Seeing 1
Deresiewicz does not really give a precise definition for the working class. Basically it is the group of people who are not poverty stricken but not wealthy enough to be completely self-sufficient. He asserts that the working class in America is not treated well enough. They make up eighty percent of the nation's population, are therefore vital to the success of the economy, and still they are overlooked as if they do not even exist. Deresiewicz uses this metaphor of an "invisible class" of people throughout his essay. He examines the values of the working class versus those of the middle and upper classes and argues the working class prejudices are no worse than any other social class's. He furthermore states that the working class has the virtues of being "prudent, thrifty, and industrious". He also uses several examples from TV shows, movies, and politics to show how the middle class is underestimated and overlooked.
Seeing 2
The primary audience of this essay is the middle and upper classes. This essay would have a different tone if it were directed at the working class, urging them to stand up and demand fair treatment. The author would have had to use different examples and techniques to appeal to the working class as well.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Pg. 154 Seeing 1 and 2
Seeing 1
Welty uses a very loose structure, one like that of a child. She recounts running to the little store for her mother whenever she needed someone to run errands. The way she reminisces about making the journey is childlike in nature, the reader can feel the excitement she is experiencing when she tells the story. She also abruptly goes off on different tangents, recalling conversations and a few songs from her childhood. She appeals to the reader's since of touch, smell, sight, and hearing, trying to get them to experience the same thing she is when she revisits her past. This reinforces her childlike approach, causing the viewer to see through the eyes of her younger self. This is evident by the way she describes the shelves, food, and especially the toys.
Seeing 2
The storekeeper appears very neutral in this photograph. His face is not expressing any particular raw emotion, although he does seem content. He is in the center of the picture with a shadow cast across the left side of his face. The items around him are brought to the viewer's attention by the lighting. There are bananas hanging from the top right corner. a photograph of a girl dancing in the top left of center, and a telephone hanging on the wall. There are no customers or other employees. I think this is because she wanted to portray the store owner as the sole proprietor of the little store, the one who cared about it the most.
Welty uses a very loose structure, one like that of a child. She recounts running to the little store for her mother whenever she needed someone to run errands. The way she reminisces about making the journey is childlike in nature, the reader can feel the excitement she is experiencing when she tells the story. She also abruptly goes off on different tangents, recalling conversations and a few songs from her childhood. She appeals to the reader's since of touch, smell, sight, and hearing, trying to get them to experience the same thing she is when she revisits her past. This reinforces her childlike approach, causing the viewer to see through the eyes of her younger self. This is evident by the way she describes the shelves, food, and especially the toys.
Seeing 2
The storekeeper appears very neutral in this photograph. His face is not expressing any particular raw emotion, although he does seem content. He is in the center of the picture with a shadow cast across the left side of his face. The items around him are brought to the viewer's attention by the lighting. There are bananas hanging from the top right corner. a photograph of a girl dancing in the top left of center, and a telephone hanging on the wall. There are no customers or other employees. I think this is because she wanted to portray the store owner as the sole proprietor of the little store, the one who cared about it the most.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
pg. 178 Seeing 1 and 2
Seeing 1
Sanders builds his argument by examining us culturally. He asserts that we have been taught, quite simply, that moving is good, and staying put is bad. He backs up this assertion with examples from his personal life experience, examples of American cultural icons such as cowboys, explorers, and immigrants of all types. He quotes other migrant authors as well as uses current examples of our migrant culture such as our national infrastructure and highway system. Sanders uses all of these things to construct his argument that being rooted in a place and community is better for us individually and for our species and environment as a whole than the migratory philosophy that built our nation. His tornado story at the beginning of the essay is very vivid visual of how determined a particular family was to stay faithful to their home. That kind of dedication and care is what Sanders believes we need to undo the damage that constant mobility has done to the human race and the Earth.
Seeing 2
The tone of Sander's essay is persuasive. He wants to counter our cultural standards of immigration and constant relocation with a lifestyle based on being rooted to a center, a homeland. He cites authors who support the trend he intends to counter, as well as spiritual leaders of both east and west that agree with his argument of community and connectedness. He uses personal experience, cultural trends, and even historical and religious allusions to further illustrate his point. His tone is not dry or scientific, but rather an interesting balance of facts and descriptions explaining where the philosophy of constant migration has taken our world versus where the values and benefits brought on by the care and dedication of those who have the "stay put" mindset can take us.
Sanders builds his argument by examining us culturally. He asserts that we have been taught, quite simply, that moving is good, and staying put is bad. He backs up this assertion with examples from his personal life experience, examples of American cultural icons such as cowboys, explorers, and immigrants of all types. He quotes other migrant authors as well as uses current examples of our migrant culture such as our national infrastructure and highway system. Sanders uses all of these things to construct his argument that being rooted in a place and community is better for us individually and for our species and environment as a whole than the migratory philosophy that built our nation. His tornado story at the beginning of the essay is very vivid visual of how determined a particular family was to stay faithful to their home. That kind of dedication and care is what Sanders believes we need to undo the damage that constant mobility has done to the human race and the Earth.
Seeing 2
The tone of Sander's essay is persuasive. He wants to counter our cultural standards of immigration and constant relocation with a lifestyle based on being rooted to a center, a homeland. He cites authors who support the trend he intends to counter, as well as spiritual leaders of both east and west that agree with his argument of community and connectedness. He uses personal experience, cultural trends, and even historical and religious allusions to further illustrate his point. His tone is not dry or scientific, but rather an interesting balance of facts and descriptions explaining where the philosophy of constant migration has taken our world versus where the values and benefits brought on by the care and dedication of those who have the "stay put" mindset can take us.
Dorothy Allison
I had to read through this particular excerpt a few times to really grasp the scenario it was depicting. It is apparently a lower class family, dealing with all sorts of trials and tribulations, and the narrator seems to be the only one that is competent to care for such a dysfunctional family. She describes the difficulties they face, both physically and financially. However, lots of her attention is placed on the children. Also the final two paragraphs give more insight into the narrator's thoughts and emotions. She is the one capable of cleaning up the mistakes of both the children and her sister, the only real competent parent figure in the excerpt, and yet she cannot have children. Furthermore she tells the reader what she would like to say to her sister, but that she won't because it wouldn't make much of a difference anyway.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Pg. 145 Seeing 1 and 2
Seeing 1
In House by the Railroad, Hopper directs the attention to the house, but makes the reader view it as if it were a person. His descriptions bring the reader's attention to the elements surrounding the house. The situation is quite desolate, and the over all tone seems to be one of hopelessness. The house has been abandoned both by the sky above it and the earth below it. No trains pass by on the tracks. It is a sad and lonely picture. The "last afternoon shadow" is vivid both in the poem and picture. The house seems to become more desolate the longer it is stared at.
Seeing 2
Hirsch's poem makes the picture come alive. He focuses on attributes of the house itself as well as its surroundings. It makes the viewer see the painting as a person, with emotions and feelings such as shame. He uses words and phrases like "being stared at"and "gawky". He also uses the overall themes of someone holding their breath under water in anticipation and general loneliness. When he repeats these phrases and themes toward the end, it is clear they describe him, a real person, as opposed to personifying the house like they do at the beginning of the poem.
In House by the Railroad, Hopper directs the attention to the house, but makes the reader view it as if it were a person. His descriptions bring the reader's attention to the elements surrounding the house. The situation is quite desolate, and the over all tone seems to be one of hopelessness. The house has been abandoned both by the sky above it and the earth below it. No trains pass by on the tracks. It is a sad and lonely picture. The "last afternoon shadow" is vivid both in the poem and picture. The house seems to become more desolate the longer it is stared at.
Seeing 2
Hirsch's poem makes the picture come alive. He focuses on attributes of the house itself as well as its surroundings. It makes the viewer see the painting as a person, with emotions and feelings such as shame. He uses words and phrases like "being stared at"and "gawky". He also uses the overall themes of someone holding their breath under water in anticipation and general loneliness. When he repeats these phrases and themes toward the end, it is clear they describe him, a real person, as opposed to personifying the house like they do at the beginning of the poem.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Pg. 127 Seeing 1
Seeing 1
Busch describes lots of different objects, many of them prized by her children at early ages, and attempts to explain what gives them their value. It could be sentimental, based on an individual's connection to an object. It could also be monetary, based on what society is willing to pay for the object. Still there are other factors like aesthetic design and the pleasure that it evokes. The aesthetic pleasure evoked by design is also closely tied to the culture of the person that values the object. All of these factors can be applied to certain situations, people, and objects. It really depends on the object, and more importantly the individual. I think each element discussed of what could give an object its value resonates with all of us to some degree or another with some object or another. Personally, I don't find myself obsessing over objects and their value. I can think of things that I find significant, things I love and appreciate, and maybe some things I value more than I should but ultimately they are just things and nothing lasts forever.
Busch describes lots of different objects, many of them prized by her children at early ages, and attempts to explain what gives them their value. It could be sentimental, based on an individual's connection to an object. It could also be monetary, based on what society is willing to pay for the object. Still there are other factors like aesthetic design and the pleasure that it evokes. The aesthetic pleasure evoked by design is also closely tied to the culture of the person that values the object. All of these factors can be applied to certain situations, people, and objects. It really depends on the object, and more importantly the individual. I think each element discussed of what could give an object its value resonates with all of us to some degree or another with some object or another. Personally, I don't find myself obsessing over objects and their value. I can think of things that I find significant, things I love and appreciate, and maybe some things I value more than I should but ultimately they are just things and nothing lasts forever.
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