Reading Critically

Before reading something, a reader receives hints and clues to the content of the piece. The title says a lot about a piece, and so does having knowledge about the author, and where/when it was published. The first time you read a piece, just read it without trying to analyze it. Become familiar with the author's voice, try to identify the subject, and make not of the main points. After reading, summarizing a work will help you understand it better. After all of this, you begin the process of critical thinking: analyzing, making inferences, synthesizing and evaluating. In analyzing something, a reader should look at the author's main points and, support for the idea/writing elements. By making inferences, you "draw conclusions on a work based on your store of information and experience". In your synthesis, you are able to link the ideas you pointed out in the analysis in order to bring the big ideas together. And finally, you can evaluate the work of the author.

Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out

Subject
The subject of Dave Barry’s Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out is that women and men have very different interests and opinions, like cleaning and sports for instance. This difference between the thoughtfulness of women and men to different customs is illustrated through Barry’s example of a social event and the division of activities between males and females that took place. Men and women became separated as each of the sexes wanted to partake in the activity they preferred. This demonstrates how the men and women have such differing interests, because the men were watching the World Series and the women were socializing with each other.
Occasion

 The essay’s general time of creation is illustrated by the mentioning of the World Cup and Windex and other modern things. Since these objects are relatively modern, one could presume the general time span in which this essay could have been written which would be in the late 1900’s or early 2000’s. This essay was probably written in America, because Barry is American, and the reference to American products such as Windex and the American names.

The time and place of the essay’s creation influences the essay because Barry is constantly referring to certain things and events that if he were to be anywhere else or at any other time period he probably would not be referencing them.

Audience
Barry’s specific audience for his article Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out is probably men and women who are dating or in some form of a relationship. The author’s target audience is displayed through his jokes about his wife and his disagreements/separate ideas.

The author’s general audience is for young adult or anyone who is old enough to have a relationship. This is communicated through Barry’s sarcasm and causal tone.

Purpose
Dave Barry’s purpose in Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out is to be entertaining, while quickly breezing over a common subject of men and women’s differing opinions. There is no specific action the author wants his audience to do; his idea is just to entertain them. His wit is demonstrated when he tells the story of his wife asking him to clean the bathroom twice, even after he had done it still looked, “filthy” she told him.


Speaker
The speaker of the article is Dave Barry himself. He shows us this when he uses personal examples from his life to include in his article.

Tone
Barry shows a sarcastic and funny tone about the differences in the opinions between men and women in Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out. This attitude is expressed by showing his exaggeratory and sarcastic word choice throughout the piece.

Beetles vs. heavy metal

-Which of these do you like better? Why (Be specific)?
I like the Beetles's version better because it was much calmer and I don't the heavy metal genre so I already had an observer bias.

-Which of this is more pleasing to listen to? Why (be specific)?
The Beetle's version is more pleasing to listen to because it used "soft-sounding instruments" instead of "harsh-sounding instruments." I also felt like with the other song I had to strain to hear the words, but with the Beetle's version it was much easier to listen to.

Kindinksy vs. Pollack

-Which of these do you like better? Why (be specific)?
I liked the Pollack better because I thought the splatter paint technique was really interesting and everything flowed together nicely because of the similar colors.

-Which of these is more pleasing to look at? Why (be specific)?
I think the Kindinksy is more pleasing to look at because it has a lot of color and unlike the Pollack, this painting had many geometric shapes so it made it easy to identify the objects.

Short Film

-What single affect did you get from this short film?
This short film made me feel like there is opportunities for everything everywhere I look.

-Give 3 specific examples that led you to that single effects:

• The mans optimism.
• The others guys' emotion-less attitudes but then their unexpected friendliness towards him.
• The editing of the story. 

- If you could change one aspect what would it be and how would it affect the film's single effect?
I would change how the camera cuts away so frequently from different people. This would change the short film for the worst because those extra cuts wouldn't be able to show how opportunity is everywhere.

Harry Wilson "Good Old Desk"

- SOAPSTone this song:
Subject- a desk as a representation of God.
Occasion- Wilson is in a hard time so he is depending of his "Good Old Desk."
Audience- The people who he is trying to convince to believe in God through work.
Purpose- To compare a desk to God, to show how he is sturdy and always there.
Speaker- Wilson
Tone- Thankful

-What is he talking about?
Before- I think he is talking about a girlfriend and how this new girlfriend is amazing and Wilson is so grateful for her.
After- Wilson is talking about his relationship with God and how it is sturdy and won't fall apart like a "good old desk."

-3 examples to support this:
"To keep my hope alive" God keeps many peoples' hope alive
"Its the one friend I've got.." God is a friend to everyone that everyone can depend on
"..a giant of all times" God has been known as the main thing in peoples' lives for a long time so he is being referred to a "giant" of all times.

SOAPSTone Shooting an Elephant

     

          Subject- The subject of George Orwell’s Shooting an Elephant is narrative story about the shooting of an elephant in Burma. An elephant becomes angered and starts trashing the place and Orwell’s fictional character, which is a policeman, sets out to kill the elephant. Orwell didn’t want to kill the elephant but he felt like he had to because he is already a minority and all of the natives were expecting him too.

            Occasion- Shooting an Elephant was written in the early 1900’s. The essay’s time of creation is displayed when Orwell says, “I did not even know the British Empire was dying.” This quote is referring to the time period when Britain ruled over India from the late 1850’s to 1947. The probable place of the essay’s creation is probable Burma because everything in this article is so detailed so it seems like Orwell was able to remember what was going on very clearly.

            The time and place of the essay’s creation influence the essay by creating a very fervent attitude toward the subject which would be the hate felt towards the Brits. One example that portrays this hate is when Orwell states that “…in an aimless, petty kind of way anti-European feeling was very bitter.” This supports Orwell’s point because it shows how alone and miserable he was at this time.

            Audience- Orwell’s specific audience for Shooting an Elephant is for the stressed out and/or pressured workers. The authors’ target audience is revealed when Orwell discusses the pressure he was under to shoot the elephant and how the crowd really influenced his decision and actions.

            The author’s general audience for the essay is working men and woman as a whole. The author’s general audience is shown to the reader when Orwell starts talking about how he was just doing his job and technically he was doing the right thing.

            Purpose- Orwell’s purpose in Shooting an Elephant is to depict the effects of decision making under pressure and how someone’s judgment can be quickly influenced by the affects of a crowd. This is illustrated when Orwell states, “ The sole thought in my mind was that if anything went wrong those two thousand Burmans would see me pursued, caught, trampled on and reduced to a grinning corpse like that Indian up the hill. And if that happened it was quite probable that some of them would laugh. That would never do.” This quotes validates the purpose of the essay because it is showing how even though Orwell was had authority over the Burmans, his decisions were affected by the crowd that was watching him.

            Speaker- George Orwell, who was very passionate about the colonizing of India, believes that the colonization of India was a poor choice because even thought the Britain’s had control, they were still hated amongst the natives. This value is illustrated in the beginning when Orwell is talking about the hatred he feels because he is an officer and how out-of-place he also feels just because he is from Britain.

            Tone- Orwell exhibits a depressed and regretful attitude about the shooting of the elephant in Shooting an Elephant. These attitudes are expressed by Orwell’s humiliating words and attitudes in the essay. The tone specifically adds the purpose of the essay because it shows how Orwell truly felt about killing the elephant which was sad and regretful.

"Across the Universe" by the Beatles

-Identify 3 images in this song
1. "Endless rain in a paper cup"- This verse put an image of a plastic cup with water overflowing it.
2. "They slither past"- The word slither reminded me of a snake slithering on the ground.
3. "Shines around like a million suns"- This reminded me of a spot light or a disco ball.

-Are any of these images symbols in context? Explain.
The verse about the million suns could be a symbol because it is referring to love shining like a million suns so this could be symbolizing that the love is in a happy and warm relationship because light symbolizes happiness and warmth.

- Explain one symbol that you know to be a symbol. What makes it more than an image?
One symbol I know is a red heart. This is world-wide symbol for love and this is more than an image because people relate love to their hearts so when someone sees a heart, they think of love.