Question one
Identify two passages from the essay where the author uses description effectively. For each passage, explain the impact or effect of this description.
“My son is almost fifteen years old, the size of a grown man, and when he bursts into room glassware rattles and the cat on your lap grabs on to your knees and leaps from the starting block.”
This passage not only presents to the reader the physical qualities of the son, but also effectively describes to the audience the behavior and the personality of the son. It through the description of how the son behaves that the reader is able to understand that the son has a lot of energy and vigor in how he behaves and handles issues.
“Pull on the jeans, a shirt with brilliant-red roses, a pair of Red Wing boots. A denim jacket. Rose-tinted glasses. A cowboy hat. Or an engineer’s cap. Or, instead of jeans, bib overalls. Or white trousers with blue stripes.”
This passage gives an excellent description of some of the fashion styles that were common able the youth of the 1960s. The author goes ahead to event give an opinion about how he really felt about the fashion styles of the time. For example, the author writes that the shirt had brilliant red roses. This indicates that the author introduces an opinionated description of how he felt about the red roses of the time. The language that is used in describing this fashion of the sixties in the passage illustrates the level of nostalgia that the author has as he remembers of the past.
Question 2
This essay uses a narrative framework where a story involving a father and a son is told. This story is relayed through a first person point of view—the pronoun “I” is used. Explain why you think the author chose to write from a first person point of view.
Question 3
Choose one passage from “Something from the Sixties” that serves as an example of an idea. Explain the passage and how it exemplifies the concept.
“Now the dark-green Chinese Army cap. And an orange tie with hula dancers and palm trees.”
This passage drawn from the story serves as an example of the ideas that characterized society at the time. It was during the sixties that the United States and the Soviets were involved in the Cold war. The reference to the Chinese Army Cap brings out the concept of the Cold War as the United States engaged in various battles in order to contain the spread of communism to places such as China. Therefore, this passage brings out the social dynamics and information that was in the mass media and social networks in the sixties.
Question 4
The thesis in this essay is not explicitly stated. Still, the essay has a strong clear message. What is this message?
The overarching message that this essay presents is the idea that the sixties was a crucial time for the United States and the rest of the world. Therefore, current generation have many things that they can learn about this period which includes but not limited to fashion and history.
Question 5
In my opinion, the intended audience is the youth of today’s generation. The author of this essay is of the view that there are important facts and lessons that the youth of today can lean about the sixties and how this period has shaped society today.
Question 6
Identify and explain two devices (techniques) used in the essay. You may wish to choose from the following list: metaphor, simile, imagery, symbolism, allusion, repetition, allusion, dialogue.
Some of the stylistic devices that are used in this story include dialogue. For example the author brings out some of the conversations that he had with his son regarding the fashions of the sixties. “Who wore this? He asked. I said that I did. Did you really? This? You?” This is a good example of how dialogue is used within the story. Imagery is the other stylistic device that is employed in this story. For example, the author describes some of the fashions of the sixties in detail. This is meant to create an imagery of how people looked like in the sixties. For example, the author writes that “Pull on the jeans, a shirt with brilliant-red roses, a pair of Red Wing boots. A denim jacket. Rose-tinted glasses” (Kingsbury 38). This is meant to create imagery among the readers and audiences of this story.
PART B
Question one
Write a narrative paragraph that could be the first paragraph of an essay entitled “Roadtrip across Canada”; OR, “A Weekend at the Cottage”; OR, Hurricane.
The sun shone steadily in the horizon and the city of Cincinnati, Ohio could be seen in the horizon. I looked at my sister and I would see the joy in her eyes. Neither of us had travelled outside the United States. This was going to be one of the major road trips that we had ever taken in our lives. My father was always a good driver and we knew all was well as we cruised down the interstate. We were two hours away from the US- Canadian border. I could not wait to see some of the artworks of the cultures of the first nations of Canada. I had only read about them in novels.
Question two
Write a paragraph that uses example as its main strategy. Your paragraph should be 5-6 sentences in length. Choose one of the following topics for your paragraph: how who you are as a student is an example of who you are as a person; OR, how the holiday season that occurs every December is an example of lavish consumerism; OR, the life of a student at a busy time in term.
Thomas Friedman has always been among my favorite authors. His criticism of the American consumerist culture has always drawn me to his readings. However, I often fail to consider myself as being consumerist. It is not until recently that I begin to think of the ways that I as an individual contribute to the consumerist culture of the American culture. I have tried to think of a good example and have come to realize that holiday seasons are examples of times that I consume and purchase goods that are not necessary. The new lights for the Christmas tree, the large quantities of food stuffs which I purchase during holiday seasons are just some of the ways in which I have over the years contributed the consumerist culture of the world.
Works Cited
Kingsbury, Paul. The Grand Ole Opry history of country music: 70 years of the songs, the stars, and the stories. New York: Villard Books, 1995. Print.
