Close Reading - Assignment 5

In G.O.P Iowa Debate, Rivals Target Newt Gingrich
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/11/us/politics/in-gop-iowa-debate-rivals-target-newt-gingrich.html

It goes without saying, that the G.O.P Republican debates this year have been nothing but interesting and slightly entertaining. Articles like this come out everyday about how a candidate has suspended his campaign, called another out on something they did as teenagers and pointed fingers. This article does just that through sophisticated language and details that only seem to point out more flaws about the candidates.

The article throughout has very sophisticated language the surprised me at first. Zeeleny and Rutenberg used words "veered", "deflected" and "tart" to describe the actions and tones of the candidates as they questioned each other. Language like this continues all throughout and looks very formed and carefully constructed to make it as strong an article as it can possibly be. By using such language, I found the article easier to read and understand while it was still written on a professional level by people who know what they're doing.

The other thing that struck me was the detail. Near the end of the article, the authors talk about  the candidates backgrounds while focusing particularly on Mr. Romney's status as the "son of an automobile executive". While details like this help the reader to understand details about the candidates, it struck me odd that details like this would occur for every candidate and quite often.

Response to Course Material - Post 5

This past week or two has been filled with great small group and class discussions of Silko's Ceremony. I am always excited to discuss Silko's book because it's filled with so much detail, symbolism and cycles. Working in small groups gives me a chance to hear other opinions and points of view on lines and possible meanings that sometimes I would never have thought of. After working in small groups we moved to discuss as a class. Our hour always goes into deep discussion and has many conflicting opinions which makes discussing so much more interesting. Even though we're only on the second group of the beginning passages, I feel that we get a lot accomplished as a class, even if it takes us much longer than all the other classes.

I can't wait to see what we do next!!

Open Prompt - Essay 6

1994. In some works of literature, a character who appears briefly, or does not appear at all, is a significant presence. Choose a novel or play of literary merit and write an essay in which you show how such a character functions in the work. You may wish to discuss how the character affects action, theme, or the development of other characters. Avoid plot summary.

A characters presence in a novel, while sometimes brief, can serve a purpose than the reader may at first not realize. Many novels have minor characters be the cause of problems while others use them as a solution. In Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesmen, "the woman" appears only twice but is the ultimate person who tears the Loemen family apart, brings out the truth about  Willie and sends Biff to realize what he's been searching for. 

The first time we see the women she seems to have no set purpose and seems to be thrown in for no apparent reason.  The woman's actions and feelings toward Willie show that Willie is more connected to her because of her perfection and youth, something that his wife Linda doesn't have anymore. It is the woman's youth and beauty that begins to see Willie's life in a sownward spiral, causing problems that at the time neither of them could have imagined. 

The woman's role later on in the novel is perhaps the most important role of the entire play. While Willie is with her while on his "business trip to Boston", someone knocks on the door and Willie hurries her into the bathroom attempting to hide the truth. When the woman comes out of the bathroom and Biff sees her practically naked, his image of Willie is changed and the truth about what kind of man he is comes out whether Willie wanted it to or not. Biff is pushed over the edge when he tells Willie that "[he] gave her mama's stockings". This scene with the woman shows her true importance and how one person can be the difference between a functional and nonfunctional family.  


The overall theme of the play is greatly shaped by the woman and her actions. While she is not in the play very long, her actions and feelings shape the other characters, their roles and their overall outcomes.