Author's Argument: Death of a Salesman

In Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman (1949), the main idea achieving the "American Dream." Because this is a play, the author uses a heavy amount of dialouge to convey the emotions of the characters, he also adds questions, some rhetorical some not, to keep the reader at suspense and lastly he uses italics show the actions of the characters. The audience is pretty general as the story could apply to everyone. The purpose is to show how families try to achieve the typical "American Dream."

The tone of this play is familiar and a little frantic

1. jovial- endowed or characterized with hearty, joyous humor or a spirit of good fellowship
2. mercurial- changeable; volatile
3. trepidation- tremeulous fear, alarm, or agitation
4. incipient- beginning to exist or appear
5. surlily- churlishly rude or bad tempered
6. indignantly- feeling, characterized by, or expressing strong displeasure at something considered unjust
7. valises- a small piece of luggage that can be carried by hand
8. elegiacally- expressing sorrow or lamentation

1. metaphor- "I'm tired to death."(2)
2. telegraphic sentences- "He won't starve. None a them starve. Forget about him."(29); "It's an accomplishment."(54)
3. dashes- "Give my best to Bill Oliver-he may remember me."(48)
4. questions- "What're you doin' home?"; "You want a job?"; "You want me to go?"; "Then what have I got to remember?"(29)
5. epigraph- "Kid, I can't take blood from a stone, I-.."(61)

• Why did the author choose to write about someone obsessed with trying to become successful in sales?
• Why did the author format the play to be only two acts?
• Is the "American Dream" truly achievable? Was it ever truly achievable?

" 'Cause what could be more satisfying than to be able to go, at the age of eighty-four, into twenty or thirty different cities, and pick up a phone, and be remembered and loved and helped by so many different people?"

Hollywood Art Tour by Metro

The main purpose of art is to evoke a particular emotion from the audience. What stands out the most is the Hide and Seek  piece. It brings out a certain joy of being a carefree child. Each child from this piece is a self portrait of different elementary school student. This is what made the piece that much more interesting. Being that I, personally, am no art guru, it is usually pretty difficult to grasp a concept or emotion. However, Hide and Seek brings out the true happiness that comes with being young. There so many other art pieces that caught the attenion of myself and my peers. When we stopped in Hollywood, the first thing I noticed was was a banner for Chicago at the Pantages Theatre. The banner itself isn't much of an art piece, but the play is. Performing arts is just as interesting and beautiful as visual art. Considering the performing art is live and in person, it may even be better, at least in terms of appealing one's emotions. The play, Chicago, is fun to watch and fun to sing along with. The woman portrayed in the piece were highly dramatic; some empowering, some questionable, and some just plain funny. The last sigificant piece of art that caught my attention was a star along the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The star of Dr. Suess. Dr. Suess was a true poet. His rhymes and creativity brought children's stories to life. Children love reading his books and watching the movies based off of those books. Generation after generation, Dr. Suess never gets old. Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat, The Lorax, and Red Fish, Blue Fish were all classics and there are so many more out there. Dr. Suess was a legend and his words were art to all families. Art can be viewed in many different perspectives and opinions. It's a wonderful thing and I'm glad I was able to be apart of this trip.

Author's Argument #3: Outliers

In the book Outliers: The Story of Success (2008) by Malcolm Gladwell the main idea is revealing the truth about success. The author first gives background information on his examples by telling of a specific scenario, then he uses these examples to propose his ideas usind statistics, and lastly he concludes with a summary and reflection of his ideas. The purpose of this book is to show that opportunity, not extreme intelligence, is what helps one become successful. The audience could be any young person trying to be successful.

1.addendum-an addition
2.tarmac-a brand of bituminous binder
3.cajoling-to persuade by flattery or promises
4.gradients-the degree of inclination
5.efficacy-capacity of producing desired result or effect
6.disparagement-something that derogates or casts in a bad light
7.jibe-to shift from one side to another when running against the wind
8.pernicious-causing insidious harm or ruin
9.progeny-a descendent or offspring as a child, plant, or animal
10.paradigms-an example serving as a model
11.unambiguously-unclear; distinct;unequivocal

The tone of this book is informative

1.statistics-"To put that record in perspective, the 'loss' rate for an airline that the American carrier United Airlines in the period 1988 to 1998 was .27 per million deparures, which means that they lost a plane in an accident about once every four million flights. The loss rate for Korean Air, in the same period, was 4.79 per million departures- more than seventeen times higher." (180)
2.addage-"No one who can rise before dawn three hundred sixty days a tear fails to make his family rich."(224)
3.periodic sentence-"He had flown into Guam airport from Kimpo eight times previously, most recently a month ago, and he knew the airport and the surrounding terrain well."(178)
4.telegraphic sentence-"He napped and ate lunch"(177); "The captain chuckled"(178); "It's tiny."(232)
5.colloquilism-"Chea eom boeb seom ni da."(214)

• Why did the author spend so much more time on the Korean airlines than the other sections?
• Why were there so many italics used in this section?
• Are there other opportunities that have not been specified in the book that can help one be successful?

"It is grounded in a web of advantages and inheritances, some deserved, some not, some earned, some just plain lucky-but all critical to making them who they are. The outlier, in the end, is not an outlier at all."(285)

Author's Argument #2 Outliers

In the book Outliers (2008) by Malcolm Gladwell the main idea is to show the reasons certain people achieved success and to prove that one can't do so without a given opportunity. First the author addresses his argument by giving examples of the life stories of those who have achieved great success, then he states his theories using statistics and charts, and lastly he briefly summarizes his ideas from the previous chapters. The purpose of this book is to correct people's perception on how one succeeds. The intended audience includes people who could be considered young, for example ages 15-30.

1.brevity-shortness of time or duration
2.antecedents-preceding or prior
3.aquiesced-agreed
4.irascible-easily provoked with anger; very irritable

The tone of the book is informative.

1. telegraphic sentences (pg. 123, 142, 150, 171)
2. statistics (pg. 134, 152, 154)
3. epigraph (pg. 91, 116, 161)
4. dialogue (pgs. 91-176)
5.listing (pg. 140, 141, 149, 161)

• How does when one is born determine whether or not they will succeed?
• Why did the author choose to split the book in two parts?
• Will this book help the people who read it and in what way?

"So far in Outliers we've seen that success arises out of the steady accumulation of advantages: when and where you were born, what your parents did for a living, and what the circumstances of your upbringing were all make up a significant difference in how well you do on the world."(176)

Author's Argument #1- Outliers

In the book Outliers (2008) by Malcom Gladwell the main idea is to help readers understand success and where it comes from. Gladwell first appeals to his audience with the background information on Roseta, then he established his authority with historical and statistical examples, and lastly he sets his tone with a learned diction. The tone of this piece is informative and educational. The audience could include anyone from high school age to someone recently out of college. The purpose of this piece is to share the author's knowledge of success with his readers.

1. paesani-villigers
2. meritocracy-elite group of people whose progress is based on ability and talent rather than on class privilege or wealth
3. virtuosos-person of skill, especially in music
4. algorithm-set of rules or steps to solve mathematical problems, program a computer, etc.

The tone of this argument is informative.

1.syntax- numerically organized sections (1-90)
2. learned diction (1-90)
3. facts and statistics-"At four year colleges in the United States-the highest stream of postsecondary education- students belonging to the relatively youngest group in their class are under-represented by about 11.6 percent." (15-90)
4. allusion-"In the Bible, Joseph is cast out by his brothers and sold into slavery and then rises to become the pharaoh's right-hand man on the strength of his own brilliance and insight." (18)
5. epigraph-"For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance. But from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath." (15)

Why did the author seperate ideas numerically?
Why did the author choose to use those specific examples?
How is this book going to help the people who read it?

"The emerging picture from such studies is that ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world-class expert-in anything" (40)