Response to Course Materials

     To say the least, my mind has been blown over the past couple of weeks. Learning how to analyze literature using DIDLS (diction, imagery, details, language, and syntax) has proved to be so important to performing successfully at a college-level in this class. Never before had I been exposed to methods, let alone acronyms, that actually help me in the process of analyzing text. Let's say, for example, you are reading a poem very much like the one that we read in class last week, "My Father's Song", and you are told to make an analysis based on DIDLS. In this poem, you find that the author uses diction to describe both the stature and personality of his father, syntax to emphasize the tactile imagery that was so important to him, and symbolism to explain his feelings toward cultural traditions and parenthood-- quite frankly, it's a rhetoric rager! All of this helps you, as the reader, to receive more from the poem than just lyrical pleasure.

Close Reading Response to: Ask Jeeves

          In the article, “Ask Jeeves”, Alex Soojung-Kim Pang reports on the introduction of a robot-butler, named Botlr, to Silicon Valley’s Aloft Hotel, and comments on how the introduction of human-interface robotics has not had the expected influence on society. The use of diction, figurative language, and syntax in the article evidently help express Pang’s argument that it is almost impossible to imitate or manufacture the complexities of occupational interaction.

          An example of diction that can be found in the article is in a sentence that is used to describe the appearance of Botlr, “Its painted white shirt and bow tie, its measured pace, and the high-pitched ‘beep boop’ noises it makes when interacting with guests remind one equally of P.G. Wodehouse’s Jeeves and Wall-E’s Eve.” The reference to the name, Jeeves, brings cultural baggage to the reader in the form of connotation. Jeeves, a well-known character from the short novels of P.G. Wodehouse, is iconic for his formal speech and personality, which is commonly associated with the nature of a valet or butler. The author uses this reference to help describe the demeanor of Botlr, which is similar to that of Jeeves.