Should Google censor an anti-Islam video? Close Read

http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/14/opinion/york-libya-youtube/index.html?hpt=op_bn5

Jillian C. York, a columnist for Al Jazeera, thinks that Google took the wrong response in blocking the video that was widely disputed and caused the death of the U.S. ambassador in Libya. She uses elements of rhetoric diction, details, and syntax to make her point.

York's use of diction emphasizes certain things in her editorial. Her use of diction is used to stress the violence and outrage in other countries. For example, "the video, which was made in America and crudely characterized the Prophet Mohammed, understandably offended many Muslims" (York para. 2 ln. 4-6). The use of the word "crudely" reflects her opinion of the video itself. This gives the connotation that the video itself is not well put together and is a misrepresentation of the Prophet Mohammed. The word "understandingly" gives off the impression that she sympathizes with offended Muslims and maybe even the rioters. York uses diction to show her opinion on what is happening and to create favorability  with offended Muslims. 

York provides specific details about laws and other similar cases to prove her point. York provides "When it comes to copyrighted content, YouTube is required to abide by the law, specifically the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, which allows a copyright holder to report content posted by other users as belonging to them (it also allows for a rebuttal)" (York para. 5 ln. 1-5). By giving information about laws concerning copyright, she shows that she is knowledgeable about what she is talking about. York also gives a case where the country actually blocked the website for offensive content, "When Pakistan blocked Twitter after the company refused to take down offensive content, citizens were outraged ...  the outrage of citizens forced the government to reverse its decision in less than a day" (York para. 14 ln. 1-3, 5-6). York gives an example of what the citizens of the country would do, showing that they would rise up against censorship. She gives this example to show that Google should model Twitter, which is her basic point in the article. The use of details shows that York is knowledgeable in what she is talking about and provides similar situations to Google's.

York uses Syntax artfully to direct our focus to what she wants the reader to remember. York tells us "Instead, by placing itself in the role of arbiter, Google is now vulnerable to demands from a variety of parties and will have to explain why it sees censorship as the right solution in some cases but not in others" (York para. 16 ln. 1-4). She ends with this statement, making sure the reader remembers the point that she wanted to get across. She leaves the thought that twitter is doing the right thing by censoring things that had "valid legal order" and Google should have responded in a different way. York's use of syntax leaves the reader with her opinion and thoroughly convinces the reader on how Google should have acted.




   

Open Prompt One

1995. Writers often highlight the values of a culture or a society by using characters who are alienated from that culture or society because of gender, race, class, or creed. Choose a novel or a play in which such a character plays a significant role and show how that character's alienation reveals the surrounding society's assumptions or moral values.

 Characters are often put in situations, where the people around them have a predisposed assumption of them and judge them accordingly. In A Raisin in the Sun, written by Lorraine Hansberry, the Youngers are plagued by poverty, like many African-American families of the time. There are many conflicts between race and class presented in this play. The result of Mama buying a new house in a all white neighborhood and Beneatha's wealthy boyfriend makes Walter feel alienated through class and race.
 The neighborhood that the Youngers buy their house in, immediately sets out to get rid of them. A representative from the neighborhood makes them an offer, that Walter intends to take. The proposal represents the disdain that the white community has for all blacks. They are willing to pay money, just so they  do not live in their "perfect" neighborhood. Walter wanting to accept the proposal represents Walter's want to assimilate into the white community. His view of being successful, is acting white and being wealthy, like a white person.
 Beneatha's boyfriend George, is a wealthy African-American, all that Walter aspires to be. George is well educated and wealthy, while Beneatha dislikes these aspects, Walter adores them. Every person has a different american dream, Walter's is to be like George, even though George scoffs at Walter's lack of education and wealth. George represents a fully assimilated African-American. Joseph, is a starch contrast of George. Joseph is Nigeria and embraces his African heritage. He teaches Beneatha about it and shows how much she has already assimilated into white culture. Walter of course dislikes this and thinks she should be with George more often. The relationships that Beneatha has with George and Joseph represent the two clashing cultures of white and African. Walter wants to forget his African heritage by casting off the chains of poverty and then finally being able to live "happily". Walter's view of class, ultimately leads him to be alienated.
 By the end of the play the Youngers are leaving for their new house, even though they had faced instances alienation. Walter's american dream is achieved, but its not the one he started with. 

Response to Course Material

This last week in class, was a different class style than i'm used to. It makes sense for it to be like this and I guess makes better use of our time having the us (the students) lead. After reading How to Read Literature Like a Professor and the presentation about AP Lit basics, I will definitely read and analyze books differently. I think back to when I read On the Road earlier this summer and I can't even begin to think of all the things I could have missed. I'm sure I identified some literary devices and odd phrase in the books. It makes me think how I just noticed things and didn't exactly analyze anything as to why the writer would place something there. Since Kerouac was on Benzedrine the whole three weeks that he wrote it, even though he already had notes and an outline, he was probably making different connections to things that a lucid writer wouldn't have. This really makes me want to go back and re-read the book, now having the knowledge to analyze it. This also makes me think back to previous literature classes and how usually you just had to spot a literary device and then you could move on. You may have had to expand on it, but never had to relate it to the big picture, just what that little bit meant and that's it.

Third Entry

Analysis of Sedaris

In “Me Talk Pretty One Day” David Sedaris writes what some consider a comedic masterpiece. Even though Sedaris is writing for entertainment purposes solely, it follows the rules in Harvey’s book, The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing. Sedaris makes a perfect example in his essay of concision, clarity, and beginnings and endings.
Sedaris doesn’t write in the “pompous style”, as Harvey loves to refer to it, instead he writes very clearly and concisely. There is no ambiguity in any of his sentences that one could take from them. When Sedaris says, “My school is an easy ten-minute walk from my apartment, and on the first day of class I arrived early, watching as the returning students greeted one another in the school lobby.” (Sedaris), it is very concise and to the point. It gets what is needed across to the reader and there is no fat to be cut from it. Whether or not Sedaris produced “a wordy first draft” (Harvey), Sedaris does a good job in making things concise and easy to understand.
While Sedaris does not write for an academic audience, he still makes the effort to make his essay clear. Harvey states, “A general audience, for instance, needs more background and explanation...”. A common reader does not know all there is to know about one thing. Sedaris helps people out by saying, “I’ve spent quite a few summers in Normandy, and I took a monthlong French class before leaving New York”. Unless you stalk Sedaris and research all about him, you probably wouldn’t have known that. Without this sentence, the reader wouldn’t have a general idea about how much french Sedaris has taken. Sedaris also makes it clear when his french professor uses a word that he does not understand by putting in something like this “meimslsxp”. Of course the word is neither english nor french. He makes it obvious that he doesn’t understand everything that is said by saying, “I’m not completely in the dark, yet I understood only half of what this woman was saying.” (Sedaris). Sedaris’ clarity makes the essay easy to understand and helps make it more comedic.

One of the things that drew me into this essay was the opening paragraph. Harvey says, “The beginning grabs the reader’s attention, prepares a context...”. Sedaris does this beautifully in his opening paragraph. It starts out as “At the age of forty-one, I am returning to school” (Sedaris). This gives me the context of the essay. He draws me in by saying “... a far-flung amusement park that advertises with billboards picturing a cartoon stegosaurus sitting in a canoe and eating what appears to be a ham sandwich” (Sedaris). This is quite a way to draw someone in. Rarely, if ever, has someone used the words “stegosaurus sitting in a canoe”. This immediately gives the essay a comedic feel, which will draw the reader in further. Instead of ending it on a boring note, like “in conclusion” or “in summary”, Sedaris ends it on a comedic note, just how he began. Sedaris ends with him saying that he can now understand french, but that doesn’t mean he can speak it. The lasts words are poorly put together words in french to prove that point, that he still has not mastered it. The beginnings and endings are one of myriad things that make this essay a great read.

“Me Talk Pretty One Day”, is very well written, following the rules of The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing. It uses concision, clarity, and interesting beginnings and endings, all to make this awesome essay. Although in the essay Sedaris doesn’t learn to talk pretty, I am sure that he does.