Outside Reading: Book Review due 3/21/11

3/20/11

“To Put It Another Way” by Eric Felten

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703380104576016490727782886.html

In this book review, Eric Felten writes about Ralph Keyes' Euphemania. Felten immediately reveals to the reader his disapproval of the book by making a counterclaim to Keyes opening remark. “The newest entry is 'Euphemania,' by Ralph Keyes, who assures us that his book 'is not meant to be a compilation of euphemisms.' And yet that is mostly what it is.” Felten uses most of his essay to make in depth investigations and disprove specific claims made by Keyes in his book. The majority of the review are quotes and counter quotes gathered by Felten instead of his personal take on the material. The language is more or less casual. After or inside of Keyes' quotes, Felten would write things like “Really?” and “(it clearly was not)” which served to disrepute Keyes with casual language. There was nothing very notable about the diction or syntax used in this piece and virtually no imagery, seeing as the majority of it is quotations from other authors. The only sentence with a noticeably different syntax is “if one is to use euphemism as a tool to understand social history—surely an excellent idea—it pays to be punctilious about what a euphemism is and whether it was actually used.” The use of caesuras and the placement of the sentence at the end of an essay completely denouncing Euphemania makes it obvious that Felten is being sarcastic.

This book review does not seem to have any critical perspectives at work. The essay spends its time methodically disproving statements made by Keyes and nothing else.

Outside Reading: Reflective Essay due 3/21/11

3/20/11

“Kate Chopin's The Awakening is Making Me Reevaluate my Casual Three-Month Relationship” by Emily Axford

http://www.mcsweeneys.net/2011/3/9axford.html

In this reflective essay, Emily Axford writes sarcastically about how Kate Chopin's The Awakening alerted her to the self empowerment she as a woman deserved. Mostly, it is the overstatements and hyperbole's she makes that makes it obvious she is writing in a sarcastic tone. For example, she writes that she was blind to the “suppression” and was actually a “slave” to her boyfriend. This exaggeration is highlighted by the reasons she lists out to why she is suppressed. For example, she feels pressured into accepting a Facebook invite to her boyfriend's event, and worries she might “cause a scandal” is she denies it. Axford use of emphatic statements also reveals her sarcasm. “How could I have been so blind? It was all there!” She also uses syntax as a device. Her lengthy, overly descriptive sentences make the content seem melodramatic. She uses contradictions to make it clear she is not being serious. For example, she writes her boyfriend's emo band has “chauvinist mantras like 'Could My Pillow Be Any Wetter With My Tears (Since My Girlfriend Left Me),' 'Feelings, Feelings: Lots of Feelings,' and of course, 'Let Me Cook Dinner For You Sometime, Because I Respect You.'” Axford's imagery is very colorful. “Well, color my cheeks pink with the flush of forbidden thought.” She also makes allusions to Greek goddesses like Hera and Artemis. The tone that Axford has developed is very playful and humorous. Unfortunately, it would not work for an AP essay because it is completely sarcastic and informal.

Outside Reading: Editorial Column due 3/21/11

3/20/11

“Rich District, Poor District” by Unnamed Author

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/27/opinion/27sun1.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

In the editorial “Rich District, Poor District”, the author uses a strong voice to debate an issue. Though powerful and convincing, the harsh diction used throughout makes it obvious that the author is taking sides. While this might convince people who are on the fence and reaffirm the beliefs of those who already agree, the voice is alienating to those who disagree and has little chance to changing their minds. Already at the beginning of the essay, the diction is noticeably extreme. The author uses words like lavishly, catastrophic, impoverished, starved, reeling, struggling, and cannibalize, all in the very first paragraph. The obvious exaggeration of the events can be understood when the reader takes into account that this editorial is about budget cuts to schools in the state of New York. This abrasive diction continues throughout the entire piece. The syntax is simple and straightforward, without any lavishes. There is also a lack of imagery, but the colorful diction makes up for it. The author is obvious against the budget cuts to schools because they feel that the poorer districts will bear the worst of it while the richer districts are relatively unaffected. But the author's diction makes it unlikely that it will convince their audience to change their opinion.

If this piece were an AP essay, the speaker would be semi-appropriate. It would be appropriate in that all of the author's claims are backed up with solid evidence. But on the other hand, the diction is abrasive and extreme, which makes it unlikely to be seen as convincing argument. 

Class Notes 3/7/11 to 3/21/11

Modernism

• "make it new"
• "angry young man" syndrome
• from WWI to WWII
• psychological focus
• one truth - universal truth
• new forms of narrative
• unreliable, multiple narrators
• minor character as narrator
• non linear narrative
• stream of consciousness
• modernists suspicious of points of view
• interested in layering multiple points of view
• ie: Picasso's Cubism
• reader must make connections - author makes no judgement

Post-Modernism

• WWII and forward
• modernism ends at different times in US and Britain because US adopts TV's first
• instant availability of info on other people's opinions - crucial to post modernism
• post modernism = modernism - universal truth + irony
• eroding of belief that there is 1 truth
• all truth is local
• blending of high and low culture (operas about Elvis)
• self-reference
• mediated world exists in the same way our world exists
• ie: characters, literary, tv, etc
• simulacrum
• the copy replaces the reality
• ie: wild west shows

Surrealism

• movement in the arts between WWI and WWII
• uses unexpected juxtaposition in ways intended to activate subconscious
• associations that highlight truth hidden from us when we are trapped in linear "logical" patterns of thought
• dreamlike, playful, sometimes eerie

~~~~~~~~Outside Connections~~~~~~~~~

Books like All is Quiet on the Western Front and The Red Badge of Courage fit in to Modernism while books like Slaughterhouse-Five fit into Post Modernism.

An example of self reference is when characters from different shows are mixed, like The Jetsons Meet the Flinstones, or movies entirely devoted to mocking other movies, like Scary Movie.

Class Notes 2/21/11 to 3/7/11

Theories of Humor and Comedy

• probably began in religious rituals
• the individual in a comedy is made to conform as opposed to retaining integrity in a tragedy
• What is required for something to be humorous?
• it must appeal to the intellect rather than the emotions
• it must be mechanical
• it must be inherently human
• there must be a set of established norms with which the observer is familiar
• the situation and its component parts must be inconsistent or unsuitable to the surrounding
• it must be perceived by the observer as harmless or painless to the participants

Types of Comedy

• low comedy: lacks seriousness of purpose or subtlety of manner and has little intellectual appeal
• quarreling, clownishness, buffoonery, etc
• high comedy: pure or serious comedy that appeals to the intellect and arouses laughter by exhibiting the incongruities of human nature and displaying the follies of social manners
• burlesque: characterized by ridiculous exaggeration and distortion
• serious topic treated frivolously, visa versa
• farce: light dramatic work in which a highly improbable plot, exaggerated character, and slapstick elements are used for humorous effect
• lampoon: broad satirical piece that uses ridicule to attack a person or group
• parody: ridicules in a nonsensical fashion an original piece of work
• satire: holding up to ridicule the follies and vices of a people or time
• slapstick: boisterous form of comedy marked by chases, collisions, and crude practical jokes
• travesty: presents a serious subject frivolously and reduces everything to its lowest level
• religion

The Comedic Ladder

• Comedy of Ideas
• characters argue about ideas like politics, marriage, etc
• characters use their wit and clever language to mock their opponent in an argument
• subtle way to satirize people and institutions like churches, political parties, etc
• Comedy of Manners
• amorous love affairs among the upper classes
• focus is on witty language, clever speech, 'put downs'
• society is often made up of cliques with certain groups being the exclusive in crowd
• Farce
• plot is full of coincidences, mistaken identities
• characters are puppets of fate - unable to marry, too poor, too rich, etc
• loss of identity because of birth, fate or accident
• sometimes they are twins separated unaware of their double
• Low Comedy
• dirty jokes, dirty gestures, and sex are subjects of humor
• exaggeration or understatements are the extremes with a focus on physical - long noses, cross eyes, humped back
• slapstick, pratfalls, loud noises, physical mishaps, collisions, etc

Difference Between Comedy and Tragedy

Tragedy <---------------------> Comedy

Rational ----- Irrational

Moral ------- Amoral

Sense -------- Nonsense

Death  ----------  Marriage

Punishment-------------   Reconciliation

Metaphysical --------------------- Accidental

importance of the soul -------- to be human is inherently funny

How Comedy Affects Us

• comedy is based on irony
• awareness of irony is intellectual, not emotional
• comedy lifts us out of our emotional responses
• good comedy allows us to feel superior to the characters
• we see similarities between the comic characters and ourselves
• comedy acts as a way to change the individual or the society using laughter
• satire, ridicule, burlesque often work in the service of change
• comedy uses exaggeration, understatement, role reversal and generally the devices of irony to make us laugh and compare

Techniques of Comedy

• caricature: representation in which the subject's distinctive features are deliberately exaggerated to produce a comic effect
• colloquialism: use of slang or informal language
• deflation: an object is given elevated status and then treated in such a way that the estimation of the object decreases
• disparagement: to speak in a slighting way - to be little
• euphemism: a less offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word
• hyperbole: exaggeration or overstatement
• incongruity: surprising contrast that occurs through situation, image, allusion, etc
• invective: harsh language directed against a person or cause
• irony
• verbal - discrepancy between what is stated and what is meant
• situational - discrepancy between what is expected and reality
• dramatic - discrepancy between what the audience and character knows
• knaves & fools: there are only rogues and suckers in comedy
• litotes: understatement in which something is affirmed by stating the negative of its opposite
• malapropism: mistake in speech resulting from using one word for another which resembles it
• non-sequitur: inference or conclusion that doesn't follow from the premise or evidence
• oxymoron: a group of contradictory terms suggesting a paradox
• paradox: self-contradictory statement which contains some degree of truth
• parody: a work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect
• pun: play on words based on the similarity of sound
• sarcasm: bitter language meant to hurt or ridicule something
• understatement: when what is said falls short of the magnitude of whats being talked about
• wit: clever use of language to arouse laughter

Outside Reading: Book Review due 2/21/11

2/20/11

“In Brief: Stolen World” by Steven Kurutz

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704150104576122670901396508.html

In this book review, Steven Kurutz writes about Jennie Erin Smith's investigative book, Stolen World. Although this piece is supposed to be a book review, ¾ of the essay seems to be a summary of the events in the book while the other ¼ is Kurutz personal opinion on Smith's book without a trace of evidence or proof. The language is professional, yet somehow detached. He subjectively summarizes mostly. His syntax is clear and simple without any flourishes. “ The book's primary subject is...” Randomly, he diverges from his clear, simple style for a completely different kind of syntax. For example, Kurutz writes, “His name: Leon Leopard.” Instead of adding suspense or interest, these randomly placed divergences from his simple syntax is confusing to the reader. Near the end, he writes that “there's something startling or funny on nearly every page” while also claiming that Smith is “clearly smitten with her smuggler subjects”. Though these statements seem to be the only opinions in his essay, Kurutz fails to provide any textual evidence, but rather leaves the reader to believe his word alone.

Since this can barely pass as a book review, I do not see any critical perspectives present in the slightest.

Outside Reading: Reflective Essay due 2/21/11

2/20/11

“Secret Skin” by Michael Chabon

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/03/10/080310fa_fact_chabon

In this reflective Essay, Michael Chabon relates to the reader his experience as a child of being transfixed with superheroes and comic books. The narrative style is knowledgeable, in that he is looking back at his child self with additional insight. The tone of the piece is reflective and musing. Although grown up, he still writes about the idea of superheroes with the wonder and yearning it usually receives. He achieves this by employing devices such as colorful imagery and diction. When writing about Superman's ability to fly, he writes that it “evolved under the red sun of Krypton. And yet you had only to tie a towel around your shoulders to feel the strange vibratory pulse of flight stirring in the red sun of your heart.” He uses metaphors to accurately relate a relationship to the readers. For example he writes that there were costumed crime-fighters before Superman, but only as there were “pop quartets before the Beatles”. As for syntax, Chabon uses catalogues and parallelism regularly to hammer home his points. His similes are also very vivid and on point. When he writes about how superhero costumes are always disappointing in real life, he compares it to “one of those deep-sea creatures which evolved to thrive in the crushing darkness of the seabed, so that when you haul them up to the dazzling surface they burst.” To avoid being repetitive in naming comic characters, Chabon switches it up by making allusions like the “spider bite of inspiration”, which obviously is a reference to Spiderman.

This tone would not work for an AP essay because in an AP essay, the writer should be clear and to the point. This essay is colorful and although entertaining, would probably be inappropriate.