Analysis of Bop - Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes was known as the first African American writer to achieve an international literary reputation.  During the time of when his essay, Bop, was written, racial inequality was prominent in societies.  In Bop, Langston Hughes recounts a conversation that occurs between two characters talking about a music genre known as Bop.  The entirety of this essay is an allusion, which utilizes the music genre of Bop to show the racial inequality by contrasting Be-Bop, the black version, and Re-Bop, the white version. Since the piece is written towards people who do not have an idea about racial inequality, Simple, one of the main characters begins to describe the origin of Be-Bop and says, “From the police beating Negroes’ heads, overtime a cop hits a Negro with his billy club, that old club says, BOP! BOP! . . . BE-BOP! . . . MOP! . . . BOP!” (Hughes 191).  Through the use onomatopoeia, Hughes shows how the Black’s version of Be-Bop is based off of racial discrimination.  This helps show how the blacks were discriminated against which clearly displays racial inequality.  This helps support his argument that racial issues are still very evident in society.  In his essay, Hughes also uses another rhetoric device known as juxtaposition.  Simple begins to describe the contrasts between the whites and blacks and says, “White folks do not get their heads beat just for being white.  But me - a cop is liable to grab me almost any time and beat my head - just for being colored,” (Hughes 191).  By showing the contrasting ideas between whites and blacks,  Hughes demonstrates the use of juxtaposition.  Since Simple states that he was beaten for being black, this backs up Hughes’s purpose in showing that racial inequality is a serious issue and it is evident in simple ideas like music.  After reading this essay, I feel moved in the sense that racial inequality is everywhere we look or go simply because of someone having a different color of their skin.  I believe that this essay is quite applicable to the 21st century and should be a ‘must read’ for all societies.

Blacks being discriminated in this photo by police brutality, which created the popularity of the  music genre Be-Bop.  http://www.authentichistory.com/1946-1960/8-civilrights/celebrity/

Analysis of Pamplona In July - Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway was an American novelist, writer of short stories, and a journalist.  Pamplona In July was written in 1923, in which Hemingway describes his trip to Pamplona, Spain with his family to see bullfighting.  Pamplona, a town in the hills of Navarre, held the World Series of bull fighting each year in the first two weeks of July.  Through this narrative, Ernest Hemingway brings the reader along to experience his trip and the culture of Pamplona which makes them feel like they are right beside the Hemingways. Since the piece is written for those who enjoy adventures and travel,  Hemingway uses strong, descriptive diction throughout the essay to fully explain the culture and his trip to Spain.  He begins to explain his first sight of the bulls, saying, “Eight bulls galloping alone, full tilt, heavy set, black, glistening, sinister, there horns bare, tossing their heads,” (Hemingway 101).  This sentence has a very unique sense of diction as it utilizes so many different adjectives in order to help the reader understand what is fully going on.  Hemingway’s diction not only helps the reader understand his trip, but it also makes them feel like they are with him.  Another rhetorical device that he uses throughout the essay is figurative language.  He starts to tell of the reactions of the bulls, stating, “Then the bull will turn like a cat and get somebody who has been acting very brave about ten feet behind him.” (Hemingway 102) The use of a simile in this sentence helps paint a picture for the reader.  Rather than describing the actions of the bull, he goes on to use figurative language to truly capture the reader in his description.  Throughout this essay, Ernest Hemingway had the aid of rhetorical devices to fully present his story and display the culture and experiences he had on this trip.  I personally feel more knowledgeable of the culture of bullfighting and feel more eager to visit Pamplona, Spain.  If I get to go there, Ernest Hemingway’s use of diction and imagery will be the first thoughts to come into my mind.

"Then the bull will turn like a cat and get somebody who has been acting very brave about ten feet behind him." (Hemingway 102)  - http://ehto.thestar.com/marks/bullfighting-is-not-a-sport-it-is-a-tragedy 

Analysis of Graven Images - Saul Bellow

Saul Bellow was a Canadian-American writer who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize of Literature, and the National Medal of Arts.  In his essay, Graven Images, Saul Bellow writes about how the media is open to changing what people should think of someone by distorting the truth.  Graven Images was written in 1997 at a time where digital media and the internet was just starting to grow.  Written for all ages, Bellow does a great job at showing how the media is in control of what the public sees.  His use of anecdotes helps to exhibit the true meaning of the essay.  An example of one of these anecdotes is when Saul Bellow was describing when he was photographed for TIME magazine and says, “I often remember how at the age of ninety-nine Freud’s grandmother complained that in the paper ‘they made me look a hundred years old,’” (Bellow 566). Saul Bellow shows his true experiences with the media, by presenting what they can control with just a small photo lens.  Freud’s grandmother helped Bellow’s overall argument by displaying how different he looked in the pictures.  Saul Bellow also uses logos in an effective way by providing expert testimony.  In the very beginning of the essay, Bellow quotes Harry Truman, saying, “That as a president of this country he was its most powerful citizen - but sometimes he added, smiling, the photographers were even more powerful,” (Bello 564). This statement from a true expert helps back up Bellow’s purpose in the fact that the media has much control.  Through using this expert opinion, it not only backs his argument, but it also draws the audience directly into the passage making them very interested. By using these two strong rhetorical devices, Saul Bellow captures his audience and effective establishes his entire argument.  In my opinion, this essay made me re-think how much control the media really does have.  If it were not for the media, we as a nation would possibly see more of the truth.

"But neither the kindly nor the wicked ones can show us the realities we so hope - or long - to see." (Bellow 567) - https://www.emaze.com/@ALCWIOLL/MASS-MEDIA-IMPACT-ON-SOCIETY-BY-PAULA-ROCA