Post by reneel on Mar 11, 2009 19:08:18 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]Purpose and Meaning [/glow]
1. What does learning about Annie Dillard's mother tell us about Annie Dillard? What influences can you detect in Dillard's writing that may have come from her mother's curious sense of humor and excellent ear?
Like it has been proved before, parents greatly influence their child in several ways, one example being their personality. Annie Dillard’s mother influenced her and it can clearly be noticed through her writing. Dillard writes, “Hearing this, moved, I thought all the suffering of road building was worth it (it wasn't my suffering)” you can see a little bit of her humor when she says “it wasn’t my suffering”. Another example would be when she begins to roll play and says what was actually supposed to happen if the doctor fell for the joke. “The surgeon was supposed to answer, "Yes, my dear, brave woman, you will be able to play the piano after this operation," to which Mother intended to reply, "Oh, good, I've always wanted to play the piano."” Also, making it was corny as possible was her intention and it just makes it even more humorous.
2. In paragraph 2, Dillard recounts how her mother repeated the phrase "Terwilliger bunts one" for years after she first heard it, and at the most outrageous moments. In paragraphs 7 and 8, she discusses the names of a road and the effect they had on her and others. In paragraph 9, she writes about various "Pittsburghisms." How do these examples characterize the power of language to amuse, place, and even separate people? How is this essay in some ways more about language than about Dillard's mother?
3. What is the thesis of this essay?
The thesis of this essay is to inform the audience or the reader about how humorous and peculiar Annie Dillard’s mother was from everyone else, only to indirectly talk about herself.
[glow=red,2,300]
Language and Style[/glow]
1. What is phonetically appealing about "Terwilliger bunts one"; "royal poinciana" (paragraph b); "Tamiami Trail" (paragraph 7)? Read the phrases out loud as you consider sound here.
“Terwilliger”, “Poinciana” and “Tamiami Trail”, they all have phonetic transcription and phonetic spelling. Its almost like the lyrics and the melody of a song. They go together making the word itself sound smooth.
2. Note the powerful mixing of nouns and verbs in this series of sentences; "men stood sunk in muck to their armpits .... They blasted muck with dynamite, cut jungle with machetes; they laid logs, dragged drilling machines, hauled dredges, heaped limestone" (paragraph 7). How does the mixing of contrasting sounds, hard images, active verbs, and one- or two-syllable words invigorate the writing? Find other examples of this stylistic method.
By the mixing of contrasting sounds, hard images and active verbs, Dillard invigorates her writing by appealing to all of our senses. By using harsh words like “hauled”, “dragged” and “blasted” she paints a picture in our minds of the tough and grueling conditions the workers faced. Along with that, she makes us almost hear the blasting of the dynamites and the chopping sounds of the machetes through her diction. Another example would have to be “And off she sashayed, taking me firmly by the hand, and leading us around briskly past the monkey house and away. She thingyed an ear back, and both of us heard the desperate man begin, in a high-pitched wail, " I swear, I never saw her before in my life .. . . ".
3. Another feature of Dillard's writing is its specificity. The men weren't using an explosive; they used dynamite. The machines were drilling machines. The rock was limestone. Choose any paragraph in the essay and notice how specific her references are. Why is Dillard so careful to be specific?
Like all my English teachers always have said before “Be specific” and “Give details!” by doing so, it just makes it better writing. Without the use of descriptive adjectives, Dillard's writing would be boring and that’s what stands out and makes her such a great writer. She’s also careful to be specific because, we humans are always trying to find the easiest way out and it would be way easier to write machines, and rock and explosives unlike she did. If she wasn’t so careful writing would be ineffective and dull.
4. What stylistic devices does Dillard employ to create a humorous tone in this essay?
[glow=red,2,300]Strategy and Structure
[/glow]
1. While Dillard is interested in characterizing her mother, her subject is an American childhood, her childhood. Still, she focuses on her mother for many pages. We learn indirectly about Dillard's interest in language, her "know-it-all" attitude, her conditioning toward intellectual rigor and a questioning mind, as well as some of her politics. How effective is this approach? Why is her mother such a good model for Dillard's self-revelations?
Her approach is very effective and quite clever. Instead of plainly talking about her, she talks about her mother. Since Dillard’s mother and her have so much in common then its not a bad idea to talk about her. Also, through her sylistic devices she talks about herself.
2. Why doesn't Dillard ever tell us her mother's name? Is she failing to see her mother as an individual? What effect does it have on the readers' point of view?
Dillard doesn’t tell us her mother’s name because if she did then the essay wouldn’t be about her but about her mother. She talks about her mother to indirectly talk about herself. Therefore she isn’t failing to see her mother as an individual.
3. It is often said the people tend to remember best what comes first or last-in a poem, a movie, or a story. Since Dillard ends her essay with an account of her mother's insistence on a questioning, think-for-yourself kind of mind, she probably wants her readers particularly to remember this. Why? What is its significance to Dillard the writer?
Well according to what is said about how people tend to remember things that come in the beginning and the end of a movie or in this case an essay, Dillard does just that so that the audience can remember it. Since everyone is different, there can be thousands of different opinions on something. Its significance to Dillard is that it helps her direct her writing towards more people who can relate to it.
1. What does learning about Annie Dillard's mother tell us about Annie Dillard? What influences can you detect in Dillard's writing that may have come from her mother's curious sense of humor and excellent ear?
Like it has been proved before, parents greatly influence their child in several ways, one example being their personality. Annie Dillard’s mother influenced her and it can clearly be noticed through her writing. Dillard writes, “Hearing this, moved, I thought all the suffering of road building was worth it (it wasn't my suffering)” you can see a little bit of her humor when she says “it wasn’t my suffering”. Another example would be when she begins to roll play and says what was actually supposed to happen if the doctor fell for the joke. “The surgeon was supposed to answer, "Yes, my dear, brave woman, you will be able to play the piano after this operation," to which Mother intended to reply, "Oh, good, I've always wanted to play the piano."” Also, making it was corny as possible was her intention and it just makes it even more humorous.
2. In paragraph 2, Dillard recounts how her mother repeated the phrase "Terwilliger bunts one" for years after she first heard it, and at the most outrageous moments. In paragraphs 7 and 8, she discusses the names of a road and the effect they had on her and others. In paragraph 9, she writes about various "Pittsburghisms." How do these examples characterize the power of language to amuse, place, and even separate people? How is this essay in some ways more about language than about Dillard's mother?
3. What is the thesis of this essay?
The thesis of this essay is to inform the audience or the reader about how humorous and peculiar Annie Dillard’s mother was from everyone else, only to indirectly talk about herself.
[glow=red,2,300]
Language and Style[/glow]
1. What is phonetically appealing about "Terwilliger bunts one"; "royal poinciana" (paragraph b); "Tamiami Trail" (paragraph 7)? Read the phrases out loud as you consider sound here.
“Terwilliger”, “Poinciana” and “Tamiami Trail”, they all have phonetic transcription and phonetic spelling. Its almost like the lyrics and the melody of a song. They go together making the word itself sound smooth.
2. Note the powerful mixing of nouns and verbs in this series of sentences; "men stood sunk in muck to their armpits .... They blasted muck with dynamite, cut jungle with machetes; they laid logs, dragged drilling machines, hauled dredges, heaped limestone" (paragraph 7). How does the mixing of contrasting sounds, hard images, active verbs, and one- or two-syllable words invigorate the writing? Find other examples of this stylistic method.
By the mixing of contrasting sounds, hard images and active verbs, Dillard invigorates her writing by appealing to all of our senses. By using harsh words like “hauled”, “dragged” and “blasted” she paints a picture in our minds of the tough and grueling conditions the workers faced. Along with that, she makes us almost hear the blasting of the dynamites and the chopping sounds of the machetes through her diction. Another example would have to be “And off she sashayed, taking me firmly by the hand, and leading us around briskly past the monkey house and away. She thingyed an ear back, and both of us heard the desperate man begin, in a high-pitched wail, " I swear, I never saw her before in my life .. . . ".
3. Another feature of Dillard's writing is its specificity. The men weren't using an explosive; they used dynamite. The machines were drilling machines. The rock was limestone. Choose any paragraph in the essay and notice how specific her references are. Why is Dillard so careful to be specific?
Like all my English teachers always have said before “Be specific” and “Give details!” by doing so, it just makes it better writing. Without the use of descriptive adjectives, Dillard's writing would be boring and that’s what stands out and makes her such a great writer. She’s also careful to be specific because, we humans are always trying to find the easiest way out and it would be way easier to write machines, and rock and explosives unlike she did. If she wasn’t so careful writing would be ineffective and dull.
4. What stylistic devices does Dillard employ to create a humorous tone in this essay?
[glow=red,2,300]Strategy and Structure
[/glow]
1. While Dillard is interested in characterizing her mother, her subject is an American childhood, her childhood. Still, she focuses on her mother for many pages. We learn indirectly about Dillard's interest in language, her "know-it-all" attitude, her conditioning toward intellectual rigor and a questioning mind, as well as some of her politics. How effective is this approach? Why is her mother such a good model for Dillard's self-revelations?
Her approach is very effective and quite clever. Instead of plainly talking about her, she talks about her mother. Since Dillard’s mother and her have so much in common then its not a bad idea to talk about her. Also, through her sylistic devices she talks about herself.
2. Why doesn't Dillard ever tell us her mother's name? Is she failing to see her mother as an individual? What effect does it have on the readers' point of view?
Dillard doesn’t tell us her mother’s name because if she did then the essay wouldn’t be about her but about her mother. She talks about her mother to indirectly talk about herself. Therefore she isn’t failing to see her mother as an individual.
3. It is often said the people tend to remember best what comes first or last-in a poem, a movie, or a story. Since Dillard ends her essay with an account of her mother's insistence on a questioning, think-for-yourself kind of mind, she probably wants her readers particularly to remember this. Why? What is its significance to Dillard the writer?
Well according to what is said about how people tend to remember things that come in the beginning and the end of a movie or in this case an essay, Dillard does just that so that the audience can remember it. Since everyone is different, there can be thousands of different opinions on something. Its significance to Dillard is that it helps her direct her writing towards more people who can relate to it.