Indeevari Kumarasinghe- Essay Draft #1

Indeevari Kumarasinghe

Professor Monroe Steel

ENGLISH 1121

June 8, 2020

Essay 1

Interpretation is an act of explaining. Interpretation can have different perspectives and anything can be interpreted in many different ways.  Interpretation could also be described as reframing or showing one’s understanding of an idea.  As different people come from different cultures or backgrounds, they also go through different experiences in life. It is those life experiences that drive people to understand things and express ideas and thoughts differently. In the content “The Money” by Diaz, J the two versions I choose to describe the story from the perspective of the oldest child in the family and the second one is my attempt at seeing the story through the eyes of the youngest sibling.

Story through the eyes of the oldest brother.

The America which I always watched in Hollywood movies always fascinated me as a child and it was always my dream to be a part of this world. As I grew older and my dream came true, I quickly realized that the Hollywood images were a little bit exaggerated, to say the least. Quite frankly, they turned out to be far beyond the reality that I found myself in. The clean, beautiful streets were nowhere to be seen. It also turned out that not all people here have the looks of a supermodel. Not all of them are happy or rich like in those awesome American movies I watched as a child. Admittedly, maybe I watched too many Disney movies? I thought that when we finally come to America, we will be living like royalty. To my surprise our standard of living has declined. Yes, we now have more food in the fridge, and chocolate candies, and Coca-Cola, but the food itself is much worse than back home. For the first few weeks I wanted to go on a hunger strike and could not force myself to eat the American bread and meat. Everything tasted horrible compared to the fresh and tasteful meals we had back home. Not to mention the small apartment we had to endure. My father is a very hardworking man; he is a forklift driver. I appreciate his hard work and effort to put food on our table.  Sometimes I feel sorry for him when mom yells at him for not bringing enough money home. I know he is trying his best and every time he loses a job, he is very emotional and goes out to look for another. He never gives up just like the spider who builds his web, and restlessly rebuilds it every time it gets damaged. Yes, that is my father; my hero who always tries hard to make our life better. My mother wants to go to work and make money to increase the household’s income, but it is hard for her to do so, since she has five children to take care of. My father wants her to stay home and make sure that we are raised properly.  He is rightfully worried that we may turn out like many bad apples in our neighborhood. I can not compare it to other neighborhoods as I have not seen many of them yet, but I know that ours is not considered to be an example of a good neighborhood. People get mugged, cars get vandalized, and apartments get broken into on daily bases. As a matter of fact, somebody broke into our apartment just yesterday, and all of my mom’s savings were stolen. This money was meant to be sent back home to support my sickly grandparents. Everyone is now devastated. Parents are blaming each other, and when they take a break from jumping to each other’s throat, then they re-aim their target of frustration at us. They yell and accuse us of telling somebody at school about my mom’s hidden safe. I have a feeling it could have been one of my younger brother’s shady friends. I don’t have a proof yet, but I will keep my eyes and ears open, and if I find out that my brother had anything to do with that, I swear, I will have one brother less.

Story through the eyes of the youngest brother.

For the past two days my friends at school keep talking about the new Lion King. This is the only thing that matters now. Our class is divided into two groups now; the cool kids, and the kids who haven’t seen The Lion King yet. I keep asking my mom to take me to the movies to see The Lion King. but she keeps telling me off. She says it will come out on DVD soon and we will watch it on TV. She says that she wants to watch it too but she is scared of big screens so she wants me to wait with her and watch it together. My older brother says that going to the movies is for the rich and spoiled American kids, and we can not afford it yet. My mom is always busy cooking  and cleaning around the house, so I would think that she should be getting enough money to take me to movies; so I suppose that my brother is lying. He must be lying. We are not poor. We have clothes, food, candies, and my dad has a car. My father is barely home and always at work; day and night. One of my older brothers is always reading books. Mom says he will be a lawyer one day. My other brothers are also older than me and they are always outside running around with their friends. One day I will be like that, too. Nobody has time to play with me, but it is fine. I like to be alone and watch everyone around me and learn new things. My father says that my oldest brother will soon be old enough to help him make more money for the family. For now, I kept it a secret, but I think I will tell them tomorrow during the dinner that my brother is already making enough money for them. Today, I secretly spied on him, and I saw him put lots of money into my mom’s hidden safe, where she keeps stashing away her change.  I do not know where my brother was able to get so much money, because I had never seen so many bills in my life, but I am sure my parents will be proud of him when they find out.

In conclusion, interpretation could be described as expressing an idea or a thought to others, according to your own way of understanding. What I struggled with the most, was putting myself in the shoes of other parties who could have been witnesses to the author’s story.  Then after choosing two different siblings as my two different points of view, I struggled a little with putting myself in the heads of those two young children , one of whom is significantly younger.

Essay 1 draft

Intro

I chose to write about the story, which depicts a man having a friend fix the button on his coat after a fight ensues on a bus. In Queneau’s stories he uses great detail to explain the story from that specific perspective. Oftentimes his depiction relies on a lot of sensory detail. Each of the perspectives that I wrote about, come from a place of vulnerability, a place of helplessness. The first perspective is that of the bus itself. I chose to write about this point of view because I felt that the interpretation from the point of view of the bus itself would be an interesting viewpoint, which would emphasize the damage done to our surroundings that might occur when a fight ensues. This damage is often done with little regard to the property itself. The bus could not do anything other than accept the beating it was taking, and was forced to watch from a submissive position. The second interpretation of the story that I wrote about was that of the bus driver. I also interpreted his viewpoint to be from a position of desperation because he normally has control of his bus, and takes great pride in its efficient functionality, but during this scenario he lost control and could not calm the raucous on the back of the bus. The third interpretation of the story that I wrote about was that of a fellow passenger. I chose to use a passenger who does not normally take the bus, but was forced to do so today to ensure that all three perspectives shared similarities in that they came from a helpless, desperate point of view, but the details were unique to their situation.

 

The Bus driver

 

They fill me up as they always have. I sit in the hot sun as they load more and more bodies onto me. They cram more and more people into my seats, without regard for the work I do to transport them. Expressing little appreciation for my hard work, they focus more on each other and how they are inconvenienced. Each person is different, one in particular with a long neck, more into himself than the rest. Another one of them, less appreciative of me, but more angry at his situation. Their pain felt by all, they broke up into arguments against each other. Me, and all of my parts, the last thing on their mind. After the fight, they look disheveled with their clothing all misaligned. They express no sympathy for the damage they have done to me. Seats torn. Window scratched. Focused on himself, the man has a friend fixing the button on his coat. Nobody fixes the damage, which has been handed to me.

 

You usually have the regulars, but today was different. Strangers alike, they each get on my bus giving me a nod as they walk up the steps. I take good care of my bus. It serves the community well, and it provides me a lifestyle. Hot from the body heat of everyone on board, I do my best to open the windows to provide a little bit of comfort to my passengers. A tall man with his chin pointed towards the clouds enters the bus. He doesn’t seem like my normal passengers. He has a bow on his hat. The bodies and the heat inconvenienced another passenger, an older fellow. Neither recognizes that we all share the same conditions. The older gentleman explodes in anger, only to be met with disdain from the fancy fellow in the back. A fight ensues. I try my best to reintroduce peace into the situation, but like the little regard they have for my bus, little regard they have for my voice. I no longer have control. The damage is unavoidable, but it is fixable, just as the button was fixable on the one man’s coat.

 

I never take the bus. I hate the crowds. I hate the smell. I hate the traffic. I hate the jerky movements. But my car broke down, and I had to take the bus today. I went in with an open mind, hoping to be pleasantly surprised, but I quickly recalled exactly how much I hate the bus. The bus was hot and humid. The sun shined down on the bus, and bodies seemed to radiate steam. Everyone was frustrated as more bodies crowded on the bus, but most people managed to keep calm enough. One crotchety old man caused a raucous expressing his dissatisfaction only to be met with the force of another passenger. What was already an uncomfortable situation for me, quickly escalated into my worst nightmare. More heat. More energy. More noise. More being pushed around. More arguing. The bus ride from hell continued, but I couldn’t get off. I had to take the bus today, and I had no other option. After the fight I noticed a man out the window having the button on his shirt fixed. This is the last time that I will ever take the bus.

Conclusion

This assignment required a great deal of creative writing. I think what I struggled with most was thinking of different perspectives from which to write. It initially seemed that Queneau used every possible style and interpretation imaginable. After I thought about all of the players involved, however, I realized that there was great potential to write with a unique style, taking the perspective of innocent, passive, members of the story. This allowed me to see that there are always multiple sides to a story. A story is told by one individual, but the story might come across entirely different from the perspective of someone, or in the case of the bus above, something, else. This assignment allowed me to realize that an interpretation can really be very diverse. It can focus on sensory details like Queneau’s examples writing from an olfactory or visual sense. An interpretation can also focus on other physical details or even mental details, as can be done by approaching the scenario considering the unique situation of everyone involved. I think that this assignment translates quite nicely to the outside world where it is important to consider that every situation has multiple interpretations. It is important for us to consider each interpretation of events, and not focus solely on a single interpretation or a single report of the events.

 

 

2. 6/4 (due 6/8)

2 (6/4) | The politics of interpretation / Sex in a moving vehicle…

Note: instead of 2 separate, longer prompts, I’ve given you 6 or so shorter-answer prompts for this assignment; see below.

Also, please complete a draft of Essay 1 by Monday and make a post under the category “Essay 1 Feedback” containing a PDF/DOC or Google Doc link to your (shared) file.

New readings for this assignment (due Monday 5p)

–Berlatsky, “Beyonce: Sex Terrorist” (p. 153)
–Plato, The Republic, Book X, excerpts (it’s long! If you’re short on time, you can just read where there are highlights and/or black lines next to text) (p. 94)

Once we complete the two readings above, we will have read a handful of texts all dealing with the problem of what interpretation is—including several texts that revolve around what I’m calling the “politics of interpretation.”  These texts—Beyoncé’s “Partition” (and her contemporaneous Time cover photo), the Bell Hooks interview, the Bill O’Reilly & Russell Simmons interview, Noah Berlatsky’s Beyonce: “Sex Terrorist,” and Plato’s “Book X” of The Republic—all confront us with two more specific questions regarding

a) what poetry, music, and art’s role in society ought to be
and

b) why (art) interpretation matters to us as a society.

In Plato’s text (p. 94 in the PDF)—written more than 2300 years ago in ancient Greece—we enter into a dialogue between the philosopher Socrates and his pupil Glaucon in which Socrates argues that art and poetry are fundamentally imitative—meaning that they are more concerned with replicating the appearances of things rather than the true nature of things in themselves.  (Socrates gives several examples of “things” that an artist or poet might copy—a couch, the reigns of a hourse, etc.—while knowing next to nothing about such things.).

  1. In the first section of your response, I will leave it to you to figure out whether you think Plato (& the character of Socrates through whom Plato speaks) thinks this imitative aspect of art is good or bad and the kinds of values he thinks art should project—what he thinks art should try to get people to do or think, the sort of things he thinks art should represent, etc. (Read carefully!) You are also welcome to respond to Plato’s views on art; he’s a famous philosopher, but that doesn’t mean we have to agree with him!

It would appear possible to connect Plato’s view of art and poetry to the point Ruefle makes in “On Beginnings” : albeit from very different places, times, and mindsets, both writers seem to arrive at the notion that art and poetry are interpretations.  For Plato, this is because art imitates the way objects in the world from a particular angle or perspective; for Ruefle, poetry seems to interpret in language a mode of thought or inspiration that came to the poet’s mind in part from outside language.

This leads me to the next question I’d like you to respond to (after reading everything, viewing Beyoncé’s “Partition” video, and looking at her Time cover photo, linked above):

  1. What does Beyoncé’s work appear to be an interpretation of? (You can be creative with your response because I’m not sure I have a “correct” answer to this question in mind—it is, after all, a matter of interpretation what her work seems to be interpreting.)

Next I want us to consider the interpretations of Beyoncé by Hooks, O’Reilly, Simmons, and Berlatsky.  It strikes me that 2400 years after Plato, there is still a debate going on about what the role of art in society should be.  With that in mind, I want you to (a) tell me what each commentator’s interpretation of Beyoncé’s work and argument about art is and (b) provide a quotation from each text that shows the commentator’s perspective.

3a (Hooks’ interpretation of Beyoncé and argument about art’s role in society):
3b (Quotation from Hooks):

4a (O’Reilly’s interpretation/argument):
4b (Quotation from O’Reilly):

5a (Simmons’ interpretation/argument):
5b (Quotation from Simmons):

 6a (Berlatsky’s interpretation/argument):
6b (Quotation from Berlatsky):

 Note: your responses to prompts 3a–6b need not be long—they can be single sentences—but they should be well thought out.

Very much looking forward to reading your thoughts—please post responses to 1–6b below.

M

PS. For next week’s “Listening Log” (not due till next Thu, don’t worry!) I want you to choose a song that is a “re-mix” of another song. This is, in a way, what we are doing in Essay 1; we’re making a “re-mix” of a short story (or several “re-mixes”).

 

Listening Log #1

“Change your life” – Kehlani ft JhenĂ© Aiko
Lyrics that strike me:
“Used-to-be models, IG honeys all shaped like bottles
But now you seein’ that it’s more than body, face, and smile
You see me, and you look beyond it, you feel inspired”
The sentence “you see me, and you look beyond it, feel inspired” striked me because this significant other doesn’t just focus on physical perspectives but has taken the time get to know this person.

Repetition:
“Baby, let me change your life
You wanna see (everything )
That you can be anything you want”
Changes:
At the start of the song it is smooth and calming as the song goes on there is a smooth change in the beat as the artists switch between eachother. Also when they sing the repetition line there is a bass.

Listening Log #1

Song: Real Bad Lookin’ by Alex Cameron

Phrases:

  • “The little dream sits there, she’s like a fly in a jar”
  • “I made a deal over lunch baby, yeah it was worth 15k, I show my teeth when I smile in a real matter-of-fact way”

The first phrase strikes me because calling her baby a little dream while also describing her as a fly in the jar both shows how treasured a baby is while also denoting how defenseless they are at the same time. The other phrase is also good because it really hits on the nose how highly the “dumbest, richest guy at the bar” thinks of himself.

Repetitions:

  • The same synth line repeats nonstop throughout the whole song.
  • “Yeah who the hell are you to tell me that I can’t leave my kid in the car” repeats three times with the latter two being in succession.

Changes:

  • During the first verse, Alex Cameron calls himself “drunkest, ugliest girl at the bar” while in the second verse he reuses this kind of phrasing to describe himself as a different character which is the “dumbest, richest guy at the bar.”
  • In between the two verses, a fuzz guitar is introduced to the song to provide a solo that also bridges the two verses while that same synth line still continually plays.

 

The song makes it clear how miserable the two characters are and how their misplaced pride is used as a crutch to protect them from their realities while also making them intolerable to anyone else.

Listening Log #1

Song : FACE by BROCKHAMPTON

Lyrics that strike me :

“It feels like I can see the past in your eyes”

“But I got the dream and if you believe, then I can take you somewhere that is pristine”

“But I got a plan for ya, I’m taking a stand for ya, I care for ya”

Based on these three lyrics, you can tell that the song is about making someone happier or taking them to a better place in their life. The past in their eyes can be pain that they show and easily shown in their eyes.

Repetitions Noticed:

“ I just wanna love ya”

“I just wanna hold ya”

“Tell me what you’re waiting for”

Changes Noticed:

The lyrics go from making it seem like the intention is to get the other person to open up and let them change their life for the better, but once the chorus ends and BROCKHAMPTON starts the verse in a different tone and the lyrics also change to him being scared to trust and wanting nothing to do with the person he’s trying to make happier sometimes.

  1. Tone changes

  2. Meaning behind lyrics shifts

Listening Log 1

Listening Log assignment #1
Song used- ‘Dream on’- Aerosmith

1. Lyrics that strike me

“You gotta lose to know how to win”
“Everybody’s got the dues in life to pay”
“Live and learn from fools and from sages”

The lyrics in this song have good messages for this temporary life and very relatable as you get older.

2. Repitition
“Dream on”
“Dream until your dreams come true”
“Sing with me, just for today, Maybe tomorrow the good lord will take you away”

3. The changes over the course of the song
The song starts off calm, with the with the lyrics being sung softly. When the song reaches the bridge, the music has intensified and the singer’s voice has gotten louder. By the time it’s progressed to the hook everything is very loud. As the song ends, the guitar slows down

 

Listening Log Week 1 -Brittny Sobers

Song – “All I ask” by Adele

  • “No one knows me like you do.

And since you’re the only one that matters

Tell me who do I run to?”

These lyrics strikes me because when she sings this part I can feel the pain in her voice when she asks who do I run to. Her tone stood out to me mostly.

  • “Take me by the hand while we do what lovers do

It matters how this ends

Cause what if I never love again?”

In the song Adele repeats these lyrics 3 times throughout the entire song.

  • “ I don’t wanna be cruel or vicious

And I aint asking for forgiveness”

This part of the song the song completely slows down almost to a stop then
“All I ask is

If this is my last night with you

Hold me like I’m more than just a friend

Give me a memory I can use

Take my by the hand while we do what lovers do

It matters how this ends

Cause what if I never love again?”

When this last part of the song comes on after the stop to the music the song picks up and Adele picks the beat up as well as her tone and volume. She becomes louder and more powerful as she closes the song.

Randy Cabrera – Listening Log

Song : Polo G – Wishing For A Hero (FT. BJ The Chicago Kid)

3 Repetitions I notice

  • I notice the same beat playing played throughout the whole song. ( Piano is being used consistently )
  • The way Polo G raps throughout the whole song, he doesn’t slow down and is always on beat.
  • Towards the end of the song the choir repeat the lyrics ” that’s just the way it is “

3 Changes I notice

  • Throughout the song some changes I notice is the different type of social issues he discuss. He goes from police brutality to being raised in the hood.
  • I also notice how it changes from him rapping and then the choir comes in at the end.
  • The beat of the music changes when the choir joins in at the end.

3 Phrases that strike me

  • ” You ain’t my color, then you don’t know the struggle of livin black “
  • ” Cops Kill us and we protest, what type of sh*t is that? “
  • ” I’m from where we’re unheard and we can’t speak, We go to school, they try to tell us what we can’t be “

Due to the recent events with rioting and protesting, this song came to mind as soon as I read the what we had to do in this assignment. The 3 phrases Polo G says, strikes me because of the current situation the world is witnessing right now. The death of George Floyd caused an outrage in many states throughout America and parts of the song describe what’s happening in the world. Especially when He says ” Cops kill us and we protest, what type of shit is that “, really made me think why is this even a problem. We shouldn’t be going through this regardless of what skin color you are, you shouldn’t be mishandled by cops. This song just speaks a lot on current social issues and Its phrases are what some people can relate to.

 

 

Emily Mendieta – Listening logs – week 1 to week 5

Song: Sky walker

Artist: Miguel featuring Travis Scott

  1. 3 phrases that strike me were:

“I’m Luke skywalkin’ on these haters”

“Good thing come up those that wait up but don’t wait too long to jump in”

“Celebrate everyday like its your birthday”

The song strike me in those 3 phrase because I see it as you have to be above  from your haters since it’s your life and your choices people shouldn’t be making opinions on what you do and don’t do, also I also believe that when thing are for you its meant to be no matter how long it takes to happen but when it comes your way don’t hesitate to make it happen. lastly you should live up your life with no worries and give time to have fun like it says in the song “celebrate everyday like its your birthday”.

2). Repetition I noticed:

” Don’t sleep you gotta stay up

Don’t sleep you gotta stay up”

3. 3 changes I noticed in the song were:

The sound, message, and relating other types of media. The sound of the song it stay in a one background sound through the beginning and the end of the song but as the song ends the sound shifts into a slow calm background sound but then comes back to the beginning sound for few seconds before ending, the message basically went from having to stay up above these haters because if you don’t it seems to them like you being bother by it that’s why you have to stay above or like in the song “skywalkin’ on these haters”, and lastly the relating other types of media it mentions Top gun and Tom cruise which to me its a good way to mention the actor but also one his number 1 movies he has ever made.

 

 

Listening Log Week 1

Song: I Can Tell by Travis Scott

[3 Phrases]

“504 Hot Boyz minus the bad rap, like Silkk the Shocker.”

“Tilt the posture, sick, pass the bottle.”

“But I’ma pull up the silk to shock her with the silk.”

[3 Repetitions]

“Yeah, I can tell baby, I can tell.”

“Yeah, gone out of your way, you know we can tell.”

“You aint told no tale, you ain’t told no tales.”

[3 changes]

I noticed that Trav started off casually and explaining his come up to then an explosive mid way which coincides with lyrics symbolizing “making it out the wood” all the meanwhile explaining his current mindset and foresight as a star thus implying he’s seen it all before on his way to the top, from ideas, to schemes and plans.

Listening Log Week One

Song: Paid My Dues by NF

 

Three Phrases That Strike Me:

“They get paid for trashin’ people, I get paid ’cause I stay workin’”

“… you really gotta dig in your heart if you wanna get to the root of an issue”

“Just remember though, I’m only a man, I’m a human being.”

 

Those lines strikes me because they have a very deep message. I feel like many people go through different things in life, they are being criticized, they are being affected by social media, and etc.

 

Three Repetitions:

“Paid my dues, made it through”

“Spread the news, I need some room”

“Thought we’d cool Well, don’t assume, don’t assume”

 

Two Changes That I’ve Noticed:

One of the changes I noticed in the music is that the beat builds up as it gets to the chorus.

Another change that I noticed is the song starts from the piano and goes to a hard beat.

 

Video- How to create a new post for Listening Log, etc.

Sorry for all the background noise! #Construction

Also for anyone who’s post appears as “Uncategorized” If you find your post and click edit, then all you have to do is choose “Listening Log” under categories just like in the video below! Don’t forget to click “Update”.

I hope this is helpful!!

 

Listening Log – Week 1

Song: The Bones by Maren Morris and Hozier

Three Phrases That Strike Me:

“Life sure can try to put love through it but we built this right, so nothings ever gonna move it”

“No, it don’t always go the way we planned it, but the wolves came and went and we’re still standing”

“When there ain’t a crack in the foundation, baby I know any storm we’re facing will blow right over.. the house don’t fall when the bones are good”.

Three Repetitions:

“When the bones are good, the rest don’t matter”

“Yeah, the paint could peel, the glass could shatter”

“Let it rain, cause’ you and I, remain the same”

Three Changes That I’ve Noticed:

Throughout the first chorus there is a slow buildup in instruments which continues until the very end of the first chorus. 

When the chorus is repeated for the second time it goes straight into a consistent high upbeat rather than a buildup as it was in the first chorus. 

When the male voice sung by Hozier comes in, it comes in very slowly, giving the listeners a calm surprise which leads to both artists intentionally never being on the exact same pitch which sounds really good to listen to.

–

There are so many valuable lessons that I pull from this, the most important to me was that anything in life needs to have a solid foundation. This foundation could be a friendship before a romantic relationship, genuinely getting to know someone before passing judgment or even selflove, we may face arguments, self doubt, emotional uncertainties, or sadness but if it’s built on top of  a great foundation of friendship or self love we will make it through and be okay.

Listening Log Assignment #1

Song: “Heart to Break” Kim Petras

1)Three Repetitions:

“Even if it means that I’ll never put myself back together
Gonna give you my heart to break”
“Even if I’ll end up in shatters, baby, it doesn’t matter
Gonna give you my heart to break”
“I tried to fight, but I can’t help it
Don’t care if this is my worst mistake”

2)Three Changes I’ve noticed:

There’s a quick breakdown right before the second pre-chorus.

Towards the end of the song the artist sings their own backup layered on the track.

The song ends with with a final note then phases out as emphasis.

3)Three Phrases that strike me:

“One look at you, I’m powerless
I feel my body saying “yes””
“Where’s my self control? Ah
And when you touch me, I’m a fool”
“This game I know I’m gonna lose
Makes me want you more”

As someone who has been pretty unlucky in love so far, this song speaks to the innocence of wanting to be in love or having a love, even when you know the exchange is not synergistic. It’s unhealthy, but the feeling of being infatuated makes it seem worth while. You intentionally throw caution to the wind even with  blatant warning signs. I think it’s a pretty contemporary pop love song.

 

 

Listening Log #1

Song I choose is “Welcome to the machine” by Pink Floyd

This song does not have lots of lyrics but does have some very power musical notes and the few lyrics it does have are moving. This song is all about interpretation.

Repeating lines

“Welcome, my son. Welcome to the machine. Where have you been? Its all right we know where you’ve been. Welcome, my son. Welcome to the machine. What did you dream? Its all right we told you what to dream.”

Two lines that stuck with me were

“And you didn’t like school. And you know you’re nobody’s fool”

These lines spoke to me for the deeply profound message the song is providing. They recently had lost their leader of the band, Syd Barret, not from passing but from a mental collapse. I relate to these lyrics because I don’t enjoy school and I don’t believe school makes or breaks you. So even without a formal education, you can be somebody great.

Three changes in the music

The song starts with an eerie noise almost as a spaceship is about to take off. Very strange noises

Then the lyrics come into play they add the acoustics of the guitar and still keep a bunch of those sci-fi noises

Towards the ending of the song the lyrics stop and the music intensifies to the very end. It sounds like someone is driving off to an event because you hear the roaring engine of the car and then chatter of the crowd then nothing

Listening Log Assignment

Listening Log Assignment

Song: Fake Love

Artists: Drake

1). 3 phrases  in the song strike me were:

” I got fake people showing fake love to me”

“Somethin’ ain’t right when we talkin’
Somethin’ ain’t right when we talkin’
Look like you hidin’ your problems”

“That’s when they smile in my face”

The song strike me because I am still true to what I say and do. The world views love as a cover up to wrongdoings, atrocities, wrongdoings, and glorifying violence. Love should me peace, serenity, and being true without any violation of human dignity.

2). Repetition that I noticed

“I’ve been down so long, it look like up to me
They look up to me
I got fake people showin’ fake love to me
Straight up to my face, straight up to my face
I’ve been down so long, it look like up to me
They look up to me
I got fake people showin’ fake love to me
Straight up to my face, straight up to my face”

3). 3 changes I noticed in the song are, the tone,  the message, and the reaction. The tone is basically saying that love should be like from the past that it must not only to have good things, but to correct mistakes also. The message is that the real definition of love is respect and understanding. The reaction is that how should we execute love, not only romantic love but also for brotherly love for everyone.

Listening Log Assignment 1

Listening Log Assignment

Song: Fake Love

Artists: Drake

1). 3 phrases  in the song strike me were:

” I got fake people showing fake love to me”

“Somethin’ ain’t right when we talkin’
Somethin’ ain’t right when we talkin’
Look like you hidin’ your problems”

“That’s when they smile in my face”

The song strike me because I am still true to what I say and do. The world views love as a cover up to wrongdoings, atrocities, wrongdoings, and glorifying violence. Love should me peace, serenity, and being true without any violation of human dignity.

2). Repetition that I noticed

“I’ve been down so long, it look like up to me
They look up to me
I got fake people showin’ fake love to me
Straight up to my face, straight up to my face
I’ve been down so long, it look like up to me
They look up to me
I got fake people showin’ fake love to me
Straight up to my face, straight up to my face”

3). 3 changes I noticed in the song are, the tone,  the message, and the reaction. The tone is basically saying that love should be like from the past that it must not only to have good things, but to correct mistakes also. The message is that the real definition of love is respect and understanding. The reaction is that how should we execute love, not only romantic love but also for brotherly love for everyone.

Preliminary Announcements and Tasks

Hi everyone,

You’re on my list for the June edition of English 1121 at City Tech–glad to have you and to begin the class online this coming week.  I’ll have a good deal more for you on Monday when I post the first assignment to our OpenLab site.  In the meantime, there are a few preliminaries I’ll ask you to do (by Monday morning, ideally):

1) Go to the course site and follow the notes/links on how to set up an OpenLab account (if you don’t already have one) and join the course.  (You have to do this to submit day-to-day writing assignments and receive grades on the OL site.)

2) Create a Google Drive folder (with link-sharing enabled) for sharing Essay drafts and other assignments with me (if you don’t have a Google account, I apologize, but you’ll have to create one of those first).

3) Copy your Google Drive folder URL; you’ll need it when you fill in your info on this Contact/Info form I need you to complete.

4) Sign up for a time to meet with me on one of the coming 4 Wednesdays.

5) Begin reading the Course syllabus & assignment calendar.  You might also begin perusing our course readings.

Feel free to write with any comments or questions.  And look out on Monday for assignment #1–I’ll be posting it to the OpenLab site, so you’ll want to check there.

Excited to read you all–welcome!

Monroe

Monroe Street
English Department, City University of New York
Psychoanalyst, Institute of Expressive Analysis

 

Emanuel Pichardo Listening log-1

Song: Tye Tribbett- We Gon’Be Alright

3 Repetitions I notice:
Music:
The Song repeats a lot the triplet hi hat through the whole song.
The 808 Bass plays the same patterns in the intro and also at the end of the song as well.
Song:
“We gon’ be alright, we gon’ be alright
We gon’ be alright, alright
We gon’ be alright, we gon’ be alright
We gon’ be alright, alright.”

3 Changes I notice in the music:
Music:
One change is when the song gets to the chorus and gets to the build up.
The song also goes from singing to rapping through the whole song.
In the song it goes from no drum to a calm melody.

3 phrases that strike me:
“In these last days
Evil times will come and it’s here today
Look at all the hate
Senseless crime and murder everyday
Human trafficking, racism, policy brutality
Bullying, rape, child molesta shun the appearance of evil I pray

Let Your Kingdom come, let Your will be done
In the Earth
Let Your glory rise, let Your Son shine
Let it burst
Through the dark clouds”

“We gon’ be alright, we gon’ be alright
We gon’ be alright”
The battle isn’t yours, this belongs to the Lord
Stand still, don’t fight, we know that
We gon’ be alright”

When i heard this song it made me feel that even after all we are going through right now in this world and in this country, i know and have hope that everything is going to be alright. I trust in God and I know he will keep my family safe and everyone i Love. I know that everything happens for a purpose and i know that at the end of all of this thing will get better.

1. 6/1 (due 6/4 by 5p)

6/1 Blog Assignment

Hi crew—and welcome to Comp II, online edition, special courtesy of Covid-19.

Ok, so just to clarify a few things: this is not a “synchronous” class, meaning that generally speaking, we will not be meeting in “real time”; instead, I will be posting 2 assignments per week—one on Mondays (due Thursdays at 5p) and one on Thursdays (due Mondays at 5).  The only “synchronous” aspect of the class is that you will be required to “meet” with me in “real time” (via chat, Zoom, etc.) for 15m on one of the upcoming 4 Wednesdays.  This will just give us a chance to get to know each other a little bit better and to discuss your involvement with the course and any questions you might have.  The other “synchronous” aspect of the course is the “drop-in hour” I will be hosting on Zoom on Wednesdays from 1:30p-2p.  This is optional, but any of you are welcome to meet with me (and whoever else shows up) in “real-time” then.

As you may have gleaned, this online course will thus be very “textual”—because assignments will be delivered largely via posts to OpenLab, you will be expected to do a lot of careful reading (in addition to doing a lot of writing); to learn in this class, you will be expected to read not only assigned works of literature (etc.) but also the posts I will be making such as this one, containing various forms of instructional material.  To me, this makes a lot of sense for people working on their written language skills, as pretty much the best way to improve your written language skills is to read and write a lot!  That said, for those of you who are “visual & auditory learners,” I sympathize—and this is why I will be making myself available to you on Wednesdays via Zoom as mentioned.  Anyone who feels like they learn better from visual, auditory, and “real-time” interaction is thus strongly encouraged to come every Wednesday to Zoom at 1:30p (just click any of these links).

Questions about anything in the course?  E-mail is the best way to reach me: Monroe.street.alt@gmail.com.

OK, so what I would like to begin with this week is a series of reading and writing assignments having to do with the question of what interpretation is—which, as I’ve explained in the Essay 1 Assignment Sheet (link above in “Course Materials à Essay Assignments”), is the fundamental skill this class will seek to help you with; being able to interpret & analyze both texts and real-life events is a skill that will take you far in both college and life.  Literature, I feel, can be a very fun and interesting environment in which to practice interpretation.

So let’s get reading & writing: you’ll note that a draft of Essay 1 is due in your Google Drive Folder next Monday.  (You will revise this draft significantly using feedback from me and the class and turn in another final draft of it at the course’s end.). In the meantime, I’m going to ask that you read through the following materials for Thursday:

–Course Syllabus & Essay 1 Assignment (in “Course Materials,” above)
–The following readings in the Course Readings PDF (also in “Course Materials,” above)
–Ruefle, “On Beginnings” (p. 84) / The poem as unfinished interpretation
–Beyonce, “Partition” (p. 36)
–Hooks, “Are You Still a Slave? Conversation on Beyonce” (p. 145)
–O’Reilly, Interview w/Russell Simmons on Beyonce (p. 149)   / Sex and the Platonic ideal of art…
–For ideas on your Essay 1 draft, skim: Diaz, “The Money” (p. 23) and Queneau’s “Exercises in Style” (p. 1)

Here’s what I want you to write for Thursday 5pm (write & save a copy of your response in your word processor of choice—Google Docs is great bc it saves automatically—and then post as a comment below)

1) 1 comment and 1 question about the Course Syllabus
2) 1 comment and 1 question about Essay Assignment 1

3) A reading response to 1 of the literary/critical texts we’re reading this week by Ruefle, Beyonce, Hooks, or O’Reilly.  For each reading response you do for this course, you will pick a quote from the assigned reading and introduce this quote with the proper context (author name and title).  You will then go on to discuss one question the quote raises for you about the reading and then try to answer that question; in your response, analyze the meaning of at least one specific word or phrase in the quotation.

4) A creative response of some kind to the following prompt:

Among many other things, part of what Mary Ruefle is doing in “On Beginnings” is to play with our notion of what a poem is—where it begins, whether and how it ends, etc.  One thing she suggests about a poem is that it is an unfinished “interpretation.”  What do you make of this suggestion?  What—for Ruefle and for yourself—is a poem an interpretation of?  Conversely, how does Ruefle’s suggestion that a poem is an “interpretation” change our understanding of what an “interpretation” is?  What, for you, in an interpretation?  Please write a response that touches on some of these questions without necessarily answering them in order or as a list.  (Every good text is a list, but not ever list is a good text.)

5) Post your first “Listening Log” by making a post in that section of the blog (see “Student Work” above) be sure to check the category on your post that says “Listening Log”).  The instructions for that (one more time) are:

Throughout the course, you will be responsible for closely listening to 1 song of your own choosing per week and writing three (3) lists of notes: (1) 2-3 phrases/lyrics that strike you; (2) 2-3 repetitions you notice (in the music and/or the words); (3) 2-3 changes that you notice (in the music).

 

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