The Waitress

When I first observed Renoir's painting of the waitress, I thought she expressed a genuine happiness. I didn't detect an underlying begrudging nature. As I began to read Billy Collin's poem, my perspective did change. Collins description of the waitress summoned images of a tireless woman wading back and forth between customers, with an endless volley of orders and demands. I went back and looked at the picture again to see if I could discover anything else. This time I detected something in the curvature of the smile, the way her hand was placed to her side for support, and the tensed nature of her eyebrows. The smile looks feigned now. It seems like she's distressed, as if she's dealing with some sort of huge issue in her life and the smile plastered on her face is an obligation that comes with the job.

Homeplace

Sander's mixes the factual aspects of his arguments with the more emotional facets. He brings up quote's from the likes of Thich Nhat Hanh, concerning spiritual awareness, just as much as he presents facts from psychologists. His primary and secondary sources are routinely balanced throughout the essay. Sanders notes that the main reason the Millers never moved, was because they valued their land. They had simply invested too much of themselves into their ranch and the surrounding landscape. Their reasons for staying would normally be considered illogical and impractical. Given the opportunity, I would have included more historical references in order to make my point, mainly focusing on some of America's troubles caused by interfering in foreign business, such as our instigation of the Mexican War.
I find Richard Ford's "At Home. For Now" to be less engaging. The tone is a bit bland compared to Sander's style, and the structure of the essay is too slow-spaced, yet it's focus is also somewhat sporadic. Sander's feels like he has a mission. He doesn't just want you to understand, he feels that it is imperative you understand. If someone were to read this essay, I would direct them to instill their voice with unwavering confidence. You can tell Sander's is deeply bothered by the issues confronted in the essay, a problem that's effects won't be experienced until further in the future, so not many choose to accept it.

The Little Store

Eudora Welty establishes wastes no time establishing the nostalgic tone of the essay. The essay takes the form of various flashbacks. While the entire thing concerns her frequent journey to the "Little Store" and back, it begins with a description of her mother, who was often responsible for sending her on her way. The trip through Welty's memories reflect the nature of her walks. We follow her from place to place, as she occasionally goes off on small tangents to describe something she would see on the way there, or the inside of the store itself. It's clear that she treasures these moments; the essay has a self-indulgent quality about it at times. It's through her careful recollections of her childlike fascinations that we understand and relate to her nostalgic tone. Honestly, some aspects of the store don't sound all that great. You couldn't buy your own drink can, the floor s were wet with pickle juice, and there may have been mice skittering around. She goes the extra mile to infuse a good deal of childish simplicity, from her descriptions of the store to her explanation that Cracker Jacks were for cold days, and cold drinks on hot ones. The essay's strongest facet is our understanding of the sentimental value this place holds.

The photograph Welty has taken of a shopkeeper The man presents himself as someone very punctual, mainly due to the stern expression on his face and the neat, tight work clothes he wears. I also detect a bit of pride, captured in the photo by the positioning of his product. His fruits are being presented to the world, and his left hand is placed over one. He's even propped himself up on the table to get closer. The telephone, calendar, clothes, and setting all contribute to make the time period clear. The fact that the photo is shot in black and white, coupled with the shadows that fit themselves into the various corners give the photo an empty feeling.

The Dispossessed

Deresiewicz bluntly states his own definition of the working class in is essay. He believes those who work an hourly wage belong to this class of people. He elaborates on our culture's tendency to attribute negative qualities to out lower class denizens. We can often see them as lazy, uncleanly, and uneducated, and often ignore the positive qualities that they often bear. Growing up in the working class leads to a greater understanding of values. These families can often be stronger than those who only know the privileged teachings of the bourgeois.  He also claims that American culture seems to ignore these facts, even going so far as to point out that our television programs often play their depictions of the working class for laughs.
I believe that Deresiewicz intended to speak directly to the working and middle classes of America. While one might assume that the working class might already know the truth behind his words, Deresiewicz believes that our society as a whole isn't aware of hoe dominant the working class is. He picks out shows that most middle and lower class Americans can relate to, without feeling the need to give any information beyond the title. He wants the working and middle class to reflect on their own lives, think about the people they encounter daily, so that they might be gain some added perspective. 

River of Names

I found the excerpt, River of Names, from Dorothy Allison's Trash to be equally interesting and entertaining. It took me a while to realize exactly what was going on with the format. I'll admit that when I read through it the first time I thought it was the same story jumping around to different portions of the timeline. Now my second theory is that the excerpt is comprised of different perspectives concerning entirely different characters. My initial confusion just goes to show how strongly knit the shared themes, mood, conflicts are. It works to the author's interest that through the consistent ideas and tone she's able to keep our interest consistently captured. It makes me want to read more so that I can fill in the blanks myself.

House by the Railroad

While observing Edward Hopper's House by the Railroad, I immediately notice the desolate nature of the house. Windows have been left open, revealing a dark interior. No one appears to be living here. Upon further inspection, it is a beautiful home. It has an articulated gothic structure and a tower-like portion that resembles a chunk of westwork. Despite the apparent attention to detail in it's construction, Hopper has chosen to place the house in the middle of nowhere. We are given no perspective to see the landscape surrounding the house, as the railroad and sky meet without anything in between. As far as we can tell, the boundless sky and railroad are the only things next to this home. The railroad itself seems to support the idea of desolation. The house will be on display in the few fleeting moments that it takes for a train and it's passengers to ride past it.
My perception of the Hopper's painting was pretty similar to Edward Hirsch's depiction in his poem. He definitely pinpoints the idea of desolation and emptiness. Hirsch goes the extra mile by choosing to personify the house. By infusing the house with feelings of expectations, shame, and loneliness, he is really able to explore the emotions present in the painting. He gives the house a scattered past. Through his repetition and structure he instills a tone that is stoic and grave. It gives me the impression that someone is observing and describing a tragedy unfolding in front of them.

The Uncommon Life of Common Objects

In her essay, The Uncommon Life of Common Objects, Akiko Busch questions why people often give such great value to ordinary objects, and subsequently provides her own answer. She explains that people make intimate connections with objects due to the human story that an object can tell. Busch point's out that valued objects can be loved mainly due to their design, historic significance, their symbolic/sentimental value, the narratives they provide, and the personal interactions and experiences we can often share with them. I think Busch has very expertly represented all of the collective relationships people have with their objects by elaborating on points that so broadly cover the spectrum of personal experience. As someone deeply invested in the study of artistic values, I can understand her viewpoint. As a storyteller, you have to play with this idea quite frequently. The most effective way to tell a lasting story, is to interweave it with purpose. The best way to do that is to connect the themes and messages behind your story to some greater truth, something that the average person thinks about or deals with on a regular basis. This way your story reaches beyond the confines of your own personal indulgences and tells something about human life. Honestly, this is just a principle that is applied to all art forms.

Badge of Honor

When observing Pepon Osorio's Badge of Honor, there are two things that immediately stand out to me. I immediately notice the cluster of objects, as a whole, rather than any one separate thing. The baseball cards coating the wall, the basketballs scattered around the floor, and the neatened sneakers in the corner. It's obvious that he's interested in sports. I can discern from the Bruce Lee posters that he's int martial arts flicks. He would seem to be a physically active teenager. I then noticed that the room looked exceptionally expensive. This seems like an average teenage kid, but one that comes from a wealthy family. I then decided that the objects in the room probably didn't come out f his own wallet. You might be hard pressed to find something in that room that he earned himself. Osorio's construction is more than just a meaningless recreation. The story being revealed becomes all the more apparent when you see his father's prison room next to it. It looks like a tale of a loving father, who has nothing, spoiling his child to make up for his own misfortunate lifestyle.

I don't think there's any part of the room Osorio has steeped in fantasy. Who am I to say that there isn't a teenager out there with a room like this? There's nothing placed in the room that couldn't possibly exist there. However, I can speak for the attention to detail Osorio has included. I especially love the cluttered feeling that so accurately represents the archetypical teenage room. Basketballs have been dropped in random places, the bed is unkept, a pillow lies on the floor, and a bike takes up an awkward amount of space.

Pictured: Teenager in her natural habitat

Magazine Exercise

What stands out the most to me from this exercise is how much info I was able to gather about classmates I had never spoken to before. It's a little remarkable just how much personal information flourished during this assignment. Facts that may have not been readily apparent through straightforward introductions were shared. One student brought in Vogue, a magazine with a heavy focus on fashion, but picked out an article about a girl's crippling neurological condition. This particular choice of presentation is not just a reflection of interests, but also of his priorities. Seeing that he's a fashion aficionado, it's apparent that his original intention was to use Vogue to present something exclusively about himself. Another student produced an interview with a strip club bouncer, an article that was very telling about the strange habits and needs of rich twenty-somethings with nothing better to do. Her reasons for picking the article seemed rather personal, and I couldn't imagine ever learning of these reasons under normal circumstances.

Possibility (A Matter of Scale Response)

1. Cole's astounding fascination with these gargantuan and microscopic worlds is very understandable. The alluring nature of these realities comes from the inclinations that they hold. The knowledge that there are worlds beyond human comprehension in existence galvanizes her human curiosity. There is so much about the world that humanity is unaware of. The ocean, which Cole briefly mentions in her essay, is eighty percent unexplored territory. I can't say that Cole's essay has warped my perception of reality. I've always had a consistent fascination with the hidden and known wonders of the world. A Matter of Scale won't make me feel more sympathetic towards flies just because I understand their plight.

2. Cole may have quoted Schrodinger in order to give her essay a little more validity. Presenting an experienced and respected physicist's explanation and analogies helps to support her own claims. Offering the full paragraph, rather than just including a footnote, offers a more complete second  perspective. The use of this Schrodinger quote is the only time Cole doesn't summarize or briefly quote another person. This could be due to the fact that earlier in the essay, Cole used others as a way to confirm scientific facts. Here, she uses Schrodinger to conclude the essay with a thoughtful and lasting idea.

Peter Menzel Questionnaire

1. I realized something while deciding on which Menzel photo to use. I definitely had the most interesting reaction to the picture of the Aboubakar's camp. This was mainly due to the fact that I had been anticipating the reveal of that picture, or at least something like it. As soon as I had seen the bountiful veggie display presented in Menzel's first photo, I assumed one of the photos would contain a less fortunate family, struck by some form of poverty, and living off whatever they could scramble together. I envisioned dark skin, the absence of smiles, and a tone befitting the harsh truth of reality. Faith D'aluisio's accompanying descriptions continued to confirm my expectations. I have only just realized the worst part of this situation. My comfort with this familiarity left me completely unmoved.

I would describe Peter Menzel's photos as a firm reminder of societal differences through kitchen/dining life. I'd say I notice the size of their living quarters, more so than the differences in space.

2. The Fernandez family and Ukita family have all laid out a week's food, and these servings take up a large amount of space. My original assumption was that the Texan family had spent more money, with a considerable amount going towards junk foods. They were the larger American family with the bigger house so it made sense. The Japanese family looks to have spent most of it on local market snacks and fish. D'Aluisio's descriptions reveal that I was wrong. The Ukito's had actually spent more overall, and a large amount of finances had gone towards fruits and vegetables, as well. Maybe I was confused by the spatial differences in the apartment, or the fact that most of the Japanese food packages on the ground look like American trail mix bags. I'm still a bit confused by the logic of the situation. One would expect the family of four, living in what appears to be poorer conditions, to spend less than the family of five?