Bo Bartlett- "Young Life"

Claims:

1. The deer is above everything else because the man values it most.
2. The man loves the woman more than the child.
3. The painting is depicted in a dry, maybe hot, setting with not a lot of rain.

Facts:

1. The deer is above everything else.
2. The child is farther from the man and woman.
3. There is dirt on the ground with no plants.

    The man in Bo Bartlett's "Young Life" clearly lves the woman more than the child. The man and the woman are in a close embrace, with there arms around eachother and their heads leaning against eachothers. Also, the child is separated from their embrace, not at all involved in it. The child has his back to the man as well.

Reading Critically

      The first step in reading critically is to establish the preliminaries. This includes the title, the author, and when and where the work was published. This gives us some background information on the story and can help us greatly when we are trying to dig deeper in our understanding of the piece. Next comes the first read of the work. You shouldn't bog down on everything in the piece, and if you don't understand a word, circle it and come back to it later. You should take notes while you read. This includes circling words that you don't know and writing questions that pop to your mind when you read something. A pencil and journal are good to have near by to take your notes. After you have read the work a few times, summarizing helps you gain a better understanding of what you read by repeating it back in written form. There are short and long ways to do this, but either way, summarizing is helpful (like I'm doing here). Analyzing what you've read is a good way to find the author's main idea, support for the idea, and other elements. By doing these things, you well be a better critical reader, and understand what you are reading on a deeper level.

The Avett Brothers- "Shame"

1. I think the subject is relationships and the tone is somber and regretful.
2. "Overwhelming" pushes the tone because if makes it sound like it is just too much to bear. It really helps set the tone. "Boatloads" gives a good explanation of the tone because it is saying that there is so much shame, so much that he is regretful of it. Also, "sink" gives a negative and sad feel to the song, and has a stronger meaning than "fell", or some other word like it.

Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out- SOAPSTone

S- The subject of David Barry's Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out, is to show some key differences in males and females which can at times make life difficult. These differences are illustrated by anecdotal evidence. For example, he writes about how he and his wife argue and disagree over what is clean and what is not. The stories he tells are funny, but clearly identify that women like things to be clean, and men like to watch sports.

O- Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out was written in the mid 1980's during modern time. This is exhibited because the guys go to watch television in one of his stories. Also, he writes, "an important project on the Etch-a-Sketch", and while these toys are still around today, there were very popular in that particular time period, which gives us a clue to when this was written. It also has a modern feel to it, demonstrated through the culture that husbands and wives live in today. The women are no longer 'required' to do all the cleaing, as was custom in earlier times. This was probably written here in America, or possibly Australia, where David Barry is from.

A- David Barry's intended audience is probably adult men and women. This is shown through his ability to highlight a few key differences between men and women. He tells his audience that women like things clean, and men like sports, and gives his opinion on what he thinks is wrong or justifiable with these. Barry is not writing to younger people or older people, as they have different cultures and lives that don't relate to what this story is saying. Also, through Barry's bias as a man, his audience appeals to mostly men, but involves women heavily as well.

P- The purpose of Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out is to entertain, but also inform. He presents the men vs. women argument in a light and funny new way, but also informs on these differences. He makes us laugh, but then describes these differences and gives his opinion on them. For example, he starts his first story off with, "The primary difference between men and women is that women can see extremely small quantities of dirt." This makes us laugh and wonder where he is going with this. He then goes on to explain that women like things to be a lot cleaner and neater than men. Barry's purpose is to inform on the differences, but entertain us with many giggles throughout.

S- David Barry believes women are too nit-picky. He shows this through his description and bias in saying that he doesn't like to clean and that things don't need to be as clean as his wife would like them to be. He expresses this by saying, "She is in there looking at the very walls I just Windexed, and she is seeing dirt! Everywhere!" This shows that he thinks it is clean, but clearly his wife disagrees.
    He also believes that it is acceptable to leave a party to go watch sports with the other guys. He displays his bias when he has to go to a party with his wife on a night when the World Series is on, and he hates it. He wants to watch, so he and the other guys skip out and go watch the game in another room. He thinks it is important, but his wife would not agree.

T- The tone is funny, and somewhat incredulous. The way his wife acts, you would think he thinks she is from another planet. He disagrees with some of the things she does, and talks about her as if she is crazy. His incredulous tone makes for some funny jokes, and that is a big part of the tone as well. David Barry's Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out is funny, but as an incredulous tone as well.

American Tongues

1. Voice in literature means your tone, and the way sound when your words are read. It is made up of your word choice and is unique to you.
2. Whenever someone says something I don't like I am usually sarcastic and mess around with them, saying things that are very sarcastic. This is indicated through my writing.
3. I would like talk around a subject if it were awkward, or maybe if I was in trouble with my parents and had to explain something to them.
4. Voice is important because it helps keep your nonfiction writing form being boring, and it keeps the reader entertained even though your topic may be a little boring.
5. We can develop our voice by using positive and negative tones for whatever it is we are trying to say.

Eleanor Rigby: Classic vs. Metal vs. Dubstep

For this song, I prefer the classical version. It is just so much simpler and cleaner. The metal version made me want to puke, and I didn't like it at all. I could handle the dubstep, with all the cool-sounding beats, but the classic triumphed over all the others. It is the original version by the original group, and I felt like the others weren't that bad, just unnecessary for a sweet sounding song.

Kandinsky vs. Pollack

- I prefer the Kandinsky because it is somewhat abstract. There are a variety of shapes and colors to look at, and I find something different and new within the painting each time I look back at it.
- I think the Pollack is more pleasing, universally. I think people would enjoy this more because it is monochromatic and similar all around. It is more pleasing because Krandinsky's is too much, and too many colors to be pleasing.

Sign Language

1. From watching the video, the single effect that I took away from it was that there are so many beautiful things out there, and we shouldn't just ignore them when they are right under our noses.
2. -Dialogue: "We shouldn't just ignore them," is what Ben says about these beautiful things.
    -The closenesss of the camera work, and the intimate feel it gave.
    - His tone about his job, and how much he loves it.
3. I would change the music. It had a kind of final, ending sort of sound, and I felt that although it provided for the fact that Ben was leaving his job, it didn't really match up with what I thought was the single effect. I would have made it a little more happier, to show all the beautiful things he describes.

George Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant"

1.      S- This story is about a police officer living in India. He tells his struggles as a young man during difficult political times, and how he deals with them. He then tells the story about how he was called upon to check on a rogue elephant, and then decides it is best for it to be shot.

2.      O- This story, or article, is set sometime around the start of the 20^th century. It is during a time when the Europeans are hated in India, where the police officer is working. The political and cultural issues make are important in this story.

3.      A- The audience is young people, people in their late teens to their late 20’s. Orwell rights to this audience because that is the age group that he is in during the story. It appeals to this audience because they can relate to the feeling of conforming to people’s views to not look like a fool.

4.      P- I think there are two purposes. The first is to entertain, to give a story that is interesting. But I think the real purpose is to inform. Orwell’s underlying message in this story is that we shouldn’t do things just to look good. The elephant could have lived, but instead was put through torture just so Orwell wouldn’t be mocked or ridiculed. This is what he informs the audience of through this story.

5.      S- The speaker is George Orwell, who we assume is also the main character of the story. He is a police officer in the early 1900’s living in India.

6.      T- The tone is very thoughtful. He is reflecting back on himself and telling about himself as a younger man. He often questions his actions and wonders whether they were just. He never switches tones, even when he is describing the awful, gut-wrenching death of the elephant. He is constantly thoughtful and clear throughout his story.

Harry Nilsson- "Good Old Desk"

S- It is about God and his faith.
O- In the 1960's and 1970's when this was written.
A- Adults, pretty much anyone over 18.
P- To inform and entertain.
S- Harry Nilsson, and adult.
T- He is somwhat affectionate, and has a comforting tone.

I think Harry Nilsson is talking about religion, and that God is always there for him; God is dependable for him.
1. "To keep my hopes alive"
2. "Such a comfort to know its got no place to go, its always there"
3. "Its the one friend I've got, a giant of all times"