From only a short excerpt from “The Bishop’s Man” written by Linden MacIntyre, we discover that the protagonist in this novel is Father MacAskill. Reading so little of the actual book itself, Father MacAskill comes off as a character that has a rough past. A past in which he does not want to share, he is a man of mystery. Also, fairly comfortable with his self images as he says: “I was approaching the age of fifty, a psychological threshold only slightly less daunting than death, and found myself not much changed from forty or even thirty. If anything, I was healthier.” This short passage is describing how even though his age the Father is comfortable in his own skin at an older age.
The rough past had all begun at a young age for Father MacAskill, he was the son of a bastard father and his mother had passed away due to tuberculosis. He was isolated as a kid and had nowhere to go. He then finds his future and works as a priest, as well as dean of students at a catholic school. Another characteristic was that not only was he a religious man, but he was very friendly and well liked in his community. An example of this was when he spoke to the fishermen and his son. However, as the chapter approaches the end, Father MacAskill meets up with the Bishop and his mood changes. His mood changed from a relaxed personality to an uptight and worrisome person.
The reader really only gets to know the personality of another character and that is the Bishop in this excerpt. A character who is dedicated to his job and cares about others. He cares for the Father, because he tries to protect him and move him to a safe place in Creignish.
MacIntyre’s direct speech is very well written, as it is easy to imagine the characters and what kind of setting or mood they are in. His writing is especially clear and to the point when he uses direct speech.
“After what you’ve been through down south,” he said, “you’ll probably consider this kind of Mickey Mouse. But things are getting out of hand here. Dear old John the Twenty-third, God rest his soul . . . he had no idea what he was getting us all into.”
This passage creates a good amount of suspense of what is going to happen to Father MacAskill. The direct speech used by the writer is very effective in ineeresting the reader in the novel.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Blog#10 -David Sedaris
“They weren’t loud people and didn’t even sound all that angry, really. This was just the way they spoke, the verbal equivalent of their everyday china. Among company, the wife might remark that she felt a slight hill, but here that translated to ‘I am fucking freezing’”. This passage is very amusing, because he does remark on a type of person there is on this planet, the “potty mouths”. The way he describes them is so elegantly placed and detailed that it has to make you laugh. This chapter is where David was heading to New York from Denver on a flight, where he is sitting behind these people. He overhears most of their conversation and makes the remark in this passage cited above hear.
Sedaris uses hyperbole to describe these people, exaggerating how these people would say certain things. It works effectively, but readers would read this chapter and know some portions were exaggerated in order to create an interest for the reader. Imagery is used, because you can just imagine yourself in David’s shoes in that very tight space in a seat and then overhearing a conversation of people who constantly feel the need to swear. However, it does show that David does have a judgmental side to him. He does not even know these people and is already making these judgments of them. Kind of unfair but makes his voice heard, showing his personality from a different angle.
Sedaris uses hyperbole to describe these people, exaggerating how these people would say certain things. It works effectively, but readers would read this chapter and know some portions were exaggerated in order to create an interest for the reader. Imagery is used, because you can just imagine yourself in David’s shoes in that very tight space in a seat and then overhearing a conversation of people who constantly feel the need to swear. However, it does show that David does have a judgmental side to him. He does not even know these people and is already making these judgments of them. Kind of unfair but makes his voice heard, showing his personality from a different angle.
Blog#9 - David Sedaris
“The roof is covered with metal, and large sheets of corrugated plastics, some green and others milk-colored, have been joined together to form an awning that sags above the front door. It’s so ugly that the No Trespassing sign reads as an insult. ‘As if,’ people say.” This passage describes this house very well, it is a house of a person that affected David when he lived in Normandy. It was a old man and his family that lived in that ugly house, his wife and his daughter who was disabled. The old man only spoke French and was not really a friend of David’s before the man was sent to prison for molesting his daughter. He went to prison for couple of years and returned to the same house after and lived alone. David was the only person in the whole town that accepted the man and actually became friends with him. They talked for awhile until David became bored of him. As years past, the old man told David that he had cancer feeling sorrow for the man David provided the man with a couple days of happiness before his death. This passage above is very funny but as we read later on the chapter, this was place where someone very caring and lonely had passed away.
This chapter, “The Man in the Hut”, is very different from David’s normal humorous writing. He shows a theme of darkness to his stories, by writing about how hard it was for this old man to live alone after being abandoned from his family. The sensor detail in the passage above really does describe visually how ugly and disgusting this house was and then ends the passage with a joke, for the cherry on top. The voice by Sedaris in this chapter does seem to change to a more sympathetic voice. Unlike most of his stories where they were just funny to read, this chapter was different than the rest.
This chapter, “The Man in the Hut”, is very different from David’s normal humorous writing. He shows a theme of darkness to his stories, by writing about how hard it was for this old man to live alone after being abandoned from his family. The sensor detail in the passage above really does describe visually how ugly and disgusting this house was and then ends the passage with a joke, for the cherry on top. The voice by Sedaris in this chapter does seem to change to a more sympathetic voice. Unlike most of his stories where they were just funny to read, this chapter was different than the rest.
Blog#8 - David Sedaris
“At around 7:00 the light settles on the western wall of our house, just catching two of the hijackers and a half-dozen singer-songwriters, who look out from the windows, some smiling, as if they are happy to see e, ad others listening to music, or waiting, halfheartedly, for something to happen.” When reading this at first, you would think to yourself, who does this make sense? The story all begun in Normandy where Hugh and David lived in a little house on the countryside. David had been reading on his couch one day, and heard this annoying racket, this being two magpies pecking at the window. David had though to himself that this would go away after a certain amount of time, this was not the case. First, he tried making a scarecrow and failed miserably. The second was very interesting, he would tape newspaper pictures on the window of big faces preferably. Funny enough he had put up a picture of a hijacker on the window, this worked for a little while, however the birds moved to another window. He ran out of large facial pictures in the newspaper, so he went to the attic. He found all these records and picked out all sorts of album sleeves and ended up covering every window on the west side of the house. The plan was a success, however there would certainly not be as much sunlight coming into the house as before. The passage above is very well written and describes David’s house after being harassed by the birds in a humorous fashion.
I find that David Sedaris is very imaginative in his writing and structures his stories nicely for the reader to tag along. He does a good job in structuring the events he had to go through in order to find a solution in getting rid of the birds. Diction used by Sedaris is very humorous and simple, an example was the passage above. As well the author makes you laugh, but the way he describes events is very witty and to the point.
I find that David Sedaris is very imaginative in his writing and structures his stories nicely for the reader to tag along. He does a good job in structuring the events he had to go through in order to find a solution in getting rid of the birds. Diction used by Sedaris is very humorous and simple, an example was the passage above. As well the author makes you laugh, but the way he describes events is very witty and to the point.
Blog#7 - David Sedaris
From the first day that I saw the cover of this novel, I always wondered: “It’s a humorous novel, but why is there a skeleton on cover?” I wasn’t until I read the chapter “Memento Mori” that questioned had been answered. It was gift for Hugh, David’s lover, see Hugh had his favorite professor and in that classroom there was skeleton. This skeleton was very important to Hugh, that when he received it as a gift, it was hung by string in their bedroom. As anyone’s normal reaction, David was haunted by this skeleton and would always think it was talking to him. “Having been dead for three hundred years, there’s a lot the skeleton doesn’t understand: TV for instance. ‘See’ I told him, ‘you just push this button, and entertainment comes into your home.’ He seemed impressed, and so I took it a step further. ‘I invented it myself, to bring comfort to the old and sick.’ ‘You are going to die.’” This passage is interesting to me, just to see the imagination that Sedaris has and how humorous it is. Who will ever find themselves talking to a skeleton and explain to that skeleton that they invented TV?
David Sedaris really does not have a pace for how he writes his chapters. The only pattern brought up that I noticed was that certain stories have the same theme, other than that most of his stories are not in chronological order to his age. Structure of his writing in these two chapters, is very jumbled as he starts with a story when he was younger and then writes of a story when he was in a totally different country and subject. Again, in these two chapters, “Memento Mori” and “Adult Figures Charging Toward Concrete Toadstool” the diction is very simple to understand and the word choice makes it easy for the reader to picture what was going on.
David Sedaris really does not have a pace for how he writes his chapters. The only pattern brought up that I noticed was that certain stories have the same theme, other than that most of his stories are not in chronological order to his age. Structure of his writing in these two chapters, is very jumbled as he starts with a story when he was younger and then writes of a story when he was in a totally different country and subject. Again, in these two chapters, “Memento Mori” and “Adult Figures Charging Toward Concrete Toadstool” the diction is very simple to understand and the word choice makes it easy for the reader to picture what was going on.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Blog#6 - David Sedaris
“After finishing her Coke, she folded up the tray table, summoned the flight attendant to take her empty can, and settled back for a nap. It was shortly afterward that I put the throat lozenge in my mouth, and shortly after that that I sneezed, and it shot like a bullet onto the crotch of her shorts.” This is one of these moments in a plane, where you cannot avoid the situation and be pissed off at yourself. This is one of my favorite passages in this novel; David first puts himself in a bad position by not switching seats with the women’s husband. This obviously frustrated her and there was an argument between David and her. She takes a nap and as said in the passage, David’s lozenge accidentally falls into her lap. This passage just makes you laugh every time and you hope to yourself that this situation will never happen to you. Being a very rare and awkward situation for a person, it is a pleasure to read this chapter.
From this chapter, David voice used in this passage shows that he has a personality that is paranoid but tries to make the best of any bad situation. Throughout this novel, David seems to have a theme for every two chapters, one of them in the hospital waiting room and the other an awkward situation in a plane. The theme brought up in these chapters is dealing with being embarrassed and how you might be judged. Also how you should deal with these embarrassing moments. In all of David’s stories, as odd as they might seem, they provide reader with lessons and how everyone is in secure about certain things in life. This is good structure in how David shares these random stories but all share the same interconnected themes.
From this chapter, David voice used in this passage shows that he has a personality that is paranoid but tries to make the best of any bad situation. Throughout this novel, David seems to have a theme for every two chapters, one of them in the hospital waiting room and the other an awkward situation in a plane. The theme brought up in these chapters is dealing with being embarrassed and how you might be judged. Also how you should deal with these embarrassing moments. In all of David’s stories, as odd as they might seem, they provide reader with lessons and how everyone is in secure about certain things in life. This is good structure in how David shares these random stories but all share the same interconnected themes.
Blog #5 - David Sedaris
“I thought briefly of swallowing my watch, but there was no guarantee I’d choke on it. It’s embarrassing, but, given the way I normally eat, it would probably go down fairly easily, strap ad all. A clock might be a challenge, but a Timex the size of a fifty-cent piece – no problem.” This passage all begun with a miscommunication between a French nurse and David in the hospital. He did not understand the instructions given to him, so he took off his clothing and then thought to go out in the waiting room with only his underpants on. This obviously being the wrong option, David had looked like a fool sitting beside a very-well dressed French couple. The first option he comes up with is to go back to his dressing room, where the robe he should have put on is still hanging on the rack. He then thinks of his second option suicide. This leads to David thinking of swallowing a watch to commit suicide. It is a very humorous and quirky passage, but provides the reader with very graphic image.
David Sedaris uses many hyperboles in his writing, in order to make certain things exaggerated and funnier to the reader. Examples include: When he was describing his experience in the waiting room, it is an exaggeration to have the thought of suicide at that moment. As well when David would always say ‘D’accord’ for everything as a solution to speak to French people, is obviously an exaggeration. Another literary device used is by David’s point of view and what he sees in detail around him. “My mother set the picnic table with insect-repelling candles, and just as w started to eat she caught me eating a huge chunk of beef the size of a coin purse.” He describes the setting of this picnic in a simple sentence, but gets the point across of how the table is set up and the large piece of beef he is eating.
David Sedaris uses many hyperboles in his writing, in order to make certain things exaggerated and funnier to the reader. Examples include: When he was describing his experience in the waiting room, it is an exaggeration to have the thought of suicide at that moment. As well when David would always say ‘D’accord’ for everything as a solution to speak to French people, is obviously an exaggeration. Another literary device used is by David’s point of view and what he sees in detail around him. “My mother set the picnic table with insect-repelling candles, and just as w started to eat she caught me eating a huge chunk of beef the size of a coin purse.” He describes the setting of this picnic in a simple sentence, but gets the point across of how the table is set up and the large piece of beef he is eating.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Blog#4 - David Sedaris
“What I Learned”
David’s parents always wanted him to go to Princeton University and become very successful. He would always say to his dad that he would be studying patricide and his mother would then get jealous and say; “Why not matricide?” He was accepted to Princeton, but was not sure in what program he wanted to do. History was too difficult as he always mixed up dates and eras. David had finally found a subject that interested him it was comparative literature. His parents were disappointed with his choice and thought it would not get him anywhere. That was the case at first when he came back home, where he had to complete his laundry for six months. David had nothing and his parents were not impressed, since he went to an Ivy League University and all. He then decided to move out of the house and to the city in New York. One thing that cheered him up was an alumni reunion where it was not just David who was unemployed, but most of the graduates were in the same boat. Finding work, would not be too difficult, however it was a job as a rat catcher. As days went on, he began to write about his day and the events that happened. When returning home, David’s room had been taken over by the new dog and found that a pet had replaced him.
“That’s Amore”
Hugh and David lived in an apartment in New York on Thompson Street, fall of 1991. Across the hall was Helen, an older woman who lived alone and was very loud. She would always listen to the radio, and only on one station for the whole day. That played classics from Tony Bennett and her favorite song was “That’s Amore”. Not only was she loud but also she was very opinionated, rude and thrived off getting people in trouble. David was the only one who really took care of her, and would always make him feel guilty about things. For example, not picking up the right medication at the pharmacy or not cooking the right food. While listening to the radio, Helen would spy on neighbors in the apartment’s courtyard and tell the super intendment of anything-suspicious going on. Helen was an important character in David’s life as she was a mother figure to him at that time. Even though Helen might not of been the nicest of people, she was an interesting person in this novel.
“In time I completed an entire book, which was subsequently published. I presented a first edition to my parents, who started with the story about our neighbor’s well, and then got up close the drapes. Fifty pages later, they were boarding up the door and looking for ways to disguise themselves.” This is such a humorous passage, because you can just imagine, his parents reading the book quietly and then look at each other worried and find all these ways to hide themselves.
Imagery was an easy thing to grasp from the “That’s Amore” chapter, I could just imagine how Helen would of looked sitting in her chair and watching all the neighbors from her window. Diction was fairly simple and easy to understand. The structure was good, from a transition of David’s parents being disappointed in him, to the next chapter being mainly the same thing, a character that made him feel guilty.
David’s parents always wanted him to go to Princeton University and become very successful. He would always say to his dad that he would be studying patricide and his mother would then get jealous and say; “Why not matricide?” He was accepted to Princeton, but was not sure in what program he wanted to do. History was too difficult as he always mixed up dates and eras. David had finally found a subject that interested him it was comparative literature. His parents were disappointed with his choice and thought it would not get him anywhere. That was the case at first when he came back home, where he had to complete his laundry for six months. David had nothing and his parents were not impressed, since he went to an Ivy League University and all. He then decided to move out of the house and to the city in New York. One thing that cheered him up was an alumni reunion where it was not just David who was unemployed, but most of the graduates were in the same boat. Finding work, would not be too difficult, however it was a job as a rat catcher. As days went on, he began to write about his day and the events that happened. When returning home, David’s room had been taken over by the new dog and found that a pet had replaced him.
“That’s Amore”
Hugh and David lived in an apartment in New York on Thompson Street, fall of 1991. Across the hall was Helen, an older woman who lived alone and was very loud. She would always listen to the radio, and only on one station for the whole day. That played classics from Tony Bennett and her favorite song was “That’s Amore”. Not only was she loud but also she was very opinionated, rude and thrived off getting people in trouble. David was the only one who really took care of her, and would always make him feel guilty about things. For example, not picking up the right medication at the pharmacy or not cooking the right food. While listening to the radio, Helen would spy on neighbors in the apartment’s courtyard and tell the super intendment of anything-suspicious going on. Helen was an important character in David’s life as she was a mother figure to him at that time. Even though Helen might not of been the nicest of people, she was an interesting person in this novel.
“In time I completed an entire book, which was subsequently published. I presented a first edition to my parents, who started with the story about our neighbor’s well, and then got up close the drapes. Fifty pages later, they were boarding up the door and looking for ways to disguise themselves.” This is such a humorous passage, because you can just imagine, his parents reading the book quietly and then look at each other worried and find all these ways to hide themselves.
Imagery was an easy thing to grasp from the “That’s Amore” chapter, I could just imagine how Helen would of looked sitting in her chair and watching all the neighbors from her window. Diction was fairly simple and easy to understand. The structure was good, from a transition of David’s parents being disappointed in him, to the next chapter being mainly the same thing, a character that made him feel guilty.
Blog#3 - David Sedaris
“Buddy Can You Spare A Tie?”
This chapter is all about David and his personal image. It begins with his early childhood, where him and sister had no choice for the clothing they could wear and the only day of the year they could choose was Halloween. David would always be a hobo, he defines hobo as; “Being at liberty, unencumbered by bills and mortgages, better suited his drinking schedule, and so he found shelter whenever he could.” He goes on writing about the glasses he used to wear, his lenses were so big you could clean them with a squeegee and on the stems were the playboy symbol. At that time in 1976, these were pretty stylish. However he makes the point that the whole problem with fashion is that no matter what you wear at that moment, twenty years later it will be something embarrassing to you. He also makes a point about his amazing calves, and how now if someone saw them, they would not think they were real and may wonder; “Why I didn’t have my ass done at the same time.” This again makes a point at self-image and how time is able to change the outlook on certain things very easily.
“Road Trips”
David Sedaris as I have mentioned before is homosexual, it is in this chapter he writes about how he came to the conclusion of being gay. It is on this road trip, that David takes a trip to Ohio to tell his roommate, Todd, that he is gay. David first tells his friend Ronnie that he is gay, pretending to be surprised Ronnie then confesses that she knew all along. Determined to share his life-changing decision, David coming from Raleigh attempts to find his way to Kent, Ohio and tell Todd. Having no sort of transportation to Ohio, David then hitches a ride with a driver in a tow-truck. Oddly, the driver asks David to perform sexual favors for him, even though the driver had been married. Trying to ignore the driver, David tries to change the subject, but to no avail. Frustrated the driver, denied by David, David then makes up the story that he has a girlfriend and does not want to do anything. “The man would pull over, and I would take my place by the side of the road, a virgin with three dollars in his pocket and his whole life ahead of him.” This chapter was an important event and lesson for David, as it was something in which he saw that there was a future ahead of him.
Symbolism was an important thing for David in the first chapter mentioned the clothing in which a hobo wore symbolized his style. He was free to where whatever he wanted on Halloween and he took advantage of that, with a certain style. The “Road Trips” chapter was a climax of David’s life, he realized that he wanted to be gay and put an end to pretending to be the person he was not.
This chapter is all about David and his personal image. It begins with his early childhood, where him and sister had no choice for the clothing they could wear and the only day of the year they could choose was Halloween. David would always be a hobo, he defines hobo as; “Being at liberty, unencumbered by bills and mortgages, better suited his drinking schedule, and so he found shelter whenever he could.” He goes on writing about the glasses he used to wear, his lenses were so big you could clean them with a squeegee and on the stems were the playboy symbol. At that time in 1976, these were pretty stylish. However he makes the point that the whole problem with fashion is that no matter what you wear at that moment, twenty years later it will be something embarrassing to you. He also makes a point about his amazing calves, and how now if someone saw them, they would not think they were real and may wonder; “Why I didn’t have my ass done at the same time.” This again makes a point at self-image and how time is able to change the outlook on certain things very easily.
“Road Trips”
David Sedaris as I have mentioned before is homosexual, it is in this chapter he writes about how he came to the conclusion of being gay. It is on this road trip, that David takes a trip to Ohio to tell his roommate, Todd, that he is gay. David first tells his friend Ronnie that he is gay, pretending to be surprised Ronnie then confesses that she knew all along. Determined to share his life-changing decision, David coming from Raleigh attempts to find his way to Kent, Ohio and tell Todd. Having no sort of transportation to Ohio, David then hitches a ride with a driver in a tow-truck. Oddly, the driver asks David to perform sexual favors for him, even though the driver had been married. Trying to ignore the driver, David tries to change the subject, but to no avail. Frustrated the driver, denied by David, David then makes up the story that he has a girlfriend and does not want to do anything. “The man would pull over, and I would take my place by the side of the road, a virgin with three dollars in his pocket and his whole life ahead of him.” This chapter was an important event and lesson for David, as it was something in which he saw that there was a future ahead of him.
Symbolism was an important thing for David in the first chapter mentioned the clothing in which a hobo wore symbolized his style. He was free to where whatever he wanted on Halloween and he took advantage of that, with a certain style. The “Road Trips” chapter was a climax of David’s life, he realized that he wanted to be gay and put an end to pretending to be the person he was not.
Blog #2 - David Sedaris
‘The Understudy”, David and his sister, Gretchen are left at home while their parents are on vacation. Mrs. Byrd was their first babysitter, and they both really appreciated her and she would always like their hospitality. As well, there was Mrs. Robbins who was black and whenever either of the two sitters would come over. David would give a tour of the house and would always look forward to their reactions to the house. However, it came to a day where the parents changed to a different sitter, that the kids did not like, her name was Mrs. Peacock. This was bound to happen, the first problem was that the tour that David normally gave, did not get an overwhelming reaction like the other sitters in the past. Gretchen also had the belief that she was not a woman. Mrs. Peacock would not do too much around the house. She would always lie down and make the kids get her food and drinks. The only food that Mrs. Peacock she would cook was “sloppy joes”, probably one of the most simple things to cook. She only did laundry the night before the parents came back. However, it was funny at the end, David and his sister explained all these horrible things about Mrs. Peacock. Their mother did not believe a word and the chapter ended with their mother saying to Mrs. Peacock, “Honest to God, I don’t know how you put up with them for the entire week.”
“ ‘All right,’ our mother said. ‘Jesus, calm down.’ ‘She made us scratch her back until our arms almost fell off.’ ‘She cooked sloppy joe every night, and when we ran out of buns she told us to eat it on crackers.’ ”I really enjoy this passage as it just seems like something a kid would say in their nightmares, it also a perfect example of Sedaris' humorous writing.
David Sedaris uses allegories by relating to Mrs. Peacock to characters like Dracula and Frankenstein. Personifying her as a villain or evil person. The voice is the narrator of this story well there were two voices. One was of Gretchen his sister and the other of David, both of when they were younger and had strong opinions of Mrs. Peacock. Also, hyperboles are used when David was describing the weather outside, when Gretchen had to pull weeds outside, “She had to pull weeds in the blistering sun.”
“ ‘All right,’ our mother said. ‘Jesus, calm down.’ ‘She made us scratch her back until our arms almost fell off.’ ‘She cooked sloppy joe every night, and when we ran out of buns she told us to eat it on crackers.’ ”I really enjoy this passage as it just seems like something a kid would say in their nightmares, it also a perfect example of Sedaris' humorous writing.
David Sedaris uses allegories by relating to Mrs. Peacock to characters like Dracula and Frankenstein. Personifying her as a villain or evil person. The voice is the narrator of this story well there were two voices. One was of Gretchen his sister and the other of David, both of when they were younger and had strong opinions of Mrs. Peacock. Also, hyperboles are used when David was describing the weather outside, when Gretchen had to pull weeds outside, “She had to pull weeds in the blistering sun.”
Blog #1 - David Sedaris
“When You Are Engulfed In Flames”, written by David Sedaris is a hilarious novel about all the misadventures throughout his life. All these misadventures beginning from David’s earlier years to his days in Normandy and New York.
The first two chapters, “It’s Catching” and “Keeping Up” are introductions to family and friends of David Sedaris. The novel begins with two interesting characters, Lisa and Patsy. Both of them are germaphobes, people that are obsessed with being clean and avoid any encounters with bacteria. They both share stories relating to cleanliness and what you should do in certain situations. David, being the narrator, wonders what they would do? Lisa says that in theatres, before she sits down in the chair she will place her coat on the back of a chair to avoid the bacteria from others getting on her. As well, Patsy expands on the subject and says that whenever she goes to grocery stores, she never puts her hands on the pushcarts. We are also introduced to David’s mother, whom he calls Maw Hamwrick. His mother is a warm, caring and a hard-working person around her house. All of these friends and family had been invited to David and his partner Hugh’s house for Christmas dinner in Paris. The next chapter, “Keeping Up”, is a chapter where Hugh, David’s lover, is described in more detail. The chapter is about David and Hugh travelling about, where David would always end up losing Hugh in the crowds. David would describe how Hugh would somehow blend in, and always know his way around foreign cities due to all the travel guides he reads. David described finding Hugh, as the book “Where’s Waldo”. Another portion of the chapter is David’s obsession with finding out what a dingo looked like, by going to the zoo in Australia. When going through the lengthy zoo, David and Hugh finally see the dingoes. David having a great imagination thought that a dingo would be this spectacular creature, when all it really was an animal that looked like a dog.
“I don’t know how, but he does. There’s a store in London that sells travel guides alongside novels that take place in this or that given country. The idea is that you’ll read the guide for facts and read the novel for atmosphere – a nice thought, but the only book I’ll ever need is Where’s Waldo? All my energy goes into keeping track of Hugh, and as a result I don’t get to enjoy anything.” This passage just puts a smile on your face, and helps you imagine, being lost in huge crowd of people and all you are trying to do is find this one person. It also brings back memories of when I was younger and go to the library with my friends and take out the “Where’s Waldo” book and time between each other who was the fastest to find Waldo.
The structure of the novel, in which the author follows, is fairly good. There is a nice transition between each of the chapters, as well you can almost just start the novel from any chapter and it would make sense. The choice of words is also very simple and makes it an easy and understand read. Finally, the imagery in which the author provides is a nice to read, because he describes all his travels in a very nice manner.
The first two chapters, “It’s Catching” and “Keeping Up” are introductions to family and friends of David Sedaris. The novel begins with two interesting characters, Lisa and Patsy. Both of them are germaphobes, people that are obsessed with being clean and avoid any encounters with bacteria. They both share stories relating to cleanliness and what you should do in certain situations. David, being the narrator, wonders what they would do? Lisa says that in theatres, before she sits down in the chair she will place her coat on the back of a chair to avoid the bacteria from others getting on her. As well, Patsy expands on the subject and says that whenever she goes to grocery stores, she never puts her hands on the pushcarts. We are also introduced to David’s mother, whom he calls Maw Hamwrick. His mother is a warm, caring and a hard-working person around her house. All of these friends and family had been invited to David and his partner Hugh’s house for Christmas dinner in Paris. The next chapter, “Keeping Up”, is a chapter where Hugh, David’s lover, is described in more detail. The chapter is about David and Hugh travelling about, where David would always end up losing Hugh in the crowds. David would describe how Hugh would somehow blend in, and always know his way around foreign cities due to all the travel guides he reads. David described finding Hugh, as the book “Where’s Waldo”. Another portion of the chapter is David’s obsession with finding out what a dingo looked like, by going to the zoo in Australia. When going through the lengthy zoo, David and Hugh finally see the dingoes. David having a great imagination thought that a dingo would be this spectacular creature, when all it really was an animal that looked like a dog.
“I don’t know how, but he does. There’s a store in London that sells travel guides alongside novels that take place in this or that given country. The idea is that you’ll read the guide for facts and read the novel for atmosphere – a nice thought, but the only book I’ll ever need is Where’s Waldo? All my energy goes into keeping track of Hugh, and as a result I don’t get to enjoy anything.” This passage just puts a smile on your face, and helps you imagine, being lost in huge crowd of people and all you are trying to do is find this one person. It also brings back memories of when I was younger and go to the library with my friends and take out the “Where’s Waldo” book and time between each other who was the fastest to find Waldo.
The structure of the novel, in which the author follows, is fairly good. There is a nice transition between each of the chapters, as well you can almost just start the novel from any chapter and it would make sense. The choice of words is also very simple and makes it an easy and understand read. Finally, the imagery in which the author provides is a nice to read, because he describes all his travels in a very nice manner.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
"The Dog, The Family, A Household Tale" - August Kleinzahler
There is a uniqueness to August Kleinzahler’s writing. Almost everything that he writes is humorous in some form or another. As well in this passage, the two prominent figures in his early life were; his dog and Nanny Far. Usually, as a child your memories would surround your Mom and Dad for example; this was not the case for August. His dog, in which he always relates uniquely to having the characteristics of a human, was his best friend. Nanny Far was obviously a woman that really influenced him in being the person he is today. Especially, changed his taste in women; “I would live with a young Czech woman, Canadian Czech, and suck my thumb til it was raw…” August as mentioned in the text, said that he was a “mistake”, he was conceived by accident. This really does clear up, why August was an outsider in his family, both his parents do not connect with him as much as most parents should. This was probably another reason for his unique writing, he had a different perspective than other kids. His brother, the usual risk taker or brave one that is always up to trouble. Dad was not a key character in his life, he was always away at work. His Mother was someone that had values and seemed to be very "proper" and loved the family dog, just as much as August did. Finally, was his sister, a mysterious character in his life that never was really close to the family as she lived in the attic and listened to her loud thumping music.
“You see, if Mother had only listened to her own mother and averted her eyes from the dog during the term of pregnancy. It was said, this unhappy result might have been avoided.” This quote is a great example of how humorous the author is in describing how everyone thought that he looked like the dog because his mother was looking at the dog when giving birth to August. It's just a quotation that makes you laugh and wonder where does he come up with this stuff? “He seldom attacked humans, only dogs, male dogs. Female dogs brought out his romantic side.” This quotation was describing his dog, in a very humorous manner and how he relates to other dogs around him. Again, bringing up the fact of how the author believed that the dog acted like a human. This is a perfect example of human nature, especially in males, acting tough in front of other males and then bringing out a softer romantic side around females.
“You see, if Mother had only listened to her own mother and averted her eyes from the dog during the term of pregnancy. It was said, this unhappy result might have been avoided.” This quote is a great example of how humorous the author is in describing how everyone thought that he looked like the dog because his mother was looking at the dog when giving birth to August. It's just a quotation that makes you laugh and wonder where does he come up with this stuff? “He seldom attacked humans, only dogs, male dogs. Female dogs brought out his romantic side.” This quotation was describing his dog, in a very humorous manner and how he relates to other dogs around him. Again, bringing up the fact of how the author believed that the dog acted like a human. This is a perfect example of human nature, especially in males, acting tough in front of other males and then bringing out a softer romantic side around females.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
"The Glass Castle" Writing Assignment
Walls’ establishes two very diverse tones, by telling two different stories of her parents. One is being a happier time and her not realizing the financial troubles of her family, creating a tone of innocence. As she grew up, she then realizes these financial problems and the tone becomes judgmental. The narrator gets you on side, by trying to help her parents in the best way she knows how. In my opinion, when the narrator was much younger it is easier for the reader to be on her side, because it describes the parents as people who truly cared about family values. The narrator does use tone and words to idealize her parents when she was younger. However, you see her true personality as she grows older and is embarrassed by her parents, and how they live on the streets.
The author is masterful in her diction, as illustrated by the following examples; “I’d tried to make a home for myself here, tried to turn the apartment into the sort of place where the person I wanted to be would live. But I could never enjoy the room without worrying about Mom and Dad huddled on the sidewalk grate somewhere.” This passage intrigues the reader, as it creates an image of poverty and wealth. There is an interesting transition, between her description of her wealth and her parents’ lives on the street creating a vivid contrast of two different lifestyles. Curiosity is aroused by this passage. “I looked up to the stars and tried to figure out which was the best one. You could see hundreds, maybe thousands or even millions, twinkling in the clear desert sky. The longer you looked and the more your eyes adjusted to the dark, the more stars you’d see, layer after layer of them gradually becoming visible.” This passage can really make you imagine that you had been there looking up at all the beautiful stars and realized that the simplest things in life can astonish you.
The author is masterful in her diction, as illustrated by the following examples; “I’d tried to make a home for myself here, tried to turn the apartment into the sort of place where the person I wanted to be would live. But I could never enjoy the room without worrying about Mom and Dad huddled on the sidewalk grate somewhere.” This passage intrigues the reader, as it creates an image of poverty and wealth. There is an interesting transition, between her description of her wealth and her parents’ lives on the street creating a vivid contrast of two different lifestyles. Curiosity is aroused by this passage. “I looked up to the stars and tried to figure out which was the best one. You could see hundreds, maybe thousands or even millions, twinkling in the clear desert sky. The longer you looked and the more your eyes adjusted to the dark, the more stars you’d see, layer after layer of them gradually becoming visible.” This passage can really make you imagine that you had been there looking up at all the beautiful stars and realized that the simplest things in life can astonish you.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Obama's Eulogy by Michael Dawson
1) Describe how visual media enhances the eulogy. Provide specific examples.
Ted Kennedy, not just a Senator to the United States, and was a hero to his country. A caring individual, whom always went out of his way to help people, by calling all the mourning families from 9/11, treated everyone equally from his co-workers to his family. He is a hero who will always be missed by the American people. During Obama’s eulogy, there were pictures of this amazing man, which really helped provide people with a good look of how personable, and caring he was. He was always smiling; it portrayed him well as Obama was describing his outstanding life and what he gave to so many people. He gave the gift of happiness, by either caring or occasionally using humor as a way to put a smile on a person’s face. The best caption that was shown in the eulogy was the photo with his two brothers. They all had the exact same expressions on their faces, it just seemed that they were all in a good place at that time.
2) Comment on Ted Kennedy's history of service. Provide examples.
He was a Senator that had provided a great amount of service to the United States. It was near the end of the eulogy where Obama mentions his actions after the horrific incident on September 11th. Mr. Kennedy had gone out of his way to call each one of the 177 families that had been affected. Not only did he just call them, he invited them sailing, played with their children and wrote letters to them. Ted played a key part in helping with these all these families pains and sorrows. Families were torn in half but Ted Kennedy was there to lend a hand for their pain. As well, he created many laws up to 300 of them for the very long span of time he was a Senator.
3) Comment on effective use of rhetoric (e.g. contrasting images of light/dark, good/evil) and (word choice...objectives used to praise him, verbs etc.)
Sure Obama did a fantastic job in presenting his eulogy for Ted Kennedy. However, it was his young 26-year old speechwriter, Jon Favreau, who came up with the words that so elegantly worked in describing the Senator. It seems near the ending of the speech where Obama discusses Ted Kennedy’s legacy that the speech would be over. This is a perfect example of contrasting images that were light and then to dark. First, talking about Kennedy’s legacy and then turning the tables and mentioning the darker days around September 11th. To conclude, Jon Favreau’s diction used during the eulogy was very humble and detailed in describing this wonderful man, who will certainly be remembered for his loving heart.
Ted Kennedy, not just a Senator to the United States, and was a hero to his country. A caring individual, whom always went out of his way to help people, by calling all the mourning families from 9/11, treated everyone equally from his co-workers to his family. He is a hero who will always be missed by the American people. During Obama’s eulogy, there were pictures of this amazing man, which really helped provide people with a good look of how personable, and caring he was. He was always smiling; it portrayed him well as Obama was describing his outstanding life and what he gave to so many people. He gave the gift of happiness, by either caring or occasionally using humor as a way to put a smile on a person’s face. The best caption that was shown in the eulogy was the photo with his two brothers. They all had the exact same expressions on their faces, it just seemed that they were all in a good place at that time.
2) Comment on Ted Kennedy's history of service. Provide examples.
He was a Senator that had provided a great amount of service to the United States. It was near the end of the eulogy where Obama mentions his actions after the horrific incident on September 11th. Mr. Kennedy had gone out of his way to call each one of the 177 families that had been affected. Not only did he just call them, he invited them sailing, played with their children and wrote letters to them. Ted played a key part in helping with these all these families pains and sorrows. Families were torn in half but Ted Kennedy was there to lend a hand for their pain. As well, he created many laws up to 300 of them for the very long span of time he was a Senator.
3) Comment on effective use of rhetoric (e.g. contrasting images of light/dark, good/evil) and (word choice...objectives used to praise him, verbs etc.)
Sure Obama did a fantastic job in presenting his eulogy for Ted Kennedy. However, it was his young 26-year old speechwriter, Jon Favreau, who came up with the words that so elegantly worked in describing the Senator. It seems near the ending of the speech where Obama discusses Ted Kennedy’s legacy that the speech would be over. This is a perfect example of contrasting images that were light and then to dark. First, talking about Kennedy’s legacy and then turning the tables and mentioning the darker days around September 11th. To conclude, Jon Favreau’s diction used during the eulogy was very humble and detailed in describing this wonderful man, who will certainly be remembered for his loving heart.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
The Retreat
Dear David Bergen,
A couple things worked very well in your novel “The Retreat”. Your writing was very detailed and descriptive, and the metaphors used to represent certain situations in the novel were very interesting. On the other hand, I thought that the beginning of the novel was not very interesting and the plot seemed very stationary. I feel there should have been more a “bang” factor at the beginning, but sadly there was not and did not intrigue me as much as I expected. “Lewis had called the play dire. The actors were like spent swimmers who clung together and choked their art. Though these had been their father’s words, Lizzy echoed them now. Everett asked Lizzy what dire was and she said, ‘Desperately bad.’ They were in bed. Fish and William were sleeping. Lizzy was lying under a pool of light, writing in her notebook.” Pg. 87 This quote is good example of how you, the author uses metaphors that are interesting to me.
“Fresh croissants so buttery they melted in your hands before touching the mouth, and whole milk with thick cream, and muesli from the Swiss Alps, and then, after étouffing ourselves, we sat by the fire and smoked une pipe.” This piece of descriptive just makes your mouth water while reading, and having that feeling of waking up in the morning and having a wonderful breakfast. This practically describes your perfect type of breakfast to wake up to.
“Hart moved back to allow Raymond room, and as he did so, Raymond turned and swung his feet up and kicked out against his door. The door bucked outwards in a wild arc and caught Hart on the chest and waist and crotch. His face showed surprise as the air went out of him, and then he fell. Lizzy screamed.” Pg. 249 This part of the novel approaches near the end and is where the action starts to begin. After reading this part, I just intrigued me to keep on reading cause you could picture the scene so well.
Your novel seemed very sexual orientated why was that?
Why would you choose the main character, Raymond, to be a Native instead of another culture?
If you could re-write the ending of the novel how would you write it?
Sincerely, Michael Dawson
A couple things worked very well in your novel “The Retreat”. Your writing was very detailed and descriptive, and the metaphors used to represent certain situations in the novel were very interesting. On the other hand, I thought that the beginning of the novel was not very interesting and the plot seemed very stationary. I feel there should have been more a “bang” factor at the beginning, but sadly there was not and did not intrigue me as much as I expected. “Lewis had called the play dire. The actors were like spent swimmers who clung together and choked their art. Though these had been their father’s words, Lizzy echoed them now. Everett asked Lizzy what dire was and she said, ‘Desperately bad.’ They were in bed. Fish and William were sleeping. Lizzy was lying under a pool of light, writing in her notebook.” Pg. 87 This quote is good example of how you, the author uses metaphors that are interesting to me.
“Fresh croissants so buttery they melted in your hands before touching the mouth, and whole milk with thick cream, and muesli from the Swiss Alps, and then, after étouffing ourselves, we sat by the fire and smoked une pipe.” This piece of descriptive just makes your mouth water while reading, and having that feeling of waking up in the morning and having a wonderful breakfast. This practically describes your perfect type of breakfast to wake up to.
“Hart moved back to allow Raymond room, and as he did so, Raymond turned and swung his feet up and kicked out against his door. The door bucked outwards in a wild arc and caught Hart on the chest and waist and crotch. His face showed surprise as the air went out of him, and then he fell. Lizzy screamed.” Pg. 249 This part of the novel approaches near the end and is where the action starts to begin. After reading this part, I just intrigued me to keep on reading cause you could picture the scene so well.
Your novel seemed very sexual orientated why was that?
Why would you choose the main character, Raymond, to be a Native instead of another culture?
If you could re-write the ending of the novel how would you write it?
Sincerely, Michael Dawson
Monday, April 20, 2009
Rock Band 2 Vs. Guitar Hero World Tour
Rock Band or Guitar Hero it has always been a debate which one is the better game. Both Guitar Hero World Tour and Rock Band 2 were released during the holidays this past December. This created a huge frenzy between kids and teenagers to choose which game they were going to ask for a gift for the holidays. In my case, I chose Rock Band 2 for my PS3. My reasoning for this was that Guitar Hero is not made for PS3 in the first place, the song selection had much more variety and the drums were much simpler to use. In comparison, Guitar Hero also has a wide range of great songs to play, from Jimi Hendrix to some Sublime. Guitar Hero World Tour was the first to include the drums, guitar and microphone, out of the whole series. However, before Guitar Hero, Rock Band had already created their full set of instruments and got a head start on the competition. Even though Rock Band had a head start it gave the creators of Guitar Hero to make changes those instruments by: creating a touch pad for guitar notes, extra pieces to the drum set by having 5 notes instead of 4 on Rock Band and new/innovative game modes than Rock Band.
Rock Band Positives/Negatives:
Positives: Graphics are very realistic in comparison to Guitar Hero, where the characters look more like cartoons. The song selection is amazing for every person it mixes some darker, louder bands with some light, easy listening songs for the girls. Drums are easy and simple to use.
Negatives: Switching difficulty of songs is annoying because if you want to switch in the middle of the song, you will have to reload to the beginning page all over again. Guitar is much harder to use than the Guitar Hero ones.
Guitar Hero Positives/Negatives:
Positives: The wide range celebrity characters you can chose to rock out with. The new drums, which create a new challenge for the player to experience and the new, touch pad for keys on the guitar.
Negatives: The clunky guitar, which is bigger than the old version of the Guitar Hero guitar, the smaller one was much easier to handle and play with. The drums seem to break fairly easily in time, and are not covered under a good warranty.
In conclusion, if I would choose out of the two games and I had an Xbox 360 I would purchase Guitar Hero World Tour as it provides a fun and more entertaining format for players.
Rock Band Positives/Negatives:
Positives: Graphics are very realistic in comparison to Guitar Hero, where the characters look more like cartoons. The song selection is amazing for every person it mixes some darker, louder bands with some light, easy listening songs for the girls. Drums are easy and simple to use.
Negatives: Switching difficulty of songs is annoying because if you want to switch in the middle of the song, you will have to reload to the beginning page all over again. Guitar is much harder to use than the Guitar Hero ones.
Guitar Hero Positives/Negatives:
Positives: The wide range celebrity characters you can chose to rock out with. The new drums, which create a new challenge for the player to experience and the new, touch pad for keys on the guitar.
Negatives: The clunky guitar, which is bigger than the old version of the Guitar Hero guitar, the smaller one was much easier to handle and play with. The drums seem to break fairly easily in time, and are not covered under a good warranty.
In conclusion, if I would choose out of the two games and I had an Xbox 360 I would purchase Guitar Hero World Tour as it provides a fun and more entertaining format for players.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
"Men Who Stare at Goats" - Jon Ronson
The novel I read over this past month was Jon Ronson’s “Men Who Stare at Goats”. The author of this novel did a very good job in making it entertaining and humorous. He also writes very well in keeping the reader entertained by always having a joke that you laugh at, every time you turn the page. The plot of this novel is just so bizarre, that it’s hilarious that US Intelligence Agencies actually come up with these ideas, towards fighting the War of Terror. An example was their Special Forces, which came with ideas, believing that they could walk through walls and stare at goats and stop their hearts. The title itself sums up the bizarreness of this book, the funny thing is that this book is not fictional and totally the truth. Throughout the novel, Jon Ronson goes around the United States interviewing former military personnel and former Special Forces Unit. The madness of “staring at goats”, all started will General Stubblebine (1981 to 1984), when one day he decides that in his mind he could walk through walls. The General’s imagination runs on, and he goes to the Special Forces and suggests some of his bizarre ideas to them, military personnel were always wondering what was going in the General’s head. The story carries on, and in our present day, George W. Bush calls up for Stubblebine’s ideas in dealing with the war in the Middle East.
“Except for one last thing. Ten years later, Guy said, three Special Forces soldiers covertly traveled to Cleveland from Fort Bragg, having heard on the grapevine that Guy had once successfully stared at a goat to death on their base. They wanted to know if the rumor was true. They wanted to see it for themselves. They wanted Guy to kill a goat for them.” Pg – 65. This passage appeals to me because it very humorous and bizarre that people actually believed that this guy actually killed a goat by just staring at it. “The ‘high values’ were what the U.S. army called the suspected terrorists, insurgent leaders, rapists, and child molesters, although things were so out of control in postwar Iraq that many of the high values might have just been passersby picked up at checkpoints because the soldiers didn’t like the look of them.” Pg-174. This appeals to me because it shows the true racism that was going on in the paranoid government of the U.S. after 9/11. This quotation just describes how poorly people were just judged by appearance, for a being a terrorist, which is morally wrong.
1. Where did you first learn about the Special Forces in the U.S. army? 2. What bizarre subject will you talk about in your next novel? 3. Do you believe that Special Forces will be an important organization under new U.S. President Barack Obama?
“Except for one last thing. Ten years later, Guy said, three Special Forces soldiers covertly traveled to Cleveland from Fort Bragg, having heard on the grapevine that Guy had once successfully stared at a goat to death on their base. They wanted to know if the rumor was true. They wanted to see it for themselves. They wanted Guy to kill a goat for them.” Pg – 65. This passage appeals to me because it very humorous and bizarre that people actually believed that this guy actually killed a goat by just staring at it. “The ‘high values’ were what the U.S. army called the suspected terrorists, insurgent leaders, rapists, and child molesters, although things were so out of control in postwar Iraq that many of the high values might have just been passersby picked up at checkpoints because the soldiers didn’t like the look of them.” Pg-174. This appeals to me because it shows the true racism that was going on in the paranoid government of the U.S. after 9/11. This quotation just describes how poorly people were just judged by appearance, for a being a terrorist, which is morally wrong.
1. Where did you first learn about the Special Forces in the U.S. army? 2. What bizarre subject will you talk about in your next novel? 3. Do you believe that Special Forces will be an important organization under new U.S. President Barack Obama?
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