell now.

* In case you haven't noticed, my extreme liberal and democratic views are kind of shown here in my commentary. If anything offends you, I do apologize. The American Family Values Association tends to stir up the worst in me, which is why I find them so easy to write about on close reading days. There is no way to argue that they aren't extremely biased, which is the kind of article we need for the assignment.

Open Prompt - Nov. 11

1979. Choose a complex and important character in a novel or a play of recognized literary merit who might on the basis of the character's actions alone be considered evil or immoral. In a well-organized essay, explain both how and why the full presentation of the character in the work makes us react more sympathetically than we otherwise might. Avoid plot summary.

Lennie Small in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is an important character who, on the basis of his actions alone might be considered evil or immoral. Steinbeck fully presents Lennie in a way, though, that makes the reader react more sympathetically than if they were going off of only actions. Steinbeck does this in order to show the importance of friendship and to dramatize the idea that the American Dream isn't always plausible. 

Steinbeck gives Lennie a mental disability in order to help the readers sympathize with Lennie's otherwise evil actions. He is a character that, on the surface, kills animals and people. Multiple times throughout the book, Lennie is seen killing a mouse or anything with fur. Without any background information, this might seem like an evil man killing innocent animals. However, since Lennie acts a lot younger than his age due to his disability, the readers don't make him responsible for his actions. When the readers don't blame him for his wrong doings, it makes it a lot easier to like his character and allows the reader to value the bond between Lennie and George. In the end the bond between the two characters ends tragically and when George must kill Lennie for his own good. Since the readers were sympathetically attached to Lennie, it drove home the importance of friendship between the two and allowed for the reader to understand that the character's dreams will not come true. 

Steinbeck also shows Lennie as a kid in a man's body in order to help the readers react more sympathetically. Lennie is characterized as a big, burly man who can lift more weight than anyone his size. This ideal characteristic, though, is unimportant to him. Instead, Lennie wants a farm, a dog, and other things that make him seem childish. As time goes on, Steinbeck's descriptions and imagery allow the reader to see Lennie as a child. His dependence on George is another thing that makes him into a little kid. Since he is only "a child" his actions seem innocent and harmless even though he kills living things. Lennie is simply unaware of his true strength and doesn't understand what he is capable of doing. This, too, shows the American dream isn't always possible. No matter what Lennie wants or works for, he simply can't reach his goals. He cannot stop killing animals, he cannot stop getting in trouble, and he cannot act like an adult. Since he cannot do any of these things, it makes the dream impossible to reach. 

Through George, Steinbeck also helps the reader sympathize with Lennie. George is constantly having to deal with Lennie and get him out of all kinds of trouble. While this is hard for George, it still makes the reader cringe when George is yelling at Lennie and doesn't seem to understand that he is just a kid. Steinbeck uses George to help take care of Lennie as well, adding to his innocence. Between the two there is a bond that is unbreakable. Sadly, their friendship is put to the test when George has to kill Lennie. Though Lennie's death might look like a good thing if one were to just take into account his actions, it really is a sad moment for the reader. Steinbeck created a character that is easily loved and, when he dies, the American dream the two characters shared died as well. 

All in all, Steinbeck uses many techniques to help the readers sympathize with Lennie, a character that seems immoral on the surface. Through his mental disorder, his child-like innocence, and his best friend George, Lennie is a character that is not easily forgotten. The friendship shown and the tragic ending shows the reader that not all dreams come true. 

Response to Course Material - Nov. 4

Upon deciding what to write about for this blog, I thought of nothing. What, really, have we done? Turns out... a lot. While we seemingly have moved through class at a nice pace with little homework, there has still been a lot of material covered. First: Tone exercises. Almost everyday I look forward to the quick-wit response to a tone like indifferent or facetious. Most of the time while Holmes is explaining, I come up with a sentence with the tone of the day and leave room for one noun. Ex. I do not care for _____ for it is of no interest to me. Boom. Indifferent. It doesn't really matter which noun is given to me, for I can adjust my sentence accordingly. While it doesn't always work, I have had some success.
We also have been doing a lot of AP work. This has helped me pay attention to distractors. I was unaware of how much I fell for their tricks until we did this. The one I usually can get rid of almost immediately is the opposite. The trippy distractors are when there is a partly true answer, to two right answers and one is vague. Those... are my weak spots. Writing questions has helped a little... but only to the point where I know I still need to work on paying attention.
For the past week (ish) we have been watching Death of a Salesman. I am really interested in diving deeper into the book because the movie was so perplexing. There are quite a few questions I have: Does Willy have a disorder? What is the role of Women? Why does Biff cause so much pain for Willy? What is the significance of the contrast between Biff and Happy?
All of the above I hope to see when I start annotations. Things I have seen, though, include many symbols and many ways to look through different lenses. This can include the marxist lense, which looks at the power and money of the situation. Specific characters they would look at: Charle, Ben and Willy.