Critical Reading

The author outlines critical reading as a very comprehensive series of actions to understand and evaluate a piece of writing. The first step was to outline the basic things about the piece that didn't require actually reading it. This means drawing meaning and context clues from the title, knowledge of the author, and the time and place the piece of writing was formed in. Next you actually read the piece, but you view it in its entirety and only examine it from a very broad perspective. During this you can annotate the reading and ask questions about things and draw emphasis to important things. It is then necessary to analyze the piece through inference, synthesis, and evaluation. Finally we should look for meaning and use things like language and writing strategy to understand this meaning.

Young life

1. The boy aspires to be like the man. The boy is holding a stick like it is a gun.

2. The man is the family provider seeing as the women is clinging to him and he is holding the gun that we can infer killed the deer.

3. The truck is meant to be shown as supporting the people. The mirror of the truck supports the man's arm, and the truck holds the deer.


The truck is the supporter of the people. This is exemplified by the position of the man and the deer. The arm of the man is rested on the truck mirror, and it is supporting him. In addition the truck is holding the deer which is a source of food. The man and woman in the picture are leaning against the truck showing it's supporting them.

"Shame" Avett Brothers

1. The subject is a man who has wronged a woman in some way, and is now asking forgiveness and hoping to release his guilt.
The tone is regretful and defeated, but also hopeful.

2. "Boatloads" and "overwhelming" discuss the shame and guilt the speaker has to show how reverent and defeated he has become. The "can" shows that hopefulness to being better and forgiven because he says with "can" that I have the opportunity to help, but it is indefinite meaning he only has hope to.

Voice 9-19-11

1. Voice is the overall organization of writing that differentiates from one writer to another. Diction, punctuation and syntax play a huge role in establishing voice.

2. The amount of blood pooled on the ground brought me to the conclusion that a violent altercation had occurred. In my writing I often use a large vocabulary and organize my sentences in a cause and effect manner when appropriate.

3. I would talk around asking for help or to borrow something to be more polite and less deliberate.

4. Voice is important because it shows us the view and context of the author. Voice in non-fiction also allows for better flow. I have always been taught to avoid passive voice, 1st person, and 2nd person.

5. Establish a wider knowledge of vocabulary and syntax and then consistently use both the same.

Eleanor Rigby

1. I personally preferred the original version of the song. It was familiar to me and it conjures memories within me which draws me into it even more. That doesn't exist with the other versions of the song. I also am not a fan of retooling music.

2. I think the original is the most pleasing to listen to. The music is soft and smooth with no harsh or over bearing tones. However i think the dubstep or metal versions would be considered more popular because they align themselves more with the current generation.

9-12-11 Pollack VS. Kandinsky

1. I like the Pollack more because it reminds me of camouflage and nature. I also like that the colors are all blended and there are no defined shapes.

2. The kandinsky is more visually pleasing to look at because it uses more color and the shapes are more defined and geometric.

Sign Language

1. The singe issue of this film was things are not always what they appear and people can draw joy from things most people look down on as mundane.

2. a) The main character says he is here to point out the less obvious things.
    b) The music is joyful and creates a feeling of hope.
    c) The setting creates a feeling of coldness and dreariness, but it doesn't affect the hidden happiness that's there.

3. If the setting was somewhere else such as a tropical island it would change the sense of hidden beauty and joy because it would be a beautiful and happy place.

Shooting an Elephant

Soapstone of “Shooting an Elephant”

Jared Shely

            Subject- The subject of George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” is imperialism, more specifically British imperialism.  The forming and running of empires is illustrated by Orwell’s personal experience of killing an elephant in Burma. This was shown through the principles of fear as well as role. Due to imperialism’s presence in Burma Orwell says he was forced to kill the elephant. If he didn’t he shamed himself, he would became something to be laughed at by the Burmese and it would be the same for all the white men. He was unable to take the rational decision for fear of mistake and as he clearly shows the elephant was just another casualty of imperialism.

Occasion- “Shooting an Elephant” was written during the period of British Imperialism. This can be assumed from the date on the article 1936 as well as the fact that the story he tells is set in Britain ruled Burma. The era of British Imperialism is illustrated through Orwell’s centralization around British Imperialism in the article. He also tells us he was a sheriff during Britain’s rule within Burma.

The probable creation of this article was England. This is illustrated via the subject matter and the likely audience of this essay. This is further proven by the fact that Orwell resided in England during the year 1936.

Audience- Orwell’s specific audience for “Shooting an Elephant” is British individuals living under British Imperialism. The author’s target audience is revealed by the subject Orwell centered around. He talks about the effects of British Imperialism and the role it placed him in so the article was clearly for those similar to him.

Orwell’s general audience was anyone in the developed world who encounters or lives under imperialism. The author’s general audience is shown by his centralization on the evils of imperialism and the fact that it lead to the killing of the elephant.

Purpose- Orwell’s purpose in ‘Killing an Elephant” is to show his audience what imperialism causes and what it leads to. He wants to teach readers that imperialism is not a good thing. Orwell’s opposition to imperialism is revealed by his talking about the evils of imperialism he has seen and through the story of the elephant because it clouds Orwell’s judgment.

Speaker- George Orwell, a democratic socialist, believes imperialism is a bad form of society and government. This value is illustrated by his clear opposition and the negative facts he tells us about British Imperialism. He included this value because it was extremely relevant to the message he was trying to portray.

George Orwell’s use of imagery is evident in his description of the elephant’s death, “The thick red blood welled out of him like red velvet…” This furthers the purpose because he wanted to show that imperialism is a bad thing so he showed graphically the death of the elephant.

Tone- George Orwell exhibits a disapproving and negative attitude about imperialism in “Killing an Elephant”. These attitudes are expressed by stories of personal experience and symbolism within his personal accounts. His stories show the negative sides of imperialism he was exposed to and his symbolism shows that imperialism brings about death and the casualty of the freedom of choice. This is supported through him listing the atrocities he saw under British rule and he shows the death of the elephant in a symbolic way that shows how imperialism steals the freedom of choice. This validates my claim by showing the negative way Orwell views imperialism.

Harry Nilsson "Good Old Desk"

S- His desk
O- 1960's
A- His listening audience
P- To tell others about his desk.
S- Harry Nilsson
Tone- Happy and admiring

Nilsson in actuality is speaking about his relationship with God.

Norman Rockwell's The Runaway

Norman Rockwell was a man of the early 20th century. He often painted things that we today see as classic America. He created wonderful images of simple and carefree times where family was important and the world was a safe place even for runaway children like the one in his painting "The Runaway". He painted the America that was and that he had grown to love. He was either unaware or did not care about the rising tide. Rockwell’s “The Runaway” overlooks the fundamental rift that was rising in America throughout the late 1950s – an emerging counter (no pun intended) culture that was not concerned with how things were in America, but rather how they are. “

Across the Universe by The Beatles

1. "endless rain into a paper cup" this creates an image of a cup overflowing with rain water that is still falling into it.
"millions of suns" produces an image of stars, millions of them burning bright and very close by.
"Sounds of laughter" forms an image of children playing and laughing.

2. The endless rain of words symbolizes an over flowing of speech and information that is overwhelming to the speaker.

3. The christian cross is a symbol of Christ's love for humanity.

4. The circle is an image, but it can also symbolize a group of people such as friends, or something without end because circles have no corners they are continuous.