In addition, Norma frequently doesn't answer Leroy's questions but brings up other subjects. For example, Mason shows Norma's lack of communication when she doesn’t answer Leroy after he questions, "Am I still king around here?" (620). Instead of telling Leroy what she is feeling, Norma avoids telling her husband how it is. |
In addition, Norma frequently doesn't answer Leroy's
questions but brings up other subjects.
For example, Mason shows Norma's lack of communication when she doesn’t
answer Leroy after he asks her, "Am I still king around here?" (620).
Instead of telling Leroy what she is feeling, Norma avoids directly answering
the question and instead tells him “I’m not fooling around with anyone”
(620). This avoidance can lead to problems
because she adopts a defensive tone, and in the process, brings up the idea of
infidelity. If Leroy hadn’t been
thinking about that, he certainly is now, and this distrust, along with the
antagonism of her defensiveness, can lead to tensions in a relationships. These are the kind of stresses that can tear a couple
apart. |
Here the writer addresses the problems of
the couple's communication breakdown by making Norma's lack of response
clearer with a quote and then following out what this response could
lead to -- particularly, how it could create problems. The "This
_____" structure works well here because it forces the writer/reader to
look back and explain what was this said. Similarly the "If ____"
sentence format allows the writer to speculate probably effects,
leaving the reader with an idea of the ramifications of the
communication misfires. The final "These ____" sentences brings
the reader back to the topic sentence.
This example shows how
"camping out" on a quote by using simple sentence starters can address
the "I know what this means but can't explain it."
And how do you make a paragraph plain old fun?
Having FunThesis: John Updike's "A&P" illustrates a critique of 1960's through the narrator's negative view of the dominant tribe within A&P, his sympathy for the girls, and his struggle against the majority. Sammy's place among the tribe of A&P allows him a negative view of
his coworkers and customers. In the early 1960's, a young man of his
age would have been expected to secure a job and marriage. Updike
provides hints to Sammy's hesitation to follow said path through the
strong contrast. Stokesie serves as a glimpse
into a possible future. He is described by Sammy as "married with two babies
chalked up in his fuselage already, but as far as I can tell that's the
only difference. He's twenty-two and I was nineteen this April" (411).
Despite their similarities, Sammy seems to view him as a chump because
of his marital status, and scoffs at Stokesie's managerial aspirations,
suggesting a lack of satisfaction in that possibility. Lengel, the
store's manager, also provides an important contrast as the embodiment
of traditional values. Painted as "pretty dreary, teaches Sunday
school, and the rest” (412), Updike sculpts a figure that represents
the humdrum results of the 9-5, the religious influence that permeated
through 1960’s America, and a suggestion that the whole package-
imagine the button-up shirt, the white picket fence, the meat loaf
awaiting in the oven- comes vacuum-sealed within a simple series of
choices (See Stokesie). |
How to Explain
Explaining Quote Suggestions
To kick you into a sentence that uses one of the techniques listed above, try using a verb from the following list to shift into argument.
|
© 2018 David Bordelon