We worked through Michael Lewis’s "Cross-Buying" in class today.  I hope you now have a better understanding of how to go about annotating a text.  If you are still unsure of where to begin, here’s a quick set of guidelines:

1.   Make sure you have a working knowledge of the devices we have discussed in class so far.  These include:
Diction
Imagery
Detail
Audience
Speaker
Tone
Any other devices with which you are familiar
2.   Skim the piece once to get a general idea of the argument.  If you want to begin marking up your page at this point, go ahead, but the first pass should simply give you perspective on the work.
3.   Begin reading the work more closely, looking for words or phrases that stand out (because they are unusual, interesting, or unfamiliar), devices that you recognize, and any counter-arguments presented.  Each time you come across something worth marking, ask yourself "Why has the author included this?  What does it do for the work?  How does it help/hurt the argument?"
4.   Look for the thesis.  This is rarely at the end of the first paragraph in published works, and not always a single sentence.  The thesis should cover the scope of the argument.  For example, in "Cross-Buying," the author states that his "fondness for buying women’s clothing is nothing more than a fondness for—and a curiosity about—women themselves."  It is important to understand what the author is arguing before you begin writing about the work.
5.   Finally, go over the work one more time, focusing on your annotations.  How do they fit with the thesis?  Does your interpretation of each support or contradict the author’s thesis?  (If they contradict it, you may have misunderstood something.  Or the piece is poorly written/argued.  It’s possible.)  Do you see any connections between the various devices?

That’s it.  I like to use several colors to annotate a work (diff colors for vocab/interesting things, things I don’t understand, questions I have, and reactions), but do whatever works for you.  The important thing is that your hands are busy.  It will take longer to read a work at first, but this will eventually become second nature to you.  Pretty soon you won’t be able to read without a pen in your hand.  You’ll be better for it, I promise.

Click below for image from class.

I blacked-out some of the article for copyright purposes (we are using this for our classroom, so it falls under fair use, but I cannot publish a full copy).

We are annotating Michael Lewis’s "Cross-Buying" over the weekend.  As you read over the article, pay attention to any parts you find interesting, while concentrating on the author’s voice (T-DIDLS).  When you come across an interesting word or phrase, ask yourself what it does for the author’s argument.  Here are a few questions to get you started:

• In the first paragraph, Lewis makes several seemingly contradictory statements. Identify these. Why does he use this juxtaposition, and what assumptions does he want to dispel? What further questions does this raise?
• What descriptors is Lewis using for each gender? What are the general connotations, and what can you infer about his use of stereotypes?
• In paragraph three, we have "low, juvenile instincts," "exploding word bombs," and "people diving for cover." What gender is the preceding, unidentified "anyone"? How do you surmise this?
• How does the author’s use of parenthetical and dashed asides contribute to the overall tone of the piece?
• There is a shift in syntax and imagery from paragraph four to paragraph five. it hinges on the author’s use of asyndeton. How does this further his argument?

You don’t need to write out the answers to these questions; they are merely here to help you get started. We’ll discuss these and more in class on Monday.  If you want to record your thoughts, I suggest using your journal.

From the vault

Over the next few days I’ll be resurrecting some old posts from last year to supplement our lectures.

[Lame.  I posted the wrong old one before.]

Okay, not really. Connotation and denotation. These are important not only because they are vital to metaphors, metonymy, and such, but because they are fairly simple terms and can make a world of difference in an essay.

The DENOTATION of a word is the literal dictionary definition of a word. (Quick mnemonic: denotation and definition both begin with "de." Add "dictionary" to the mix and they all start with "d." Big D little d what begins with d? Dr Seuss, anyone? No? Moving on…)

Anyway, the CONNOTATION of a word is the meaning implied or suggested by the word and its CONtext (the words that surround it). That’s it. The difficulty comes when we must learn to recognize these terms in their various incarnations. But don’t worry, I have examples!

The name of the rock band Rage Against the Machine plays on the word "machine." In this case, "machine" can mean numerous things, but I’ll take a stab at it: "the Man," "the government," "major corporations," "major industries." . . . Well, I think I hit all of those when I said "the man." This is an example of METONYMY, where something associated with another thing is used to name the first.  It’s easier to imagine a METaphor (another mnemonic) for a piece of something.

Following the previous example, Fiona Apple’s latest (to my knowledge) album, Extraordinary Machine contains the same word (machine), but in this case she uses it proudly to name herself. One could say in an essay, "While it may seem odd that Apple describes herself as a ‘machine,’ within the album the word connotes a sense of power and resilience. She gets knocked down, but as the metaphor implies, she keeps moving forward with ‘extraordinary’ mechanistic ability."

"Zoot Suit Riot" is a famous swing song by the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies. Gesundheit. The title refers to battles between the "Zoot Suiters" and sailors in California during WWII. As with "machine" earlier, while the word’s denotation points to an article of clothing, the connotation and context (clothes can’t riot. At least not when you’re in the room…) refer to the people wearing them. Aww… sneaky metonymy.

Enough of the music examples. Here is one from literature:

Art is the antidote that can call us back from the edge of numbness, restoring the ability to feel for another.

—Barbara Kingsolver, High Tide in Tuscon

Now. Why does she choose the word "antidote"? The denotation of this word elicits medicine—a cure. This is emphasized by her use of "restoring" later in the sentence. I now know that she wants to convey the idea that our "ability to feel for one another" is sick (it is not as it should be), and that art can help that. By drawing out the metaphor of a sick ability to feel, she piles her reader with meaning. Our thoughts go back through experiences with medicine, with connections to the sick, and with art and its palliative power. All by choosing her words carefully.

Take a look at The Decemberists song "The Infanta" from their album Picaresque. The artists use words that may be unfamiliar to the listener, words like "palanquin," "standards" (meaning flags denoting position and duty), and "phalanx." How does this help the "feel" of the piece? Again, we find DICTION and TONE inextricably combined.

Stay tuned for the next part in this series: "The Wizard of ID or, Imagery and Detail in Your Everyday Write."

[EDIT: I neglected to mention that you should also explain how your video reflects a device.]

For the past week, we’ve been discussing literary devices in British music and (mostly) WWI-era poetry.  To move our discussions into the realm of popular culture, we will compile a series of videos that represent our favorite devices.  In doing so, we will not only demonstrate understanding and application of the devices, but also (perhaps) defend YouTube as a site worthy of our perusal.  Our main challenge will be sifting through the channels for clips worth watching.

Here are the rules of the game:

• First, familiarize yourself with the list of literary devices I handed out in class.  We have covered most, but certainly not all, in our discussions this past week.
• Second, add the following devices:
  • Allegory
  • Anachronism
  • Flashback
  • Foreshadowing
  • Irony
  • Satire
• Third (before you head to YouTube), try to come up with an example off the top of your head.  (Your journal might be a handy resource for this.)  The Simpsons, Scrubs, Seinfeld, and Family Guy are rife with allusions, puns, metaphor, characterization, etc.  You can often find a short clip of your example without resorting to browsing the stacks.
• Fourth, If you cannot come up with one, begin your search.  Google’s video search is a good place to start.
• Fifth, once you find your video, please make sure it is clean (see your syllabus).  I suggest using "not suitable for minors" filter under the Advanced Search button (to the left of the Search bar) on YouTube or Google when undertaking your search.
• Finally, post a link to your example in the comments below.  (If you are unable to log in and you’re using a Yahoo! account, follow this link to enable the OpenID feature of your screenname.  If you aren’t using a Yahoo! account, send me an email with your comment and I’ll post it for you, or create a Google account.)
• Oh! Idea: If you find yourself without an example after having thoroughly searched, why not make your own video?  A short, creative clip illustrating one (or more) of the terms would be awesome (and graded accordingly).

The idea for this assignment came from this post on Todd Seal’s blog.  If you click on the link, you can view his examples for most of the devices.  As you can see, he hasn’t completed the list.  Let’s see if we can all do it in a weekend.

About a Boy Update

If you want to get a head start on About a Boy, go ahead and purchase it.  (Gardner’s or Steve’s Sundry usually has a cheap copy.)  I’ve ordered a class set at B&N on 41st, so we should begin our discussions on the 25th or 26th, depending on when they come in.

Have a great weekend!  I look forward to watching your videos!