Giant Panda Cub Born at National Zoo Dies
http://www.foxnews.com/science/2012/09/23/giant-panda-cub-born-at-national-zoo-dies/?test=latestnews
There is a lot of diction in this article that makes you feel bad for the Zoo and the mother. Like in line two they mention the "saddening zoo officials and visitors." The author talks about how hard it is for a young panda to stay alive through the first two weeks of a panda's life because of infection and their extremely small size.
The most vivid imagery given is when they describe the size of small pandas, which are according to the author "the size of a stick of butter."
There is a lot of detail about the Panda's mother and the history of the Pandas at the zoo. According to the article they were given to the washington zoo by China in honor of president Nixon's visit to their country. The author also tells us about the dead baby's mother and that the baby came as a surprise because she had had five miscarriages before giving birth to this baby.
As far as syntax goes all the sentences are long creating a pattern of long rhythmic story telling. The tone is not very elevated but is more like a friend talking to a friend, keeping it informational and conversational. There is a quote said by a girl named Murray, she repeats the word beautiful creating an emphasis on the importance of the beauty of the situation. The article ends on such a sad depressing thought but really bringing the emphasis back on the death of the little cub.
~Emily Mackson
Hi Emily,
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to remind you that diction is less about the tone of the word and more about the connotation of the word. The idea is there, but you might want to choose a more culturally "heavy" word to prove your point about the type of diction in this article.
The imagery section was really good, though. I liked your example a lot.
Its very interesting that you thought the structure lent itself more to the story telling genre, I would have analyzed it differently (saying the long sentences suggest formality) but I can see your side, too. Maybe the other blog editors will have some opinion also!
This post had a lot of good evidence (especially, like Erin said, in the Imagery section). The next step would be connecting the evidence back to the intent of the author. You seem to be saying that the author uses rhetorical techniques to show the readers what a tragedy this is, and to make them feel sad. I know it sounds a little redundant, but its important to relate evidence back to your main argument, using a warrant.
ReplyDeleteFor example, you picked up that 'the author describes the small pandas as "the size of a stick of butter."' This is an excellent observation, and there is so much to explain. You could go on to say 'this familiar object helps us relate to the tiny pandas better than a measurement, and the choice of a soft, easily squashed substance further reinforces how vulnerable the babies were.'