Reading Critically

In this passage, the author dexcribes a certain way to read that will benefit the reader's understanding of the text. To read critically, the first step is to find a quiet place to read without any distractions like TV or music. Before you start reading a piece of writing you can take in the information that is given to you already, like the title, which can reveal the author's tone, purpose, subject, method, or thesis. It is also a good idea to try and think of all the information that you know about the author because this will help you guess something about the writing before you even start reading. Looking at where a work is found can tell you who the piece's audience is as well. Knowing when the piece was written can also give you some insight to understanding it. Once you start reading, if you come across a word that you don't know, you shouldn't stress about it. Try to figure out what it means from its context. Also, if you read with a pencil, you can circle the words you don't know, as well as marking up the writing with your thoughts or questions about the text. After reading a work, you should summarize it to be sure that you understand it. Critical thinking includes operations such as analysis, inference, synthesis, and evaluation. It will also help you to ask questions about the work like, "What is the writer's purpose?" These questions will help you better understand a work of literature.

"Young Life" by Bo Bartlett

Claim: The older man and woman are dating. Fact: The woman is hugging the man.
Claim: The painting is trying to show the recklessness of young people. Fact: The man is holding a rifle and the boy is holding the stick in a defensive pose.
Claim: The man wants to show off. Fact: He has the deer displayed on top of the truck instead of in the truck bed.

In the painting, "Young Life," by Bo Bartlett, the older man has a strong sense of pride and wants to flaunt his achievements. He has the deer on display on the top of truck insteads of in the bed of the truck. Most people would have a first instinct to put the deer in the bed of the truck so that the deer would not fall off. Having the deer on the roof of the truck would allow everyone who passes the truck to see and appreciate the hunted deer, thus gaining the man glory.

"Eleanor Rigby" : Beatles vs. Dubstep

I prefer the classic version over the Dubstep version of "Eleanor Rigby" because I don't like it when songs are made to sound different from what they were originally intended to be. Also, in the original, you can hear more of the instrumentation, instead of hearing them in the background covered up by electronic, synthesized sounds. Although the Dubstep version was interesting to listen to, I still prefer the original.
I feel like more people would prefer the Beatles version just because it is The Beatles, but if it was just based on the sound of the song, more people would like the Dubstep version. This song would appeal to more people because it has a more pop-y, almost dance-like tone to it.

Kandinsky vs. Pollock

I prefer the Jackson Pollock painting over the Kandinsky painting because of the technique used to create it. By splattering the paint, he creates images that aren't realistic in any way and he can't control much of how the painting will end up looking except for the colors. It is much more spontaneous than the Kandinsky, which is obviously more planned out.
However, the Kandinsky is more pleasing to look at and would be more appealing to the majority of people. The bright colors attract many people and the curves and swirls make it look silly and exciting. This is easier for people to look at than the dark, mysterious Pollock painting.

"Sign Language"

The single effect from this short film is that there is so much opportunity under our noses that we don't go after.

•  Ben obviously wants to go talk to Anya working across the street, but he won't do it.
• The sign on the street flashed wait, which made it seem like it was telling Ben to wait and not say anything to Anya.
• At the end, however, his watch started beeping, telling him to go talk to Anya and not wait any longer.

If I could change one aspect of this short film, it would be the quick shots of all the other things going on around Ben. This wouldn't be a positive change, however, because it would take away some of the meaning of the single effect.

Shooting an Elephant

The subject of George Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" is a man who struggles with his own morals and the peer pressure of the Burmese to shoot a rogue elephant. His struggles to make the right decision are illustrated because he has difficulty making the right decision because he knows that the elephant most likely won't hurt him but he thought he would look like a fool to the Burmese people if he just let the elephant be.

"Shooting an Elephant" was written in 1936, several years after the elephant-shooting incident had happened. The essay's time of creation is conveyed by the fact that the British had control over Burma at the time this essay was written. The probable place of the essay's creation is in Britain. Orwell would have had time to process the events that happened in Burma and come back home to write this essay about the horrible thing that he witnessed.

George Orwell's specific audience for "Shooting an Elephant" is the people who implement imperialism. The author's target audience is exhibited by his pointed display that imperialism is a detrimental system. He tries to make these people feel remorse for implementing this by showing the pain and suffering of the elephant.

George Orwell's purpose in "Shooting an Elephant" is to show that imperialism is a detrimental system. The pain that imperialism causes is illustrated by the elephant itself. The elephant is reckless and destructive, killing people and destroying villages. This shows that imperialism is not a reliable system and can cause harm to the people living in it.

George Orwell, after witnessing the death of this elephant, believes that it would be hard to take down imperialism, but it must be done because it is harmful to societies. This value is illustrated by the elephant's long, painful death. When the elephant is shot, it's strong facade fades and it starts to show all its weaknesses, like imperialism.

George Orwell articulates a feeling of remorse about the shooting of the elephant, but also a feeling that justice has been done. Even though the shooter was reluctant to kill the elephant, you feel as if it had to be done, because if the elephant stayed alive, it would have continued to hurt the village and the people living within it. This represents imperialism perfectly.

Harry Nilsson's "Good Old Desk"

Subject: God
Occasion: the speaker is relying on God
Audience: people who also put their faith in God
Purpose: to show that one's faith can be put in God because he is sturdy like a desk
Speaker: a person who loves and appreciates God
Tone: comforting, appreciative

This song is talking about the reliability of God by comparing Him to the sturdiness of an old desk. Knowing that this song is talking about God doesn't change my impression of it that much because I already thought of it as being comforting and talking about something reliable, which is what God means in my mind.

"It's waiting there for me to keep my hopes alive"
"It's always there it's the one thing I've got"
"It's dependable and slow"

Rockwell's "The Runaway"

In the 1950's, Rockwell made painting that held messages about the culture in America. This painting shows that the counter culture occurring in America wasn't taking over. The little boy in the scene is happily chatting with the police officer, which is the opposite of what counter culture was all about. Rockwell's "The Runaway" overlooks the fundamental rift that was rising in America throughout the 1950s - an emerging counter culture that was not concerned with how things were in America but rather how they are.

"Across the Universe" The Beatles

Three of the images from this song were:
"Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes"
"Pools of sorrow waves of joy"
"Words are flying out like endless rain into a paper cup"
The third image symbolizes the words that keep coming from an inspirational person. The rain symbolizes wisdom. One symbol in my life would be the symbol of the Deathly Hallows  that represents my love of Harry Potter. The three aspects of the symbol don't just represent the images from the story, but they also represent the different aspects of all of the Harry Potter culture. They represent the books/movies, the parodies, and the music made for Harry Potter.