Soapstone#2

Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out SOAPSTone

Jared Shely

Subject

             The subject of Dave Barry’s “Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out” is the distinct difference between the male and the female is exemplified by his choice of stories and the humor he uses in telling them. He tells a funny story that shows the difference in him and his wife in cleanliness, and again he uses another funny story to show how during the World Series a night the women used for stimulating conversation the men snuck off to watch the game.

Occasion

            The time of Dave Barry’s “Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out” is the 1980’s or 1990’s. This time period is illustrated in the article based on the mention of television, Windex, and other fairly modern things. This is also exemplified because the 1980’s and 1990’s were the height of Dave Barry’s writing career.

            The location of Dave Barry’s “Batting Clean-up and Striking Out” is in the United States, specifically the state of Florida. This is evident through Barry’s mention of the World Series as well as the fact that Barry lives in Florida.

Audience

            Dave Barry’s specific audience for “Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out” is married men and women who are puzzled by the differences between themselves and their spouses. This is exemplified through the humor he uses in his explanation on the differences between males and females, and the centralization his stories have on married life.

            The author’s general audience was the general American public seeing as this was his usual audience. This is also expressed by the subject manner and its application. He uses a fairly standard version of American English, uses humor to compare men and women, and the mention of the World Series exemplifies an American audience.

Purpose

            David Barry’s purpose in “Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out” was to entertain readers while sharing some insight on the inherent differences between men and women. This

entertaining comparison of males and females is illustrated by the author’s use of humor, and his pointing out of the differences between men and women involving both sports and cleaning.

Speaker

            Dave Barry, a columnist for the Miami Post, believes there are many large differences between man and women especially in the realms of sports and cleanliness. This value is illustrated by the fact that Barry discusses how men and women differ when it comes to cleaning and visualizing dirt as well as in their sensitivity to sports.

            Dave Barry’s use of structure is evident in his telling of stories in which he uses quotes and specific examples paired with humor to further his point and keep the reader’s attention. This influences the purpose by keeping readers interested and intent on the article allowing him to entertain and get his point across.

Tone

            David Barry exhibits a humorous and insightful attitude about the obvious gaps in the attitudes and behaviors in men and women. These attitudes are expressed by his jokes such as using words and phrases like molecule and hormonal secretions to establish an intellectual and insightful tone and using jargon to play into the humor he chooses to use. This serves the purpose by keeping readers interested with humor and educating them with his insightfulness. I know this because I know understand the difference he was portraying, and his humor made the article hard to put down.