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Blog 23: Novel Prompt

“Ah, but,” interposed, more softly, a young wife, holding a child by the hand, “let her cover the mark as she will, the pang of it will be always in her heart. “ (Hawthorne 36)

The setting of the story at this point, when this quote was said, was when Hester Prynne had shown herself to the public, in the town square. Specifically, she was standing on the stage where punishments were given to people for all the  towns-people to see. Out in the public there were a group of women who were gossiping about Hester Prynne, just as all the others in their town. As each of the women in the group shared their opinion, the last woman to speak said this quote. Unlike the rest of the women this one said something smart. As they discussed Hester’s scarlet letter and how she would want to hide it, this woman said that no matter how Hester tries to hide the scarlet letter, her sin, regret and mistake will always be in her heart and conscious. This was a very true statement. Besides that piece of cloth, everything around her reminded Hester of the past, even Pearl. Therefore it would be pointless for her to hide it. This statement is important because it allows the reader to understand how Hester’s life dramatically changes. This also contributes to the story because it gives hints as to how that simple scarlet letter is not really a small piece of cloth because it will change Hester inside and out. Finally, it represents the fact that no matter what Hester tries, she will not get rid of her sin.

Blog 22: Article

 “PlayStation 4 Launch Event: Sony Takes Over NYC”

                                - Time

           On November 18, 2013 Corey Protin of Time magazine published a video in addition to a short article. Named “PlayStation 4 Launch Event: Sony Takes Over NYC”, this attention-grabbing post discusses Sony’s new product, the PS4. The PS4 (also known as the Play Station) launched in the month of September 2013, was a massive deal. Because Sony’s last consul was launched seven years ago, in 2006, they decided to go full-force on this new production. After seven long years of crafting and creating, Sony was finally ready to please the public. The company decided New York City was the right place. The Standard Hotel in New York was transformed into a huge Play Station Headquarters. “Developers, reviewers, press and fans from all over descended upon this hotel for an over-the-top extravaganza.” Fans swarmed in left and right to get their hands on the newly released Play Station Four. People were ecstatic about this launch. Thousands of people stood in line to get their very own consul. Some even camped out overnight. Matt Peckham and Matt Vella both worked with Time to record some behind the scenes footage of this crazy event. They had interviewed people waiting in line including the guy first in line. He had been standing in line for over twenty four hours. By the looks of the interviews, fans were most excited about the new interactions between gamers as well as the smooth graphics. Quite interesting how crazy gamers tend to get!

Blog 21: Prompt

         

           In the 1600s, about 400 years ago, things were drastically different regarding religion, form of entertainment or even clothing. One of the many factors that set apart the people, especially women, of today and those of the 1600s is the clothing. The women of this time mostly wore subtle colors such as black and white. The most commonly worn articles of clothing were long dresses and aprons. One other thing that was worn frequently was headbands also referred to as caps. Their shirts, or shifts, were white with buttons usually buttoned to the top and collars. Even though the 1600s were a time when most people were very conservative and dressed appropriately, some women objected. They wore their shifts unbuttoned, noticeably revealing their breasts. Women belonging to the upper class wore corsets or bodices instead of shifts. These types of shirts also revealed their body. For their feet, the women wore mules or latchet shoes. Most of the servants would wear colorful stockings which were popular at the time. As for the caps, most were white with lace embroidered edges. These were usually folded, and tied around the head and under the chin. An alternative of the head caps were the turban-like wrapped linen. This would allow people to distinguish upper class from lower class. The poor people usually wore the wrapped linen. The cap, bodice, shift and mules completed the look for a typical woman living in the 1600s.

 http://www.reconstructinghistory.com/articles/17th-century-articles/common-womens-clothing-in-the-early-to-mid-17th-century.html

Blog 20: Article

 “Photo in Vietnam Shows Mammal Unseen for 15 Years”

                                                 - Time magazine

On November 12, 2013 the Associated Press of Time magazine published an interesting article discussing a discovery in Hanoi, Vietnam. The shocking and intriguing article, “Photo in Vietnam Shows Mammal Unseen for 15 Years”, talks about a Saola -Earth’s rarest mammal found in Vietnam- which had not been seen for fifteen years. This unusual, antelope-like ox with large horns was caught on camera through a “camera trap”, as it was walking through a forest in Vietnam. The Saola was originally found in the mountains of Laos (1992), and continued to exist until they were announced endangered and finally “extinct”. Directors of certain organizations tried to take precautions in order to ensure safety for these mammals. Two Saolas were seized in Central Vietnam in the year of 1993 and put under safe conditions to help keep them alive. However, the animals died in the second year of their captivity. The associated press included that this animal was “…the first large mammal new to science in more than 50 years.” The article also contains a statement that was said by a Vietnamese director of the WWF. “This is a breathtaking discovery and renews hope for the recovery of the species.” Members of the WWF will continue to have search and hope in finding other species that were once said to be extinct.

Blog 19: SOAPST

When reading a piece of literature it is important to analyze in depth every aspect and detail that it has, in order to fully understand the meaning the text is trying to convey. The SOAPST, (speaker, occasion, audience, purpose, subject, tone), of a piece is one of many that fall into this category of aspects that must be analyzed by the audience. For an example of such scenario, one can look at, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read”. Written by essayist and critic Francine Prose (speaker), “I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read” was published September of 1999 in Harper’s (occasion). Everyone (audience) reading this, will grasp Prose’s sassiness, familiarity, yet disappointment (tone)as she tries to inform and persuade (purpose) them ,of her critique and quality of required reading for high school students (subject). As much as these factors stand alone and are distinguished by a variety of things, they also rely on one another to make the text successfully effective. For instance, the audience can have an effect on how the speaker’s tone will sound. The speaker chooses diction and a tone for her voice depending on the specific audience and their knowledge of the topic being discussed. Also, another example can be how the tone must be chosen accordingly, depending on what kind of purpose the speaker has and what she may want to achieve. All in all, the reader should take into consideration all these factors, including choices made by the speaker, in order to be successful in comprehending the true meaning of the piece of literature, in this case being, “ I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read”.