Darkness and Death, No Magic to Help
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/27/books/book-review-the-casual-vacancy-by-j-k-rowling.html
In this article there is great diction detail. Michiko Kakutani's use of diction really helps create the mood for the book review. Her word choice is wonderful and while she is saying that this isn't a good book, I am still sort of interested in reading it.
Kakutani doesn't just come out right away and say this is an awful book, don't read it. She starts off with detail and compares The Casual Vacancy to Harry Potter. The comparisons made throughout this article help with adding detail and it isn't just a review saying "this is bad, don't read it." The comparisons give you a reason and something that says "J.K. Rowling can write better than this." In the second to last paragraph, Kakutani explains some of the characters in the book to show you how these characters have no past, nothing behind them to help you through the book. And in the last paragraph, she still compares The Casual Vacancy to Harry Potter and how much better Harry Potter was.
Throughout this whole article, Kakutani's word choice brings you closer and closer to the idea that this isn't a good book. In the second paragraph she writes "Unfortunately, the real-life world she has limned in these pages is so willfully banal, so depressingly cliched that 'The Casual Vacancy' is not only disappointing -- it's dull." The word choice in this sentence alone captures the tone of this review. She uses not only the more sophisticated words, but the less sophisticated ones also. It's a good mixture. The words and phrases such as "limned", "willfully banal", and "depressingly cliched"show Kakutani's dislike for this book, and it makes you dislike it as well, and you probably haven't even read the book.
I could spend all day writing about how her diction brings this review together, and all about how great her word choice is. But I won't bore you with that. Read the article yourself and you will see the diction in this review. And how it affects your thoughts and feelings.
I like the examples of diction you gave like "limned". I would suggest that you incorporate other techniques like syntax or imagery that you found in the article. Since this is heavily focuses on diction, I think the adding other techniques will add to your writing. I liked your personal thoughts on article which shows how you were actively reading the article.
ReplyDeleteAgain, you need to work harder on organization--there's no thesis. The first paragraph is kind of confusing to me; I'm not sure what part of DIDLS you're talking about. You only really have diction in this; even in analyzing diction you need to go further. Pick out the meanings of individual words and discuss their negative or positive connotations. Your last paragraph doesn't really make sense. Would you tell the AP test graders that you're "won't bore" them with your essay? I think you picked a great article and you analyze this on a surface level, but you need to think about your organization before you begin writing and have a more professional tone.
ReplyDeleteLast month, your peer reviewers commented that you needed more evidence, clearly tied to a central argument. You do have more examples this time and (despite what Ben says,) a clear thesis. But the assignment is to use at least three of the DIDLS techniques in your analysis and to have a thesis related to the author's tone. For next month, let's focus on a formal third-person argument (no "I," "me," etc.) with a thesis that makes a claim that the author uses some specific tone. Then several paragraphs that each begin with a separate claim (topic) sentence clearly related to your thesis. Each paragraph should be fully developed with AT LEAST three pieces of specific textual evidence, and that evidence should be clearly explained with well-reasoned warrants.
ReplyDelete