The book I read for this class is "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien
1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read according to the elements of plot you've learned in past courses (exposition, inciting incident, etc.). Explain how the narrative fulfills the author's purpose (based on your well-informed interpretation of same).
Exposition: in the first chapter, the reader knows what each soldier LITERALLY carries in their backpacks. The reader also learns that all of them carry the same things. After the first chapter, the author does not follow a chronological order of events, that's why the reader can say that the climax is not a specific one. I think that the purpose of this book was to show the reader that someone can not TRULY tell a war story because "what is story-real is not always happening-real."
2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.
Themes: instincts vs what is thought of right: when the narrator gets drafted, he does not want to go to the war but is also scared of what people are going to say if he DOESN'T go.
Truth: when O'Brien reveals that, the events are not real, he explains that in order for something to be real, they have to feel real. That's why he invented all the extra events that never truly happened.
3. Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).
tone: melancholy/reflective. (1) “They carried their reputations. They carried the soldier’s greatest fear, which was the fear of blushing. Men killed, and died, because they were embarrassed not to. It was what had brought them to the war in the first place, nothing positive, no dreams of glory and dishonor, just to avoid the blush of dishonor.” (2) “He wished he could’ve explained some of this. How he had been braver than he ever thought possible, but how he had not been so brave as he wanted to be. The distinction was important.” (Page 153) (3) “Twenty years. A lot like yesterday, a lot like never. In a way, maybe, I’d gone under with Kiowa, and now after two decades I’d finally worked myself out. A hot afternoon, a bright August sun, and the war was over.” (Page 187)
4. Describe a minimum of ten literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the author's purpose, the text's theme and/or your sense of the tone. For each, please include textual support to help illustrate the point for your readers. (Please include edition and page numbers for easy reference.)
1. symbolism:
2. foreshadow
3. symbolism
4. irony
5. diction
6 Juxtaposition
7. Imagery
8. allusions
9. flashback/flash-forward
10. narration
HEY! ! ! Welcome to my blog! My name is Maria Luna. Here, I will be posting things from my expository composition and my AP English class. I am a firm believer of the saying "It's not what you say but how you say it." With that in mind, feel free to comment or add to the posts in here.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
LIT ANALYSIS #1 (EXPOS)
My book for this class is "The Deaf Community" by Jerome D. schein
TOPIC(S) and/or EVENT(S)
1. As we have discussed in class, a book is said to be nonfiction if its content is based on facts or events. What is your book about? [a]. Try writing a paragraph first to capture your thoughts. [b]. Then see if you can boil it down to one clear statement. (Even if you feel like you can just skip to [b], please do both; remember that your reader doesn’t know what you know.
A: The book is about some studies/surveys that have been done to a community of deaf people in the Washington area. B: analyze a deaf community
2. Why did your author choose to write about this topic, person or event?
he wants to understand a minority group better.
3. Why did you choose this book? What about the book appealed to you the first time it came to your attention (and how did it come to your attention)? What about the book made you want to keep reading once you began?
I choose this book because I am interested in becoming a translator and i'm interested in becoming fluent in ASL. I was in the library looking for nonfiction books and I decided to look up books regarding the deaf community.
4. Did you find the book realistic? Did you make any connections between people/events you read about and people/events in your own life? Why or (if you didn’t) why not?
Since the book talked about surveys done to deaf people, I found this book realistic. In reading this book, I was able to make connections between this book and the tv show "switched at birth" because this book talked about some issues that were present in the show as well.
PEOPLE
1. Since this book is nonfiction, the theory goes that the author didn’t create characters. But that’s not entirely true, is it? Doesn’t the author report his/her own interpretations based on personal observations? If we met his/her subjects for ourselves we might see them completely differently. What do the author’s choices say to you? Why did s/he choose to write about this book? What is the author’s tone, and what (if anything) does it say about the author and his/her subjects?
Since this book is mainly about surveys done to people who are deaf, the author did not create characters. However, the author choose what data to publish and how to publish it. In a way, the author could of manipulated the data to get people to sympathize towards the deaf community. The tone of the author is educational.
2. Describe two or three people from the book. What do they look like? How do they act? How would you write them as fictional characters (would you use direct or indirect characterization?
hmm. . .the book did analyze one specific person, but a whole community. It didn't give any names of people.
3. What about these people makes them interesting enough to write about?
I think that the author choose to write about the deaf community because there are people who still don't fully understand it.
STYLE
1. Did the author use any tools from fiction writing (such as foreshadowing or symbolism), or did the author use a journalistic style? Example(s)?
The author uses a journalistic style throughout the book.
2. Does the author use lengthy descriptions of places and people,or does s/he focus more on action or dialogue? What overall effect do these choices have on the book?
When the author introduces the book, he describes the different connotation of the word deaf and he explain which people who are "deaf" participated in the studies.
3. What tools does the author use to demonstrate tone and create a mood?
4. What do you think the author’s attitude was toward the subject, or the characters, or the audience (i.e., you)? Why?
I think that the author wants to educate readers about the deaf communities because he does not present his opinions but facts (studies result)
5. What resources (newspaper articles, interviews, historical documents, e.g.) does the author offer? Did it matter in your thinking? Why/why not?
The authoor presented result to studies and it made him more credible.
ENDURING MEMORY Write a paragraph in which you describe the one or two ideas from this book that you expect to remember for a long time. Explain your choices and their importance. Share a passage or two that give your reader a taste of the same effect.
An idea that will stay with me that i found in this book is that just because people are deaf, it does not mean that they will not be able to have a job, a career, or a family.
TOPIC(S) and/or EVENT(S)
1. As we have discussed in class, a book is said to be nonfiction if its content is based on facts or events. What is your book about? [a]. Try writing a paragraph first to capture your thoughts. [b]. Then see if you can boil it down to one clear statement. (Even if you feel like you can just skip to [b], please do both; remember that your reader doesn’t know what you know.
A: The book is about some studies/surveys that have been done to a community of deaf people in the Washington area. B: analyze a deaf community
2. Why did your author choose to write about this topic, person or event?
he wants to understand a minority group better.
3. Why did you choose this book? What about the book appealed to you the first time it came to your attention (and how did it come to your attention)? What about the book made you want to keep reading once you began?
I choose this book because I am interested in becoming a translator and i'm interested in becoming fluent in ASL. I was in the library looking for nonfiction books and I decided to look up books regarding the deaf community.
4. Did you find the book realistic? Did you make any connections between people/events you read about and people/events in your own life? Why or (if you didn’t) why not?
Since the book talked about surveys done to deaf people, I found this book realistic. In reading this book, I was able to make connections between this book and the tv show "switched at birth" because this book talked about some issues that were present in the show as well.
PEOPLE
1. Since this book is nonfiction, the theory goes that the author didn’t create characters. But that’s not entirely true, is it? Doesn’t the author report his/her own interpretations based on personal observations? If we met his/her subjects for ourselves we might see them completely differently. What do the author’s choices say to you? Why did s/he choose to write about this book? What is the author’s tone, and what (if anything) does it say about the author and his/her subjects?
Since this book is mainly about surveys done to people who are deaf, the author did not create characters. However, the author choose what data to publish and how to publish it. In a way, the author could of manipulated the data to get people to sympathize towards the deaf community. The tone of the author is educational.
2. Describe two or three people from the book. What do they look like? How do they act? How would you write them as fictional characters (would you use direct or indirect characterization?
hmm. . .the book did analyze one specific person, but a whole community. It didn't give any names of people.
3. What about these people makes them interesting enough to write about?
I think that the author choose to write about the deaf community because there are people who still don't fully understand it.
STYLE
1. Did the author use any tools from fiction writing (such as foreshadowing or symbolism), or did the author use a journalistic style? Example(s)?
The author uses a journalistic style throughout the book.
2. Does the author use lengthy descriptions of places and people,or does s/he focus more on action or dialogue? What overall effect do these choices have on the book?
When the author introduces the book, he describes the different connotation of the word deaf and he explain which people who are "deaf" participated in the studies.
3. What tools does the author use to demonstrate tone and create a mood?
4. What do you think the author’s attitude was toward the subject, or the characters, or the audience (i.e., you)? Why?
I think that the author wants to educate readers about the deaf communities because he does not present his opinions but facts (studies result)
5. What resources (newspaper articles, interviews, historical documents, e.g.) does the author offer? Did it matter in your thinking? Why/why not?
The authoor presented result to studies and it made him more credible.
ENDURING MEMORY Write a paragraph in which you describe the one or two ideas from this book that you expect to remember for a long time. Explain your choices and their importance. Share a passage or two that give your reader a taste of the same effect.
An idea that will stay with me that i found in this book is that just because people are deaf, it does not mean that they will not be able to have a job, a career, or a family.
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