Close Reading #3

Just Go Away, Gary

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8639525/just-go-away-gary

Bill Simmons is a writer for Grantland and he has become increasingly angry about the continued National Hockey League (NHL) lockout.  He blames the lockout on the NHL's commissioner  Gary Bettman, who he is very critical of in the article.  Simmons uses diction, imagery, and details to help emphasize his opinion that Gary Bettman should be removed from his position as NHL commissioner.

Simmons uses pejorative diction to describe the NHL under Bettman's control.  He uses botched when describing the leagues television deals, and epidemic when describing the NHL's concussion problems. By using words with negative connotations Simmons describes his anger about the way the NHL has been run since the last lockout.  Simmons also uses pejorative diction like idiot and failure to describe Bettman himself.  These negative words help support Simmons's opinion that Bettman isn't capable of being a good commissioner and he should be removed from his position.  

Bill Simmons also uses imagery to help his readers understand what Bettman has been like as the commissioner.  Using the image of a baby holding a chainsaw he creates and image describing Bettmans leadership "hockey fans were regarding Bettman's lockout leadership the same way you'd act if you were watching a baby play with a chainsaw."  This powerful image is used to explain how incompetent and frightening Bettman's leadership has been trying to manage the NHL during the Lockout.  By using the image Simmons is saying that Bettman isn't remotely close to being able to handle a situation as dangerous as the NHL lockout.  Simmons also creates the image of a "neighbor knocking down his house, then rebuilding it from scratch" and then seven years later saying "Yeah, sorry about that — we screwed up when we rebuilt the house, had too many flaws, we needed to do it over again."  This image represents what has happened to the NHL since the last lockout.  It describes how silly it is that the NHL is in this situation again after having to cancel a full year of games during the last lockout.  These images allow Simmons to describe the dire situation in the NHL using everyday things that people can picture easily.

Simmons also uses details to support his opinions about Gary Bettman.  Simmons uses details supporting his claim that Bettman is a horrible commissioner, "on the verge of losing two NHL seasons in one decade, with four work stoppages."  This detail supports Simmons's claim that Bettman has done a poor job of managing the NHL during his tenure.  Another detail that supports Simmons's opinion is, "team after team circumventing that cap by giving out guaranteed deals lasting as long as 15 YEARS."  This detail describes how NHL teams have taken advantage of the salary cap system that Bettman created durning the previous lockout.  It provides emphasis that Bettman's solutions to the previous lockout's problems haven't really been fixed.  Both of these details provide specific examples of why Gary Bettman should be removed as commissioner.

Bill Simmons is a Los Angles Kings season ticket holder and he loves taking his daughter to their games.  He uses diction, imagery, and details to describe to his readers why Gary Bettman should be impeached. His  goal is to call out Gary Bettman in an entertaining way to entertain his readers and encourage the NHL to end their lockout so he can continue to take his daughter to Kings' games.

Promps #3

2008, Form B. In some works of literature, childhood and adolescence are portrayed as times graced by innocence and a sense of wonder; in other works, they are depicted as times of tribulation and terror. Focusing on a single novel or play, explain how its representation of childhood or adolescence shapes the meaning of the work as a whole.

In J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, is struggling with the concept of growing up.  His adolescence is portrayed a time full of innocence and fearful uncertainty,  which contributes to the meaning which is the harsh and painful realities of growing up and finding one's place in society.

Holden's innocence is portrayed throughout the novel, which reminds the reader that Holden is still a teenager.  When Holden call's the prostitute he intends to have sex with her, but when she actually arrives he just wants to talk to her.  This reveals Holden's innocence despite trying to act like an adult by calling the prostitute in the first place.  He is trying to act as if he is an adult, but when he does so his innocence only becomes more apparent which emphasizes the meaning of the the harsh realies people realize when they are growing up.  When he tries to flirt with the group of girls at a bar, the girls end up making fun of him, but Holden's innocence is reveled when he is unable to realize that they are really mocking him and have no intrest in him at all.  Holden's innocence sets him up for the painful realities of society and adult life.  In addition to his innocence, Holden's confusion and fear about society gave him a rude awakening about the real world is like.

Holden throughout the story describes different characters as being phony.  Instead of really getting to know people he just labels them as "phonies" in an attempt to distance himself from them.  Holden is afraid of getting to know many of the characters on a deeper level an his way of expressing this is showing disinterest in them when he calls them phonies.  His difficulties connecting with other people express the difficulty of finding one's place in society.  When people trying to find their place in society, they are often confused about themselves as well. Holden is clearly confused about his teenage life and fearful of the uncertain future that his adult life that is quickly approaching.  Holden's teenage life is full of confusion the importance of education.  Holden also has been kicked out of multiple schools and is currently failing almost all of his classes because he isn't applying himself in them.  The meaning of the harsh realities came into play when Holden realized that he had to find a way get a job and support himself at the end of the novel.  With the lack of education, he realizes that his options are limited and he panics and eventually ends up in a mental health facility.  The harsh realities were too much for Holden to handle which emphasizes their importance in adolescence shaping the meaning of the novel about the stuggles of growing up.

The events in The Catcher in the Rye consistently reenforce Holden's fear about his future and him holding on to his childhood innocence.  This innocence causes him to be in denial about his future which then leads to painful realties that Holden experiences that become very important events in the story.  Since these events are such important moments in Holden's life, the meaning of the harsh and painful realities of growing up and finding one's place in society is shaped by these events.

Response to Course Material #3

Recently in class we have done a lot of tone exercises.  I have found it interesting how small the differences are between these different tones, but these small differences can alter the meaning of the passage considerably.  We also watched the Death of a Salesman movie.  As I was watching the movie, I would hear a specific line from one of the characters and immediately realize imagine the annotation I would write for that line.  It seemed weird at first, but I realized that this meant the annotations were beginning to come more easily and I was understanding the movie on a deeper level than I'm used to.  

We also retook the terms test and while studying the terms a second time I realized that my reading level has improved so I was able to understand the passage allowing me to determine what term was being used.  Whenever I watch a movie now I think about the message the director is trying to communicate.  I was watching Shutter Island and I realized that it was really about how difficult it is for societies to classify people who are mentally disabled and how does a person actually know they are having delusions.