http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/quixote-colbert-and-the-reality-of-fiction/?pagemode=print
Egginton writes his article to an interested, yet not expert, audience. He tries to make his piece relatable with a balance between an informal and intelligent tone.
Egginton welcomes the readers by calling for participation in his outrage. "Does their fictional art not offer insights into human nature as illuminating as many of those the physical sciences have produced?" His rhetorical questions are meant to cause a pause and consideration. They call for the readers to choose a side and enter his argument aware. His diction also pulls the reader to his side. The opposing intellectual "breezily dismissed" fiction, and the act, now light, can be dismissed by the readers.
Throughout, the tone of the piece is specific to an audience. While Egginton's voice is simple, it's not so simple as to not sound informed. Common words such as "packed," "naive," and "savvy" help readers to relax into his piece. Still, he includes language like "the very epistemological signature of modernity," an intelligent phrase. His readers aren't very focused on literature; he takes a large amount of time describing Don Quixote. He knows they're interested, however, and follows the etymology of "reality." To avoid confusing literary terms and to relate to the audience, Egginton uses examples from current culture, such as his Stephen Colbert quotes. The piece takes an developed intellectual response and makes it understandable.
Nicely done! You had plenty of evidence to sufficiently support your claim! However, be careful about the structure of your response. Make sure to clearly label the sections diction and syntax. Your response on diction was separated two paragraphs and should be combined to sound more effective.
ReplyDeleteGood job of clearly breaking down the author's main points. You have some very nice analysis of diction here. I think you could also delve into how the overall syntax of the work also reflects your point of the Egginton attempting to make the piece "welcoming."
ReplyDeleteOverall nice job pointing out evidence.I think you may have briefly gotten syntax and diction mixed up in the beginning. You said diction, but as an example gave a phrase, which is considered syntax. Or did you mean "breezily dismissed" to be an example of diction. Otherwise you just mentioned Diction and gave no examples. Be sure you make it clear what you are analyzing and give clear examples of it.
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