Close-Reading Bingo

Disclaimer: I feel really bad for pointing out flaws so please don't be offended if I use yours.

1&2. "At first, the character introduces the reader to the point of the passage." --ariadna permelia
           Rule #3-- What is the point of the passage? 
           Rule #4--Don't include "the reader"

3. "The girl screams to her sister “I will kill if you touch this, Julie, and if you do I swear to go I will kill you, no mercy, no take-backs private property, this means you, Julie, you” which explains how the infuriated girl feels toward her sister." --emily 
          Rule #2-- Break it into two sentences or shorten the quotation.

4. "In Nicholson Baker's work The Mezzanine, he uses elegant and intricate diction to create a formal tone."--Maddie 
          Rule #6-- Avoid the verb "use"

Best Response: KG

House of Leaves

House of Leaves includes a lot of commentary on human nature. Johnny in particular seems to make a big deal out of nothing. Karen often complains about her boyfriend although she is unfaithful and rude quite frequently. Karen and Navidson also talk badly about each other on Hi-8s a lot. The characters are pretty cookie cutter for the most part, it's just their actions that throw you off. Navidson decieves his girlfriend and explores the hallway before any official explorations begin and again later in the book. Although Navidson and Karen do not always treat each other right, their relationship works out because they love each other. They have a very realistic relationship.

Practice Diction Analysis

In the first page of his novel Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger’s literal, blunt diction expresses Holden’s attitude towards his life and his surroundings. Holden describes his parents as “touchy as hell” and mentions his “lousy childhood.” The negative connotation of his words is straightforward, lending them to be easily trusted. Even when speaking of his brother, Holden says where D.B. lives “isn’t too far from this crumby place.” Though Holden is capable of positive emotions shown by his compassion for his brother, Holden has a negative outlook of his surroundings.  

House of Leaves

While Navidson is lost alone within the hallway, the stairway flips and turns and he becomes very disoriented. To mirror this, the text on the page grows and shrinks, changes places on the page, makes you flip the book around, often doesn't exist, and is very unorganized. Just reading the book and flipping the pages as quickly as you have to makes you as disoriented as Navidson must feel. It took me a minute to realize which side is the bottom and which is the top. It's this varied writing style is what interests me about the book.

Currently

First week of the quarter!

This week:118 pages
Last week:266 pages

On the other hand, the figurative language detailing simple but memorable scenes in Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami provide deep emotional connections to the character.-- E

Even more casually written is Jack Kerouac's On The Road, which incorporates a stream of consciousness that mirrors the complex workings of the narrators mind using words that are far less complicated. The flowing, jazzy language including the description of a break-up as a "miserably weary splitup" begs to be read aloud because its sounds are so pleasing to the ear.  --Charliebucket

A Million Little Pieces by James Frey is written with crude diction that protrays the aurthors critical struggles and a repetitive flow that allows the reader to understant his thinking.--Phyllis

Style Mapping

1984 by George Orwell uses straightforward and exact diction, colloquial formality, and dull sound to create a harsh feeling for the reader, much like how Winston feels the chill of the bright cold day and the enormous eyes of the face watching him.  Homer's The Odyssey poetic connotation, elegant and scholarly formality, and melodious sound. In House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, literal, thudding, choppy, vulgar language allows readers a glimpse into Johnny's recently changed mind.

Quarterly

I haven't really surprised myself this quarter as far as what I read is concerned. I've basically always read what I had available to me and I've never stuck to one particular genre. House of Leaves has been the most challenging and I feel like it took me a long time to get in to it. I love the story, but absolutely hate the book. It's just a bunch of crap. There are references that don't exist, footnotes with footnotes, and the layout is unnecessary. Though I do hate it, I respect it. It clearly took a lot of thought and creativity and I'm really enjoying the challenge. It's a piece of art. I mostly read during fifth period and at night right before I go to bed. During yearbook, I've often found myself being a loner in the "patio room" reading. I really don't mind though, it's really nice to be able to hear the craziness but not actually be a  part of it. I also cuddle up with my puppies in this big blue chair in the sun room in my house a lot to read. I think my dogs probably enjoy being read to... haha. I usually don't have my cell phone on and I try not to talk to other people while I'm reading because if I get sidetracked, it takes me a while to get back to where I was reading with the same concentration I had before. I want to find more books that make me think though. I think I need to stop reading books because I relate to the characters. It's neat to be able to live vicariously through a character. I'll never be a crazy drug/sex addict, but it's cool to imagine what they think.