The first time I read "Life Like" by Susan Orlean, I didn't see a purpose to the article at all. In fact I thought it was purely informational and she didn't even seem to have a purpose. But after chatting with the class, I soon realized that there actually was a purpose. I was not entertained while reading this article, in fact I found it extremely boring, as did a lot of my classmates. However, after our discussion in class I realized Orlean actually had a purpose and I got a little more interested.
We discussed that Orlean didn't know anything about taxidermy when she first started. We were introduced to her story and she was showing us right away how overwhelmed she was. However throughout the story, she started to realize how hard these people work and what taxidermy really takes. I believe that Orlean built up her ethos by showing the readers that it was all new to her. It allowed us to experience these things for the first time with her, but in the article she kind of destroyed her own ethos at the same time by saying something positive about taxidermy and then throwing in a descriptive quote making us as readers think otherwise. Some of her descriptions were so precise that it makes you actually picture it like you were there yourself. It becomes real to the reader, this was not effective for me at all. When I read the article I was completely grossed out, I thought taxidermy was kind of cool before I read it but after I was left completely disturbed. For me this article wasn't effective at all if she was trying to get people to appreciate taxidermy.
I'm thinking the reason this was put in a newspaper is because that would be her largest audience. Through the newspaper, Orlean would be able to reach out to more readers. The reason she wanted a large audience is because it's the perfect mix of people reading. You have your average joe's, maybe extreme hunters or even elderly people. There is an unending variety of people that she was able to reach through newspaper.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Monday, February 25, 2013
Assignment 5
"Lifelike" by Susan Orlean, is all about taxidermists and the animals they create. My first thought while reading this was how gross this job is. I don't really understand how someone could kill and skin animals only to make them look real again. It's ironic that the animal has to die before these people can make them look realistic or like they are alive. On page two of the paper, Orlean states "most people were still discomfited by it. How could you not be? It was a business of dealing with dead things, coupled with the questionable enterprise of making dead things look like live things." I would be one of the people she is talking about. It's weird to me that people do this for a living and in a way it's very creepy.
I think she wrote this article to show people how much of an art this job it. How passionate people become with it and how much work and detail go into the final project. Most people have seen the mannequins taxidermists create, but most people don't understand how much work these people put in to the finished project and how much time it takes to perfect it. I don't think that Orlean wrote this to make people like taxidermists or to become one but I think she wrote it to open peoples eyes to different things. I think she wanted people to see just how competitive it can be. People know that sports are competitive and art is competitive as well as most normal jobs these days. But a lot of us don't realize how many people do this, how much work it takes, and just how competitive the job is.
For me, the article left me disgusted almost. I didn't like the article at all but that might also be because I love animals. Taxidermists in general didn't really bother me but when I read this article, I kind of had an angry feeling toward them. To me the job is really disgusting and extremely creepy, it reminds me of the way a serial killer would act without anyone else knowing about it. I guess it's weird to me because taxidermy isn't really something I see a normal person doing for a living. I didn't really get the purpose of the article the only thing I can think of is an informative article.
What do you think the purpose of the article is?
Does anyone else think that Taxidermy is disgusting?
Controlling Purpose
My controlling purpose:
I think that the humor Sedaris used while making fun of people made him seem less harsh. This made it easier for me to read because I wasn't so taken back on how cruel he was being.
I think that the humor Sedaris used while making fun of people made him seem less harsh. This made it easier for me to read because I wasn't so taken back on how cruel he was being.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Reflecting on Revision.
I had the opportunity to read Paige Hoppmann's essay. One thing that stood out to me instantly was we had a lot of the same opinions on the story. We both noticed that Sedaris uses a lot of humor and came to the conclusion that he incorporates the humor to try and cover up his judgement. One thing I liked about Paige's essay was, she used humor while writing it too. It didn't sound like a boring paper you have to read, it was also entertaining and I wanted to continue reading her thoughts on the story. Even though we both saw the story almost the same, there were some things I really liked that she made obvious. "Sedaris actually seems to be mocking us as readers in a sense; because while reading his story our first instinct is to be surprised at him for judging others so harshly." She then points out that everyone judges people, it's unavoidable. This is why Sedaris is mocking us, because it makes us as readers realize, we do it too.
I incorporated the same things into my essay but I feel like Paige got the point across a lot easier and a lot more clear than I managed to. It's easy to understand the things she is pointing out in her essay and even relates it back to real life. I think it was funny how we both realized Sedaris' purpose the most in the final paragraph when Sedaris proposes his famous question, "We're forever blaming the airline industry for turning us into monsters: it's the fault of the ticket agents, the baggage handlers, the slowpokes at the newsstands and the fast-food restaurants. But what if this is who we truly are, and the airport's just a forum that allows us to be our real selves, not just hateful but gloriously so?" (Sedaris, 277). Paige and I both stated in our papers that we really understood what his purpose was after reading this part of the story.
I think the only thing I would want to change in my essay is to try and make it clearer. I think when I look back, I didn't make as much sense as I wanted to. In a previous blog post I said, when it comes to formal writing, I know what I'm trying to say, but others don't. That is what gets me every time. So when I revise my draft, I will keep this in mind. Last but not least, I want to make my essay more entertaining. Reading over it, it's kind of boring. I want my reader to be interested in what I have to say but at the same time completely understand it. They don't have to agree, but just understand.
I incorporated the same things into my essay but I feel like Paige got the point across a lot easier and a lot more clear than I managed to. It's easy to understand the things she is pointing out in her essay and even relates it back to real life. I think it was funny how we both realized Sedaris' purpose the most in the final paragraph when Sedaris proposes his famous question, "We're forever blaming the airline industry for turning us into monsters: it's the fault of the ticket agents, the baggage handlers, the slowpokes at the newsstands and the fast-food restaurants. But what if this is who we truly are, and the airport's just a forum that allows us to be our real selves, not just hateful but gloriously so?" (Sedaris, 277). Paige and I both stated in our papers that we really understood what his purpose was after reading this part of the story.
I think the only thing I would want to change in my essay is to try and make it clearer. I think when I look back, I didn't make as much sense as I wanted to. In a previous blog post I said, when it comes to formal writing, I know what I'm trying to say, but others don't. That is what gets me every time. So when I revise my draft, I will keep this in mind. Last but not least, I want to make my essay more entertaining. Reading over it, it's kind of boring. I want my reader to be interested in what I have to say but at the same time completely understand it. They don't have to agree, but just understand.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Assignment 4
"Standing By", by David Sedaris, takes place in an airport. I think he placed the story in the airport because there is such a variety of people traveling, there are people from all over the world. Sedaris's target audience are people who have traveled by plane before because they understand the environment. People who haven't been in an airport before may read this and still think it's funny but they can't actually place themselves into the story and become the character, it's not as realistic.
During the time this story took place, Obama just became president. Sedaris makes this known by putting it into the story. He talks about the two men who are complaining about Obama and how terrible of a president he is, when he was just getting into office. I think Sedaris included this to show just how much people are stuck in their own heads. Sedaris mentioned these things to get people thinking. Like I said in my previous blog post, I think Sedaris wrote this as a challenge to his readers to try and change the way they act and how self centered people are.
Sedaris is trying to prove a point to his readers. He's trying to change the way we think and act. Maybe he's trying to better the world by showing how shallow humans are. I think Sedaris wants the readers to be puzzled by this and question themselves on how they behave on a day to day basis as opposed to when they’re in an airport. There really isn’t much of a difference if you really think about it. Yes in the airport the way people act is more obvious because you’re forced to think about it more than on a typical day. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. It’s human nature to be judgmental and to complain about things. Everyone does these things daily, they just become more apparent when you’re stuck in a situation such as being in the airport.
I think that this was published in a magazine because the audience is the most abundant. Most likely the article was in a travel magazine because that would be Sedaris's target audience. It also just puts his story out there. Anyone can have access to it and people would be more willing to read it if they picked out the magazine anyways. I don't think the message would have been as clear if it was published anywhere else.
During the time this story took place, Obama just became president. Sedaris makes this known by putting it into the story. He talks about the two men who are complaining about Obama and how terrible of a president he is, when he was just getting into office. I think Sedaris included this to show just how much people are stuck in their own heads. Sedaris mentioned these things to get people thinking. Like I said in my previous blog post, I think Sedaris wrote this as a challenge to his readers to try and change the way they act and how self centered people are.
Sedaris is trying to prove a point to his readers. He's trying to change the way we think and act. Maybe he's trying to better the world by showing how shallow humans are. I think Sedaris wants the readers to be puzzled by this and question themselves on how they behave on a day to day basis as opposed to when they’re in an airport. There really isn’t much of a difference if you really think about it. Yes in the airport the way people act is more obvious because you’re forced to think about it more than on a typical day. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. It’s human nature to be judgmental and to complain about things. Everyone does these things daily, they just become more apparent when you’re stuck in a situation such as being in the airport.
I think that this was published in a magazine because the audience is the most abundant. Most likely the article was in a travel magazine because that would be Sedaris's target audience. It also just puts his story out there. Anyone can have access to it and people would be more willing to read it if they picked out the magazine anyways. I don't think the message would have been as clear if it was published anywhere else.
Assignment 2
I expect to become a better formal writer when I leave this class. I hope that I will learn how to follow the structures better and be able to understand how to write formal essays. I prefer writing freely, such as short stories or something creative. Structural writing is boring to me especially when it's about something I'm not interested in. Research papers are my weakness. I know what I'm saying when I read my paper, but other people do not. It's a bunch of gibberish and when there is a set amount of pages I tend to just ramble on and repeat myself just to get to the expected amount. I hope I will learn tricks and tips on how to become a successful writer.
I've heard a lot of bad things about this course actually. Most of the people I've talked with failed because of portfolio. I think it's unfair that the professor doesn't grade them and some random people do. The reason I'm critical of this is because, they don't get to see the progress the student has made throughout the year and they don't know what goes on during class. It just doesn't exactly seem fair that random people are criticizing your personal work and deciding if you pass or fail just from that.
One thing that stood out to me in the yellow book was on page 8, someone said in high school they didn't write papers that included their opinion. I completely agree with that. I was told never to use the words "I", "you", "we", etc. in any paper! Now, in college, we can? It's hard to write this way now because I have to train myself to forget what all of my other teachers said in the past. But, I'm hoping this will make me a better writer so I can be successful in my career.
I've heard a lot of bad things about this course actually. Most of the people I've talked with failed because of portfolio. I think it's unfair that the professor doesn't grade them and some random people do. The reason I'm critical of this is because, they don't get to see the progress the student has made throughout the year and they don't know what goes on during class. It just doesn't exactly seem fair that random people are criticizing your personal work and deciding if you pass or fail just from that.
One thing that stood out to me in the yellow book was on page 8, someone said in high school they didn't write papers that included their opinion. I completely agree with that. I was told never to use the words "I", "you", "we", etc. in any paper! Now, in college, we can? It's hard to write this way now because I have to train myself to forget what all of my other teachers said in the past. But, I'm hoping this will make me a better writer so I can be successful in my career.
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