December Close Reading

You Mean Those People Who Put Me Here?
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/09/opinion/you-mean-those-people-who-put-me-here.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

This article, found in the NY Times editorials, criticizes the "revamping" of the New York tax code by Governor Cuomo. The author of this article uses diction, details, and syntax in order to convey his message and opinion on the topic and pursuade readers to feel the way he does.

The author uses diction in the article in order to convey his negative opinion on the new tax code. In today's economy, "deficit" is always used in an extremely bad way. The country's deficit is out of control and still growing, so when he mentions that the tax code will not help solve the "deficit," it makes readers feel poorly about it as well. With all the buzz of the Occupy Wall Street movement, the country's leaders have been paying much attention to the "middle-class" rights. This middle class makes up a large portion of the US population and is very sensitive to taxes. When the author mentions that the new taxes will have "modest" effects on the "middle class" many people would disagree with this change.

The author also uses some specific details to support his claims in the article. The author mentions that this tax will raise about $2 billion dollars, only "half as much as the so-called millionaire's tax" and that the state deficit will be at least $1.5 billion next year. These details support how ineffective the new tax will be at curing the financial disaster. The author further criticizes the tax code by mentioning how little it will do for the middle class, and that the biggest tax break will go to those "with taxable income from about $300,000 to $2 million a year." The author of this article also makes fun of the New York governor by mentioning his odd statement, "I am the government" of New York state.

The author lastly uses syntax by asking obvious questions of the readers. The title is a sarcastic question, "You mean the people that put me here?" This is criticizing the governor, who was elected by the majority population (middle class) and who is doing nothing to help these people. The article also asks "and for the voters and taxpayers?" and answers that they were left out of the loop. These questions cause the readers to wonder about the intentions of the governor and agree that he is being unfair to those who actually put him in office.

By using specific diciton, details, and syntax the author effectively criticizes this new New York tax code and how ineffective it will be. The author's use of these elements pursuades readers to feel the same way.

December Respose to Course Material

Recently in class we have been close reading Ceremony in small groups and further discussing with the whole class. It has been helping a lot with my understanding because the first time I read it, I was very confused by some elements of the Native American culture and the non-linear time structure of the novel. It's really interesting to stop thinking about things through the eyes of Western culture and try to understand a different way of life. I'm not always a fan of working in small groups and then discussing with the whole class. I do like small groups because it's easier to have more discussion, but when the groups share with the whole class it feels like we're just listing the things we've found. I still really like Ceremony because it's not like anything I've ever read before and it gives me a different perspective on life. On Friday, we did a little bit of multiple choice practice, which I really like doing because it gives us a taste of what the AP exam will be like.

December Open Prompts

(Open prompt #1, 12/4/11)

1975. Although literary critics have tended to praise the unique in literary characterizations, many authors have employed the stereotyped character successfully. Select one work of acknowledged literary merit and in a well-written essay, show how the conventional or stereotyped character or characters function to achieve the author's purpose.

Often modern society frowns upon stereotypes and makes an effort to erase them. However, in literature stereotypes can be used to successfully portray a message. In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, he uses a typical stereotype of both Jim and Huck in order to convey a message. By using stereotypical characters in his novel, Twain effectively sends an opinionated message about the status of slavery in the United States.

Although Twain wrote the novel several years after slavery was abolished, he set the story in an earlier time when slavery still existed. By doing this, Twain sends a message about the hardly improved situation for slaves, and the inequality of the world they still lived in. The two main characters of the novel, Jim and Huck, are extremely stereotypical. Jim, an escaped slave, is characterized as the typical slave: separated from his family and in desperate need of escape and salvation in the north. Huck is a young white boy who comes from a low level of society; he has been abandoned by his mother and drunk father and often finds himself alone. Throughout the novel, stereotypes of many characters are used, such as the affluent whites and racists. By creating this stereotypical situation, Twain sets up the novel to make a statement that, although years have passed since slavery existed, the life of many blacks have not changed. Readers of the time would be able to assess their current situation in comparison to this novel, and probably not find many differences.

Despite the stereotyped characters, the friendship between Jim and Huck is not typical of the times. Through their adventures together, Jim and Huck form a bond that is not often seen between a black slave and a young white boy. By the end of the novel, readers may believe that Huck has learned a valuable lesson and has rethought his judgment of blacks because of his newfound friendship. However, readers must keep in mind that Huck is young and probably does not see all blacks the way he sees his friend Jim. Huck may have befriended one black man, but that doesn’t mean he is stripped of the racism he has grown up with. This situation can be compared to the actual status of slavery when the book was published. Although some may have thought everything was different because the slaves were free, the reality was that hardly anything had changed.

Twain uses stereotypical characters of Jim and Huck, as well as others, in order to make a statement about slavery in the United States. Many situations of the novel can be compared with real life and cause readers to rethink the status of society.