The Grammar Lesson

I think this poem is really cool because it has a whole lot of word play such as "a can can roll", also in this sentence is the portrayal of how the English language can have two different meaning for the same word. The only imagery it uses is in the repeated line "our can of beets is filled with purple fuzz" throughout the whole poem this is the picture in your head, it's quite a funny picture and it certainly makes it easier to remember the rule stressed in the next frequently repeated line "a nouns a thing and a verb the thing it does." This seems to be the "thesis" or point of the poem, to get this simple grammatical rule across using a very sophisticated style of writing. Also, the poem has rhyming, although in no consistent pattern, (sometimes it skips a line and at the end it is the last two lines which rhyme) this adds to the fun of reading the poem. This poem is also dense in the respect that it conveys both  a grammar lesson and a poetry lesson on how to combine different elements such as rhyme, imagery, and a kind of style which plays with grammar while explaining it at the same time.

Snow Day

This poem uses plenty of imagery to describe the setting in the poem. Even though I only saw real snow a handful of times, I can perfectly imagine the "Revolution of Snow." I like how it paints the picture of all the buildings and the train tracks being covered in snow and also describing the actions of the kid and his dog. Once it gets to the radio listening part, it gets kinda weird. All the school names are odd. It is as if the poet tried to think of the most whimsical names they could put. Ding-Dong School, Hi-Ho Nursery School, Tom Thumb Child center, Peanuts Play School. All these names put me in a playful mindset, like everything is just good. That's why the last line in the last stanza is so jarring.With all the kids playing in the previous lines these girls are just plotting by the fences on taking someone down. It really breaks the innocent and whimsical illusion the poet was making just with that one line.

Roger Ebert: The Essential Man

First and foremost, I cannot express how impressed I am with Ebert for continuing his passion for writing despite his physical disability. Throughout this piece, I was overwhelmed with a variety of emotions and was amazed by Jones's ability to convey each of these emotions simply through his writing.When he spoke of how he had to have his jaw removed, I was overwhelmed with sadness and empathy. But as I continued reading of his strength and success the tides quickly changed and those feelings of empathy changed to awe.  

The eloquence by which Chris Jones spoke in his writing really tied the story together and was one of the stronger points that helped this piece come together. A good story and someone talented enough to tell it will inevitably lead to a best seller. Although, Chris Jones wrote the story, he was not really a character within it. I could appreciate the third person perspective he used and I thought that really enhanced the experience. There was distance between the narrator, Chris Jones and the main character, Ebert, but I admired how the distance did not make the story any less emotional. Jones’s  writing style does well in making sure the story is told adequately without leaving out any vital details.

Ebert made the most out of his situation- even though he was dealt very unfortunate cards he still managed to make an amazing life for himself. Most would feel pity for him because of his condition, but I have nothing but respect for a man who despite the struggles he underwent, came out on top.

Blog 2: Mister Rogers

When the name "Mister Rogers" crosses my mind, I can confidently say "hero." While Junod's touching article portrays Mister Rogers as a messiah-type figure, it never loses track of his humanity. In one paragraph Junod dedicates a segment of his article to showing how Mister Rogers, just like everyone else, gets tired: "'Oh, please, sister,' Mister Rogers says. 'I'm done.' And now Margy comes up behind him and massages his shoulders. 'No, you're not,' she says. 'Roy Rogers is done. Mister Rogers still has a ways to go.'" I believe this was a crucial point in the article because it showed readers how Rogers must press on through his low-points in order to be the greatest he can be. It also goes to show just how exhausting the life Mister Rogers truly is, and as a result of Junod's showcasing of this exhaustive life, readers develop a greater sense of appreciation for the good deeds of Mister Rogers.

Furthermore, I enjoyed this article because it depicts the life Mister Rogers led as the television character and as the person behind the show. Specifically, I loved how the difference between Mister Rogers on screen hardly differed from Fred Rogers on the streets. In regards to the voice of the article, Junod's article appears to have been primarily spoken by Mister Rogers himself. Junod's diction throughout the piece is thought-invoking, gentle and not too loud, just as one would expect out of a conversation with Mister Rogers himself.

The Definitive Mr. Rogers....

In “The Definitive Mister Rogers Profile….”, Tom Junod establishes a voice that is whimsical with a strong narrative bent. Junod often uses “Once upon a time…” to introduce stories of Mister Rogers helping various people, which introduces a fairytale-like atmosphere and adds interest to his story. Junod does not specify the names of the individuals that were helped by Mister Rogers. Instead, Juno wraps these possibly mundane stories like a irritable child being calmed down by Mister Rogers by describing it in more fanciful terms, “Once upon a time, a little boy with a big sword into battle against Mister Rogers.” He also avoids using longer words and uses simpler statements like “Her name was Deb. She was very pretty,” that could be understood by children. These shorter descriptions add to the childlike charm of the profile. Overall, Junod does a masterful job of providing a playful yet very humanized profile of Mister Rogers.

Roger Ebert

When writing a profile, a writer must be sure to not only capture what a person allows the world to see, but also who the person is on the inside. Chris Jones was able to do that in his profile,  Roger Ebert: The Essential Man. Chris Jones gives emphasis on how Mr. Ebert communicates without his oratory skills and his emotions towards the loss of his communication. The reader comes to learn that it can be very frustrating for Mr. Ebert, which is what makes Jones’ representation so amazing. It’s as if he extracted himself from the experience and focused solely on the trials and tribulations that form the life of Roger Ebert. By extracting himself from the narrative, Jones is able to give Ebert something that had been suddenly taken from him. As Gabrielle eloquently put it, he was able to capture the true voice of Roger Ebert by strategically using his own.

Mister Rodgers Blog 2

Everyone knows Mister Rodgers. Multiple generations grew up with him, sang along with him and always put a colored sweater on him with him. Tom Junod created a profile about Mister Rodgers in a new perspective, through the stories Mister Rodgers has saved. Each childhood story starts out as "Once Upon a Time..." and that resonates with how Junod is trying to portray Mister Rodgers as a miracle for children who watched him and felt like themselves, watched him and felt no one can touch them because Mister Rodgers was their neighbor. Junod writes this profile in such a way that brought me to tears because he doesn't describe Mister Rodgers as much as the children that Mister Rodgers touched and helped survive. 

The paragraph where Mister Rodgers takes Junod to his childhood home impacted me because he wasn't even supposed to go in to his own home, his home where he learned everything special that he knows today just by looking through each window. He realizes that he shouldn't go in because '"all the people who made this house special to [him] are not here anyway. They're all in heaven"' (Junod). That moment made me realize this was one of the few moments we learned about Mister Rodger’s childhood and how different this profile is from the others we have read because Mister Rodgers isn't just a man. He recreated lives for children that watched him every weekday. That is all Junod really wanted us to see, how much he impacted the world. Mister Rodgers is seen as a God-like figure in this profile to many of his fans because he is always there if they are in need. He even tells them to pray for him, so they do not get caught up in their problems, but look out for someone else, just like he does. The little moments Junod reveals to us about Mister Rodgers himself such as being color blind and losing his entire family become more memorable because seeing that Mister Rodgers has problems and insecurities makes him all the more human to us. The reason why Mister Rodgers always brought the question back to Tom Junod is the reason why he is known as Mister Rodgers today; he is always there if you need help, just like God.