Response to Course Material September 21st

     We began the year by discussing various perspectives that are used to analyze a text. We learned to use the acronym DIDLS to remember the elements of diction, imagery, details, language (figurative), and syntax. In previous years, my English teachers didn't discuss these things in depth, so I enjoyed that we talked about each part in detail. For example, we discussed some aspects of diction, such as elevation, colloquialism, informality, abstract or concreteness, connotation and denotation, and repetition. Understanding that the term "diction" can involve all of these has helped me to comprehend literature on a different level.
     After diction, we brushed over a few of the other items and then delved into syntax.  Like with diction, none of my other teachers really explained what syntax is and how it affects a piece. Reading and working through the adapted passage from "Artful Sentences: Syntax as Style" by Virginia Tufte was enormously helpful because not only did it explain certain types of sentence structure and how they influence a piece, it gave examples in context. Simply reading about syntax can be dry and hard to understand, but the format of Tufte's description makes it easier to follow.
     I found the form follows function method in syntax especially interesting. I never realized how much the placement of words and punctuation can influence the pace and emotion of a sentence. Although the use of varying syntax made the passage a little clunky, the story that Virginia Tufte chose did a great job of illustrating how to utilize syntax.
     This past week, we started (and finished) reading the single act play, The American Dream. We were also to read and annotate "Theatre of the Absurd" by Jerome P. Crabb and "Existentialism 101" in order to understand better the context of the play. I really enjoyed the article about existentialism because when I was in American Lit, I wanted to know more about that movement. The two passages we read definitely provided a small look into what The American Dream is about, but after the first read I'm still pretty lost. I'm looking forward to discussing the play in class in order to gain a different perspective on it.

Close Reading September 14th

     David Sedaris has one of the most distinctive voices in modern writing. In his reflective essay, Tasteless, he gives a first-person narrative about what it's like living life with a severely limited sense of taste. Sedaris' dry humor can be seen in his diction and his voice shows through his use of details and his unique syntax.
     The author's diction shows his natural sense of humor. To do this, he uses everyday words in a different context. For example, when Sedaris is explaining that he no longer has a sense of taste, he says that his taste buds are "paved" beneath tar. This word is very precise, as it tells the reader that his mouth was not sprinkled, but coated in an unnatural substance. Another show of Sedaris' unusual word choice is in the sentence, "She’d raise the baton of meat to her face and examine it for flaws." By describing the piece of meat as a "baton", the author is degrading it to the level of a mere object, one that is being appraised for its market value. The effect of this diction is the understanding that to David Sedaris, food is just another item. By choosing words that have a different connotation than what is expected, the author catches the reader off guard and appeals to his or her sense of humor.
     David Sedaris' details help to explain to the reader what type of person he is. When he is talking about his cooking skills (or lack thereof), Sedaris says, "I guess I thought that as it baked the cavity would fill itself with rubies or butterscotch pudding. How else to explain my disappointment the first dozen times I made it?" In including this detail, the fact that he expected something exciting to happen when he cooked a meatloaf in an angel-food-cake pan, Sedaris gives away how bad he is at cooking. Without this statement, the reader isn't able to understand how little the author knows or cares about cooking. When the author's brother tells him to make a mad looking pizza, David says, "And, as proof of my versatility, I would create a frown,". This detailed assertion is included to show how highly Sedaris thought of his cooking abilities. He is constantly using details to reflect his comedic personality.
     Sedaris' syntax comes off like a conversation with the reader. He uses a lot of short sentences like "Part of the problem might be me," which make the piece more casual. In the sentence, "Oh, it chews all right," in reference to Sedaris' mouth, the reader can practically hear the author speaking to him or her. This pattern of short sentences makes the piece accessible to the reader and connects him or her to the author. Furthermore, the author likes to use longer sentences separated by different punctuation, like in the paragraph, "I am a shoveller, a quantity man, and I like to keep going until I feel sick. It’s how a prisoner might eat, one arm maneuvering the fork and the other encircling the plate like a fence: head lowered close to my food, eyes darting this way and that; even if I don’t particularly like it, it’s mine, God damn it,". In this paragraph, the effect of long sentences that are made choppy with frequent use of commas and a semicolon here or there is comic paranoia. David Sedaris' use of casual syntax contrasts with his slightly more elevated diction, creating the idea of a mature conversation.
      The use of diction, details, and syntax in this reflective essay work together to show sophistication without alienating the less learned readers. David Sedaris' personality is practically bursting through each word and the effect is a piece with a strong voice and great humor.