Practice Diction Analysis

J. D. Salinger's coarse and personal language in Catcher in the Rye creates an informal characterization of the narrator and his circumstances that is easy to relate to. The uncensored and colloquial words used in this excerpt are blunt and common in elevation. The narrator references David Copperfield by stating that his childhood was full of that "kind of crap," which underscores the idea that the narrator himself is part of the hoi polloi. The language most often has a negative connotation, including a phrase the describes certain characters as, "touchy as hell." The narrator's tone is resentful toward his own circumstances, of which he obviously has poor impressions. The language lacks any sort of mellifluous musicality, the sounds are dull and discordant. They too convey the narrator's "crumby" perspective on others' lives and successes.

New Zealand

Well, this is the first post I've ever made about New Zealand, and I thought it appropriate considering the title of my blog.

New Zealand won the Rugby World Cup yesterday! France lost 8-7 to this mighty island nation that once ruled over Oceania, but now holds the world in the palm of its highly skilled and athletic hand.

Currently

Week 1 Q2

The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Pages this week: 101
Pages last week: 109
Pages this semester: 987

1) It is written like an infuriated tirade, with no hint of class. (A Scrap of Parchment)
2)Up Your Score on the other hand, speaks with a mixture of intricate words and slang pop-culture references that are very punctuated, straightforward at times, but somewhat suggestive, and often light. (Contemplations) 
3) Ron McLarthy's novel "the Memory of Running" is common and lacking picturesque, very bland and basic. (Case 1)
4) On the other hand, in the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, a more blunt and vulgar form of diction is used. (bill963)
5) This book takes place in the 1800's so naturally the diction and language is more formal and musical. (UNDERWATER)

Explanations

1. I really like this comparison. I'm not completely sure what's meant by an "infuriated trade," but it sort of makes sense.
2. The contrast explained in this sentence caught my attention. Intricate mix of words, but still a straightforward and light tone.
3. I think the way it's described as "lacking a picturesque nature" was innovative.
4. I can relate, I think this book is described well, seeing as I've also read it. I would agree.
5. I found it interesting that this blog related the sound of the language to the setting of the novel. I guess we don't talk or write as elegantly or as musically as people did in the 1800's.

Style Mapping

The three excerpts I will be comparing today are from Neil Gaiman's Stardust, Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian and Cormac McCarthy's No Country For Old Men. The language Gaiman uses in Stardust is not intricate or fancy, but rather plain. The writing is formal, descriptive, yet not eye-catching. A few adjectives could be categorized as elevated language, but as a whole, the passage falls in the middle of the gamut. Some predictable repetition of words occurs, creating neither a harsh, coarse sound, nor a melodious one. Thus, with this indifferent word choice, the passage is denotative; no suggestions are made about positive or negative meanings. Cormac McCarthy, on the other hand, has written various novels in various styles on various ends of the spectrum. Blood Meridian is written in ornate and unique language, and employs the use of several elevated adjectives and profoundly original nouns. It is much more connotative in language than Gaiman's selection, the words are used to portray either a negative image of the harsh effects of the elements of nature, or a positive, charismatic image of a simple country boy. The passage has a slight musicality to it, the words and the images they create are soothing in a way. However, a passage from one of McCarthy's other books, No Country For Old Men, is vastly different. The language is rough and coarse in order to portray the common colloquialisms of southern Texas. Often times, the words used by the narrator are denotative, as most of the opinions are given through character dialogue. In this piece, in contrast to the first two excerpts, the language gives a harsh, southern sound, because it fits the setting and the themes of the novel.

Kurt Vonnegut, The Man and The Song

I have now decided to read Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. It's a bit of a change of pace from my last book. I actually picked out this book in a unique way, no one recommended it to me. I've recently been listening to the band Born Ruffians, and one of my favorite songs by them is called "Kurt Vonnegut". When I saw this book on Mr. Hill's shelf, I did sort of a double take, because I had no idea he was an author up until that moment. How ignorant of me. I went home and googled Kurt Vonnegut, and found that he'd written a great many books. So, I've decided to read this book because if he's a good enough author to inspire that great of a song, which I recommend you all listen to, then I ought to at least try reading one of his books.

Back to Earth

I just finished reading The Five People You Meet in Heaven this morning. I thought it was pretty good. It was a happy ending, I mean, how can it not be? The whole book is set in heaven, kind of. It was interesting. Albom has a real imagination and an interesting perspective on possible lessons we'll all learn after we die. It's not super cheesy or philosophical or anything, there's a definite plot line to the story. There had to be for the author to keep the reader's attention. The main character learns that even though he messed up and killed an innocent little girl in WWII, he made up for it the rest of his life by keeping kids safe on amusement park rides. It works out, I guess. The big theme of the novel is that everything you do, and every person you meet affects you, and affects everyone else. It's all one big story. Life that is.

Quarterly

I have been pretty challenged so far in my reading for Etymology, just because sometimes I struggle to find time to read 100 pages a week. As a result, it's pretty important that I read something that catches my attention and is fairly easy to get through, just so it doesn't feel like another homework assignment that I should just get done with, and not worry about anymore. I try to pick books that aren't all that challenging to read, but at the same time, I don't like books that don't give me any sense of accomplishment. I like the feeling I get when I have learned something from a book, or when it made me think of something in a new way, instead of just feeling like I read a meaningless story. I find myself reading for this class most often between about 8 and 11 pm, about 2 or 3 times a week. It works pretty well for me. For the rest of the semester, I would like to pick books that have some sort of literary significance, just so that if they ever came up in conversation, or even on a test, I wouldn't be in the dark about them.