For Tuesday: Ephron, The Boston Photographs

Close Reading Questions for

Ephron’s “The Boston Photographs” (655-660)

PART I: Definitions

1. Morbid 

2. Voyeurs 

3. Ombudsman 

4. Righteous indignation 

5. Puritanism/Puritanical 

PART II: Answer TWO of the following as usual...

 1. In Ephron’s essay, she opens not with a description of the image, but with three paragraphs of context.  How does this influence how we read the images (which we don’t see until we turn the page) and do we need to know this to appreciate them? 

2. Why was the response to these photos so negative throughout the country?  Are these photos “sensational” and “voyeuristic”?  Or do you agree with Ephron herself, who writes, “That they disturb readers is exactly as it should be: that’s why photojournalism is often more powerful than written journalism” (660).

 3. Much of this essay is actually a critique of newspaper editors and their “puritanical” audience.  What is her essential argument, and what does she worry these people might “miss” if the censure pictures such as the Boston Photographs? 

4. Why does she argue that photos are not "news" and by using them as news, they are made false? Would Morris agree with her about this use of context?  Why or why not?  

Photos for Paper #1 and Assignment

Here are the photos for Paper #1: the paper assignment is beneath them (click on "read more" to see it)

For Thursday: Simic, The Life of Images (pp.576-580)

Close Reading Questions for

Simic’s The Life of Images (576-580)

PART I: Define the following words as they are used in the essay (in other words, make sure the definition matches its use in the sentence).

1. “Innuendoes” 

2. “Nostalgia” 

3. “Tonsorial” 

4. “Poignant” 

5. “Ephemeral” 

PART II: Answer TWO of the following in a short response (more than a single sentence, and enough detail to see you “thinking”). Remember, don't assume the answer is obvious, and consider why you think this is the answer--what are the implications of this response?  Have fun with your answer and remember that anything you write now might help you down the road on Paper #1.  

1. What does Simic mean by his statement that “the attentive eye makes the world mysterious”?  How does this relate to how we see and read the world?

2. Read Simic’s description on pages 576-577 of the photo on page 577.  Do you “see” the same photograph he does?  What descriptions and conclusions do you agree with—and which do you dispute?  In other words, what in the photo is really there, and what is simply what he sees? 

3. What do you think Simic means by the statement, “The enigma of the ordinary—that’s what makes old photographs so poignant."  What is the “enigma of the ordinary” and how does it relate to one of the photographs in the essay? 

4. Would Simic agree with Morris (author of Liar, Liar Pants on Fire) that pictures cannot be true or false?  Do you think he feels they need context to “see” them? 

For Tuesday: Morris' Liar, Liar Pants on Fire (p.753)

Reading/Discussion Questions for Morris' Liar, Liar Pants on Fire (753)

PART I: Define the following words as they are used in the essay (in other words, make sure the definition matches its use in the sentence).  

1. inherently

2. preternaturally

3. context

4. inadvertently

5. objective

PART II: Answer TWO of following questions in a short paragraph (at least a few sentences).  Do not simply respond with a "yes" or "no" response.  I am less interested in what you think than why you think it.  Try to use support from the essay--show us where your ideas about the essay come from.  In other words, why is this your answer? 

1. Why, according to Morris, can you never apply the words “true” or “false” to an image?  Explain this using one of the images in the essay.  

2. Morris writes in this essay that “there is nothing so obvious that it’s obvious.”  What does he mean by this?  What isn’t “obvious” in a picture—and why don’t we see it (or worse, think we see it)?  

3. What role does historical context play in what we see and how we understand it?  Can we see anything without context according to Morris?  

4. Explain how the three images on page 757-759 relate to one another, even though they seem to have nothing in common.  Why would this relationship be obvious to a reader of 1915?  

Welcome to the Course

Welcome to blog for Dr. Grasso's two sections of Freshman Composition I, at 9:30 and 12:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  This blog is your resource for assignments, handouts, and announcements, and should keep you connected to class so you never have to ask the dreaded question, "did we do anything last class?"  

So what is Freshman Composition all about?  This is a class where we not only write, but discuss how to read the various texts of our culture, whether these are photographs, advertisements, gender roles, fashion, food, or television.  The goal of this class is to make you realize that nothing is simple or obvious; everything can be read on a deeper (or perhaps, more engaged) level, which changes what we see and how we respond to it.  As a writer, I want you to realize that everything you write has a built-in audience, so that any piece of writing contributes to an on-going conversation, many of them hundreds of years old.  Ideally, you will leave this class with an increased ability to enter into these conversations, and be able to see the hidden 'texts' that inform everything we see and do--particularly those things that make up the abstract concept known as culture.  

Be sure to buy our one book for class, The Writer's Presence, which is available at the ECU Bookstore. We'll start using it next week.  Otherwise, consult the syllabus for questions about the class and other information.  Feel free to e-mail me at jgrasso@ecok.edu as well.  I look forward to teaching you this semester!