This is another piece examining poetry and prose.
Shirley Jackson in her 1948 short story “The Lottery,” which first appeared in The New Yorker, provokes thoughts and questions about life and conspiracy. Jackson, who is best known for her subtle horror and suspense stories, tells a tale of a small village willing to sacrifice a woman in hopes of having plentiful crops. Edwin Brock, in his 1963 poem “Five Ways to Kill a Man,” exposes the “many cumbersome ways to kill” men and women. Brock, who has served in the Royal Navy, was employed as a police officer, and who has worked in advertising, exposes the cruel and unusual ways to kill human beings. Each type of work provokes thoughts and questions without giving answers, deals with the conspiracies in life and opens imaginations. Poetry and prose may be a source of entertainment, but there is more than amusement in each style of literature. According to the dictionary, poetry is a “rhythmical composition, written or spoken, for exciting pleasure by beautiful, imaginative thoughts,” and prose is “a matter-of-fact, commonplace, dull expression.” Poetry is typically shorter, more meaningful to the writers as well as the readers, and has hidden meanings. Prose pieces have the tendency to be longer, more dense and not as meaningful. Poetry is more successful at provoking thoughts, opening imaginations and dealing with conspiracies.
“The Lottery,” first occurred three years after World War II, in 1948. Jackson discusses the village’s ultimate sacrifice of the “lottery winner” in order to have bountiful crops, and a better land. Jackson, whose husband was Jewish, explains in the plot, the “The Lottery,” has similarities to the background of World War II, in which both show a sacrifice of a certain ethnicity, religious group, or single person, by a group of citizens led by one individual. In Jackson’s writing, she gives subtle examples of the Holocaust. Jackson hints at the ludicrous ways governments and societies tolerate death in the masses. In “The Lottery,” the town holds the annual lottery, which is no ordinary luck of the draw, big prize winning sweepstake. In fact, the winner of this lottery wins no grand prize at all, only death by stoning from the villagers as a sacrifice to gain a superior amount of produce. The unreal tactics of the villagers are comparable to those of the Germans before World War II began. At the end of “The Lottery,” Tessie “held her hands out desperately as the villagers moved in on her,” alike the many ethnicities of citizens killed by the Germans. “The Lottery,” gives many details and examples of the conspiracies in life, and raises many questions without giving answers.
Brock’s “Five Ways to Kill a Man,” is a prime illustration of the many conspiracies in life. The poem explains five ponderous ways that have been used to kill men or women in history. The examples in “Five Ways to Kill a Man,” date from the crucifixion of Christ to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. In his poem, Brock describes the gruesome and peculiar processes the governments have created in order to kill citizens in the masses. Brock not only exposes the conspiracies behind slaughtering innocent men, women and children, but raises many questions about this topic without giving readers any answers. “Five Ways to Kill a Man,” opens the imaginations of the audience to a whole new perspective of the world’s ways of treating man- kind. Exposing his thoughts about the torturous ways to kill, Brock writes, “Dispensing with nobility, you may, if the wind/ allows, blow gas at him.” Brock explains his feelings of disbelief toward the inhumane procedures taken by the governments to prove a point. “Five Ways to Kill a Man,” opens a wide door for the individual mind to deliberate the schemes behind the government plans.
Poetry and prose pieces are more than a source of entertainment. While both genres of literature examine the conspiracies in life, open imaginations and provoke thoughts and questions without relaying answers, poetry is more successful at doing so. Poetry may seem confusing and hard to read but it certainly does more for the mind than prose pieces. Poetry is an excellent technique to unleash the mind and soul.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Communication: The Good and the Bad
Here is one of my pieces on some of the readings from last semester.
Deborah Tannen, in her 1990 article “Sex, Lies, and Conversation,” which appeared in, The Washington Post, exposes the linguistic differences in relationships between females and males. Tannen, who was born in Brooklyn, in 1945, who teaches at Georgetown University, who has written and edited several books about the issues of communicating within the different sections of culture, class, gender, and ethnicities, discusses the dissimilarities of the communication in female and male relationships. Stephanie Ericsson, in her 1993 exposé “The Ways We Lie,” which first appeared in the January 1993 issue of The Utne Reader, explains ten ways in which humans may have the tendency to lie. Ericsson, who was born in San Francisco, in 1953, who has been a screenwriter, and an advertising copywriter, has published numerous biographical books, claims individuals may have the inclination to falsify information in certain circumstances. Eric Schlosser, in his 2001 excerpt “Walt and Ray: Your Trusted Friends,” from his book Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All American Meal, proposes Walt Disney and Ray Kroc deceive the parents to make money. Schlosser, who was born in New York City, in 1959, who received a bachelor’s degree in American history from Princeton University and who went on to study history at Oxford University, and who was an award-winning investigative journalist, insists Disney and Kroc used children as a main audience to advertise their products in order to succeed. Each of these texts share common elements. The three writers attack communication within relationships, and the tendency to sell a product or a lie to benefit oneself. The authors all strike at the preferences some of the population lean toward with lying, and selling a product or a lie to benefit oneself.
“Sex, Lies, and Conversation,” is the text that best fits the criterion above, by Tannen expressing her thoughts on the phonetic contrasts between females and males in relationships. Tannen writes about different communicating techniques among men and women. When discussing the “stare straight ahead” body language of men while listening, Tannen states, “Women perceive such responses as belittling and unsupportive.” She has a good attitude throughout the article, giving subtle hints of jokes and sarcasm and stating a very strong opinion. Tannen’s thoughts of the “linguistic battle of the sexes” in the article “Sex, Lies, and Conversation,” is somewhat of a serious topic that needs to be dealt with as well as a joking matter. She has very strong thoughts and studies to back her opinions on communication amid females and males in relationships.
Ericsson, in “The Ways We Lie,” argues ten ways of lying or being deceitful to another human, which places this text in the second position of fitting the criterion above. Ericsson organizes her thoughts about lying in this article by listing the different ways entities have the ability to be dishonest. “We lie. We all do. We exaggerate, we minimize, we avoid confrontation, we spare people’s feelings,” declares Ericsson after admitting her own lies in this article. Ericsson exposes the lies that can be so feasible to tell, the words that are so easily spoken to avoid harmful situations can be an obstacle in relationships.
Schlosser, in “Walt and Ray: Your Trusted Friends,” demands that producers have the tendency to deceive the consumer in order to gain a higher respect, and social status in the community. In, “Your Trusted Friends,” Schlosser makes a point to quote Disney, who said, “it’s the law of the universe that the strong shall survive and the weak must fall by the way, and I don’t give a damn what idealistic plan is cooked up, nothing can change that.” This statement is an example of the way Disney plans to succeed no matter what. Schlosser explains the many ways Disney and Kroc delude in situations in means to thrive.
The three texts are examples of communication within relationships and the tendency to sell a product or a lie to benefit oneself. “Sex, Lies, and Conversation” is the text that best meets this criterion, by showing different communication kinks in relationships between women and men. The text that meets the criterion second best is “The Ways We Lie,” through explaining the different types of lying. The text that fits the criterion the least best is “Walt and Ray: Your Trusted Friends,” although the text does a good job at fitting the criterion the text does not clearly state the thesis of the excerpt. There are many ways in which individuals have the ability to trick and mislead the community.
Deborah Tannen, in her 1990 article “Sex, Lies, and Conversation,” which appeared in, The Washington Post, exposes the linguistic differences in relationships between females and males. Tannen, who was born in Brooklyn, in 1945, who teaches at Georgetown University, who has written and edited several books about the issues of communicating within the different sections of culture, class, gender, and ethnicities, discusses the dissimilarities of the communication in female and male relationships. Stephanie Ericsson, in her 1993 exposé “The Ways We Lie,” which first appeared in the January 1993 issue of The Utne Reader, explains ten ways in which humans may have the tendency to lie. Ericsson, who was born in San Francisco, in 1953, who has been a screenwriter, and an advertising copywriter, has published numerous biographical books, claims individuals may have the inclination to falsify information in certain circumstances. Eric Schlosser, in his 2001 excerpt “Walt and Ray: Your Trusted Friends,” from his book Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All American Meal, proposes Walt Disney and Ray Kroc deceive the parents to make money. Schlosser, who was born in New York City, in 1959, who received a bachelor’s degree in American history from Princeton University and who went on to study history at Oxford University, and who was an award-winning investigative journalist, insists Disney and Kroc used children as a main audience to advertise their products in order to succeed. Each of these texts share common elements. The three writers attack communication within relationships, and the tendency to sell a product or a lie to benefit oneself. The authors all strike at the preferences some of the population lean toward with lying, and selling a product or a lie to benefit oneself.
“Sex, Lies, and Conversation,” is the text that best fits the criterion above, by Tannen expressing her thoughts on the phonetic contrasts between females and males in relationships. Tannen writes about different communicating techniques among men and women. When discussing the “stare straight ahead” body language of men while listening, Tannen states, “Women perceive such responses as belittling and unsupportive.” She has a good attitude throughout the article, giving subtle hints of jokes and sarcasm and stating a very strong opinion. Tannen’s thoughts of the “linguistic battle of the sexes” in the article “Sex, Lies, and Conversation,” is somewhat of a serious topic that needs to be dealt with as well as a joking matter. She has very strong thoughts and studies to back her opinions on communication amid females and males in relationships.
Ericsson, in “The Ways We Lie,” argues ten ways of lying or being deceitful to another human, which places this text in the second position of fitting the criterion above. Ericsson organizes her thoughts about lying in this article by listing the different ways entities have the ability to be dishonest. “We lie. We all do. We exaggerate, we minimize, we avoid confrontation, we spare people’s feelings,” declares Ericsson after admitting her own lies in this article. Ericsson exposes the lies that can be so feasible to tell, the words that are so easily spoken to avoid harmful situations can be an obstacle in relationships.
Schlosser, in “Walt and Ray: Your Trusted Friends,” demands that producers have the tendency to deceive the consumer in order to gain a higher respect, and social status in the community. In, “Your Trusted Friends,” Schlosser makes a point to quote Disney, who said, “it’s the law of the universe that the strong shall survive and the weak must fall by the way, and I don’t give a damn what idealistic plan is cooked up, nothing can change that.” This statement is an example of the way Disney plans to succeed no matter what. Schlosser explains the many ways Disney and Kroc delude in situations in means to thrive.
The three texts are examples of communication within relationships and the tendency to sell a product or a lie to benefit oneself. “Sex, Lies, and Conversation” is the text that best meets this criterion, by showing different communication kinks in relationships between women and men. The text that meets the criterion second best is “The Ways We Lie,” through explaining the different types of lying. The text that fits the criterion the least best is “Walt and Ray: Your Trusted Friends,” although the text does a good job at fitting the criterion the text does not clearly state the thesis of the excerpt. There are many ways in which individuals have the ability to trick and mislead the community.
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