To quote Ben Jonson,” Weigh the meaning and look not at the words” to put this simply he means do not merely look at what is written literally because often what one is reading is only half of what the author has written. Some authors compose their works, giving the world a thrilling or informative story on the surface, but in actuality their real purpose in writing them is the hidden meanings within or underneath the stories which only those who are truly paying attention will notice and understand. Zone off for just a second and whole world could be missed. Cousteau’s work “How to Swim with Sharks: A Primer” may seem to the inexperienced or uninterested reader an ordinary guide to swimming with sharks, but any who delve deeper will notice …show more content…
His second rule means simply to act as though what is said or done has no effect. As a rule for swimming with sharks “Do not bleed”(2) makes no sense because there is no physical way a person can prevent themselves from bleeding and therefore this is the author’s wake up call to those who had not already caught on. This is the same thing every parent, big brother, uncle, and cousin tell a child when they start school, crying is okay, just home into a pillow not in front of the other children never in front of the other children. Cousteau got his analogy between people and sharks perfect here, if they smell even the slightest bit of weakness they will go in for the kill. “Admittedly, it is difficult not to bleed when injured “(2) When a person is insulting or says something that knocks the air out of a person 's chest the natural response is to get upset, but someone can learn to ignore that response to remain calm in an otherwise heated situation. Also, like he states in his fourth rule “Get out if someone is bleeding”(2) often there is nothing to be done and one is better off getting out while they can and hoping for the best. When a person is injured or bleeding they lash out and do not tend to care at who which could mean your attempt to help them could result in them making you hurt too. To emphasize this point Cousteau says, “The lack of effective countermeasures to a fully developed shark attack emphasizes the importance of the earlier rules.”(3) …show more content…
Cousteau’s second to last rule is focused on making certain the enemy never forgets you are a threat. He warns, “The sharks will forget that he is skilled and may attack in error.”(3) and then describes how one can remind them. SImply,”a sharp blow to the nose”(3) or a threat/ insult enough to stun but not seriously upset or bruise their ego. Those seeking to remind others not to bully them should be warned though, they need to be wary, they should not go overboard or they run the risk of turning into what they most hate. His final rule states, “Disorganise and organized attack”(3) and this simply mean if ever an instance occurs where more than one person decides to gang up the thing to do is not to run or fight them all but to break them apart. As Abraham Lincoln said,”A house divided cannot stand.” which was, of course, about the civil war but also applies to aggressive groups of people. In his essay he states,” The proper strategy is diversion.” When one needs to break up a group it is because they are aggressive and because the aggression is focused on oneself but if one distracts them by moving their aggression to someone within the group the organized attack is disorganized and the waters are safe for
When a person reads a book, they should read it as to amuse them, but also look between the lines for the purpose of the book. Every author, whether they’re writing fiction of non-fiction, has a moral behind their story. Every book is like a picture, a piece of art. Yes, you admire it, but you would have to squint a little bit, twist your head in any angle, and try to find what message the author or painter was trying to send out with their piece of work.
As Stephen Covey once declared, “Just as we develop our physical muscles through overcoming opposition- such as lifting weight- we develop our character muscles by overcoming challenges and adversity.” This may seem like no sweat, but in reality it is laborious to do. Nevertheless, there are many people who embody this quote in our everyday lives and even in literature. The short story The Truth About Sharks by Joan Bauer, depicts such a person. In this anecdote, the experience that the protagonist, Beth faced, taught her to stand up for herself and therefore feel empowered. She went from a sullen teenager who was unable to stand up to her uncle and one who felt insecure in the shadow of her cousin, to someone with the confidence to rise above. The Truth About Sharks portrays a vital change that happened to Beth as a result of her being falsely accused of shoplifting and the challenges she faced to clear her name. This article renders a dynamic change that occurred in the main character, Beth who demonstrated the theme stand up for what you think is right.
When reading someone else's work you need to be certain that you read between the lines. Author's, at times, will attempt to distort information in order to make their beliefs more prominent. In order to avoid this disinformation, you have to learn the difference between denotations and connotations and facts from opinions. Furthermore, you'll have to recognize figurative language, such as similes and metaphors, which can incite specific feelings onto readers.
Even to this semester, I only read this book following teacher’s advice and didn’t do some extra reading. The output is up to the input. Only when we read more and gain more, can we express ourselves more casually and write more good articles.
read between the lines. And not just see the words but where they came from and what the writer is
The quotes shows how Wildman is trying to convince the reader to help even if they have little time or ample time. The author's purpose is to tell the reader how the Shark Angels Foundation protects sharks and encourage them to partake in it. There is use of rhetoric to persuade the intended audience into helping sharks. Bias is evident in the
When an individual reads a book, what factors do they use to truly comprehend the story? To understand a book, the reader must look for a few vital points. These factors include the tone, symbolism, and audience of the book or story. In the book The Other Side, by Jaqueline Woodson, a little girl, Clover, has a fence out behind her house. She repeatedly watches a little girl of another color be around the fence; though, her mother told her not to be near it. In this story, a reader must find certain elements to actually grasp the concept.
He too quickly dismisses the idea of reading on your own to find meaning and think critically about a book. For him, Graff states that “It was through exposure to such critical reading and discussion over a period of time that I came to catch the literary bug.” (26) While this may have worked for Graff, not all students will “experience a personal reaction” (27) through the use of critical discussion.
Foster, Thomas C. How to Read Literature like a Professor: a Lively and Entertaining Guide to
What goes through your mind when you read? Do you read deliberately, looking for certain aspects, or do you read as a blank slate? When reading, professors expect a deliberateness that will help you to uncover meanings that are not readily apparent. Thomas C. Foster in his book “How to Read Literature Like a Professor” expands on this concept. He endeavors to instruct his readers in the way he believes they should read, in order to get the most out of each book. He concedes that, “When lay readers encounter a fictive text, they focus, as they should, on the story and the characters” but to truly read like a professor you must also divert a portion of your attention on “other elements of the novel” such as “memory… symbol… [And] pattern” (Foster, 15). Foster clarifies
reader creates “supplementary meaning” to the text by unconsciously setting up tension, also called binary opposition. Culler describes this process in his statement “The process of thematic interpretation requires us to move from facts towards values, so we can develop each thematic complex, retaining the opposition between them” (294). Though supplementary meaning created within the text can take many forms, within V...
What word would you use to describe a tiny dog? Some people might call it cute, while the others might consider pups as naughty and rebellious. Now, how about a shark? What adjectives could you think of? In most cases, people deem sharks as dangerous, threatening and violent animal, but in reality how many of them have actually seen one? In fact, the impressions of a certain type of animal in most people’s mind, are primarily based on how the media portrays them. As an illustration, the impressions of the shark were deeply influenced by “Jaws” and it is probably why almost every person describes them as violent or cold-blooded. In art, animals are portrayed in ways to help convey particular messages to the audience.
It is no secret that sharks have a bad reputation for being blood-thirsty man-killers. Sharks are known as the “killers of the sea.” Every year, on average, 10 people are killed by sharks; however, every second 3 sharks are slaughtered by humans. So who is the real “killer of the sea?” Sharks are victims to a cruel and inhumane practice known as finning. Finning is a practice that is more practiced in the pacific today but used to be practiced all around the world. Finning refers to when commercial fishermen will pull a shark onto the boat and slice off the fins. The typical target fins that are cut off the shark are the primary dorsal fin, secondary dorsal fin, the lower caudal fin, anal fin, pelvic fin, and the pectoral fins. The removal of these fins leaves the shark a slender, finless carcass. After cutting the fins off, the fisherman toss the still living shark back into the water to die a gruesome and painful death. The practice of finning sharks should be banned and enforced internationally.
Hundreds of people, who get in the ocean every year, are almost none that encounter sharks. Even if you're lucky enough to see a shark big enough to bite you, you're much likely to die from a heart attack than getting bit by one. Shark attacks are mistakes and the idea of a shark off every beach waiting for people to come in the water is completely untrue. I will inform you on the background knowledge of sharks and the reasons why humans should not be afraid only aware.
Literature is rarely, if ever, merely a story that the author is trying to tell. It is imperative that the reader digs deep within the story to accurately analyze and understand the message the author is trying to portray. Authors tend to hide themselves in their stories. The reader can learn about the author through literary elements such as symbolism, diction, and structure. A good example of this is Robert Frost’s poems The Road Not Taken and Nothing Gold can Stay in which he uses ordinary language unlike many other poets that became more experimental (Frost, Robert. “1.”).