Narrative Criticism – Dr. Seuss - The Sneetches

“Now, the Star-Belly Sneetches had bellies with stars.
                 The Plain-Belly Sneetches had none upon thars.
                Those stars weren’t so big. They were really so small.
                You might think such a thing wouldn’t matter at all.” – Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss just happens to be a favorite of mine.  His stories have a clever and simplistic way to reach children about some important lessons in life.  I chose The Sneetches for my narrative criticism.  The objective of this short story is to teach children about prejudice and tolerance. 

The story of the Sneetches is rather quite short, but a frightful story of some sort.  There are two kinds of Sneetches, some with green stars on their bellies and some without. They live together on the sunny beaches.  The Star Belly Sneetches reject the Sneetches without stars because they are different from them.  They taunt and tease all day long in the form of some very mean songs.  One day, the Plain-Belly Sneetches decide they’ve had enough of those star-bellied mean ways and decide to get stars on their bellies and have it their way.  With the swift help of one clever neighbor the Plain-Belly Sneetches become Star-Bellied Sneetches.  To their delight they are equal now.  But caught by surprise, they see the fright on the faces of those original Star-Belly Sneetches.   In the same fashion, the clever neighbor offers a deal to have the real Star-Bellied Sneetches remove those stars.  With one quick move, the stars are gone.  And wouldn’t you know it, they claim only Plain-Bellied Sneetches are the best on the beaches!  Before long, the Star Bellied and Plain-Bellied Sneetches had their clever neighbor adding and removing stars to be like one another all day long. This happened until no one knew who was who?  In the end the story goes so I’ve read…

“…the Sneetches got really quite smart on that day.

The day they decided that Sneetches are Sneetches.
And no kind of Sneetch is the best on the beaches.
That day, all the Sneetches forgot about stars and whether
They had one, or not, upon thars.” – Dr. Seuss

This story is one I have shared with my children and although they are young and do not understand what prejudice and tolerance is, some day they will.

 It’s unfortunate we still face prejudice in our society today.  If we are vigilant and teach tolerance from a very early age, our children can learn to appreciate and learn from others differences. 

Metaphorical Criticism - Forrest Gump

The artifact I have chosen is the movie Forrest Gump – there are several metaphors in the movie, two of which I find impactful.

The free floating feather shown at the beginning and the end of the movie is beautiful.  The vehicle is the feather. The tenor for me is- We are like feathers floating through time and where we land; is it destiny or simply by chance?

The second metaphor is a quote from the movie:

When Forest Gump says - “Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.” The vehicle is the box of chocolates.  The tenor for me is - You cannot predict the future or what life has in store for you, live for the moment, be present and acknowledge the past, but let it go.

Hardwork + Determination(Education) = Success

Neo- Aristotelian Criticism – President Obama’s National Address to America’s School Children

I choose this speech because it allows me to identify and analyze various cannons in the content.  I am also able to identify “Did the rhetor use the available means of persuasion to evoke the intended response from the audience?”

This speech was delivered by President Barack Obama at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia in September 2009.  President Obama has given and continues to deliver speeches on the importance of education to a variety of audiences. 

The occasion for this speech is to address students at the beginning of the 2009 school year and to set some expectations for students to take an active role in their education.

Obama’s claim is that he wants to stress that in order for students to achieve success they must commit to hard work and determination.  Hard work and determination is the foundation of any successful person and that no one has achieved anything without failure in their lives.   

Obama starts his speech giving a little background on himself growing up.  He points out that he too was once an everyday ordinary student and made mistakes.  He was raised by a single mother and initially did not have the same educational opportunities as other children.  He worked hard and went to college and law school to achieve the success he has.

The credible appeal of this speech is that it is delivered by the President of the United States and it directed to America’s school children via a local high school.

The emotional appeal is communicated multiple times throughout the speech.

“We need every single one of you to develop your talents and your skills and your intellect so you can help us old folks solve our most difficult problems. If you don't do that -- if you quit on school -- you're not just quitting on yourself, you're quitting on your country.”

“And even when you're struggling, even when you're discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you, don't ever give up on yourself, because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.”

“The story of America isn't about people who quit when things got tough. It's about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.”

“So don't let us down. Don't let your family down or your country down. Most of all don't let yourself down.  Make us all proud.”

“The future of America depends on you.”

Obama is telling the students that if you fail yourself then you fail you country.  This is powerful and I think used to create feelings of excitement and fear in the students, both powerful emotions.

I think the structure to the speech is arranged in a problem-solution order. Obama presents multiple problems or hurdles students face such as: fear of failure, laziness and complacency and offers solutions to these.  The solutions he gives to these problems are:  being respectful, doing homework, study hard, and don’t let failure define who you are, pick yourself back up and try again.

Obama knows his audience and has carefully selected the language and tone of voice to deliver his message.  He knows how to put the students at ease by using simple language for students to understand, a little humor and showing he can relate to them and the struggles they face.  Obama commands respect as he stands at the podium and shows authority and I think he does this to show he is serious about the message he is sending.

I believe Obama’s message achieved what he was looking for.  It was well received and impactful for the students.  The video clip included of students responses attest to this.  They share their perspective and interpretation of Obama’s message. The comments from the students acknowledge the need to push through and take responsibility for their lives and education and commit to the hard work for success in life.

Ideological Criticism: Reality TV Shows, We Love to Hate Them…

Why is it that we can flip through channels insensately and then come upon a reality show and freeze?   Perhaps we want to see how the other half lives, the reality TV stars.  Perhaps it’s for entertainment value.  Perhaps it’s something that resonates with us.

For those of you who’ve heard of MTV’s, The Real World, this was my first experience to Reality TV.  I was 15, it was the latest buzz and the world was watching.

The Real World was originally produced by Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray and first aired in 1992.  The idea was to originally have a scripted cast and do something similar to a soap opera.  That idea was scrapped and the decision was to produce the ups and downs of real life relationships unscripted. 

The Real World San Francisco was MTV’s third season of the hit show which first aired in June 1994.  This is a story of seven strangers who are picked to live together in a house and have their day-to-day lives filmed unscripted.  This was the first season featuring someone dealing with Aids and also the first season to cast an Asian-American and two Hispanic Americans.  The Real World is the longest-running program in MTV history and is credited with launching this pop culture craze.

You may be surprised, but Reality TV wasn’t born in the 20th century.  Reality TV shows have been around for over 50 years.  Hit shows such as Candid Camera and The Dating Game are pioneers of reality TV.

Reality TV shows have boomed in the last ten years.  You may be familiar with other popular shows such as Survivor, The Real Housewives, The Biggest Loser and Jersey Shore.  They all have something in common- raw emotion.  These shows make us laugh, they make us cry and they make us scream; sometimes they leave us scratching our heads. 

Do I dare ask, what makes us watch Reality TV Shows?

If you have ever have been excited, nervous or angry and at the edge of your seat while watching a reality TV show; the networks have successfully enticed you into watching.  Mass media achieves this through sensationalism or dramatization of subject matter no matter how insignificant an irrelevant it may be.  It’s clever and it works.  These shows are so popular because people can identify or relate with them; the struggles and the triumphs of everyday people going through similar experiences.  Reality TV shows provide a window into a diverse world around us through the safety of our living room. 

The lens in which I choose to anaylze reality TV shows is both deconstructionism and postmodernism.  The editing that is done in reality TV shows picks apart the material and subject matter and transforms information we are exposed to and allow us to draw an entirely different meaning of what is being conveyed.  Media has radically transformed society's norms, values and beliefs.  "The postmodern society requires new concepts and theories to address the features that characterize the new era:  fragmentation of individuals and communities; a consumer lifestyle; a sense of alienation; and a destabilization of unifying discourses and principles." --Sonja K. Foss, 2009. 


" Watch what happens next.."