I was glad to find that many of my classmates had a variety of their understanding of "Lifelike." It definitely adds more controversy to class discussions that makes for better papers after hearing so many different takes on what others may have found. There were some who kept their same opinions as before reading the article, which is that taxidermy fills them with disgust. Then there were some students like me who expected the text to be weird once we discovered it would be about taxidermy, then after reading, recognized it as the profession that it is. After reading up on several perspectives, I will incorporate all of these ideas along with the "golden 6" that we use in class.
In my first essay, I made my audience generally specific meaning I was specific to my audience, yet it was pertinent to the human race in general because everyone finds something in someone else that they may not like whether they know the people or not. My essays are different from my class in that they are not cliche and start off with intro and conclusion templates. They are also always filled with emotion from my personal feeling after reading. With this type of essay, it is more controversial because yes everyone is judgmental at some point like in "Standing By" but with taxidermy, there are many animal lovers who simply can't relate to it no matter what. The role for my essay about "Lifelike" is to get animal lovers to think like those who are willing to compromise with the idea of taxidermy. Although taxidermy may not be widely accepted, there will still be taxidermist. It would be hypocritical to wish for respect of animals if you cannot even respect another human being by demeaning what they consider a profession.
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Assignment 7
1.) Why do you think Orlean references the Bible at the end of the story, or at all?
2.) Why do you think Orlean was so graphic in her writing?
1.) The very last sentence of "Likelike" is really separated from the rest of the text. "Otherwise, the room was Biblically tranquil, the lion at last lying down with the Corsican lamb, the family of jackdaws in everlasting, unrequited pursuit of a big green beetle, and the stillborn Bengal-tiger cub magically revived, its face in an eternal snarl, alive-looking although it had never lived." Susan Orlean talks about the slaughter of animals throughout the entire text, then refers to the Bible suddenly. This was a great way to make sure the reader was paying attention from the beginning to the very end. One will wonder 'how can you make a biblical reference about using deceased animals as an art form?' Orlean does a good job of breaking down how taxidermists justify it.
2.) Orlean was very straight forward about how serious taxidermy is to those who are involved and even got down to the fine details of making dead animals look real; from their heads, and for those who did full bodies, down to their toenails. A couple of taxidermists literally had a conversation about the toenails on an animal: "What did you do for toenails, Ken?" someone asked.
"I left the black bear's toenails in," he said. "They looked pretty good."
Someone like myself who is far from an expert on taxidermy would that it simply consists of stuffing a dead animal. In reality, they order parts, bleach them, mix them to create other species and so on. Orlean did a wonderful job of getting into great detail about how much work is put into the profession, no holds barred.
2.) Why do you think Orlean was so graphic in her writing?
1.) The very last sentence of "Likelike" is really separated from the rest of the text. "Otherwise, the room was Biblically tranquil, the lion at last lying down with the Corsican lamb, the family of jackdaws in everlasting, unrequited pursuit of a big green beetle, and the stillborn Bengal-tiger cub magically revived, its face in an eternal snarl, alive-looking although it had never lived." Susan Orlean talks about the slaughter of animals throughout the entire text, then refers to the Bible suddenly. This was a great way to make sure the reader was paying attention from the beginning to the very end. One will wonder 'how can you make a biblical reference about using deceased animals as an art form?' Orlean does a good job of breaking down how taxidermists justify it.
2.) Orlean was very straight forward about how serious taxidermy is to those who are involved and even got down to the fine details of making dead animals look real; from their heads, and for those who did full bodies, down to their toenails. A couple of taxidermists literally had a conversation about the toenails on an animal: "What did you do for toenails, Ken?" someone asked.
"I left the black bear's toenails in," he said. "They looked pretty good."
Someone like myself who is far from an expert on taxidermy would that it simply consists of stuffing a dead animal. In reality, they order parts, bleach them, mix them to create other species and so on. Orlean did a wonderful job of getting into great detail about how much work is put into the profession, no holds barred.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Assignment 6: Choices
"As soon as the 2003 World Taxidermy Championships opened, the heads came rolling in the door."
Susan Orlean wrote "Lifelike", an article about her interpretation on how taxidermists perceive their job. Her readers should appreciate the way she introduces the article as I did because it doesn't get up slow; it gets straight to what the entire article will be about. It seems that Orlean does so to snag the readers' attention immediately rather than allowing them to read a boring introduction that in turn gives readers more of a reason to not want to continue reading. The introducing is so important because that determines the rest of a read. If it does not reflect what the rest of the writing will be about, and very quickly, readers are already confused at the start which leads to further frustration as the reading continues.
Throughout the article, Orlean uses an inconsistency of paragraph styles which adds interest to the reader's eyes. The very first paragraph seems to be the perfect size-not too long, not too short. After that, there is another good sized paragraph, then a few quotes listed in separated lines followed by heftier paragraphs. This way, the reader does not get overwhelmed with several large paragraphs back to back. Instead they are surprised with quotes here and there singled out to stand out in their minds as to what they could mean to the people saying them, in this case, taxidermy. This was a good writerly choice Orlean used rather than allowing important quotes to get lost in the more beefy paragraphs:
"Acetone rubbed on a squirrel tail will fluff it right back up."
"My feeling is that it's quite tough to do a good tongue."
"The toes on a real competitive piece are very important. I think Bondo works nicely, and so does Super Glue."
"I knew a fellow with cattle, and I told him,'If you ever have one stillborn, I'd really like to have it.' I thought it would make a really nice mount."
Susan Orlean wrote "Lifelike", an article about her interpretation on how taxidermists perceive their job. Her readers should appreciate the way she introduces the article as I did because it doesn't get up slow; it gets straight to what the entire article will be about. It seems that Orlean does so to snag the readers' attention immediately rather than allowing them to read a boring introduction that in turn gives readers more of a reason to not want to continue reading. The introducing is so important because that determines the rest of a read. If it does not reflect what the rest of the writing will be about, and very quickly, readers are already confused at the start which leads to further frustration as the reading continues.
Throughout the article, Orlean uses an inconsistency of paragraph styles which adds interest to the reader's eyes. The very first paragraph seems to be the perfect size-not too long, not too short. After that, there is another good sized paragraph, then a few quotes listed in separated lines followed by heftier paragraphs. This way, the reader does not get overwhelmed with several large paragraphs back to back. Instead they are surprised with quotes here and there singled out to stand out in their minds as to what they could mean to the people saying them, in this case, taxidermy. This was a good writerly choice Orlean used rather than allowing important quotes to get lost in the more beefy paragraphs:
"Acetone rubbed on a squirrel tail will fluff it right back up."
"My feeling is that it's quite tough to do a good tongue."
"The toes on a real competitive piece are very important. I think Bondo works nicely, and so does Super Glue."
"I knew a fellow with cattle, and I told him,'If you ever have one stillborn, I'd really like to have it.' I thought it would make a really nice mount."
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