Blog #13: Close Reading 3

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/20/all-hail-the-sweet-potato/?ref=opinion

With holiday season fast approaching, it is time to get the turkeys in the oven and the holiday goodies cooking on the stove. However, in this article, Mark Bittman refutes the hype about turkeys and provides reasoning to why sweet potatoes should reign supreme at our holiday dinner tables. Through the use of diction, imagery, and detail the author convinces even the most skeptic readers, that the turkey may not be all that it is made out to be.

The diction used in this articles turns the reader away from the delicious-smelling turkey. From "breast meat that’s cottony-dry" and "leg meat that is underdone, tough, stringy or all three" the diction used to describe the turkey makes it unappealing to eat and leaves the reader wondering what else is available beside eating turkey (para. 2). The use of "cotton-dry", "underdone", and "stringy" makes a seemingly delicious turkey no longer make the mouths of readers water and helps to prove Bittman's point that the turkey isn't as good as it seems.

The use of imagery in the article helps further persuade the reader to choose a new favorite during the holiday season, sweet potatoes. In the description of the sweet potato, readers can almost taste the sweet potato in their mouth. Imagery created through "sweet stickiness, from the caramelizing liquid that oozes from the inside out" and "creamy white to familiar orange to deep red and even purple" makes the reader see the sweet potato in their mind and imagine the taste on their tongue (para. 6). This image, is much different than that created in the description of the turkey. This image is warm and inviting, just like the holiday season.

Finally, the author uses details to push the sweet potato onto your plant at dinnertime. "[A] little bit of crunchy chewiness, from the parts of the skin that this liquid helps brown; a soft, velvety yet slightly leathery skin, perfectly edible; and, of course, the meltingly tender, ultra-luxurious flesh" the detail shows the reader exactly what they upgrading to with the sweet potato (para. 6). Even the most skeptic reader can't deny that this description sounds more than appetizing, unlike the turkey previously described. Another detailed used to persuade readers is the dietary benefits that are found in sweet potatoes, "...beta-carotene (happily, made more bio-available when eaten with a little fat), fiber and a host of micronutrients, including not only common ones but those whose benefits are still being explored" showing the reader, that the sweet potato not only has a great taste but is at the same time good for you (para. 8).

Through the use of details, imagery, and diction the author is able to persuade the reader that the benefits that sweet potatoes offer overrule the holiday traditions that they turkey offers.

Blog #12: Open Prompt 3

2008, Form B. In some works of literature, childhood and adolescence are portrayed as times graced by innocence and a sense of wonder; in other works, they are depicted as times of tribulation and terror. Focusing on a single novel or play, explain how its representation of childhood or adolescence shapes the meaning of the work as a whole.

      A person's childhood leads to some of the most important moments in a life. People grow, learn new traits, and face some of the hardest struggles that will affect them for a life time. Childhood and adolescence portrayed, shape the story as a whole whether it be in a good or a bad way. In the novel Finding Fish, Antwone Fisher's childhood is depicted throughout the first half of the novel. Through the terror and verbal abuse written about in this novel, the work as a whole is takes on a whole new meaning. Instead of being a retelling of Antwone's life, because of his childhood this novel becomes a story of strength and perseverance.

     After being put into the foster care system, Antwone is sent to live with the Pickett family, consisting of Mizz Picket, Reverend Pickett, and two other foster care children. Within a few chapters of the novel it is clear that the Pickett's are only in it for the money provided for caring for foster children. Through the verbal and physical abuse suffered, Antwone's childhood takes on a whole new meaning and shape how he behaves in the future and the rest of the novel. Throughout the abuse, Antwone manages to continue through school and one day become a member of the Navy, showing a true strength that not many abused children are able to feel. The ultimate sign of strength and perseverance found in this novel is Antwone's final encounter with Dwight, where Antwone sees how his life could have ended. 

     Along with suffering the abuse from Mizz Pickett, Antwone is also sexually abused by his babysitter. These encounters shape how Antwone behaves with others in the rest of the novel. Distant at first, Antwone was fearful to show emotion or connect with anyone with his life. Until meeting a therapist in the Navy, Antwone was closed off and unable to put the past behind him. Remarkably, his is able to share his story and take strength from all that he has been through.

     A childhood, good or bad, shapes the way a person's life progresses. Whether in real life or in a piece of fiction, the meaning of a person's life story can be dramatically changed by how they are raised.

Blog #11: Response to Course Materials 3

     Over the past few weeks I have been able to get more comfortable with identifying DIDLS within pieces of work. Annotating The American Dream helped me in picking out these elements and learning how they can impact a piece of writing. Before doing this assignment I was able to find the different elements of DIDLS within work but I had trouble understanding why the elements were there. Now, with all the practice in The American Dream I have more confidence with using DIDLS. The best example in I found in The American Dream was the use of diction that Albee used. This diction also tied into the different literary terms that we have learned and studied. The use of "bumble" instead of "bundle" was an example of malapropism and diction found in The American Dream. This was important to the story line. Because this diction was not used properly it made the baby seem less important and shows how Mommy, Daddy, and Grandma de-humanized the "bumble".

     After doing the essay for Chapter 4, I also realized how important an author's tone is to a piece of work. Though writing all about the same topic, the literature in Chpt. 4 all varied greatly because of the different tones found in the poem. Some of these tones I was able to recognize because of our tone challenges in class. I explored this idea more in my essay by comparing The Last Colossus and Let America Be America Again. Even though the author's wrote about the same topic one had a very positive tone, and the other very negative. Now when writing essays, I will be very careful as to what tone I write with based on the essay at hand.

    However, what I found most helpful in the past few weeks has been tying everything together as one. It seems that with every assignment that we do somehow corresponds with something else that we have done in class. After writing our chapter 4 essays we created a skit with a character of The American Dream. This has helped me greatly. By comparison, I could understand the character of Grandma more. When we first compared Grandma and Langston Hughes, I had believed that they were more similar than different. But by the end of the conversation I had began to change my mind. Grandma knows that the American Dream once existed but also recognizes that it is beginning to change now, but Hughes on the other hand does not believe that it ever existed. Looking back now, this makes the most sense when comparing the two.

    As the end of the quarter approached, it was once again time for the terms test. After getting a not so great score the first time I was determined to do better and I did. I believe that by applying the literary terms to different passages in class and annotating I was more familiar with how to identify them within a passage.