Reading Critically Summary

"Reading Critically" attempts to provide several strategies (and one example) of how to best approach literary analysis or critical reading. The article recommends the use of contextual information, such as the title of a work, the author's personal history, and the place and time in which the work was written. To further one's understanding and focus, the author suggests the use of note-taking strategies. Ultimately, critical reading should result in the following processes: summary, a shortened description of the material; analysis, examining individual components of a work and their relations; inference, drawing conclusions; and meaning, the main purpose of a piece. Additionally, "Reading Critically" promotes the examination of word choice and writing structure as a means of furthering literary analysis. To illustrate this process, "Reading Critically" performs the process on Mary Fisher's "The Broken Chain," a story about the distinction between impulsive and restrained physical force (in other words, corporal punishment as opposed to violence).

The Avett Brothers- "Shame"

• The subject of this song is a failed relationship. The tone with which the speaker approaches the subject is regretful.
• The use of "sink" shows regret because the speaker suggests that he slipped into poor behavior in a manner that was weak and helpless. The choice of "fall" shows the inability to the speaker to repair the relationship; in essence, the futility of his current attempts to undo his past misdeeds. The use of "float" indicates ambiguity and a lack of direction which plagues the speaker.

SOAPSTone- "Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out"

Subject

The subject of Dave Barry’s “Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out” is the differences between men and women. The disparity between the genders is illustrated by two examples: cleanliness and sports. The cleanliness example shows women’s supposed higher emphasis on hygiene. The sports example illustrates male emphasis on athletic competition, while women purportedly remain indifferent.

Occasion

“Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out” was written during the late 20^th century. The essay’s time of creation is illustrated by the use of brand names such as “Windex.” Because that company was not a household name until recently, the essay wasn’t written very long ago. The probable place of the essay’s creation is America. The emphasis on baseball and action figures portrays stereotypical American pastimes.

The time and place of the essay’s creation influence the essay by determining the examples which Barry uses to demonstrate differences between genders.  …”We could actually feel the World Series television and radio broadcast rays zinging through the air...” illustrates the importance of setting on the examples, as the use of television and radio broadcasts is limited to a certain time period, and the importance of the World Series is highest in only a few countries.

Audience

Barry’s specific audience for “Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out” is American men. The author’s target audience is exhibited by the statement, “If you can imagine such a social gaffe.”  The social gaffe to which he refers is one which, as per his argument, only men would find objectionable, and so he assumes that his reader is probably male.

The author’s general audience for the essay is Westerners. The author’s general audience is shown by “…she gives me this look that she has perfected, the same look she used on me the time I selected Robert’s outfit for school and part of it turned out to be pajamas.” This shows Barry’s wider audience because he is self deprecating and as an extension, is poking fun at males as well as females- an approach that avoids alienation of women.

Purpose

Barry’s purpose in “Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out” is to amuse the readers. His goal of entertaining the audience is illustrated by quotes such as, “….I always get irate letters from women who say they are the heavyweight racquetball champion of some place like Iowa and are sensitive to sports to the point where they could crush my skull like a ripe grape, but I feel these women are the exception.” This quote demonstrates Barry’s purpose because here he provides an anecdote designed to entertain and amuse the audience. The purpose is further revealed by the statement, “…moving very quickly for a big man holding a baby.” This statement shows the purpose because Barry paints an amusing mental image for his audience.

Speaker:

Barry, an acclaimed humorist, believes in the import of humor. This value is illustrated by his consistent use of a light tone throughout this and other essays. The light tone demonstrates his belief in the import of humor because he uses humor as a forum in which to discuss serious issues. In this essay, the use of a humorous tone allowed Barry to amuse his readers as well as discussing an issue, gender roles, that is frequently accompanied by passionate, stubborn advocacy on both sides.

Barry, a former writing teacher for businessmen, also believes in simplicity and clarity of thought. This value is illustrated by statements such as, “The primary difference between men and women is that women can see extremely small quantities of dirt.” This sentence expresses a humorous sentiment in a straightforward, direct manner. This value is important to this essay because it allows the reader to further enjoy the piece without having to examine complex sentence structures.

Barry’s use of italics is evident in the statement “…a hormonal secretion takes place in women that enables them to see dirt that men cannot see, dirt at the level of molecules…” The use of italics allows Barry to further stress certain statements and add to the humor of the piece. In this essay, Barry chose to use italics to allow the audience to imagine a scenario more vividly because of the aid of emphasis.

Barry’s use of imagery is evident in the statement, “ When I hear the world ‘filthy’ used to describe a bathroom, I think about this bar where I used to hang out called Joe’s Sportsman’s Lounge, where the men’s room had bacteria you could enter in a rodeo.” This use of imagery allows the reader to imagine the squalor of the bathroom of which Barry writes. Such imagery is important to this piece because it allows the author to exaggerate gender differences in a manner that is amusing.

Tone:

Barry exhibits a light and humorous attitude about gender differences in “Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out.” These attitudes are expressed by the use of phrases such as “the opposite side of the dirt coin.” By using such phrases, Barry is joking about the issues which he discusses. The tone serves the purpose by allowing the reader to be more amused and interested. The tone does this because humor and lightness draw interest and dispel boredom. “That was how we felt [in reference to Poe’s ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’],” illustrates this because it uses light, simple words to make the previous paragraph more amusing and cohesive.

Voice

1. Voice is how an author expresses a point. Syntax, diction, word choice, and approach are used to create voice.
2. "I prefer the Beatles version because the dubstep version adds unpleasant clutter to the music."This quote, taken from a previous blog post, expresses my tone because it is straightforward and explicit. The use of words such as "prefer" in lieu of "like" shows my preferred use of higher level vocabulary.
3. I talk around or avoid the use of unpleasant and coarse language because I view it as unnecessarily inflammatory.
4. Voice helps establish credibility and build audience interest. In academic essays, the use of "I" or "me" (first person- though "we" is sometimes acceptable) is eschewed, as is excessive informality or verbosity.
5. Voice can be developed by expanding vocabulary and thinking carefully about how syntax is best utilized to create an appropriate tone. Reading and writing also contribute to voice.

Dubstep vs. Beatles

• I prefer the Beatles version (original) because the dubstep version adds unpleasant clutter to the music. The dubstep also fails to add substance to the music and while some of the beat is interesting, most is detrimental to the song.
• The original is more pleasing because it maintains a steady and consistent beat while emphasizing interesting lyrics.

Kandinsky vs. Pollack

• I prefer the Kandinsky piece because it is more linear and clean looking, traits that often appeal to me in art. The Pollack work has colors which I dislike because they are dull and drab, while the Kandinsky paint ing uses light, clear colors to dcreate a more cheerful mood.
• The Kandisky piece is more pleasing to look at because its lack of clutter and geometric forms make it easier to look at. It also has a clear focal point with dramatic contrast and provides the audence with interesting material to examine.

Sign Language

• The effect of this film is to reexaminize that which seems mundane and to find the touching and interesting details.
• The main character's discussion of his collleagues, the focus on a group of people typically thought of as being part of the background, and the use of the signs to send an uplfiting and touching message contribute to the single effect.
• I would use a long shot to show how people holding signs are not visible unless specifically focused upon. This would help demonstrate how people are prone to overlooking interesting details.

SOAPSTone- "Shooting an Elephant"

Subject: The subject of Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” is British imperialism. British imperialism is illustrated through the narrator’s action of killing an elephant that had damaged property and killed a man. This demonstrates the subject of British imperialism because the narrator clearly states that his morally suspect action of needlessly killing an elephant was in response to pressures caused by his position as a Western power figure in response to the wishes of the Eastern masses.

Occasion: “Shooting an Elephant” was written during the early 1900s. The essay’s time of creation is conveyed by British control of the modern day nation of Myanmar, as well as the fact that Myanmar is referred to in the story as Burma. This shows that “Shooting an Elephant” was written in the early 1900s because that is the time period during which the British ruled Myanmar. The probable place of the essay’s creation is Moulmain, Southern Myanmar. The narrator states this in the first sentence of the story.

The time and place of the essay’s creation influence the essay by providing a lesser-known example of one of the nations in which Britain acted imperialistic. Orwell illustrates this when he writes, “I was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British,” portraying the narrator as being aware of British repression of Myanmar. Myanmar is especially impactful because it is not as well known as other former British colonies, such as the United States or India: by using a nation which many are unaware was formerly under the British crown, Orwell has expanded the scope of what he sees as the problem of British imperialism and made the problem seem more drastic. Orwell also avoided a cliché or overdone setting that India or the United States would have provided, making his story more interesting to readers.

Audience: Orwell’s specific audience for “Shooting an Elephant” is politically active English people. The author’s target audience is exhibited by Orwell’s political message as directed to a specific demographic: “when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys.” Clearly, this demonstrates that Orwell is decrying white imperialism, and given context of the story and of his own life, that imperialism can be specified to be British.

The author’s general audience for the essay is Westerners. The author’s general audience is expressed by his broad message that imperialism in general is harmful to both the perpetrator and victim, as evidenced by Orwell’s statement that, “…my whole life, every white man's life in the East, was one long struggle not to be laughed at.” Seeing as Westerners have been the perpetrators of imperialism for the past several centuries, it is to them that his message is directed.

Purpose: Orwell’s purpose in “Shooting an Elephant” is to persuade his audience that imperialism is harmful to all parties involved. The harms of imperialism are illustrated with Orwell’s words, “I perceived in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys.” This evidences the harms of imperialism by showing that the actor nation or individuals become harmed in turn; specifically, through the deprivation of their freedom. The purpose is further articulated by the narrator’s sentiment regarding his decision to shoot the elephant: “And suddenly I realized that I should have to shoot the elephant after all.” This quote evidences the harms of imperialism by showing that it removes choice or freedom for even the imperialists and their agents.

Speaker: Orwell, the writer of the anti-totalitarian book 1984, believes in personal liberty over government control. This value is illustrated by the statement, “Theoretically – and secretly, of course – I was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British.” This illustrates his belief in the supremacy of personal liberty by revealing his personal siding with the oppressed, not the oppressors. This value contributed to the essay because it allows Orwell to provide a moral consideration of how imperialism infringes upon the individual.

Orwell, a vehement anti-communist, also believes in the value of the individual. This value is illustrated by Orwell’s portrayal of the converse:  “The crowd would laugh at me.” Mobs, he believes, cause people to do that which they would not otherwise and subvert individual thought. This influences the purpose of the essay in that it provides another ethical harm of imperialism: it encourages group-think, which is counter to the essence of individualism.

Orwell’s use of imagery is evident in his description of the elephant as having a “preoccupied grandmotherly air.” This influences the purpose by leading the reader to a stronger emotional reaction and thus a more powerful portrayal of the message. This emotional appeal enhanced effectiveness by appealing to the audience’s pathos.

Orwell’s use of casual diction is evident in his style of recounting the story, where he makes such statements as, “That would never do.” This serves to make him more relatable and instead of coming across as holier-than-thou, Orwell is able to further his purpose by proving relatable and open to reason. This enhances his effectiveness by providing an appeal to ethos: it increases how relatable and credible he is, thus maximizing the impact of his message.

Tone: Orwell exhibits a helpless and frustrated attitude about British imperialism in “Shooting an Elephant.” These attitudes are expressed by repeated use of phrases such as “There was only one alternative.” This demonstrates helplessness and frustration because Orwell is unable to view options other than those officially sanctioned or supported by group-think. This serves to further the essay’s purpose by providing evidence of further deprivation of personal liberty as it applies to the speaker himself, due to the forces of British imperialism. By disallowing the speaker to act as he wishes or believes is right (“But I did not want to shoot the elephant.”), the crown’s far reaching imperialism has once again removed personal liberty from even its own subjects.

Harry Nilsson- Good Old Desk

• S-desk, O-1960s America, A- middle-aged Americans, P- to extol importance of dependability, S-9-5 office worker, T- cheerful and comfortable
• He is talking about how important dependability is, even in small ways, to his everyday life.
• Evidence of religiosity as the message: "To keep my hopes alive"- Nilsson believes that God has the power to fulfill hopes. "A giant of all times"- God is portrayed as being immense, omnipotent, and timeless. "My old desk isn't picturesque"- God cannot be seen and thus isn't pretty or visually pleasing.