How commercials get you to buy things (LD)

When we received this assignment to discuss a literary device in a blog post I was a little bit less that ecstatic. Let's be honest, I love to analyze texts with the best of them but I couldn't imagine how I was going to fill a whole post about my great love for anastrophes and alliteration.
I began to consider other places that literary devices could be used that were not texts or poems written by dead, white guys. Then it struck me. We see literary devices all the time when we're watching TV. Commercials are full of imagery, and alliterations. Literary devices are used to persuade us to buy certain products. Let's look at a few examples.
Allegory: a story or picture that holds a greater meaning within itself

At first glance this super-posh kitchen just represents a super-posh kitchen. However, the reason people would go out and buy components of this kitchen if it was shown in a commercial would be because it is an allegory for wealth and sophistication. The commercial promises (inaccurately) that if you own this kitchen you will become a wealthy, sophisticated person. This is all implied in the glossy counter tops and the cool hanging lights. Allegories are necessary for persuasion. If the commercial said this outright it would seem unreasonable, but when our subconscious's recognize the allegory, we often believe it.

Amplification: adding detail to a description in order to increase its worth







                                                                                                                                                                        Although most car-buyers don't understand what all these uber-fancy descriptions mean, they know they sound important and that what really matters. What sounds better: "I'm buying a red car" or "I'm buying a shiny new crimson Ford with large horsepower, deluxe air-conditioning and a great radio". It doesn't matter if the "deluxe air-conditioning" is the cool air you feel when you roll-down the windows; What matters is the description. If a product sounds good, it is going to sell.

Analogy: a device that helps to establish a relationship based on similarities between two concepts or ideas.


Analogies are used all the time in commercials. Have you ever seen  a mop commercial where they show a comparison of your current mop leaving mud behind and the mop they're trying to sell you leaving everything sparkly white? That's an analogy. It works to show a certain product as being above it's competition. The audience understands that whatever vacuum or shampoo they used to like is now considered sub-par and must now go to the nearest meijers to buy the new, better product. 
The commercial industry has a lot of ways of convincing people to spend money. This is why DVR is a good investment.                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Thoughts on "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" (PR)

When I learned that one of our blog posts this month would be a poetry response I immediately thought of The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot. In our AP Lit poetry unit and in my Hope College poetry class, Eliot's poem has always stood out as my favorite. I actually skyped my sister who was living in India and read it to her. It's that good. So I really like the poem but what do I, as an amateur literary student, have to say about it? It's been analyzed by scholars for decades and already has been examined in every possible angle. Since I like lists (they add an illusion of order in a chaotic world) I decided to list everything that I adore about The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.

Link to the Poem:  http://people.virginia.edu/~sfr/enam312/prufrock.html

1.) It's dramatic without losing its wittiness:
 The poem tells the tale of a man who is struggling with untold love, self-consciousness and mortality. Eliot could easily have explored these themes in very obvious and sentimental ways but he doesn't. The love life problems are never talked about outright but only hinted at with mentions of "perfume from a dress" (65) and forcing "the moment to its crisis" (80). The reader can understand that Prufrock is self-conscious to his mentions of his thin legs and bald spot. His issues with mortality are brought up with characters like Lazarus and Hamlet along with morbid symbols like yellow fog and seductive, murderous mermaids. Without these features Eliot's themes would belong more in People Magazine than the greatest poem of all time.

2.) The literary references make me feel intelligent:
 There is no greater feeling than to learn about something or someone in class and then be able to connect what you've learned to other aspects of your life. Wow, I just sounded really nerdy. However, it is true that understanding references or difficult words makes one feel good about oneself. I like that Eliot added in such references as Lazarus, Michaelangelo and Hamlet because I can connect what these outside references add to the entire meaning of the poem. Lazarus and Hamlet are characters involving resurrection and death, both of which Prufrock is contemplating. Michaelangelo was a talented artist and the fact that women were discussing them shows that the women are educated and classy. This intimidates Prufrock. It's cool that I can understand all of this just with a little outside help from the Bible, Art History and English class.

3.) Eliot understands flow:
Perhaps what puts The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock above some of my other favorite poems is its smoothness and unique ability to flow. Flow is a bad descriptor, but I can't think of a better word. Flow is what makes the rhythm of the poem feel like crashing waves and flow is what makes you keep reading the poem even after you realize it's ridiculously long and you kind of want to take a break and get a snack. You can't stop mid-poem because that would break the incredible flow. Flow is also what makes reading the poem soothing and calm even as the narrator deals with some pretty big issues. Eliot made the poem sound so beautiful that he was able to entice an audience to read a difficult poem that dealt with difficult subject matter.

This blog post did not even begin to cover the loveliness of this poem so be sure to look it up so you're able to enjoy it as much as I  have. Eliot is great.  He also has three heads which is pretty cool.

Really Sherlock, really? (IR)

For my independent reading assignment my group decided to read two of Arthur Conan Doyle's first Sherlock Holmes books: A Study in Scarlett and The Sign of the Four. I was psyched about this assignment for a lot of reasons. I love mysteries, I've had Sherlock Holmes books sitting on my bookshelf for years and I figured that it would be a nice enjoyable read. Everything was all well and good until I actually started reading. The writing was fine, but what frustrated me was the author's racism, and the portrayal of women. Yes, the Sherlock Holmes series was written a time where there was a lot of racism and sexism and general misunderstanding of everything but I don't think that is an excuse for some of the portrayals in these mystery novels.

Portrayal of different races:
 
The Sign of the Four is a mystery about stolen treasure taken from India. The Indian characters in the book include two Sikh men and a native from the Andaman Islands named Tonga. The Sikhs are portrayed as greedy and evil as they put together a plot to steal treasure and kill a white man (*gasp) in the pursuit of stealing it. Meanwhile the main white villain is shown as merely a pawn in their plan who was too scared to cross them. The native, Tonga is shown as ugly, unintelligent and blood-thirsty. Although there are many deaths in The Sign of the Four they are never committed by a white man. It is little three-foot Tonga with his his blowgun that does the dirty work. When the white villain returned from India with Tonga, he made money by parading Tonga around as the devil and getting paid for "beating up the devil". Super racist? Oh, yes.

Portrayal of women:

A sexist portrayal of women can be seen in both A Study in Scarlett and in The Sign of the Four. In A Study in Scarlett  a man avenges the death of his fiance and her father. His fiance, Lucy had worn away in depression and sorrow after being married off to a bad man while her true love had been unable to save her. I found myself thinking, why couldn't have Lucy saved herself? If she was such a catch, supposedly she'd have some brains right? But no, Lucy died of sorrow because she was too weak to stand up for herself and a good strong man needs to go and avenge her death.
In The Sign of the Four we finally are introduced to a strong female character. Her name Miss Mary Morstan and her father was one of the ones who died in pursuit of a large treasure. Mary holds up well throughout the mystery and information on various killings, never crying or showing weakness.Watson thinks strength is hot and decides he wants to marry her. He goes on about how strength is almost that of a mans. Sherlock on the other hands says that no woman is to be trusted. Ever.
Really Sherlock, really?