UC Davis Pepper Spraying: a Symbolic Response to Occupy Wall Street BY Russell Amor
This article, when read, can strike up many different opinions. A person could wonder if they agree with Amor's idea that the policemen were simply acting on behalf of a higher power or if this act should be compared to the acts of Nazi soldiers. Amor evokes these questions by using diction, details, and syntax.
When you begin this article, you immediately know which side the author is on. Amor uses diction to portray his emotions about the event. Instead of using neutral words, Amor uses words such as "tragic" and "appalling" to describe the event in the first sentence of his article. Also, while voicing his opinion that the policemen were 'forced' to act this way by a higher power, he uses words such as "manipulate" and "compromise" to sway our opinions of the matter. While it may seem that these words are just used to describe how the situation happened, these words are actually affecting readers opinions because of their negative connotations. This connotation leads to further disappointment in the situation and affects the tone of the article as a whole.
The main focus of this article is Amor's comparison to the policemen's actions at Davis and the actions of others who were listening to authority figures. Amor makes this comparison very powerful by using details about how these past events are similar to the events this past week at Davis. Amor uses details about how authority affects people by saying "they must proceed" and that these people will respond this way "even if it compromises our [their] own personal vaules" allowing the reader to see that the act at UC Davis have been done before. These details provide Amor's piece with meaning by elaborating on his idea that these acts were "normal".
While reading this article, I felt as if the author was talking to me, explaining why these events happened while giving his opinion of the whole ordeal. The syntax in this piece gave me that personal and conversational feeling. The sentences were long, but had multiple breaks in them making it sound as if the author was speaking directly to me.
Amor's article portrays both his emotions and his theories about why this happened with the use of diction, detail, and synatx.
Overall, nice work! This piece of writing flows very well! You used great specific examples to support the point you were trying to make. The only suggestion I have would be to include an example for the syntax paragraph. Good job!
ReplyDeleteyou have some good examples.
ReplyDeleteYou may want to add more about syntax. Also i think you may need to focus some more on meaning and effect. Do not just say the diction explain it matters and so forth.
You used a lot of great examples here. But, to improve this response, you probably could have added more information about how these techniques connect to tone/mood/atmosphere or meaning. I like how you included your personal take on the piece though!
ReplyDelete