Showing posts with label Word Whisperer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Word Whisperer. Show all posts

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Word Whisperer, Guilhermo Gonzalez

”Like a tree with no trunk, our alley was wide enough for two cars to pass abreast.” (pg. 19, simile)

To begin with, a simile is a comparison between someone or something using words like or as to describe familiar aspect and details. This linguistic technique is used in this phrase with the purpose of carefully describing the details of the environment Ji Li used to live with her siblings and parents in China. Most importantly, an element of figurative language is essential to writing. Similes make vivid descriptions by comparing their subjects with known events or things. Effective similes help readers visualize what is being described. Helping the reader metaphorically intact and travel to the books details enriches the significance of writing, since it makes the reader want to read more and more. A simile is an essential element for interest, when one writes detailed it gets the reader hooked to the argument.

"We were proud of our precious red scarves, which, like the national flag, were dyed red with the blood of our revolutionary martyrs." (pg. 29, metaphor)

Initially, a metaphor is a comparison between things; it is based on common characteristics and traits. A metaphor is very different from a simile since it doesn’t use like or as in its descriptions, a metaphor is a broader term than a simile, and it transfers the aspects of comparison of one word to another.  This metaphor is used very engrossing, this passage connects deeply with the reader, and personally it showed me how honored and full of pride the people of the so developing country china re proud of their homeland. A great way to help people understand abstract content, create a sense of familiarity, trigger emotions, draw attention and motivate action is metaphors.  Lakoff and Johnson once said "The way we think, what we experience, and what we do every day is very much a matter of metaphor. A metaphor is important since it enriches our writing; it makes deep and thorough connections between ideas and signifies. 


"'But Grandma, we have to get rid of those old ideas, old culture, old customs, and old habits. Chairman Mao said they're holding us back,' I informed her" (pg. 25, repetition)

Firstly, repetition is a literary device that repeats the same words to make an idea clearer. In this example this repetition shows the reader how Ji Li the importance of change. While I read the page I intellectually noticed that Ji Li is a person willing to do brave things for her beloved country. She is willing to leave everything behind, her values and beliefs, to try to shape a better and newer country based on newer concepts of life.  A repetition is very importance; in this case it showed the audience the importance of words. When using the technique correctly you can definitely transform the reader and make them gasp into surprise ment. Let us take in consideration, the speech we heard in humanities about the famous coach who won the united states basketball university division with the  “under dogs” the effective man used repetition over and over his speech and his end result was absurd, he made the audience change their way of thinking.


Now our chance had come. Destroying the fourolds was a new battle, and an important one: it would keep china from loosing its communist’s ideals. Though we were not facing real guns or real tanks, this battle would be even harder, because our enemies, the rotten ideas and customs we were used to were inside ourselves. (pg.28, hyperbole)

At first, a hyperbole is an exaggeration used to make a point. This quote I have depicted from the book  is used to show how willing Ji Li was to take part in this somewhat change. She can be truly considered a patriot, she agreed with the statements Chaiman Mao has stated. It shows that Ji Li wants to take part in this reshapement of the country, she is willing to do anything to “fight”. A hyperbole is very important in literature,it generates emphazises and emphazies is really important is getting to connect with your audience.





Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Word Whisperer

Red Scarf Girl
Ji-Li Jiang
Chapters 13-15

Personification: "My other classmates had stood in excited knots, looking at me over their shoulders." (pg. 212) This means that the kids were very animated, and could not wait to see what was happening. They were all quickly bustling around to see, and everyone was getting jumbled. This affects readers, because it makes people think deeply about what the author means. Then, you can connect more to both the book and the author. It is significant to the the book, because you in depth about the text instead of just quickly reading it without any ideas.

Imagery: "I slowly loosened my fist from the strap of my school bag. It was dripping with sweat." (pg. 215) There is no specific meaning, and it means what it seems like. However, as you read it, you can picture is like a short movie playing in your head. I thought this quote was amazing, and full of details. This affects readers, because it is not enjoyable to read a book where you don't feel like you are there with the characters. It is significant to the book, because if there were only short sentences, then you would not feel involved. This would not be a popular book.

Repetition: "It was full of red: red slogans, red posters, red armbands, and red flags." (231) This means, that the Red Guards are very proud of themselves, and try to find anything possible to show who they are to others.  This affects readers, because they can realize what the Red Guards are like just based on the quote. This is significant to the book, because the writer can easily exaggerate things. 

Metaphor: "The sweat of honest work will wash the black stain from your back and purify your mind so that you can follow Chairman Mao's revolutionary line." (pg. 233) This means that if Ji-Li can go to the countryside and not worry about her family, then she will not considered part of a "black family".  This affects readers, because you have to think strongly about the metaphors and what they mean. This is significant to the book, because it adds variation to the text. Not all of the sentences can be simple so that everyone understands them.

Onomatopoeia: "A regular swish, swish, swish was moving in my direction." (pg. 237) This means that swish is the sound that you could hear coming from the rice plants moving with the breeze. This affects readers, because it is different to read a word in your mind that sounds the same as the way you imagine it. This is significant to the book, because instead of taking a long time to explain the sounds you hear, you can use words that have similar noises to a word.

Irony: "Yesterday we––that is the Revolutionary Committee––discussed your situation. Because of your political situation we decided to let Fang Fang replace you." This means that even though we thought that Ji-Li was going to yet again do a great job at the exhibition, she was replaced. I was very confused, because I wasn't expecting that to happen. This affects readers, because it adds a large interesting twist to the book when you think one thing is going to happen, but it doesn't. This is significant to the book, because it will be boring with no twists and you will be able to expect everything.

Alliteration: "The stench of stale sweat on the cloth almost made me sick" (235-236) This means that the sweat that sat on her all day smelled so bad that she felt nauseous. This affects readers, because it adds characters to the book, and it is fun to say words that have similar sounds. This is significant to the book, because for me, I want to have fun while reading. It is like saying a tongue-twister, and I love those. Therefore, people can have fun reading even if they don't usually enjoy that activity. 

Kimball, Tracy. Kids Learn While They Laugh at the Fort Mill Library. Digital image. Fort Mill Times. Careerbuilder, 3 Aug. 2014. Web. 23 Sept. 2014. <http://www.fortmilltimes.com/2014/08/03/3641944/kids-learn-while-they-laugh-at.html>.

The Yoga Chronicles: The Yoga Touch. Digital image. RichRetyi.com. ThemeZilla, 28 Oct. 2013. Web. 23 Sept. 2014. <http://richretyi.com/ann-arbor-yoga-chronicles-2/>.

I chose the first image, because I could see the kids in excited knots perfectly in my mind. I imagined kids rushing out of school on the last day. I chose the second picture to show my imagery. I thought that many people would have similar perceptions, so I selected a picture of a sweaty hand to represent what I imagined.

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Word Whisperer Round 3


NOTE: I used the pdf version so the pages will be quite different.

     Metaphor: "I was a grown up now, doing a grown up's job." (pg 134) Ji-li may have thought that she felt good, having responsibility in the house once in a while. Like in the next sentence, "One day Grandma got sick, and I took over the cooking as well."

     Personification: “Every time I hear drums and gongs, I’m afraid that they’re coming to our house. My heart starts racing, and the closer they come, the worse it gets." In this paragraph, grandma explains to Ji-Li and convinces her that she's okay.

     Foreshadowing: "In the three months since the Cultural Revolution had started, changes had been so constant that I often felt lost. One day the Conservative faction were revolutionaries that defended Chairman Mao’s ideas; the next day,the opposite Rebel faction became the heroes of the Cultural Revolution. I heard that even Chairman of the Nation Liu Shao-qi and General Secretary Deng Xiao-ping were having problems. No one knew what would happen tomorrow." (pg 181-182) I can see that as time passed from the start of the Cultural Revolution until the time Ji-Li was in, she could see some major changes. Like in the first sentence, Ji-Li felt a major amount of changes since the past 3 months

     Metaphor: the voice was familiar.
“She lied to me! She told me Xinjiang was
like a flower garden. She said we would live
comfortably and eat well. And then what did
we fi nd when we got there? Nothing! Not a
damned thing! Not even a building to live in.
Not even lumber or bricks. We had to build a
lousy hut out of dirt. I fell off the roof when
we were building it, and now I’m a cripple.”
 It seems to me that Xu a San was very infuriated
by this. I think that Ji-li may have thought this
was confusing.


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http://www.1to1media.com/weblog/changes.jpg

Monday, September 1, 2014

Job #2 - Word Whisperer - To Hong Min

Red Scarf Girl: Chapter 3-5

Simile: "Long ropes strung cross the playground were covered with still more da-zi-bao, looking like laundry hung out to dry." I think this means that the students wrote and hung too much "da-zi-bao's" that it looks like a massive amount of laundry in the sun, prepared to be dried.

Personification: "The characters danced before my eyes, growing larger and redder, almost swallowing me up." I think this shows the shock Ji-li felt at time. I think this shows how dizzy and confused she felt that that outrageous statement.

Rhetorical Question: "Did the teachers really intend to ruin our health and corrupt our minds?" I think thus question shows how Ji-li is confused with the current situation in the book, where the students are criticizing the teachers for everything. Personally, I do not think that the fault in the students' skills are not the teacher's fault, but apparently, the others do not think so.

Foreshadowing: "“Alone in the corner of the school yard I saw a little wildflower. She had six delicate petals, each as big as the nail of my little finger. They were white at the center and shaded blue at the edges. She was as lonely as I was. I did not know her name. Softly I stroked her petals, thinking that I would take care of her, as I wished someone would take care of me." I think this tells me how something will happen to Ji-li in the future. Something that will cure her from her "depression."