"American Tones"

   I think that voice in literature is your own way of talking and expressing things. Like, when you're speaking verbally, everyone has their own voice. Sometimes voices can be similar, but sometimes they're incredibly different, and I think this is true in literature as well.
    I don't think people intentionally create voices, it's just kind of who they are as a writer. They do this because that's how they are and what they've been around. Maybe we can tell where a writer is from, what their opinions are, what their age is all because of their voice.
    Voice distinguishes writers from each other and that's what makes writing so interesting. Different pieces of writing have different voices based on who the writer is and that's what makes it so significant.

Eleanor Rigby

1. I like the original version better than the first one. It was easier to listen to the words and it sounded a lot more positive. That type of music is what I like a lot more than the second one.
2. I thought that the originial was a lot more aesthetically pleasing than the PAIN song. The PAIN song sounds scary and it's just easier to listen to the Beatles.

Kadinsky vs. Pollock

1. I like the Kadinsky piece more than the Pollock. It's cooler looking because it has different colors and shapes and it feels like there's more to look into than just the shapes. It seems like there was more of a thinking process that went into it than the other one.
2. I think that the Pollock painting is more pleasing to look at. Even though it has darker, 'grosser' colors, you don't have to think much about it to look at it. It's more pleasing to look at because there wasn't as much thinking in it and looks the same throughout.

'Sign Language'

1. There are many little things that we don't see.
2. -That all the people holding signs know each other.
    - Ben is into the girl but the girl doesn't know.
    - There's beauty all around that we don't know about.
3. I don't think the guy should have explained as much as he did. If they were to just show the things they did, the single effect would've had more of an impact. I think that it means a lot with just the signs and that would've taken away all the clutter of what he was saying.

Harry Nilsson 'Good Old Desk'

S- Desk/God
O- 1972/3
A- General audience
P- Expressive
S- Harry Nilsson
Tone- Positive
    He's probably talking about someone who's not dependable or caring, but of course, his desk is dependable and hasn't ever hurt him. He can always count on his good old desk to be there for him.
Three instances of symbolism:
- "To keep my hopes alive"
- "It's always there"
- "A giant of all times"

Shooting an Elephant

SOAPSTone- Shooting an Elephant

Meredith Scroggin

Subject

The subject of George Orwell’s Shooting an Elephant is a man trying to make a decision. The conflicted man is illustrated through him making up his mind to shoot the elephant. He’s a man in a foreign country trying to make a decision of what to do with the wild elephant.

Occasion

Shooting an Elephant was written during a time of imperial power in Britain. The essay’s time of creation is illustrated when he explains that “[he] did not even know that the British empire [was] dying”. During this time period was when he wrote it and imperialism was rising. The probable place of the essay’s creation is in Burma. Orwell explains the Burmese and the people of Burma in his essay.

The time and place of the essay’s creation influence the essay by how effective the piece was. The very first sentence sets off the occasion of when and where he was writing it. He wrote this piece to explain his emotions for imperialism, and the fact that imperialism was happening where and when he was when he wrote this played a large role in how he wrote it.

Audience

George Orwell’s specific audience for Shooting an Elephant is people living in Britain at the time. The author’s target audience is identified by him explaining the thoughts and emotions of the people living there at the time. This support explains how the political issues affected his decisions and thoughts at the time to write for this audience that would be influenced by his writing.

The author’s general audience for the essay is the people that understand the political messages underlying in the piece. The author’s general audience is expressed by Orwell explaining how people didn’t like him because of his job. This support reveals the audience because everyone can relate to it.

Purpose

George Orwell’s purpose in Shooting an Elephant is to express his opinions about imperialism. His wanting to share his opinions is illustrated by “there were endless discussions about the shooting of the elephant.” The quote explains the controversy and abundance of opinions at the time. There were so many ideas and opinions at the time, and the shooting of the elephant was just one example.

Speaker

George Orwell, an English journalist, doesn’t believe in imperialism. This value is illustrated by him hating his job. His job was provided by an imperialist society and he hated it.

Orwell, one for social awareness, didn’t believe it was his job to shoot the elephant. This value is illustrated by him hesitating to shoot it. It explained his hatred of imperialism.

Tone

Orwell shows a strong and opinionated attitude about imperialism in Shooting an Elephant. These attitudes are expressed by his many symbols and feelings and emotions. They help explain his feelings toward these political subjects.

Art Response Journal

Introductory paragraph
    At the beginning of the 1950's, there were a lot of things happening. It was after WWII and from the 50's to the 70's, there were many social changes and movement in America. People of all sorts wanted rights and change in their country. Whether it be the civil rights movement or women's movement, people wanted change, and this sense of fighting for what you believed in dealt with looking to the future and not the past. But when you look at Rockwell's painting, those powerful, moving emotions aren't what you feel. Instead, you get the sense that they want the way things were: simple and easy. The people in his painting were satisfied with their lives and weren't fighting for change. Rockwell's "The Runaway" overlooks the fundamental rift that was rising in America throughout the 1950's- an emerging counter culture that was not concerned with how things were, but rather how they are.

"Across the Universe" by the Beatles

1. "A million suns"
    "Sounds of laughter, shades of life...exciting and inviting me."
    "Words are flying out like endless rain into a paper cup."
2. Where he says that words are flying out like endless rain into a paper cup, I imagine words shooting out of a paper cup. Even though that's not what he said, that's what I imagine. I think it's a symbol for when you blab out words and just keep talking.
    An angel has always been a symbl of perfection and peace.