Blogpost #2: Is the writing effective, powerful, difficult, beautiful so far? What kind of language does the writer use? Give three examples from the text to support your analysis. Completed by Tuesday, May 20
14 Comments
Becca Eubanks
5/20/2014 09:02:55 am
So far Luttrell's writing in The Lone Survivor, is not only effective, powerful, but also inspiring and eye opening. "He was the finest officer I ever met..." Through Luttrell's words alone the reader understands his great respect and admiration that fought with him. Through The immense pride the author takes in his teammates, it radiates to the reader as well, making the reader comprehend just how amazing and courageous the men were. "There were in fact only around thirty left from the original 180 who had signed up on that long-ago first day..." After going into great detail about the training regiments of Navy SEALS this statement made me appreciate the difficulty of the training, and how amazing the men who make it through the course are and how amazing the men are who fight for our country. "It's a strictly American brotherhood, mostly forged in blood. Hard-won, unbreakable. Built on shared patriotism, shared courage, and shared trust in one another." This statement radiates the pride the SEALS have in their country and makes the reader feel the same pride, proud of their country and proud of the brave men fighting for our freedom.
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Allie Robertson
5/20/2014 10:55:45 am
Ishmael Beah’s writing in a long way gone is powerful in a simple way. Beah’s describes the fear the war installed in the people not through a complex vocabulary, but through a description: “...nature itself was afraid of what was happening” (22). Beah wrote a long way gone as he experienced it, a twelve year old boy. He portrays his twelve year old self, which in itself is powerful. But add in all he has experienced and it makes a very powerful and moving story. Beah explains after one run in with the rebels that “it was the last time I saw Junior, my older brother” (43). He simply stating a fact, that he has not seen his older brother since he was twelve. That statement by anyone is a powerful and moving thing to say, but to for it come from someone that last line to a family was lost, it can make a powerful connection to his audience. Beah used anecdotes to explain why he did an action and to make connections with the readers. Beah explained that he liked the moon because as a child he was fascinated by it and that “part of my childhood is still embedded in me” (17). Beah tells a lot of stories about his grandparents because these are the stories that usually explain an action. He uses his parent’s divorced to point out that even that difficult time with family was better than having no family. His parent’s divorce connects him to his reader, but it not only for a reader who was affected by a divorce. It represents a particular hard time in Beah’s life and almost everyone can relate to a hard time in life. Even with a war happening and a lot of other events that his readers hopefully will never experience first-hand, Beah still makes a personal connection with his readers through his childhood stories.
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5/20/2014 11:51:15 am
Larson's diction and synthesis so far has been amazing. So far, there has been little dialogue, but the sheer amount of interesting details have kept me interested. I have had to look up quite a few words in the dictionary, which helps keep me engaged in my reading. "...Hunt, a man also of legendary irascibility..." (78). Word choices like "irascibility" keep me on edge because the sophisticated words come out of nowhere. I have particularly been interested in the story from the assassin's view since Larson makes that side of the story a little more dramatic and thrilling. "Holmes said to her, softly, 'Don't be afraid of me.' Which terrified her" (73). Sometimes it is difficult to believe that these events happened since Larson presents the historical details like any fiction thriller novel. "The eastern men gave their tentative acceptance..... And they still had not seen Jackson Park" (84). In context this is significant because the architects that are supposed to build the World's Fair have not seen the location with less than two years left to build everything. Overall, Larson's writing is very dramatic and thrilling with many cliffhangers that draw the reader into going further. The details surrounding the fair may seem dull and boring, but he presents them in a way that keeps the reader engaged. And I'm not even done with the first part of four.
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Aaron Martinez
5/20/2014 11:51:35 am
The writing is really mischievous and humorous in a way so far. Laura Hillenbrand really captures the mischievous actions of the main character (Louie Zamperini) by giving a short summary of his childhood. The author described his actions with humor but also respect because of his story later on and what he has been through. The author paints vivid pictures into your mind and makes it as though see is telling a story right in front of you! The text is very easy to read because the story moves right along and you just cannot get enough of the frivolous Louie. The preface of the story was very dramatic and suspenseful which hooked my attention right away with a sense of urgency and fear for the American pilots.
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Omar Brijawi
5/20/2014 12:01:45 pm
Mycoskie's writing is very effective and powerful with the use of emotion and imagery in his writing. In the first chapter, he describes the condition of the children feet with words like "the blisters,the sores,the infections". He describes each poor condition to emphasize how bad the situation is in Argentina. He also describes the scenery of Argentina with imagery like "the streets filled with broken glass and garbage". In the book, he describes a scene in which he is distributing the shoes to the children. His parents was in "tears of joy" and it made him cry even more. The reader can feel the emotion and see the scenes which helps the reader.
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Brian Kurtz
5/20/2014 12:05:53 pm
Mr. Bennett's writing so far is powerful, very powerful. Bennett uses very specific and technical language to differentiate between the many different types of of religion, people and ideologies that not only thrive in the middle east today, but have lived all over the world for thousands of years (including biblical references and other allusions to ancient text).
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Basma Garadah
5/20/2014 12:49:18 pm
The writing was very effective because the fact that these events actually happned makes this book very strong and powerful in delivering it's message. You almost can't believe the things that happnes because it is so surreal and unimaginable. Northup uses very detailed words that are full of imagery to paint a picture in his readers heads and to get them to at least imagine what it was like to experience this, and he does an extraordinary job at this technique.
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Stephanie Tam
5/20/2014 12:50:44 pm
Dave Cullen's writing in Columbine is very compelling and thought-provokingly powerful. Cullen provides great emotion and background information that make the high school shooting gruesome. Cullen doesn't necessarily use scholarly language, he uses a more colloqiual diction to describe the events as he tells the story himself. He goes into great detail to engage the readers and make them feel as if they were warped back in time. "Earlier in the year, he'd rescued Rachel Scott, the junior class sweetheart...In a few days, Eric would kill her."(8) Cullen's syntax created a very sullen mood, going from something positive to something negative in matter of seconds. "He told them that he loved them. Each and every one of them."(3) These are the first two sentences of the book, and it really makes the reader feel as if this happened after the shooting. In reality, this was during a pep-rally before. Cullen's grim beginning has the readers anticipating what had really happened in the Columbine shooting. "The carpet in Science Room 3 was soaked in blood. The teacher was alive, barely."(82) Cullen's grasp on the details gives a really chilling effect. I feel as if I am in that science room seeing all the blood and the teacher nearly dead. Cullen's writing humanizes the horror of the situation, making it have an impact on the reader.
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Ahmed Musaitif
5/20/2014 01:15:52 pm
Jon Krakauer's writing is very effective and powerful, as he adds specific details to each sentence, resulting an imagery affect for the reader as he describes the surroundings of Alaska. At some points his writing is difficult with unique and descriptive words, but heightens the book for a reader to enjoy. The detailed and descriptive sentences makes the book a lot more effective and powerful, making any reader to enjoy.
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Shivani Patel
5/20/2014 01:39:56 pm
Malala Yousafzai's writing in "I am Malala" has a matter-of-fact, almost blunt tone to it. She immediately gets to the "nitty-gritty" of the story and does not shy away from unpleasant details or things one would normally circle around. Rather, she seems to want to simply get her point across and just tell her story with no extra embellishments or unnecessary details. She tells the reader of her past and the event that changed her life with astonishing objectivity.
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Jessica Smith
5/20/2014 02:01:46 pm
Mah's writing so far is extremely detailed and realistic. The descriptions that she gives makes it so easy to picture what is going on as it happens, and the memories are as vivid as one's own. When she writes, it's as if you understand as the reader that she is portraying the events as they really occurred, not in an incredibly embellished way. Some of the things that she says/describes are incredibly striking, and when I look them up to see if the places she described really look like that, I am awed each time.
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Amanda Yang
5/20/2014 03:19:04 pm
Susan Cain's language thus far has been logical and effective. She has defined what she calls the "Extrovert Ideal" and goes into how this ideal has manifested itself in our society. The reader must first understand the expectations of society before they can understand the power of introverts. Cain takes known events and explains how introversion or extroversion plays a role. "A formidable orator refusing to give up his seat on a segregated bus wouldn't have had the same effect as a modest woman who'd clearly prefer to keep silent but for the exigencies of the situation," (3). What made Rosa Parks's actions so remarkable was her introversion. An American history aspect is incorporated also: the 1828 presidential election. "John Quincy Adams who can write / And Andrew Johnson who can fight," (30). Johnson's victory showed the beginning of a trend of Americans favoring a more outgoing personality. This Extrovert Ideal manifested in all parts of life. Now that the reader understands the place of extrovertism in society, Cain challenges the readers to question the sacrifices: "Must we learn to stage-manage our voices, gestures, and body language until we can tell—sell—any story we want?" (33). By providing such a wide variety of examples, Cain assures that the reader can find something they understand. Also, by inserting rhetorical questions, she engages the reader into thinking through extroversion and introversion. Information is presented in a semi-formal, logical way that can be easily understood by readers.
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Taylor Lane
5/21/2014 04:28:12 am
Thus far the writing in "Leading Beyond the Walls" has been effective. Each chapter has been written by a different author that is a qualified leader. Most of the authors have also written and published their own books. For instance, chapter four is written by William Bridges who is a management consultant who helps organizations deal with human change. Bridges has also authored four books concerning human transitions within businesses. Each chapter covers a new skill set that successful leaders must have. Chapter seven is authored by Peter M. Senge is a senior lecturer at MIT- one of the most prestigious universities in the world. Each chapter is broken down into sub topics that come together as a whole to explain the major topic of the chapter.
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Lily Sanders
5/22/2014 04:24:49 am
So far the authors writing is informative. Its mostly just background information that will prepare the reader for the plot of the story. It gives specific information about the slave and his life. This makes the writing effective because it revels that the author has knowledge and knows what they are talking about.
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