Aspects of writer's voice shown in "The Important of Kindness"

They often employ techniques of narrative.

The video "The Important of Kindness", by George Saunders, shows many techniques of narrative. This video is about George Saunders' 42 years ago, talking about the time a new girl came to his school and she was bullied right in front of his eyes. Saunders' shows movement and fluidity by telling this story in chronological order for the audience which makes it easy to understand. I really enjoyed how the dialogue helped move the plot along. The narrator talks about the names that the bullies called Ellen in the video, which tells the audience that Ellen did not have it easy at his school. There is also very strong imagery used in this video, verbally and by drawing images. For example, "Ever so often she'd drift away, hair strands in her mouth". In the video, there are drawings of a braid on a plate, to show that she chews her hair, and it just paints a clear picture for the audience.

They exhibit perceptivity.


"Now why do I regret that? Why 42 years later am I still thinking about her? Unlike most of the other kids, I was actually really nice to her" (The Important of Kindness). By hearing this quote, you can tell that George Saunders was actually there in that moment. Since he is telling the story in a first person point of view, he has a better understanding of this situation which radiates credibility. The writer describes the situations that are unfolding in his video, by including many drawings of which I've mentioned before. It gives much more life to the video, than if he had just been talking and it was a blank screen. This also paves the way for strong characterization for the character Ellen. Saunders' talks about her cat-eye glasses and hair chewing habits while inserting a drawing to support his descriptions.

They offer surprising information and observations.

Saunders' surprised me in his writing because it was so informal and it feels like a friend talking to you. It's also amazing that he can recall all of these events, even though it was 42 years ago since they occurred. In the following quote the narrator includes so many small, details about Ellen by saying, "I'd still remember the way she'd look after such an insult. Eyes cast down, a little gut kick, as if having just been reminded of her place in things and she was trying as much as possible to disappear". These details make the text very authentic and interesting to the audience. I've found this video very unique and touching because it shows how vital kindness is to yourself and your peers, and hopefully a lot of people can learn from this.

Vignette in Chapter 15

Throughout reading chapter 15 and 16 I've recognized many vignettes in the text. There is a scene in chapter 15 where Holden is narrating his entire breakfast in a whole paragraph. He talks about how much food he consumed.   Holden says, “After I put my bags in one of those strong boxes at the station, I went into this little sandwich bar and had breakfast. I had quite a large breakfast for me—orange juice, bacon and eggs and coffee” (Salinger, 140). The reader would assume he has an amazing metabolism but then he goes on explain, "I'm a light eater. I really am. That's why i'm so god---- skinny." (Salinger, 140). This moment is powerful because he he uses 20 or more sentences just to describe his breakfast. Not only is that a great example of imagery, Salinger describes Holden's likes and dislikes, appearance, and actions. Lastly in this text, we see Salinger repeating the word "I" and "I'm", which really stood out to me. He repeats it about 11 times in the whole paragraph which causes it to be very emphasized to the audience.

Catcher in the Rye 9-10

Blog Option One

The writer of the article, "Your Rattle No One Else Can Hear?", pushes forth a greater idea then just complaining about a sound heard in her new car. In the beginning of the article, both her and her husband heard the rattling sound that was made by her car. Shortly after, the narrator decides to go to the car dealership so that they can help her with this issue. The person at the dealership was in the car with the narrator as it was driven on various roads, but he cannot hear the annoying rattling noise. He looked at her as if she was crazy because he couldn't believe there was anything wrong with her car.

The message of this article everyone has a rattle in their life. Whether that rattle is the chronic pain that doesn't go away from an injury, the cancer you survived,  but leaves you feeling unsettled, or the heartbreak you should be passed already. The narrator validates all of the readers rattles. She believes you and doesn't think you are crazy. The writer wants the reader to take comfort by the fact that she understands what a lot of the audience may be going through in their lives. She appeals to the readers sensitive side when she talks about this.

The second half of the article applies to Holden in Catcher in the Rye, when the narrator talks about "the chronic pain that doesn't go away from a long ago injury". This applies to Holden because when his little brother Allie died, he talked about how he was so upset that he broke all of the windows in the garage. Holden says, "My hand still hurts me once in a while, when it rains and all, and I can't make a real fist anymore..." (51). What we can conclude from this is, even though his injury occurred some time ago, it pains him to make a real fist and it reminds him of his brother dying. This is Holden Caulfield's rattle.