Naked
David Sedaris; Little Brown & co. 1997
“ The women’s open”
1. Throughout the essay “ The women’s open” David’s father obsession for golf is shown. The power of his obsession leads him to forget what should be important to him.
2. Sedaris expresses the lack of heart his father shows towards people and even his children when it comes down to golf. For example the first day Lisa ever got her period was out on the golf course while her dad was watching a professional tournament, at first while she complained about her back pains he just simply brushed her off. At the moment he realized the problem he asked a women just as devoted to golf as he to accompany her to the ladies room for a sanitary napkin. He kept David with him so he could run after the thin tees that usually flew 20 feet away from the golfers swing, just so he could keep them for good luck. On another occasion Lisa’s mother had recorded a video of movies that they enjoy watching together. After her mother had passed away Lisa searched everywhere for the video her mother had made for her. She found it in her fathers basement along with all his golf videos. As she began to watch the video memories began to arise until a man bending down on a golf course appeared on the screen. Her father had recorded a golf tournament over her mothers memories. Sedaris succeeded in letting the reader know how obsessed his father was with golf and the pain it put the family through.
3. Sedaris begins with a short passage foreshadowing an event that will occur that day. He begins this way to let the reader know that there is importance behind the story. After his foreshadowing he commences with the story.
4. Sedaris uses descriptive sets of paragraphs followed by dialogue to express what is going on. For example, returning from the tournament they find Lisa lying in the back seat of his Porsche. the first word out of Lisa’s mouth were not too pleasant . “ My father sighed and shook his head in disappointment. This was the same way he reacted to my mother when anger and frustration caused her to forget herself. Lisa was not a daughter now but just another female unable to control her wildly shifting emotions. “ Don’t mind her,” he said wiping a thin coat of pollen of the wind shield. “ She’s just having lady problems.” ”
5. I think Sedaris was very effective in his writing. I don’t like g...
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...fe to what I believe he wished it was. But when it comes down it, his family has as many money problems as an average family.
3. Beginning his first line of his first essay in his book with a command he would like to give one of his servants is misleading. Sedaris structures his essay in a way that makes the reader believe that he is rich. But he expresses how he was far from being rich.
4. Sedaris language is beyond effective, his sentences are full of considedness and snobby comments. “When asked most people say my greatest asset is my skin, which glows it really does! I have to tie a sock over my eyes in order to sleep at night. Other’s like my eyes or my perfect ,gleaming teeth my thick head of hair or my imposing stature, but if you want my opinion, I think my most outstanding feature is my ability to accept a compliment.” His conclusion to the story makes up for all the nonsense he had mentioned before.
5. I thought Sedaris’s first essay “chipped beef” was a hilarious arrangement of considedness and make believe. Although this essay is not arranged with the perverted humor featured in some of his other essays, he had a very effective way in making the readers laugh
In Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed, the author frequently focuses on the demeanor and appearance of the people she meets and sees during her research trips. Throughout the book she makes witty, opinionated comments that can easily be taken out of context. Because of this, her wisecracks convey the impression of her being narrow-minded. Also, these comments do not help her with any of her arguments because of how she comes off. Ehrenreich improper use of humor puts across the impression of her being biased.
The prologue of a novel plays a crucial role in introducing the setting of the story. The prologue also sets the tone of the tale and can sometimes hide vital information from the reader. The art of foreshadowing is often used in the prologue, and after reading through the story, reverting back to the prologue can help connect the many themes and motifs that are prevalent throughout the narrative. A high-quality example of a prose with a prologue that is riddled with underlying foreshadowing is The Assault, by Harry Mulisch. By analyzing a single passage of the prologue and comparing it with other small potions of the text, the foretelling of events in the prologue of The Assault by Harry Mulisch can easily be related to how Anton believed the killing of his family was a simple affair, when in reality, it was a more complicated incident than
Finally, within the syntax of the novel, Sedaris has interlocked various arguments together with the choice of his words. He skillfully crafts a very sarcastic and humorous piece through applying an argument that is intermingled with generalizations. Thus, it means that the syntax is direct and declarative. For instance, the author states that the teacher is exhausting him with her foolishness and is rewarding her efforts with barely anything but pain. However, the syntax that the author used in some parts of the essay can be said to be confusing because he is fond of changing the topics or employing a different approach of transition in order to make his point of view clear to the readers. This is evident because at some point of the story, he would insert the earlier events or apply metaphors to describe a given occurrence.
The first example of foreshadowing was the introduction of the “little mahogany coffin for him” (129). Originally built for William if he didn't survive his birth, it is placed away in the attic after he miraculously survived. The reader thought he was saved from death but it actually a foreshadows his eventual fate. Early in the story a bird “the size of a chicken, with scarlet wings and long legs” (136) dies on the brothers’ property. This bird is revealed to be a scarlet ibis, rare to the area, which William immediately buried. The narrator later references William's fate, describing him as his “fallen ibis” (139) to strengthen and highlight their similarities. Just like the ibis, William is a wonderful figure whose life has a tragic end. When the narrator finds William, he is covered in his own blood, the color of the ibis and his mahogany red coffin. The scarlet ibis died because it was not in an environment it could grow and be nurtured. William, like the ibis, suffered the same fate. In the end, James Hurst understands the value of foreshadowing in his story to show how the narrator's damaged pride leads to William’s
...oncluding passage to his narrative for a specific purpose: to create a more profound connection with his audience on the basis of his experiences and thoughts. He creates a vision of relief in the beginning of the passage by means of diction, similes, and an impeccable amount of imagery. Douglass also applies an approach for the application of syntax, diction, and connotative sense to amplify the feelings of loneliness and paranoia presented after emancipation. The result is the masterpiece that fluently runs from one state of mind following his escape to another. It is a masterpiece with a timeless sense of moral values being unconsciously taught to its audience, whether or not they succeed in deciphering it.
“How I Learned to Read and Write” by Frederick Douglass is the story of one young man’s pursuit for intelligence, proficiency, and literacy. This selection describes the challenges Douglass himself faces as he conquers his aspirations to read and write amidst his enslavement. The literary nonfiction forms that I found to be most prevalent throughout the excerpt were a sense of place, and personal experience. Innumerable times throughout Douglass’s essay he refers to specific locations, establishing the setting in which his story takes place. Douglass gives an account of various personal experiences during the whole of the discourse, granting readers the opportunity to connect individualistically with the author. Correspondingly, Douglass merges all together the two forms, a sense of place as well as personal experience within the piece.
A satirical point that the author talked about briefly was Weaver's choice to not read the short, original novel, but the even shorter novel summary. The satire is effective because of how the authors describes the book. By including small lines such as "the most skillful example of American naturalism under 110 pages" and "Weaver's choice to read the Cliffs Notes instead of the pocket-sized novel", the brevity and literary relevance of this book is emphasized greatly. To include how short this novel is makes Weaver look positiv...
Charles Dickens uses Foreshadowing Many times throughout the novel. He uses Foreshadowing to build suspense in his novel and make it seem like it had a haunting theme. Charles Dicken puts in Foreshadowing to anticipate near events in the novel. One example of this is that when the wine breaks on the street you can hear footsteps of people coming to drink it and this Foreshadows to the mobs of violent people to soon come to take over Paris.
Foreshadowing is an important aspect in Dickens’ novel and he flawlessly portrayed that through the scenes of Sidney Carton’s speech to Lucie, Madame Defarge’s knitting, and the wine cask scene. A number of segments of the phrases from foreshadowing information reappear in another particular scene further on in the novel. This is to help the reader remember back to when the information is first introduced, and then parallel it to the new scene in which it is mentioned. Foreshadowing is huge in A Tale of Two Cities because not only does it help the reader understand certain scenes, this literary device also enhances the reader’s enthusiasm and encourages the reader to keeping reading. In the novel A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens exemplifies foreshadowing in a diligent interesting way in a sense that accurately explains his methods of his idea of foreshadowing.
Jordan Baker, Daisy's friend, is portrayed by Fitzgerald as a masculine figure. One of the first things we find out about this woman is the fact that she is a professional golf player. Nowadays, we don't find anything unusual about this, but, in the twenties, it was quite unusual to find a woman playing golf. When we first meet this character, she is described as a 'slender, small breasted girl with an erect carriage which she accentuated by throwing her body backward at the shoulders like a young cadet.'; Small breasts are usually symbolic of a masculine figure, as would being a 'young cadet.'; Later on, we see her reading the Saturday Evening Post, and turning the pages with a 'flutter of slender muscles in her arms.'; Reading a newspaper would be an unlikely action of a woman of that time, and even her muscles reveal her masculine features. Fitzgerald's masculine depiction of Miss Baker in this fashion shows the reader the coming of a self sufficient woman into our times.
For example, Sedaris uses hyperbolic statements to connect to the audience by using humor. The statement, “... and had front teeth the size of tombstones...” (P8) is meant to be humorous, which creates a sense of amiability between Sedaris and his audience. When Sedaris says, “Her reaction led me to believe that these mistakes were the capital crimes in the country of France,” (P16) he is referring to his poor pronunciation, and is highlighting the teacher’s extreme responses to the slightest mistake. Language is also used to create an easygoing relationship between the speaker in the audience. Sedaris uses informal language--as can be seen in the quote,“the teacher killed some time …” (P14)--to create a companionable tone, and makes it appear as though the story is being told to you by a friend, rather than reading an essay. The point of view is also essential to achieving the purpose of the essay; it is a first person
Professor’s comment: This student’s writing embodies a peculiar configuration of literary polish, linguistic facility, playful authorial self-awareness, and unadulterated goofiness. It is proudly, but not without trepidation, that I submit this essay to 123HelpMe and unleash the elegant lunacy of Rob Geis upon an unsuspecting world.
The author, Robert Fulghum, has a unique sense of writing style throughout his writings. In “Dinner Dandruff”, Fulghum uses multiple techniques to portray his style. His use diction or his word choices, as well as syntax are used in the essay . Fulghum also uses forms imagery to help the readers better picture what is taking place in the essay . He uses all these techniques to represent his special style of writing and create the humorous tone depicted throughout the essay .
Within his short story, Sedaris gives us many examples of the shame he felt because of his sexuality. One example of the shame he felt would be on page 84. He states that if he would have won a contest that gave away cash as a prize, he would have visited a psychiatrist who could help cure him of his homosexual thoughts. He stated that he would resort to "electroshock, brain surgery, hypnotism- I was willing to try anything" (Sedaris, 84). This example shows the shame Sedaris felt for being gay. He stated he would have done ANYTHING to help cure him of his homosexual thoughts.
The final example of foreshadowing is Dr. Manette‘s ordeal with the Evremondes. Throughout the second book in the novel, Dr. Manette’s past was clouded. We get some foreshadowing when Darnay offers to reveal his name to Dr. Manette, but Dr. Manette says “Stop!” and we start to hint that there is more going on then meets the eye (126).