Close Reading 11/18

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/18/opinion/sunday/the-quiet-ones.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

The Quiet Ones

by Tim Kreider

This article by Tim Kreider is about Amtrak’s Quiet Car and his disapproval of the people who don’t follow the protocols of the Quiet Car.  The Quiet Car is the Car on Amtrak trains that requires everyone to be quiet so that people can focus on their work or sleep.  Kreider takes advantage of this car often, but has encountered many people who aren’t so considerate of the protocols.  Through anecdotes and the techniques of diction, syntax and details, Kreider shows his feelings towards the people who seem incapable of remaining quiet and the overall trend of things becoming louder.

            When talking about people who talk in the Quiet Car and the noise level in public places, Kreider uses pejorative diction.  This helps to show his disdain for the rising noise levels.  Kreider gives the example of the noisy Amtrak rider who “commences prattling on her cell phone the instant she sits down.”  The word “prattle” has a negative connotation suggesting that the passenger’s talking is insignificant and unnecessary.  Kreider also refers to the noise levels in public places as an “imbecilic din.”  The word “imbecilic” implies foolishness and is usually an insult.  By using pejorative diction when describing noise levels and talking, Kreider helps to show his opinion on the noise levels in public places.

            Kreider also uses figurative language to help prove his point. Kreider uses an analogy to help show the importance of the Quiet Car and to show why he has such strong opinions about keeping it quiet.  He compares the Quiet Car to a battleground, the last place where people who appreciate the quiet can stand up for their opinions.  Kreider describes the Quiet Car as “the Thermopylae, the Masada, the Fort McHenry of quiet.”  These three places he compares the Quiet Car to are places of great battles in history, which helps emphasize the importance of the Quiet Car.  Another example of figurative language is in one of Kreider’s his anecdotes.  He compares a couple that wouldn’t stop talking in the Quiet Car to “a grade-school cafeteria after the lunch monitor has yelled for silence.”  By comparing their talking to something as childish as an elementary school cafeteria, Kreider implies that the couple’s behavior on the train was childish.  He also describes the talking to be “as maddening as a dripping faucet at 3 a.m.”  This helps show Kreider’s disapproval of the couple’s talking on the train.

            The details that Kreider includes in this article also help him convey his message.  When explaining how people are louder, he mentions how people complain “at length and in detail about their divorces or gallbladders.”  This detail shows how people now talk about anything, even something as irrelevant to other people as your gallbladder.  Kreider also writes about the library and how they “now have music and special segregated areas designated for ‘quiet study’”.  This detail helps him to show how noise levels have increased significantly by showing how a place that is typically thought of as a silent place now has constant noise and is only quiet in specific places.  These details all help to show how the noise levels are increasing and how Kreider doesn’t appreciate the increased noise levels. 

            Through his anecdotes and use of details, diction and syntax, Kreider effectively show the reader his feelings towards people who talk in the Quiet Car.  He also shows his feeling about the importance of quiet and as a result, his frustration towards the increasing noise levels in public places.

Open Prompt 11/11

1980. A recurring theme in literature is the classic war between a passion and responsibility. For instance, a personal cause, a love, a desire for revenge, a determination to redress a wrong, or some other emotion or drive may conflict with moral duty. Choose a literary work in which a character confronts the demands of a private passion that conflicts with his or her responsibilities. In a well-written essay show clearly the nature of the conflict, its effects upon the character, and its significance to the work.

            Love sometimes causes people to do crazy things.  It’s almost like a drug that causes people to forget all reasoning and common sense and instead, do whatever they desire.  For the main character, Winston Smith, in the novel 1984 by George Orwell, this is exactly what happens.  Winston lives in a country that is controlled by a totalitarian government.  Everyone is monitored and if the government senses you are out of line, you disappear.  Winston lives a life dutifully going to his job changing the records and doesn’t question the government, containing his rebellious thoughts for fear of being killed by the government.  He falls in love with Julia, a woman he meets and begins to rebel.  Winston’s love of Julia causes him to forget his responsibilities required to survive and creates the main conflict of the novel.

            Winston Smith, a worker for the outer party, falls in love with Julia, a worker for the inner party.  Both Winston and Julia decide to have a relationship even though it is dangerous.  They sneak out to spend time together in the woods, they find a room above an antique shop where they think there is no telescreen and have gatherings and talk about overthrowing the government.  Unfortunately, all of the things they do together are illegal; even talking to each other is illegal.  Despite this, Winston and Julia continue to meet because they love each other so much.  They take risks that eventually lead to their downfall.

            For Winston, this relationship allows him to become bolder and more assertive about his feelings.  He remembers a time when Big Brother didn’t rule over everyone and things were less terrifying.  He remembers a time when thinking a rebellious thought wasn’t illegal.  However, because he works for the government, he must keep these thoughts private and cannot show even a glimpse of what he is thinking.  In order to stay alive, no one can know that he is committing “Thoughtcrime.”  Instead, he just writes them in a journal.  When he meets Julia, he begins to open up and talk about his thoughts.  He also begins committing more crimes as he meets with Julia.  He knows that he is risking his life, but this passion causes him to forget reason and pursue his love. 

            This love between Winston and Julia becomes the main conflict of the book.  They sneak away somewhere, hoping not to get caught by the Thought Police.  There is an uncertainty of whether they will get caught and what will happen when they do.  Winston and Julia are constantly trying to contain themselves and act normal when they know they are committing treason.  When finally caught, they are told to betray their lover.  At first they resist, but in the end, they betray each other and become loyal followers of Big Brother.  The passion of Winston and Julia creates a conflict with their responsibilities as members of society.

Response to Course Material 11/4

Once again, we have covered a lot of material in the past month.  Lately, we have been focusing on tone.  One of the things that we have been doing since the beginning of the year are tone word challenges.  I like doing these challenges because they help clarify some of the words.  I have heard of most of these words, but I don't know what all of them mean.  I now know the difference between "ambivalent", "apathetic" and "indifferent."  I used to think that these words were all interchangeable with one another, but when Holmes explained how they were different, it became clear to me how they were actually very different.

We also worked on tone with the reading in our textbook.  Chapter 4 and 5 were helpful because they provided examples of how tone towards a specific subject can be very different.  I thought it was interesting to see all of the different feelings towards America and the American Dream. 

Speaking of the American Dream, we wrapped up our discussions on The American Dream and moved on to The Death of a Salesman.   Now that we have discussed several aspects of The American Dream, everything is a lot clearer now and I kind of like it.  When we first started with this play, I didn't like it because it didn't make any sense and had a very strange style.  I think my problem was that when I'm reading, I'm used to just looking at the plot and nothing else, however, this doesn't work with The American Dream because it's written in such a bizarre style and the focus of the play isn't the plot.  When I stepped back to look at the writing style instead of just the plot, everything became much more fascinating.  With The Death of a Salesman, I am trying to not focus on the plot so much and to instead, notice the way the play is written.