Post by ashandacisag on Mar 11, 2009 21:39:35 GMT -5
An American Childhood,” written by Annie Dillard, is a piece that focuses on aspects of the author’s mother. The thesis of this story is to pay attention to your parents because they’re actions will reflect you in you’re your life. By reading this short story, one can point out that the author’s mother is very fond of sarcasm. Like mother like daughter; Annie developed sarcastic characteristics too. When the author was talking about the road that connected Tampa to Miami, she stated, “Then, capping it all, some genius thought of the word Tamiami,” as if it really took a genius to merge the two words together. By learning about Dillard’s mother I got to further understand Dillard because it showed for one, that she admired her mother’s sarcasm. By the way Dillard complimented her mom’s intelligence and energy; one can tell that she viewed her mother as an idol.
The author uses the power of language to show how it affects people. In paragraph five where she talks about “Terwilliger bunts one” she turns it into amusement by stating all of the random occasions her mother would say these “surprising string of syllables.” One thing that contributes to humor is taking something out of the norm, and putting it into a situation in the norm. Like a hillbilly at a congressional meeting; it’s funny to think of some things that just don’t fit. The author even talks about how language separates people. She implies that some accents are just easy to spot by stating normal “Pittsburghism" talk. If you heard someone say “Hey mon,” Jamaica comes to mind, or “Crainky mate,” one would think of Australia. Language plays a big role in its placing of people.
This essay is more about language than it is about Dillard’s mother. One can tell this by the use of diagzeugma, personal anecdotes, and horational sarcasm. The author uses all of these things and structures her sentences together in an effective way that is comical to the readers. Another thing that contributes to this excerpt being about language is the usage of words. The author notes certain words such as, Terwilliger bunts one, Tamiami Trail, and royal poinciana. The notation of these words contributes to the funniness of her mother finding pleasure in saying them. When the author uses diagzeugma in paragraph seven, it’s effective because it’s a run on of visual images that can be painted clearly in the reader’s mind. The author also uses this rhetoric method when she states “She excelled at bridge, playing fast and boldly, but when the stakes were low and the hands dull, she bid slams for the devilment of it, or raised her opponents' suit to bug them, or showed her hand, or tossed her cards in a handful behind her back in a characteristic swift motion accompanied by a vibrantly innocent look.” In this sentence the author uses great details. She emphasizes that her mom was a skilled bridge player by showing that she played fast, boldly, bid slams, raised her opponent’s suit, tossed her cards behind her back in swift motion, and kept an innocent look. These details are important because they contribute to being a great bridge player. If she were slow with moving the cards, that would imply that she were a beginner, but since she could toss her cards behind her back in swift motion, that contributes to the idea that she was skilled. This series of visual images make the scenario more vivid than just saying “my mom was good at playing bridge.”
Dillard shows the reader that at times we may think that we know it all but we really don’t. It’s effective because it tells the reader that sometimes you just have to sit back and takes notes from someone else, and that’s what Dillard did. Her mom’s personality can definitely be shown through this essay because the essay was comprised of mild sarcasm, just her like her mother.
It’s questionable why the author did not mention her mother’s name, but my opinion on that matter is that the author had already given us so much of a description of her mother’s personality that her name isn’t relevant. Think about it, issuing out her mother’s name would have not contributed to the story. I’m glad Dillard didn’t do that, not only would it have been ineffective, but it would have taken away from the humor of the story. What if her mom’s name was Princess? Princess’s not a cool name, when I hear Princess I don’t think of funny, I think of a spoiled rich brat, therefore not giving her mother's name was a smart decision.
The significance of the last sentence to Dillard is that her mother was a woman who went against odds, so (one can tell by her use of weird statements like “Terwilliger bunts one”) she knows that if ever the time came where she has to stand for something that is right, she will have to do it, and Dillard wants us to know that too. Like when she talked about how her mom would hide checker chips when they were playing for fun, but as soon as a real competition rolled around she would show her real skills. The author wants us to know that when the time comes you must take your stand.
The thesis of this essay is pay attention to your parents because they’re actions will reflect you in you’re your life.
The author uses the power of language to show how it affects people. In paragraph five where she talks about “Terwilliger bunts one” she turns it into amusement by stating all of the random occasions her mother would say these “surprising string of syllables.” One thing that contributes to humor is taking something out of the norm, and putting it into a situation in the norm. Like a hillbilly at a congressional meeting; it’s funny to think of some things that just don’t fit. The author even talks about how language separates people. She implies that some accents are just easy to spot by stating normal “Pittsburghism" talk. If you heard someone say “Hey mon,” Jamaica comes to mind, or “Crainky mate,” one would think of Australia. Language plays a big role in its placing of people.
This essay is more about language than it is about Dillard’s mother. One can tell this by the use of diagzeugma, personal anecdotes, and horational sarcasm. The author uses all of these things and structures her sentences together in an effective way that is comical to the readers. Another thing that contributes to this excerpt being about language is the usage of words. The author notes certain words such as, Terwilliger bunts one, Tamiami Trail, and royal poinciana. The notation of these words contributes to the funniness of her mother finding pleasure in saying them. When the author uses diagzeugma in paragraph seven, it’s effective because it’s a run on of visual images that can be painted clearly in the reader’s mind. The author also uses this rhetoric method when she states “She excelled at bridge, playing fast and boldly, but when the stakes were low and the hands dull, she bid slams for the devilment of it, or raised her opponents' suit to bug them, or showed her hand, or tossed her cards in a handful behind her back in a characteristic swift motion accompanied by a vibrantly innocent look.” In this sentence the author uses great details. She emphasizes that her mom was a skilled bridge player by showing that she played fast, boldly, bid slams, raised her opponent’s suit, tossed her cards behind her back in swift motion, and kept an innocent look. These details are important because they contribute to being a great bridge player. If she were slow with moving the cards, that would imply that she were a beginner, but since she could toss her cards behind her back in swift motion, that contributes to the idea that she was skilled. This series of visual images make the scenario more vivid than just saying “my mom was good at playing bridge.”
Dillard shows the reader that at times we may think that we know it all but we really don’t. It’s effective because it tells the reader that sometimes you just have to sit back and takes notes from someone else, and that’s what Dillard did. Her mom’s personality can definitely be shown through this essay because the essay was comprised of mild sarcasm, just her like her mother.
It’s questionable why the author did not mention her mother’s name, but my opinion on that matter is that the author had already given us so much of a description of her mother’s personality that her name isn’t relevant. Think about it, issuing out her mother’s name would have not contributed to the story. I’m glad Dillard didn’t do that, not only would it have been ineffective, but it would have taken away from the humor of the story. What if her mom’s name was Princess? Princess’s not a cool name, when I hear Princess I don’t think of funny, I think of a spoiled rich brat, therefore not giving her mother's name was a smart decision.
The significance of the last sentence to Dillard is that her mother was a woman who went against odds, so (one can tell by her use of weird statements like “Terwilliger bunts one”) she knows that if ever the time came where she has to stand for something that is right, she will have to do it, and Dillard wants us to know that too. Like when she talked about how her mom would hide checker chips when they were playing for fun, but as soon as a real competition rolled around she would show her real skills. The author wants us to know that when the time comes you must take your stand.
The thesis of this essay is pay attention to your parents because they’re actions will reflect you in you’re your life.