TV Addiction

Understanding Context:
Addiction is " a holding pattern", In comparison to overindulgence, the addiction takes control of your life and you feel helpless to stop it. Many of the examples in Winn's story felt anger at their inability to shut off the television. If this were overindulgence, they'd be feeling pleasure and exstacy in the activity rather than anger.

Evaluating Strategy:
It is important that Winn define addiction before starting her argument so that the reader, from the very beginning, has a clear view of what the author means specifically.

Appreciating Language:
Words such as "sapped, will-less, and enervated" give the reader a clear impression that the victim of the "addiction" feels no pleasure in the routine of lounging in front of the TV. It has taken over their lives, put them in an apathetic state in which they no longer have the control to turn the set off.

Writing Suggestions:
As a child, I grew up in a small little hick town, where TV was not the cool thing to do every day. We came up with games that we would play in the fields and such. Probably on average I only watched a couple hours of TV a week, and those hours generally all occurred during Saturday morning cartoons so that I could watch Ninja turtles and Captain Planet. Once in a while we'd splurge on a movie and watch Star Wars.... but not very often.

hmmm....

It's incredible to me to see how many different people seem to find their soul mate while here at college. I myself have a best friend that seems to think I am their soul mate. It's even more incredible to me to think that he wants to spend the rest of his life with somebody like me. Now, unfortunately, I'm a brat and happen to be very stubborn.... and therefore, this poor boy will have to wait seven years. And, who knows, maybe by then he'll have found somebody much more suited to him than I am, or whom he loves even more than me... who knows. I personally happen to be afraid of tying myself down early in life and have far too many ambitions and goals in my life to get married before I achieve each and every one of them. Maybe I'm just selfish though.

dances

I've found, sadly enough, that at the majority of the dances I've been to, boys are pansies. They don't seem to have the guts to go up to you and ask you to dance. Back in the old days, it was shameful for a girl to ask a boy to dance. But now it seems as if these boys just expect us to ask. I would say the boys of our time are extremely lazy. Honestly, how hard is it to ask a girl to dance? I highly doubt she will turn you down. Girls love to dance, especially if you twirl them. All girls have been practicing twirling since they were five. Twirl a girl while you're dancing with her, and she'll think about you all night. Dip her, and compliment her while you're dancing and she'll think about you for a few days, at least. It's not hard to get a girl to think about you and like you. Just treat her like a princess. It's an easy thing, but very few boys seem to do it. So DO IT!!!! *sigh

Homeless

Reading response: Anna Quindlen's Homeless

Understanding Context:
Anna Quindlen's attitude towards the homeless seems sympathetic and understanding. She goes beyond looking at them as a group of people and a stereotype and looks into them as individuals. She realizes why it would be so hard for them to go into a shelter or a place like that and why they would opt to stay on a bench or in a box. Encompassed within our homes are symbols of security and stability. Not to mention the sense of pride and ownership you have in your home. Such feelings mean the world to so many people. The worst part to them of being homeless, isn't that they are poor, it's that they own nothing. There is nothing that belongs to them, no wall that they can randomly decide to paint another color, like the story states, they don't even have a mailbox in which they could recieve welfare checks.

Evaluating Strategy:
Ann's role in this article was that of a reality check for the author. It was after this conversation with Ann that the author realized that she hadn't been focusing on these people as individuals, but had been looking at them as the group. I don't think that this essay would have been as effective had the author not used a personal example. The reader can now see that she has been out there among them, seen their conditions and made an attempt to sympathize instead of simply reciting memorized statistics from a book.

Appreciating Language:
Home is a surprisingly powerful word. When mentioned to any individual it has almost an immediate effect on them psychologically. It is a place in which you were raised, with so many memories. It's so predictable, stable, certain. Rushes of memories come to mind of childhood and growing up. So many experiences that were vital in becoming the person that you are today. Quindlen does an effective job of bringing such emotions forward for the reader as she portrays the lack of the simple, yet oh so important aspects of your home. " No window to look out upon the world. My God. That is everything."

"shooting an elephant"

Understanding Context:
Orwell's attitude towards the Burmese is almost spiteful. He feels that, even though his country holds dominion over them, that they rule him and his country. Although leaders take over areas and "rule" them, it is actually the conqured people that "rule" even still. Orwell even states that the picture of him in front of the crowd with a rifle should indicate that he is in fact in charge of the crowd, yet he feels pushed forward by the thousands of wills behind him.

Evaluating Strategy:
"I was hated by large numbers of people." Not only does this statement attract the reader's attention, but it actually starts off the tone of the entire narrative. Orwell even says at the end of the narrative that the sole reason he shot the elephant was to avoid looking like a fool to the Burmese. There was no noble cause behind it, though he tried to justify the action through excuses we believe others would find acceptable. Human nature leads us all to fell this longing for acceptance from others. Nobody likes to be hated, even by their enemies, and your enemies would be the last you would want to be made a fool in front of.

Appreciating Language:
Orwell uses quite a bit of figurative language in his description of the elephant's labored death. Such phrases as, "sagged flabbily to his knees" almost instantly paint a picture in the reader's mind. I think, for me his comparison of the elephant to a tree and a rock toppling was surprisingly powerful, coupled with the first and final trumpet of the elephant before laying down and waiting to die. It gives the reader an image of something majestic and great being brought down to its knees, towering even while it's falling. Probably doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but, I found it quite powerful. Orwell continues to tell us that the elephant was dying slowlly and with great agony, with long rattling gasps. I tend to think of the very old when I think of such breathing and behavior, and Orwell even states earlier on that the elephant seemed to become very old, very quickly.

Writing Suggestions:
As manager of Hogi Yogi last year, my friends would constantly try to come in and mooch free food off of me. It was always really hard for me to turn them down. There were also the times that those really good looking boys would come in and I constantly wanted to do something cool so that they would remember, yet more than once I ended up making a fool of myself by somehow falling or what not. There were also those people that weren't quite in my clique, or who seemed to me to be more popular than me, and to make a mistake in front of them..... well, I would rather die, I think. Orwell states in his essay that the sole reason he shot the elephant was to avoid looking the fool, In my own way I guess I shot a few elephants to avoid looking the fool.