Close Reading Assignment

Shades of gray for SEAL book 'No Easy Day'

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/story/2012-09-17/shades-grey-no-easy-day/57797934/1

In this editorial, the author (whom I will assume to be male in order to avoid using "he or she" everywhere) addresses the book about the killing of Osama bin Laden, No Easy Day.  The book is a best-seller, topping the list of USA Today's best-sellers.  The article, however, focuses specifically on the controversy publishing the book has caused; he had signed non-disclosure forms to never reveals classified secrets and some believe the publication of the book broke the agreement.  The author of the article addresses and emphasizes this ambiguity through different aspects of rhetoric.

As it is written for the average population, much of the diction in the editorial is casual.  Phrases such as "kiss-and-tell" are scattered within the text and there is minimal technical jargon.  Such an effect allows readers of most backgrounds to understand the writing, without the need for particular training in specific fields.  Since the author's purpose is to share his opinion, this makes the job a lot easier by ensuring that the opinion can, at least, be understood.  Other words also emphasize the ambiguity in the author's tone, as if he does not want to commit too heavily to a side of the discussion.  The words seem skeptical at times, such as the usage of the term "far-fetched", and fair-minded at others, as is evident in the phrase "but other considerations cast the book in a different light."  Such wording reminds the reader that there is more than one side to the tale and both need to be considered.

Figurative language also grace the article.  From the very beginning, the title alludes to another book whose name is widely known: Shades of Gray.  In the editorial itself, however, the usage of the term has been more of an expression, emphasizing the meaning of the title itself rather than the book.  There are continued references to color.  The situation is claimed to be "anything but black and white" and the article itself ends with the phrase "'shades of gray''.  The references help emphasize the popularity of the book No Easy Day, as the beginning of the article states that the book has passed Shades of Gray, which is perhaps infamously widely known, in the USA Today best-seller list.  It also provides emphasis on the ambiguity of the situation which can be sensed through other aspects of the author's writing.  The use of understatement in the line "Then there's the inconvenient fact that SEAL Team 6 carved itself a unique place in U.S. history, and at great risk" also illustrates the controversy.  The weakness of the term "inconvenient" reminds the reader that it is far more than inconvenient, but it does not help arrive at a solution.  However, the situation has no easy way of being resolved.

The formation of the sentences continue to illustrate the controversy of the book's publication.  The paragraphs that are not used for description or detail are short.  This provides a feeling of almost hesitance, as though there is not much definitive to say on any particular topic.  Short transition sentences in the article are placed as separate paragraphs, which points them out to the reader.  The sentences themselves remind the reader of the ambiguity in how to treat the book's publication and the formatting of these sentences keep them from hiding in the shadows of other sentences.  The usage of questions to move forward the writing also helps highlight the controversy.  Lines like "So what to do?" explicitly announce the problem with the situation and asks for a solution.  They keep the audience's mind focused on the problem at hand and suggest that there may not be a good idea at the moment.

Through its use of rhetoric, the author of the editorial gets his message across clearly in ways other than simply the meaning of the sentences themselves.  Aspects of his language, his diction, and his syntax provide emphasis for the controversy of the publication.  This article is effective in communicating the gray area that the publication of No Easy Day resides in.

The Daughter of the Silliest Woman in the World

1990. Choose a novel or play that depicts a conflict between a parent (or a parental figure) and a son or daughter. Write an essay in which you analyze the sources of the conflict and explain how the conflict contributes to the meaning of the work. Avoid plot summary.

Perhaps one of the most recognizable opening lines ever penned, "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife" is Jane Austen's manner of setting the stage for her satirical novel, Pride and Prejudice.  Through the story of the changes and struggles in Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy's relationship, she addresses what she perceives as oddities or flaws in society of Regency England.  One particular way this is done is by the relationship between the protagonist, Elizabeth, and her mother, Mrs. Bennet, which works to symbolize the relationship Elizabeth has to the societal norms around her.

From the very opening of the book, it is hinted that Mrs. Bennet does not have a very close relationship to her second-oldest daughter.  When Mr. Bennet comments that he wishes to mention Lizzy's good traits to the newly arrived Mr. Bingley, her mother protests vehemently, insisting that she is not as pretty as Jane and not as friendly as Lydia.  Mr. Bennet goes to his favorite child's defense, insisting that she is more clever and witty than any of the other girls, she responds by insisting that he cannot abuse his children in such a way.  She completely ignoring her own hypocrisy in doing the same only moments earlier when she implied that Elizabeth was not worthy of positive words and attentions from the new neighbor when compared to her sisters.  From the very first chapter, therefore, it can be established that there will be arising conflicts between Elizabeth and her mother originating from their rough relationship, which further serve to move the plot along.

Throughout the novel, many different situations help give rise to a characterization of Mrs. Bennet as a woman who is easily excitable and of a weak mind.  Her focus on marrying off her daughters, originating from the need to find them all good homes once her husband dies and their estate is then inherited by a distant family member, resembles the concerns of society as a whole.  In the Regency era and particularly in the gentry, the primary goal of women were to get married and be proper wives to their husbands.  They had limited powers and many inheritances were through the male line, which further emphasized their reliance on their dowry and their position in society.  Because of this, the marriage of young daughters was of vital importance to parents, and Mrs. Bennet is a clear indication of that fact.  Her chief concern has been described to be the goal of marrying off all of her daughters and throughout the book, her opinions have been voracious on the subject of marriage.

Elizabeth's personalities and beliefs contrast strongly with her mothers, resulting in many moments of exasperation throughout the book.  Seeing the tale from Elizabeth's perspective, the reader sympathizes with her in various stages as she rebels against the expectations that society, and her mother, have set for her.  The usage of limited third person perspective allows the reader to understand the inner thoughts and workings of Elizabeth's mind as she shares her beliefs.  She shares that she believes in marrying for love and happiness through her actions and her discussion about marriage with her close friend Charlotte Lucas, who insists that happiness in marriage is entirely by chance.  When Elizabeth disagrees, she shows her own beliefs, that happiness and love are important for marriage, a belief that her mother seems to disagree with.  This can be seen in Mrs. Bennet's reaction to Elizabeth turning down a marriage proposal from Mr. Collins, a man of extreme self-esteem and strange attitudes, with whom Elizabeth asserts that she could never be happy.  However, Mrs. Bennet completely ignores her daughter's protests, insisting that her daughter marry the man and proclaiming dramatically that the family shall be turned out to the hedgerows  - that is, be without home - due to her daughter's pigheadedness.  Again, Mrs. Bennet shows that her thoughts are primarily that of marriage for security, rather than for the love, respect, and happiness that her daughter wishes for.  The mother's view more closely resembles that of her society as a whole, while Elizabeth protests such ideas.

As a satirical author, Austen likes to show problems in the society in which she lives.  Her characterization of Mrs. Bennet addresses her dislikes of the concerns of society as a whole.  From the very first sentence of the novel, her distaste for the pressing importance of marital concerns on women of the gentry class from Regency era is apparent.  Throughout Pride and Prejudice, this abhorrence of societal expectations continues through her ridicule of Mrs. Bennet, who represents them.  The woman is established as silly and nervous, making a fool of herself and her family in public.  She constantly embarrasses her children through her loud proclamations that Mr. Bingley will marry her beautiful and gentle Jane, insisting on showing off her daughter's good fortune before there is any established proof of an engagement of any sort.  Again and again, through her loud and rather rude behavior, Austen emphasizes the silliness and shamefulness of the typical views and hopes of society.

Through the rocky relationship between Elizabeth and her mother, the reader can find more than just a woman who does not understand her daughter.  Instead, the reader can discover through the portrayal and actions of Mrs. Bennet the faults of the society itself and the way her daughter can find happiness even without following society's norms.

So Far...

To be honest, it doesn't seem like we've actually covered a ton so far.  Well, I don't say this meaning that we haven't learned anything or that I haven't learned anything because I definitely have.  What  I meant is that I'm sure we have a lot of things to cover that we haven't even begun to touch on yet.  Most of the material we've touched on has been summer work material; we have had only four days of school, after all.  However, much of it has been focusing on two points that I think are actually probably the most important of the class, which is unsurprising.

The summer work especially seems to be focusing on how to read.  How To Read Literature Like a Professor was actually very entertaining as well as informative.  I definitely enjoyed reading it, since it had a pretty entertaining and strong voice.  Much of it seemed to focus on different aspects of literature that can be understood deeper than simply as a plot element.  I've heard of some things, like the Journey/Quest, before, when we were talking about archetypes.  It reminded me of when, in Mrs. Reed's American Literature class, we watched Star Wars through different critical lenses and the characteristics of many epic tales stood out clearly through the archetypal lens.  Certain aspects of Foster's book seem to focus on similar concepts, such as the meanings behind disfigurement or the commonality of Greek mythology.  It really makes me think more now on the meaning of Darth Vader's prosthetic body or how Luke not knowing his father is reminiscent of Oedipus' lack of knowledge, though luckily for Luke, it doesn't cause complete destruction of his life.  Our reading of the poems and the questions we had to answer for the diagnostic test also work on reading.  While some of them focused more on the vocabulary we had to learn, others - mainly those that talked about theme and author's message - also did use certain aspects of the book, such as the meaning of weather or spring.  In a way, the diagnostic tests and other reading we've had to do allowed me to focus on using the techniques, which was great.  They helped me practice understanding exactly what I was looking for and how it'd help me on the AP exam and in the future (The Foster presentation was actually really hard; I don't know that many things from pop culture.)

Our practice with reading also focused a lot on poetry, particularly the different vocabulary that we'd need.  And I feel I must mention again that the vocabulary test we had to do on Quia was actually really really hard.  But I digress.  Some of the words I thought I knew, but clearly not well enough.  It makes me wonder whether I've been mislabeling poems and poetic devices when we talked about them in Lit/Comp 9.  At the same time, it's also given me quite a few new concepts to work into my poems in the future (I do like to write poetry in my spare time, though it's sometimes hard to come up with something I really like).  I do hope we get to practice recognizing these different poetic devices more in the future; given the results of the quiz, we all still need a lot of work with them.  I'm thinking not only in terms of my test score, but also because they are interesting and I like securely learning things, just for myself.  I'm not really sure where I'm going with this point, except that the poetry reading was fun and I hope we do them more.  (I also really liked that Shakespeare sonnet we read as part of our diagnostics test.  I think Sonnet 55 has just become my favorite sonnet.)

We've also talked a bit on how to write properly.  The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing started that discussion off, which focused primarily on not sounding like a snob in college essays and such.  Of course, when I was writing my response to it, and even as I type now, I'm a little self-conscious about how I write.  I know for a fact that I used to have this problem; I somehow made the connection between "mature" writing and very unauthentic (I'm not sure if that's the word I'm actually looking for but that's as close as I'm going to get for now) writing.  Thinking back to all of the things I've written for English classes before, I wonder sometimes how I haven't bored my teachers to sleep, considering the fact that I'm sure some of them was rather bland and void of good voice.  This is also partially related to what the powerpoints were talking about.  They focused primarily on the art of AP writing and how to make arguments, but the basic idea is the same.  We have to not bore our audiences, which is why audience is something to consider in rhetoric.  And Nuts and Bolts also focuses on keeping things concise, which makes our arguments easier to follow, a point made in the powerpoint on crafting good arguments.  This is another problem I think I have in my writing; I tend to write my thoughts as they come to me, which means that they aren't always extremely organized.  This blog post might even be an example of that, though at least I'm pretty sure I'm not writing with a particularly snobby voice right now.  Hopefully, I'll be able to focus on these ideas more in the future and improve that aspect of my writing.

So overall, even though we haven't been in school for long, this class has given me quite a few things to focus on, many of which can likely be carried over into other classes as well.  The things we've covered related to reading and writing have given me much cause for thought and I can't wait to see what we cover in class next.

(P.S.  I know this is submitted a bit late.  I would have done it earlier but my laptop is refusing to connect to the Internet and I just got on my family's desktop now.)

Me Talk Pretty One Day: Writing Pretty

David Sedaris' "Me Talk Pretty One Day" reads like a story.  He narrates his experience returning to school as a middle-aged man to learn to speak French and "talk pretty".  His tone is compelling and distinctive, with a healthy dose of humor to keep the narration moving and the readers interested.  It seems entirely unlike the writing that is expected out of a college student.  However, a closer examination shows that he follows many of the guidelines laid out for college undergraduate writers in The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing by Michael Harvey.

This can be seen through the language usage in the excerpt.  In Nuts and Bolts, Harvey denounces the so-called "pompous style" of writing, which dresses up our prose with big words and elaborate sentence structures (1).  He emphasizes simple, concise wording that tells the facts plainly (Harvey 9).  Throughout Sedaris' writing, his active and descriptive voice keeps the reader's attention through his plain language.  "The first day of class was nerve-wracking because I knew I'd be expected to perform," he tells us (Sedaris 11).  The facts are plainly stated and the words all familiar.  Many of his descriptions throughout the excerpt remain in such a form.  "When the phone rang, I ignored it.  If someone asked me a question, I pretended to be deaf" (Sedaris 14).  Sedaris shows us his actions and choices, keeping the situation clear and easy to follow.  Until the very end, the writing is simple and consistent, keeping the reader engaged and following without much difficulties.

Through his skillful use of language, Sedaris shares with his readers not only an essay but a memory.  His diction and plain vocabulary illustrate his meaning far better than if he had chosen to use complicated sentence structures, way too many prepositional phrases, and vocabulary that seemed to come from abusing a thesaurus.  Though it is uncertain whether David Sedaris eventually learned to "talk pretty someday," according to the The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing, at least, he provides a great example at "writing pretty."

Poetry Analysis

Well, I didn't do as badly as I thought I would.  That's always a good thing.  And even as I worked through the five examples, I could tell that I was improving.  Still, there are specific things I should probably focus on, which will make my improvement easier, I think.

1.  Learn more poetry terms.

2.  Read every word carefully.

3.  Different kinds of figurative language.

4.  When looking at themes, focus on the big picture.

5.  Context, context, context.

Runner ups: Review meter and review poetry forms.

A lot of these are probably pretty self-explanatory.  Poetry terms.  Yes, I know this tripped me up a couple of times.  I'd never even heard of masculine vs. feminine rhyming before.  Half-rhymes I've heard of but aren't familiar with.  Same with consonance.  Knowing these terms would have been helpful in answering more of these questions correctly.

Reading every word is actually very important.  I'm a skimmer; I always have been when I read things for tests and such.  But it's way too easy to skip over something that might be of vital importance.  Poetry is different from prose in that poetry has to be very concise.  Every word matters.  I need to remember that.

As much as I feel like I know figurative language pretty well, they still managed to trip me up a few times.  The differences between simply using a term as a descriptor and using it as a metaphor.  What is a synecdoche?  I know how to use some of them in my writing and others I might use without knowing the technical name for them, but recognizing them in literature appears to be an entirely different story.

Focusing on the big picture is important.  I know myself.  I know that I like to get sidetracked by little things that catch my attention.  When I'm answering questions on the main idea, however, this can trip me up.  My brain remembers some little detail that suddenly seems really important and I get an urge that the small detail, not the main idea, is what the theme of the poem is.  This is actually also applicable to normal literature as well.  The main idea is often related in the text, but hidden.  It's not a small detail.

By context, I mainly mean relating things in the poem to other things.  At least twice, I was caught on not knowing what "manna dew" or "relish" was (from the first poem).  As such, I guessed on one and missed the point on the other.  Reading in context, and hopefully reading more in general, will help me work out this problem.  Context also refers to everything else earlier in the list as well.  Some things are different in different context.  Recognizing context will help in recognizing that particular aspect of poetry.

And I might as well address the runner-ups as well.  I usually do not have much trouble with meter, but that question in the first poem about the meter confused me.  Counting the syllables gave me 4-4-4-2, which doesn't fit with any of the answers.  Reviewing meter (and terms related to meter) will likely help in the future.  Furthermore, poetry forms are also a bit of trouble.  Sonnets are easily recognizable, but other forms can seem very similar and I should review those as well.

74%. Okay...

I got a 74% or 37/50.  I'll admit that I wasn't nearly as surprised as some other people seem to have been with their scores.  I'm a bit behind on the homework and my friends have talked about how much harder the test is than they expected, and that their scores were a surprise to them.  I cannot say that I'm overly disappointed or shocked.  I just sort of... am.  And from what I can tell, the score really isn't that bad.  But I digress.

There were a few minutes of frustration, however, as I looked through the correct answers, reasoning my way through what made them correct (and occasionally referring to the given explanations.  Far too often, I find myself thinking that I over-thought a situation.  At least twice, my original instinct was the right answer, but when I thought it through, it seemed to obvious or too shallow.  I suppose I am expecting more out of everything than necessarily exists.  I know this is a problem of mine, though, and I plan on addressing it accordingly.

Funnily enough, I am also rather amused by my results.  Going in, I had expectations about which passages I would be able to answer well and which ones I would make a mess of.  While some of them were correct (I know I am bad at analyzing writing similar to that of the last passage), I had not expected my answers for the first poem to go so well, nor my answers for the excerpt of Pride and Prejudice to go so poorly.  I have often believed that my understanding of authors' meanings in poetry is a little different from their original intentions, simply because there are different interpretations (which, I suppose, also means that everybody is correct, but I'm not quite sure what that means in terms of multiple choice questions with one right answer and four wrong answers).  However, for both poems, I did considerably better than I had expected.  On the other hand, I expected the excerpt from a book that I have always enjoyed reading to have gone much better than it did.  Having read the entire novel multiple times, I was confident that I was able to tell what Austen's intentions and messages were.  There, I think, rests my problems; I was over-confident and brought in information that was better implied in other parts of the novel, that reading the rest of the book would make visible in the first passage.  I think it is a good thing I did badly on this; I will definitely learn from the experience for potential future situations like this one.

And I think this is getting a bit longer than the original assignment meant for this post to be, so I should probably stop soon.  I guess, overall, I'm not disappointed.  Actually, part of me is pretty excited; there's a lot yet that I have to learn and I'm looking forward to learning it.