Voice

In your opinion, what is voice in literature?

Voice is literature is how somebody chooses to write, such as with word choice, tone, syntax, etc.

How does a person create voice when writing? Is creating voice an intentional/unintentional act? Is it both? Explain.

A person can create voice by choosing certain word, the sentence structure of the sentences, and the approach of a topic. Creating voice is both intentional and intentional because a writer may unconsciously choose to write how he or she speaks. However, if the chooses to write in a different voice, such as in Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, it is an intentional act.

People in Eastern Kentucky talk around a subject. According to the speaker, why do they do this? What can we learn about a writer from the way she approaches/handles a topic?

They do this because it is culture. We are able to learn the upbringing and background of a writer the way he/she approaches or handles a topic.

Whether it is in fiction or nonfiction, why is voice important in writing?

It is important because it gives the writing a deeper meaning as well as character. 

 

SOAPStone of Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out

Subject

               The subject of Dave Barry’s Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out is the difference between men and women’s values. These different beliefs are illustrated by various anecdotes that Barry writes of, such as when he cleans his son’s bathroom as well as when he and his wife go to a friend’s house to chat during a World Series game. When Barry cleaned his son’s bathroom, his wife doesn’t realize that he had cleaned it and asked him to clean the bathroom a second time, showing a woman’s emphasis of cleanliness. One of Barry’s female friends had invited the couple to chat whilst the World Series was on, not understanding the prominence of sports in a male’s life versus the desire to socialize and chat.

Occasion

               Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out was written during 1988. The essay’s time of creation is displayed by an introduction before the essay begins; without the introduction, it would be more difficult to distinguish a time period that it was written. The probable place of the essay’s creation is unknown because there are no details within the essay that would provide enough for a reasonable inference. Barry makes no reference to where he may be writing the piece.

               The time and place of the essay’s creation influence the essay by what men and women see as important to themselves. The women in the late 80’s, and still today, value the cleanliness of where their children play and bathe. Baseball was also more of a prominent sport in the late 80’s, thus the importance of a World Series game for a male.

Audience

               Dave Barry’s specific audience for Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out was most likely married, middle-aged men. The author’s target audience is exhibited by the sarcasm towards women and the male understanding of differences between the genders. The writes of the “look” his wife perfected when Barry had dressed his son for school. When he had cleaned the bathroom, he simply took what he referred to as Standard Male Cleaning Implements, which all males would be able to relate to, whereas women would most likely take an arsenal of cleaning supplies.

               Dave Barry’s general audience would be for both males and females who are able to relate to differences between the sexes. The author’s general audience is expressed by the he writes of both genders. Barry doesn’t expressly emphasis favor for one gender, but rather he explored both sides of the gender argument in a way that only points out differences between the genders.

Purpose

               Dave Barry’s purpose in Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out is to entertain the reader. Entertainment of the reader is illustrated by his light-hearted, sarcastic, satirical tone with “…we males could not focus our attention on the various suggested topics because we could actually feel the World Series television and radio broadcast rays zinging through the air...” This quote reflects the importance of the World Series through hyperbole and sarcasm.

Speaker

               Dave Barry, who has also written comedic novels, believes that even though men and women differ, a compromise can be made. This compromise is illustrated by how in the end, the men were able to watch the World Series. Compromises being able to be made between opposite sexes by his explanation of how the men were able to watch the World Series with “Soon all four of us [the males at the dinner party] were in there, watching the Annual Fall Classic, while the women prattled away about human relationships or something.” This quote shows that the men had sat and talked with the women, but soon moved on to more important matters, like watching baseball.

               Dave Barry’s use of irony is evident in the quote: “She is in there looking at the very walls I just Windexed, and she is seeing dirt! Everywhere!” This quote provides a sarcastic tone, as well as a dubious one, that would make the reader chuckle and somehow relate it back to their life. This ultimately would make the essay more enjoyable for the reader, thus more entertaining.

Tone

               Dave Barry shows sarcastic and light-hearted attitude about the differences between men and women in Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out. These attitudes are expressed by his use of italicized words, such as in the previous quote, that emphasis certain words created a sarcastic tone.  A light-hearted attitude is expressed when he writes of how the men of Pompeii supposedly didn’t notice that ash was covering the city until half of the children were covered. His tone is effective in the essay because this way he offends neither gender and it allows him to approach the subject less delicately. 

Eleanor Rigby: Metal v. Classic

I like the original better because it is a lot more calm whereas metal version gives a sense of urgency and panic. In the original, you can also distinctly hear all of the the lyrics. Also, out of personal taste, I don't like the heavy metal sound.

The original is also more pleasing to listen to. This is because it shows the Beatles mastery of craft as well as being easy to listen to. The metal version was merely a cover with some added instrumentals. The original is also easier to listen to because the lyrics are distinguishable. 

Polluck v. Kandinsky

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24239301@N03/3011389345/lightbox/
http://www.artofthefuture.com/Gallery1.html

I like the Kandinsky better because of the variety of color used and the brightness of the colors. His painting also seems to have a subject because he had painted geometric shapes that specifically caught your eye. It's also more exciting to look at.

Although I like the Kandinsky better, I think that the Pollack is more pleasing to look at. Compared the the business and brightness of the Kandinksy, the Pollack uses neutral colors and fluid lines. These elements give the Pollack more of a calm feeling when looking at it.

The Single Effect - Sign Language Short Film

What single effect did you get from this short film?

Hopeful

Give 3 specific things that led you to that single effect.

The soft acoustic music, the actor's way of presenting the character's personality, matching rainbow gloves (costume)

If you could change one aspect what would it be and how would it affect the films single effect?

If you changed the actor's personality it would change the hopeful feeling because the personality of the character is awkwardly optimistic and positive about everything. 

"Good Old Desk" -- Harry Nilsson

SOAPSTone 
Subject - His desk God
Occasion - 1973
Audience - Those who liked his genre of music
Purpose - To talk about dependability; proselytizing
Speaker - Speaking of trust
Tone - loving, comforting

What is he talking about?
At first, it seems like Nilsson is talking about the dependability of his good old desk and maybe comparing it to something that he doesn't usually receive from people. Later, one would find that he is comparing his good old desk to God and the dependability and sturdiness that Nilsson finds in God.

Representation of God:
- "To keep my hopes alive"
- "No place to go, always there"
- "It's the friend I've got, a giant of all times"

SOAPSTone of "Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell

Subject

             The subject of George Orwell’s Shooting an Elephant is of himself as a young British officer being pressured into shooting an elephant. He being pressured was illustrated by the large crowd of native Burmese people waiting for the action to occur. Although he tries to persuade himself that the elephant is worth more alive, the owner would be unhappy, and he would be going against his personal wishes, the anxious crowd pushes him to kill the elephant.

Occasion

             Shooting an Elephant was written during 1936, when Burma was still an Indian province, but the essay’s setting was when Burma was still under British rule. The essay’s time of creation is conveyed by his occupation, a British officer. It is also is shown through his words, such as when he says “I was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British,” and when he mentions the falling of the British Empire; the narrator also speaks of the British Raj. The probable place of the essay’s creation is in Moulmein, in Lower Burma. This is because the narrator begins by stating that that is where lived and worked. He also states that he had to speak and interact with the Burmese people.

The time and place of the essay’s creation influence the essay by how the narrator saw the Burmese people. He had despised the Burmese, calling them yellow faced, because at that time, the Burmese reciprocally hated the British. The native Burmese would scorn Europeans and the British thought themselves to be better than the Burmese. This mutual disgust is shown clearly in the text when the author describes his experiences with the natives and shapes the story in the way that it is told and the actions that result from it.   

Audience

               George Orwell’s specific audience for Shooting an Elephant is the more educated Englishman. The author’s target audience is revealed by his refined vocabulary choice, his tone, and his dissuasion of imperialism. Orwell uses vocabulary, such as “in saecula saeculorum”, that the average person may not understand. The tone is also directed towards a person of a similar class which is shown through a friendly feel; because he is a British officer, we could assume that the class is higher. It also pertains to the English people because it is about the perils of British Imperialism and is trying to dissuade against it.

               The author’s general audience for the essay is for those who are imperialists and practice Imperialism. The author’s general audience is shown by the narrator saying how he is caught between the hatred of his Empire and the hatred of the native’s hatred towards him. The narrator says that as a leader, he wore a mask that he had grown into because the natives had urged him to kill the elephant. This reveals the general audience because it is more adaptable to other nations and imperialists with the idea of that the imperialist would mold into what the natives urged him to become.

 Purpose

               George Orwell’s purpose in Shooting an Elephant is to show how even though something may be legally acceptable, it may not be personally morally or ethically acceptable. This is revealed when he said that “… at that distance, peacefully eating, the elephant looked no more dangerous than a cow. [He] thought that then and [he] think[s] now that [the elephant’s] attack of ‘must’ [had] pass[ed] off”. This had shown his moral ethics and part of his reasoning to not shoot the elephant. The purpose is further revealed by how he had still went ahead and used the “magical rifle”, shot the elephant, and “legally [he] had done the right thing”. 

Speaker

               George Orwell, born Eric Arthur Blair, believes that imperialism isn’t beneficial for both parties involved. This value is illustrated by the quote “He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it.” This was preceded by him saying that the white man was spending his life trying to impress the native people that he so despised for hating him. This was also a swipe at the British Empire’s use of imperialism to colonize the Burmese. The quote shows that those that would try to colonize natives would slowly try to impress the natives in order to counter the natives’ hatred of those that tried to colonize. He also said that “imperialism was an evil thing and the sooner [he] chucked up [his job] and got out of it the better.”

               Orwell’s use of imagery is evident in the essay when he describes the elephants’ slow and painful death. Orwell carefully accounts how each of his shots impacted the elephant; from the first shot altered all the lines in the elephant’s body, the third shot bringing the elephant down to its knees, and the following shots down its throat. This demonstrated his need to effectively kill the elephant in order to appease the natives and in order to assert his dominance. The imagery enhanced his effectiveness by giving the reader a clear picture of his calculated and thought out shots that went against his personal moral ethics.

Tone

               George Orwell shows an informative and friendly tone attitude about his experience of shooting an elephant in Shooting an Elephant. These attitudes are expressed by his storytelling voice of writing. He blatantly tells the audience what he feels, such as when he tells of how guilty he feels when prisoners are being flogged or his anger towards the young Buddhist priests that “jeer at  Europeans” all day long. His tone persuades us to believe that it was not completely his personal decision to shoot the elephant, but rather to need to uphold his position. After he initially shot the elephant and saw it suffering, he tried shooting its heart through its throat with no avail. His initial truthfulness and sincerity leads us to believe that he truly did regret shooting the elephant. 

"The Runaway" -- Norman Rockwell

During 1950s, the United States had many changes that affected everyday Americans. The fear of communism infiltrated the government as well as the people. The women's rights movement had slowly begun  to take shape. But, even though all this was happening, the 50s also featured the atomic family: a stay at home wife, a hard working husband, a son, and a daughter. This picture perfect family was always depicted as happy and content with life. Materialism and consumerism was also at a  high peak in history, for instance, everybody wanted a nice, big house in the suburbs to achieve the goal of creating an atomic family. Rockwell's "The Runaway" depicted a rising counter culture within the 50s through the perfection that it wanted to achieve. His painting shows that Americans were content in the way life was and oblivious to the way life is.

"Across the Universe" -- The Beatles

Three images in this song:

"Words flying into paper cups"

"Pools of sorrow" 

"Images of broken light"

Symbolism in context?

The image "Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup" can symbolize never ending thoughts, so many that the singer is unable to contain all of them within him. 

Symbol that's a symbol?

Light is a symbol that shows up in all art forms time and time again. Light is more than just an image because it has traditionally carried so many connotations and it is something that everybody is able to identify and understand. It is usually used to symbolize all things good and happy.