"Good Old Desk" ~ Harry Nillson

Subject: His work God
Occasion: 1970's
Audience: Those who enjoyed his music, the Beatles-listening generation
Purpose: To express his appreciation for his job God
Speaker: A religious person, someone very appreciative of their God
Tone: Joyous, cheerful

Nilsson is talking about God being his source of support and his friend. His "desk", oftentimes used as a symbol for stability, is what he uses to symbolize God.

1. "It's always there"
2. "Keeps my hopes alive"
3. "Giant of all times"

"The Runaway" ~ Normal Rockwell

During the 1950's, the fabric of American society was undone and again rewoven to incorporate many social changes new to our culture. A counterculture was born and bred in this era, bringing with it new values that challenged the traditions held by the parents of the 50's generation. "The Runaways" pictures a small boy running away from home, sitting next to a police officer in a diner, unusually casual. Normally, we would think an officer to be shocked and troubled at this situation, but the officer here appears to hold no qualms about the young escapee. This demonstrates the devaluing of what the older generations thought and the growing dominance of the younger generation's values - the boy is running away to establish independence for himself, and the older gentlemen seems to accept this. Rockwell's "The Runaway" overlooks the fundamental rift that was rising in America throughout the 1950's - an emerging counterculture that was not concerned with how things were but rather how they are.

"Shooting an Elephant"

Subject
The subject of George Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" is that conforming to sociocultural pressures in order to become accepted by society is not always a moral decision and can cause one to commit atrocities they may regret. This emphasis on conforming is illustrated through the fact that the narrator made his decision to cruelly shoot the elephant based on what he believed others expected of him. This support illustrates the subject because after the narrator shot the elephant he came to realize the potential immorality of his actions and immediately regretted it.

Occasion
"Shooting an Elephant" was written during the fall of 1936. The essay's time of creation is exhibited by the mentioning of Burma as an Indian state under British rule and the mentions of imperialism. Britain had practiced imperial rule in Burma during this time, which confirms the 1936 time stamp. The probable place of the essay's creation is in Moulmein, Lower Burma. This is supported by the author's introductory sentence, where he states plainly the location of the article's events: "in Moulmein, in Lower Burma, I was hated by large numbers of people — the only time in my life that I have been important enough for this to happen to me." He describes his dealings with the Burmese people in the article, further confirming the location.

The time and place of the essay's creation influence the essay by influencing what he thinks of British imperialism and what he thinks of the Burmese. The author is influenced by the disgust he's supposed to have for the Burmese people as a British man, but at the same time, his hatred of imperialism. "With one part of my mind I thought of the British Raj as an unbreakable tyranny...with another part I thought that the greatest joy in the world would be to drive a bayonet into a Buddhist priest's guts." The time, when imperialism was prevalent, allowed the narrator to witness its practices and form a negative opinion of them, but the place, Burma, paradoxically also infused a hatred in him for the victims of imperialism, the Burmese.

Audience
George Orwell's specific audience for "Shooting an Elephant" is the British imperialists. The author's target audience is exhibited by his overall focus on imperialism and its evils. His anti-imperialist statements demonstrate that he is trying to influence the mind of those who subscribe to imperialism.

The author's general audience is the British people. The author's general audience is communicated through his focus on a subject that most British people would be initially familiar with, but might not know the intricate details of like Orwell does.

Purpose
George Orwell's purpose in "Shooting an Elephant" is to demonstrate that although a practice is culturally or socially accepted, it does not make it a moral practice, and one should always trust their ethical conscious above what social rules might dictate. This purpose is manifested by the narrator's initial reluctance before shooting the elephant and subsequent guilt after committing the act. The purpose is further revealed by the fact that the narrator's incentive to commit the act was based on what he thought others' wanted of him, not by moral consideration.

Speaker
George Orwell, 20th century author, believes imperialism is evil. This value is illustrated by his persistent saying that the Empire's imperialism is "dirty work". He further states "I had already made up my mind that imperialism was an evil thing and the sooner I chucked up my job and got out of it the better". Imperialism at the time was accepted as a practice in Great Britain, but the narrator's obviously staunch opposition to it demonstrates that he believes it is not entirely moral.

Tone
George Orwell articulates a somber and spiteful attitude about the unjust societal practice he has just adhered to in "Shooting an Elephant". These attitudes are expressed by his somber statement that "in the end I could not stand it any longer and went away". The narrator realized his actions were so horrendous, he could not "stand" to stay at the site of the shooting any longer. This attitude validates the tone he uses to earlier express his feelings on imperialism - they both demonstrate disgust, suggesting that what he has done is in some way in link to the way he feels about imperialism. His concluding sentence, "I often wondered whether any of the others grasped that I had done it solely to avoid looking a fool", expresses a degree of anger and spite at others' failure to realize the true immorality behind his actions.

"Across the Universe" - The Beatles

1. "pools of sorrow, waves of joy"
2.  "words flowing like endless rain into paper cups"
3. "a million suns"

The first line, "pools of sorrow and waves of joy", sets pools of water as symbols for emotions, perhaps expressing that the artist's emotions are so strong that they are uncontainable and unpredictable just like water.

The sun can stand as a symbol for joy, good fortune, and a bright future.

Listening Journal 8/26 ~ "Inspiration Information" by Shuggie Otis (1974)

The word might be ridden with clichés, but I can think of no better way to characterize this song other than "funky". The song is as relaxed and mellow as the era it originated in. The combined effect of Otis' laid-back vocals and the lightly thumping bass creates a sound highly reminiscent of a Prince production.

"Inspiration Information" is composed of a groovy guitar beat and accompanied by light, airy vocals that work together to create the carefree feeling of the song. The snapping sound further helps the song create a joyful and funky atmosphere. A prevalent bass and intermittent keyboard ties it together as somewhat standard, nonetheless enjoyable, '70's soul fare.

"Semeadores" ~ Diego Rivera

Subject: Mexican laborers

Occasion: early 20th century Mexico, during the Mexican Revolution

Audience: the Mexican people and working class

Purpose: demonstrate a kinship with the Mexican working class, advocate Communist ideals

Speaker: member of the Mexican Communist movement, identifies with the plight of common Mexican laborers

Tone: dark, lifeless, mourning - the artist wants to portray the lack of appreciation at the individual level society pays the laborers

What's most notable about this painting is how the workers almost entirely blend in with their background and possess completely indistinguishable faces. Rivera painted the men this way to demonstrate how society treats commoners as less than human, faceless, with no individuality to tell one apart from the other. In addition, the workers' feet are not visible; they appear to be almost "planted" into the dirt. This represents how the laborers are locked into their life of poverty, unable to "walk" away from their hardships.

Wilco and Creative Writing

Wilco's approach to songwriting involves first shaping the bare bones of the song and then adding on more elements, piece by piece. They reconstruct parts they don't like again and again until they reach the final "draft" they can agree on.

My creative writing process involves first mapping out what I must accomplish in the piece I'm formulating. I repeatedly reread the assignment or prompt I've received and determine what I want to say and in what order or structure I want to say it in. I create a brief outline of what topics I am going to cover in each of my paragraphs, create a thesis that conveys the main points I will prove, and then start writing my essay. The first draft is usually sloppy, so I go back and reread to identify errors in my grammar or wording and correct them. I try to read what I've written from an objective point of view, asking if this essay will convey my message in a way the reader will understand. If the answer to the question is yes and I have already finished correcting grammatical errors, then my writing is finished.