Summary and Response to a Critical Article

Tom Le Clair is a teacher at the University of Cincinnati who is also a writer for many prestigious papers and periodicals. He wrote "Closing the Loop: White Noise" as an analysis of White Noise. He discusses many aspects of the piece, including, how the story is circular. Meaning, it loops continuously throughout the three parts. He says it is a disaster novel, a college novel and a around the house and in the yard novel all at once. In each of the different parts of piece, there are elements of the three different types of novels shown. He also describes DeLillo's writing style. He writes in choppy, short and fragmented sentences that do not always flow well. He spends some time discussing the different strategies that Jack and Babette use for dealing with the fear of death as that is one of the major themes of White Noise. Throughout the critic, he gives examples of how the piece "closes the loop."

This analysis was somewhat confusing to me at first, but after further review it begin to shed some new light on White Noise for me. I liked the idea of knowing why DeLillo wrote in such an unfamiliar manner. To read that the use of fragmented sentences is actually a style of writing. That was something that I had no idea existed until I read Le Clair's piece. I also liked hearing that White Noise could be considered to be part of three different styles of novel. The fear of death theme is very present throughout the piece and it was interesting and enlightening to hear Le Clair's take on it. I think that there are many aspects of Le Clair's critique that I can use when writing my own essay.

Delillo, Don. White Noise, Text And Criticism. New York, NY: Penguin Group USA, 1998. 

LeClair, Tom. Closing the Loop: White Noise. New York, NY: Penguin Group USA, 1986. 387-411

Mid-Term Check In

Ms. Cline,

First of all I want to say that I have enjoyed the technology aspect of this course. I decided to take English online because I have two jobs and also go to school full time. When I enrolled in the course I expected to have some boring, old fashioned class with essays due every other week. I was surprised and liked the way you introduce this course. I would have to say that the biggest challenge I came across so far was the making of our introductory video. I could not for the life of me figure out how to make it a video/slide show; but after playing with it on YouTube for a few minutes I realized it was actually easier than I thought.

I feel like so far our analyses have helped me become a better reader. Before this course I would never bother to go back and re-read, but now I realize that it actually helps to do so in order to get a better understanding of the piece. Analysis is different from anything I’ve done in any other course because it helps you understand the real meaning of the piece. Before this course all my writings would be in the form of a summary. I now realize that is why I would always run out of things to say because I did not actually analyze the writings.  

So far the course has been challenging yet rewarding. My goal for the second half of the semester is to further improve my reading and writing skills. I would like to learn new and different things to become a better writer so that one day I can apply these skills to my field of education. Finally and most importantly I would like to earn a good grade for the course.

Tentative Thesis Paragraph

Johnathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” is a satirical and ironic essay that attempts to persuade the people of Ireland to take action against the poverty and overpopulation problems that they are facing. He is directly speaking to the wealthy and the politicians, but he is also attempting to motivate the poor and take action themselves. He suggests that the children of Ireland should be sold and eaten in order to keep the population down and the poverty levels at bay.  Swift manages to effectively argue his point by using a combination of vivid imagery, emotional and ethical ploys, and a large amount of irony. 

Here is a link of the reading:   http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1080/1080-h/1080-h.htm

And a visual:

 Attribution:  See page for author [Public domain], <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AInternational_Mag_Jonathan_Swift.jpg">via Wikimedia Commons</a>

Response to Swift

1.       What is the problem Swift identifies in his society? What does he want to do about it?

Swift begins by discussing the problem of poverty in Ireland, especially that in relation to the children of the country. He discusses how the parents of Ireland are constantly worried about what and how they are going to feed their children. He talks about how this issue has been weighing heavily on his mind for some time, but that he thinks that he has found a suitable solution. The solution that he has come up with is to simply kill the children and sell them to rich land owners to eat. He has thought of a detailed plan that he believes is the perfect solution to help Ireland recover from poverty.

2.       Is his suggestion serious? If not, what is the purpose? What is he making fun of?

Luckily, his solution is not serious, he is being highly ironic. He does not really want to kill innocent children and sell them as food. He uses this approach to shock the reader and grab their attention. He also wants his audience to realize the severity of the situation; poverty in Ireland. He wants them to realize that while his suggestion is absurd and horrifying, there does need to be a real solution. He is making fun of the wealthy in Ireland who do nothing to help those in need. This is also his target audience, as the rich are more likely to actually read the piece than the uneducated poverty stricken members of society.

3.       Is his solution logical? What kind of evidence does he give to support his position?

No, his solution is not logical as no sane parent would actually sell their own child as food. In fact, these parents struggle daily in order to provide their children with some kind of sustenance; no way would they willingly sell their children in such a terrible manner. He has a well thought out plan when it comes to how this will logistically work. He says that only one hundred thousand children will need to be sacrificed in order to make a dent in the issue. No more, no less. He discusses specific recipes and methods in which the children can be cooked. He also describes the perfect weight the child so be in order to be desirable as food.

Here is a picture of Jonathan swift. Link of the picture: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jonathan_swift.jpg

And here is a link to the reading: http://art-bin.com/art/omodest.html

Rhetorical Analysis

I chose an Geico insurance company commercial to use for this assignment. In the commercial, the gecko lizard is the spokesperson used, along with the Roadrunner from the Looney Tunes cartoons. This commercial was ineffective for me as it failed to convince me to want to switch insurance companies. The company failed to use ethos in this ad as the gecko as a spokesman is not trustworthy or a notable figure as he is a cartoon character. Who wants to take any advice from any type of fictional character? While I found this ad to be unconvincing, I do have to say the one strong point comes from the company's use of logos. They used the figure of you can save up to fifteen percent or more on your insurance to draw the viewer in. While this is a positive point in the ad, I still am not tempted to call them for a quote.

What I'm working on

After reading Herman Melville's story "Bartleby the Scrivener" I decided to write my essay based on the first optional thesis statement provided to us. This thesis says that Bartleby is a hero that refuses to participate in a workplace that represents the sad, dreary atmosphere of a bureaucratic, industrialized society. Here is some of the things I wrote so far:

Herman Melville’s short story, Bartleby the Scrivener discusses the relationship between the workplace and society and how this particular relationship affects Bartleby. Bartleby is the hero of Melville’s story in his refusal to participate in a workplace that represents the sad, dreary atmosphere of a bureaucratic, industrialized society. He is the only one standing up to a society that is increasingly oppressive to workers. There are many examples of Bartleby behaving in a nonconforming manner throughout the piece, such as his constant use of the phrase, “I would prefer not to”, as well as his complete and total isolation from everyone around him that eventually leads to his death.

            The office where Bartleby works is described as being bleak, sterile and cheerless. Bartleby’s window faces a wall, and even if it did not, Wall Street is also described as being in a sad and depressive state. Melville wrote, “Of a Sunday Wall Street is deserted as Petra; and every night of every day it is an emptiness.” The description of the environment where Bartleby works is extremely oppressive and stifling. Bartleby himself is affected by this environment as he is described as being pale, cadaverous, ghost like, and passionless. At one point, a green screen is erected to further separate Bartleby from his coworkers after they begin to complain about him to the Lawyer. He is literally blocked out from his fellow office mates for being different from them and not conforming in the way that they do. This makes everyone around him uncomfortable, but Bartleby does not seem to care; in fact he seems indifferent about everything.

Close Reading of Bartleby

While reading Herman Melville’s, “Bartleby the Scrivener” there was a short phrase that stood out as important. This phrase read “I would prefer not to” (p21). While this might seem like a simple phrase the meaning of it contributes to the whole theme of the story. To get a better understanding we must first establish that Bartleby is a scrivener whom was hired by a lawyer. At first Bartleby is a good employee who carries out all tasks when asked for and does everything his job requires him to do. As the story goes on, however, Bartleby is not the same worker he once used to be. He refuses to carry out tasks by responding “I would prefer not to.”

This response might seem simple and meaningless but in reality it has a lot of meaning behind it. By saying “prefer” instead of outright refusing to do something Bartleby portrays himself as a polite individual. He doesn’t actually refuse to do the job, but instead he politely says that he would prefer not to do it. The response has such importance in the story that it leaves Bartleby’s employer “The lawyer” speechless. He can’t believe that an employee would actually refuse to do something, and also say it in such a polite and calm way. Throughout the story Bartleby continues to use this same phrase when asked to do something job related, and even later, he uses the same phrase when asked just about anything.

Bartleby’s use of the saying begins to drive the Lawyer crazy; it leaves him puzzled and confused. When the Lawyer catches himself using the word prefer in a conversation it bothers him immensely. Bartleby uses this phrase as a way to slowly distance himself from society and the world as a whole, and the Lawyer begins to question his own sanity when he utters the word prefer. The repetition of this phrase, by not only Bartleby himself, but by the Lawyer as well shows its importance in the piece. Though it may seem simple at first glance, it actually highlights one of the major themes of the story, Bartleby’s rejection of the workplace and society in general.

Link to the story http://www.bartleby.com/129/