Why Read The Classics Blog #8

What is your reaction to the essay? Is it an emotional one or a logical one? My reaction to Why Read The Classics would have to be a logical one. I liked having to read the whole essay in order to find the thesis. I learned a lot from Calvino and I respect his opinions. Before I read this essay I thought the classics were, in a way, pointless. I didn't really understand why people kept reading them over and over and now I do. You can read them again and again and still learn something different each time. The definition Calvino put at the very beginning of the essay: The classics are those books about which you usually hear people saying: 'I'm rereading...' never, 'I'm reading...'(pg:3 p:1) makes sense now that I realize you actually can learn more than one ting from a classic as you grow older. I think now, I will read a classic over and over as I get older once I find one I reallly like. Calvino really put into perspective for me that it is possible to read a classic written in Old English without it being pointless because you cant learn something if you try.

Why Read The Classics Blog #7

What authority does the author have as a writer? I think Calvino's power is explanation. In the essay, he puts definitions all over. Here is one from the middle of the essay, "The classics are those books which constitute a treasured experience for those who have read and loved them; but they remain just as rich an experience for those who reserve the chance to read them when they are in the best condition to enjoy them,"(pg:4 p:2). Then, in the following paragraph, he elaborates on what the definition meant. He explains the definition by saying, "For the fact that the reading we do when young can often be of little value because we are impatient, cannot concentrate, lack expertise in how to read, or because we lack experience in life,"(pg:4 p:3) I think he is saying that we don't want to rush into reading a classing becaue we wont enjoy it as much if we rush through it and don't fully concentrate on the words and details. We should wait for a time when we are older, have more life experience, and know we could concentrate and understand the text of the book because we will enjoy it then, not only because we might have been through a similar version of what a character in the book is going throught, but also because things become a little easier to understand as you grow up.

Why Read The Classics Blog #6

Identify the method(s) of introduction. What characterizes the conclusion? In my opinion, the method of introduction in Why Read The Classics is defining a word or phrase (TE p:31). In this case, it is a definition. The definition of a classic is, "The classics are those books about which you usually hear people say 'I'm rereading...' never 'I'm reading...'"(pg:3 p:1) I do not believe it's an actual dictionary definition, I think it's Calvino's definition of a classic. Now, what characterizes the conclusion? I the conclusion restates the thesis in this quote from Cioran: 'While the hemlock was being prepared, Socrates was learning a melody on the flute. "What use will that be to you?", he was asked. "At least I will learn this melody before I die,"'(pg:9 p:4). The melody represents a classic, I think. The classics are something you learn from as the years pass. It may take a few years or a lifetime to fully understand what the classics have to offer and to learn from it, but as Socrates said, "At least I will learn this melody before I die."(pg:9 p:4), you will get it if you go through the text more than once through the years.

Gulcat, Zeliha. "The Essay." Buowl. Sept. 2004. Web. 20. Aug. 2011. http://www.buowl.boun.edu.tr/students/the%20essay.htm.

Why Read The Classics Blog #5

How is the essay organized? I think the essay Why Read The Classics is organized by giving many examples of what the classics are in definitions. In the essay there are fourteen definitions of what the classics are. Calvino is sure to explain that there are different meanings or versions of classics like definition eleven: 'Your' classic is a book to which you cannot remain indifferent, and which helps you define yourself in relation or even opposition to it (pg:7 p:2). I think Calvino did not start out with a big picture- just examples conveying his idea. Although he does leave us to come to our own conclusion at the end, it works. He ultimately gives us a choice: to read the classics now and throughout our lives, or not to. I think Calvino organized the essay well. He would give a definition and then explain it further in the paragraph after. He does a great job of keeping the reader focused on the thesis and the whole purpose of the essay in every paragraph and definition- he does not get distracted. In my opinion, as a reader, I was able to concentrate on what he had to say because he reminded me of the thesis constantly so I could understand and really see his point.

Why Read The Classics Blog #4

What passages capture your attention, arouse a reaction? The passage, "What this shows is that reading a great work for the first time when one is finally an adult is an extradordinary pleasure,one which is very different(though it is impossible to say whether more or less pleasureable) from reading it in one's youth. Youth endows every reading, as it does every experience, with a unique flavour and significance, whereas at a mature age one appreciates(or should appreciate) many more details, levels, and meanings,"(pg:4 p:2) I like this passgae because it relates to the thesis. Calvino is right when he said, "Youth endows every reading, as it does every experience, with a unique flavour and significance, whereas at a mature age one appreciates(or should appreciate) many more details, levels, and meanings,"(pg:4 p:2) The reading experience is different when you're younger. You don't sometimes understand what the author says or means in their writing and you get confused. As you mature and grow older, the things you once didn't understand, click, and you th ink yourself as silly for being puzzled in the first place. So, when you read the classic for the first time as an adult, you'll enjoy it more than you did when you were younger because the events and details make more sense and you understand them more.

Why Read The Classics Blog #3

What rhetorical devices are used? I think the rhetorical devices used in Why Read The Classics are tone and theme. The definition of tone is: the writer's attitude toward the material and/or readers (LRD p: 58). In the essay, Calvino's tone is gentle and persuading. He wants the readers to read the classics now as well as throughout their lives. His tone is different from Nabokov's which was matter-of-fact rather than gentle. Throughout the essay, you can really tell that Calvino is passionate about the classics and wants other people to be as well. The definition of theme is: frequently reocurring ideas, such as enjoy-life-while-you-can (LRD p: 57). The reocurring theme in Why Read The Classics is how the classics are a great learning experience. In almost every definition Calvino put in the essay incorperates the idea of the thesis. Together, the rhetorical devices tone and theme really help Calvino persuade the readers to at least think about-if not do- actually reading the classics all throughout their lifetime which is the job of rhetorical devices: to persuade the reader. In my opinion, I think Calvino made good use of them and that readers will become as passionate about the classics as he is and read them more often as they grow up.

Veroso, Bryan. "Literary and Rhetorical Devices." Literary and Rhetorical Devices. Worldpress Experts, 2011. Web. 02 Aug. 2011. http://literary.edublogs.org/

Why Read The Classics Blog #2

What is the author's tone? I think the author's tone is a mixture of condenscension and didacticness (AP #'s:6&15). Calvino uses condenscension because he has a sense of superiority and confidence when he gives information (AP #6). He is also didactic because he is trying to teach you about the classics and why you should read them (AP #15). At the beginning of the essay, Italo shows condenscension by putting a definition saying, "The classics are those books about which you usually hear people saying 'I'm rereading...' never 'I'm reading...'" (pg:5 p:1). He is confident in the definition that that is the case the majority of the time. Italo uses didacticness by stating, "Even if the books remain the same(though they too change, in the light altered historical perspective), we certainly have changed, and this later encounter is therefore completely new," (pg:6 p:5). I think he is trying to say that the books will stay the same, but we will change and so will the experience each time we reread a classic. I think that having the mixture of condenscension and didacticness is a good one because they are both very strong tones. Calvino is confident and superior and he really is there to teach you new things about the classics and in a way, sort of motivate you to read them.

"AP Tone Words." Google. 2011. Web. 21. Aug. 2011. http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites%srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxwcGhzZW5nbGlzaGtvaHxneDo1MGJiYjg3YmNNDQ2YTlk.

Why Read The Classics Blog #1

What is the thesis? Where is it? Is it implicit or explicit? The thesis of Why Read The Classics is that the classics are a great learning resource and as you grow up, you learn more from them. The thesis is not directly stated, I think. It is more summed up which is why I think the thesis is implicit because you have to think about it in order to find it. Calvino does not come right out and highlight it because he wants you to have to think and gain something from the essay. He wants you to figure out that by searching for something, you receive knowledge. It is the same with the classics. If you search through the text more than once, each time you will take with you a new piece of knowledge. Personally, when I read the classic Great Expectations last year for English for freshman year, I found myself going back and rereading different parts of the book and learning something different each time. I bet if I reread Great Expectations now, I would learn something completely different because, even in a year, I have matured and have learned to understand things differently.

Good Readers and Good Writers Blog #8

What is your reaction to the essay? Is it an emotional one or logical one? I think my reaction to Good Readers and Good Writers would be a logical one because I already knew ahead of time what Vladimir would be talking about throughout the essay. He really made it clear in the first two paragraphs that he would be breaking reading and writing down in order to make you a better reader and writer. He was not shy about it. I liked reading what he had to say and I learned a lot that I did not know before, like the three facets of a good writer (pg: 4 p:18). I thought you just had to write about the popular topics that are happening now like vampires and werewolves, but that is not the case. Vladimir said you just need to have a good thought and the magic, story, and lesson will come with it and people will want to read what you write. I also learned some interesting qualities a good reader should have: imagination, memory, a dictionary, and some artistic sense(pg:2 p:7). I could have guessed that imagination would be on the list, but the other three, I was not expecting. Vladimir really opened my mind and taught me many new things that I will remember for a long time.

Good Readers and Good Writers Blog #7

What authority does the author have as a writer? I think Vladimir's power is being an influential writer because he wants to help people better themselves in reading and writing. Vladimir can write an essay on how to be a good reader and writer because he really did his research. He took his time with the details and examples to show people how to better themselves and not many authors can do that very well. Vladimir had other people, such as college students, give their opinion on things like the qualities a good reader and writer should have, and it really put a different perspective into the essay and makes it better. I think the readers of the essay can really gain a lot from Vladimir's essay because he makes it reader friendly. They know how to create better stories as well as learning how to read stories and understand them better by his advice. Vladimir teaches people to go into their minds and really think about what they are reading or writing and either understand what the author is trying to get across to them or what they, as writers are trying to get across to their readers- he forces them to sort of think differently than how they did before and that really opens up a whole new learning experience.

Good Readers and Good Writers Blog #6

Identify the methods of introduction. What characterizes the conclusion? I believe Vladimir uses two methods of introduction: the funnel method (TE pg:1 p:26) and using quotations (TE pg:1 p:45). The funnel method starts out with a broad statement and as the paragraph goes on, the sentences slowly become smaller and lead to the final sentence which is the thesis (TE pg:1 p:27). Vladimir wrote, " 'How to be a Good Reader' or 'Kindness to Authors'- something of that sort might serve to provide a subtitle for these various discussions of various authors, for my plan is to deal lovingly, in loving and lingering detail, with several European Masterpieces." And then, at the end of the introduction, Vladimir stated his thesis, " 'what a scholar might be if one knew well only some half a dozen books.' "(pg:1 p:1) Vladimir also used the quotations method (TE pg:1 p:45). When an author uses the quotations method, the quotation usually matches the thesis and summarizes what the author is trying to say (TE pg:1 p:46). Vladimir executed this method by quoting Flaubert from a letter to his mistress, "Commel' on serait savant si l'on connaissant bien seulement cinq a six livres." After the quote, he summed up it's meaning, " 'what a scholar one might be if one knew well only some half a dozen books.' "(pg:1 p:1) This quotation is his thesis and summarizes what will be learned in the essay. I think the conclusion restates the major ideas that were presented in the essay (TE pg:1 p:52). The author went over what made a good writer and reader- "a wise reader reads the book of genius not with his heart, not so much with his brain, but with his spine," and the the importantce to just have fun while reading too, and "we shall watch the artist build his castle of cards and watch the castle of cards become a castle of beautiful steel and glass."(pg:4 p:18)

Gulcat, Zeliha. "The Essay." Buowl. Sept. 2004. Web. 20. Aug. 2011. http://www.buowl.boun.edu.tr/students/the%20essay.htm.

Good Readers and Good Writers Blog #5

How is the essay organized? The essay starts out with a generalization of what is in the essay: how to become a better reader and writer, then turns to specifics by breaking down the two main topics into multiple paragraphs. In my opinion, the essay flip-flops between the two main topics. In paragraph six, the author gives a list of definitions of a good reader to college students and tell them to pick four that, in their opinion, makes up a good reader. At the end, he tells the students the "correct" answers. This is just one specific that can help the readers of the essay to become a better reader and writer. Vladimir also gives us "three facets of a good writer" which are magic, story, and lesson (pg:4 p:18). He goes on to tell us that you do not have to write about mythical beings to create a magical story, you just need a strong purpose to the story and the rest will come along the way. This specific is a great help to writers everywhere. I think, all together, the author did not leave us out to dry at the end of the essay. He gives specifics and details in every paragraph that helps both readers and writers tremendously.