10: advertising analysis: sample
association: youth (wildness), freedom, purity
how to structure:
- obvious to subtle?
- general to specific?
- different aspects of association?
- follow the eye line
structuring my paragraph:
- target audience
- picture
- models
- layout
- color
- language
In this advertisement for American Eagle Oufitters clothing, the association is with a pure and youthful freedom. The target audience is clearly young people, probably targeted toward women more than men. The image itself shows a romantic couple riding a Vespa scooter. The Vespa is associated with young people on holiday, and the fact that they are portrayed as riding against an open sky with a bit of forest in the right hand bottom corner reinforces the freedom of the image. Their lack of helmets both signals a lack of restriction and allows the viewer to see their wild hair floating in the open air. The fact that the woman is driving the scooter indicates that she is in control, and that combination of control and a wild euphoria indicated by the open-mouthed smile appeals to the target audience. The models are both young, healthy and have long hair; their clothing is nearly identical emphasizing a sort of equality between the man and woman. This emphasizes the power of the woman, again targeting the female consumer. (Skipping to the language.) The advertisement has the slogan 'Live your life,' which is a idiom or an aphorism: a motto for a person's life. The ad then appears to have an inspirational or life-affirming purpose and reinforces the message of the image: that the purpose of life is to be free and have adventures. The motto uses alliteration to make it more memorable and the use of the logo of the flying eagle as the 'V' to further associate the message with freedom.
Note: as I was writing, I noticed a tension between the wholesome, natural freedom (blue sky, vespa vs. motorcycle) and a sort of wildness (orange text, the girl's face). I could change the structure of my paragraph to reflect that.
10: war poetry resources
Here is the class's poetry technique notes.
Here is the assignment.
Some links to some online collections:
- poems of war and remembrance: a broad collection of war poems.
- poems about war: poets.org offer a collection on the sidebar and some commentary in an article.
- sonnets of world war I: a collection of a dozen or so sonnets by various poets.
- 20th century poetry and war: from Learn Peace, a collection of anti-war poems.
- war poetry today: a messy collection. Use at your own risk.
a few 1984 resources
A map of the world of the novel:
A diagram of social classes in Airstrip One. It is roughly how the social classes broke down in 1948 London.
And some 1984-inspired music:
12: censorship of Huck Finn
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Huckleberry Finn Censorship | ||||
| ||||
10: the statement of intent
A sample:
story idea: students studying for an exam; theme: civilization is wicked and a waste of time. students realizing their education is about a bunch of useless information that makes them good employees but nothing else
statement of intent:
I wanted to write a story that showed a similar attitude toward society as is reflected in AQWF. In the novel, soldiers come to realize the limitations and weaknesses of civilization because of the stress they are under as a result of combat. That leads them to have conversations about their own situation and their place in society, like in chapter # just before the visit of the Kaiser, and also when Paul discusses his own future and the alienation from the past. I thought that students studying for a big exam would feel a similar sort of pressure that would lead them to ask questions about what they are doing and their place in civilization. I wanted the students to have a variety of views as the soldiers did, and that is why I included the argument between Javier and Laura and the knife fight at the end. The students’ issues are not as extreme, and their conclusions are not exactly the same, but I have raised the same issues about civilization as Remarque does in the novel.
a possible outline:
- what else do we need to know to understand the text?
- what was the main idea?
- where in the novel did you find it?
- briefly, how did you execute it?
10: conclusions
a sample:
thesis:
In All Quiet On the Western Front, human nature is portrayed as animal-like and indifferent to others.
conclusion:
Remarque presents a pessimistic view of human nature, but there are other ways of seeing the basic nature of individuals. While the novel argues that the nature of humanity exposed in war is the ‘true’ nature and the civilized nature is just a façade, others might say that human behaviour is purely social and reflects the context in which it occurs. In this view, no one set of behaviours is ‘truer’ or reflective of a core human nature than any other: they are all just different actions. Indeed, it is possible to say that there is no such thing as human nature at all, just a series of blundering acts based on the situations in which we find ourselves.
7: Oliver Twist paragraphs assignment
The assignment is here.
Download a paragraph planning sheet.
Look at a list of transitions.
Download a paragraph planning sheet.
Look at a list of transitions.
what is the question? | |||
What quality is important in a person and why? | |||
your topic sentence: | |||
In Oliver Twist, having a sense of humor is important because it helps people deal with the unfairness of life. | |||
key words from topic sentence to be used in explanation of examples | |||
humor | unfairness | ||
transition | |||
for example | |||
example 1 | |||
Dodger is always funny: funny words, teases Charlie, etc. (pg. #) | |||
explanation of example 1 | |||
Dodger shows humor. He is mistreated by Fagin but responds with humor and we like him as a character. | |||
transition | |||
Another example | |||
example 2 | |||
Grimwig is funny (examples will be funny stuff he says) | |||
explanation of example 2 | |||
Grimwig believes Oliver is bad because people usually are; deals with pessimism with humor | |||
wrap-up if needed | |||
the world in the play is tough, and is best dealt with through humor | |||
what is the question? | |||
Why is it important to have a sense of humor in the real world? | |||
your topic sentence: | |||
In the real world, a sense of humor helps a person deal with difficult situations. | |||
key words from topic sentence to be used in explanation of examples | |||
transition | |||
example 1 | |||
Students who have a mean teacher make jokes about it | |||
explanation of example 1 | |||
transition | |||
example 2 | |||
movie | |||
explanation of example 2 | |||
wrap-up if needed | |||
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