Response to Course Materials #4

This week, we were working in small groups on our prezi presentations about a literary era. My group had a lot of fun working on these presentations and tried to stay focused and finish with a decent final product. I like that we are being trusted to use the freedom of the prezi platform in order to instruct our peers over our topic. I also like that in order to perform well, we each had to obtain an understanding of our topic, which was ictorian, naturalism and realism. This week was a good indicator of what working in small groups will be like for us throughout the year and how well my group worked together and if they were a good fit for me.

Closed Reading: Syntax, Diction, and Details.

This is a closed reading of a CNN article about the Jerry Sandusky scandal. by Wayne Drash and Ann O'niel www.cnn.com/2011/11/19/us/sandusky-memoir-profile/index.html?hpt=hp_c4

    I chose this piece because being a CNN news article, it has a very formal, simplistic style. While it is not used in a traditional style, the Authors have a very distinguishable style.
    The syntax of this article is very important because it is used to make their information seem more factual and make the allegations against Jerry Sandusky seem even more shocking.  The Author's use shorter but descriptive sentences which usually include sources for their information in order to maintain a serious, factual piece. sentences like "He called one boy more than 100 times after the boy started avoiding him, according to phone records examined by authorities." are tuned for quick reading in which the Author's provide as much information as they can in short sentences. The overall Syntax forms short, formal sentences that are ideal for quick skimming of an article.  This reflects the quick update way of our society.
     Diction is a key part of this article. The Author's use diction in order to pad the allegations against Jerry Sandusky and make the material less graphic for the reader. For instance, instead of listing his allegations as what they were literally, they use terms like "sex acts" and "assaults" in order to make the piece less disturbing, less graphic, and more easy on the reader. This type of self censoring is frequent throughout the piece and in my opinion makes it convoluted and makes the article misleading with regards to Sandusky's alleged crimes. The diction the Author's chose to used makes the whole piece seem less serious and ultimately a weak piece all together.
    Where the Author's use diction to shield the reader from the graphic nature of Jerry Sandusky's crimes, they used details in order to persuade the reader of Sandusky's guilt. Or at least present ample information against him. Throughout the piece, the Author's use small details like "But he also said he enjoys being around kids, always has." in order to provide evidence against Sandusky. In my opinion, it seems that the Authors use these small details to convey their own verdict on Sandusky's allegations. It also seems that this style is used to make the article appear more factual and serious. It seems to me that all this use of details does is make the authors seem biased.
      Though the article does a decent job presenting the facts of the Sandusky scandal, it seems to me that the Authors were more focused on creating an un-offensive article than they were a factual un-biased one.
   

Open Prompt #5

1990. Choose a novel or play that depicts a conflict between a parent (or a parental figure) and a son or daughter. Write an essay in which you analyze the sources of the conflict and explain how the conflict contributes to the meaning of the work. Avoid plot summary.

In the play Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller, centers around the conflict between Willy and his eldest son Biff. Though there are plenty of contributing elements to their conflict, the main source of strife comes from Biffs and Willy's differing ambitions, and their difference in values. These 2 sources of conflict are important because they have the most impact on the story as a whole.

    Though it is the smaller of the 2 issues, Willy and Biff's differing ambitions end up having a great deal of influence on the meaning of the play. While Willy believes that Biff was born to be a salesman, Biff himself wants to live out west and raise cattle. The life of a salesman represents in this case, the material american dream and the vicious circle that is Willy's life. Biff's ideal profession represents a more free life style.  This simple conflict for the son and father represents a much larger conflict which is that between materialistic living versus a more simplistic traditional lifestyle. This conflict represents the main purpose of the book, which is to explore the way that the american dream has changed for the worse.

     The other primary conflict between Biff and Willy, is their differing ideals. Willy places the utmost value in being well known, and well liked. He believes that with those 2 characteristics, nothing else matters, and one can become successful. While Biff does not have a clearly defined set of values, it is evident that he disagrees with Willy's. This again, helps to portray the conflict between the materialistic American Dream, and its older, more simplistic counterpart. By presenting the conflict between the old and new american dreams, Miller emphasizes the meaning of the entire play, which is to show the faults of the the materialistic American Dream and show its conflict with a more traditional Manifest Destiny like dream.

   By choosing such sources of conflict for the relationship between Willy and Biff, Miller adds a great deal of complexity and meaning to his play.