October Twenty Ninth Lesson: Evaluating the Importance of Clarity in Language and Analyzing the Functions of Allusions in Fiction.

Evaluating the Importance of Clarity in Language

     This was the first objective the class covered in today. Being clear in writing is very important as it removes clutter and improves efficiency. An efficient piece of literature has maximum content with minimal words. Three example sentences were provided:

1. The shot shows a man.
2. The shot shows a nervous man.
3. The shot shows a nervous man placed in the film.

     The first sentence is not clear at all. There isn't enough detail to understand the purpose of it. The third sentence has too much detail. The fact that the subject is in a film is reiterated with the phrases "the shot" and "in the film", giving the sentence low efficiency. The second sentence is preferable over the others because it has a balance of specificity and clarity.

• Specificity: The amount of details
• Clarity: Ability to be understood

     The class observed a clip of The Office where the main character, Michael, announced to his employees that Meredith had been hit by a car. Three questions about the clip were given:

1. Is Michael specific?
• He gives key details but tries to hide, through vague speech, that he was the one who hit Meredith. He lacked specificity in this sense.
2. Is Michael clear?
• Michael was not clear. When he describes the situation his diction and syntax suggest that Meredith had died, even though she was still alive. He made his point hard to understand, giving it poor clarity.
3. Is Michael wrong/lying?
• Michael doesn't lie, but he withholds information that would change the focus toward him.

     From this example the class can see that it is possible to speak truth, but also convey the wrong message. This is useful information that is applicable to our essay assignment. Clutter must be deleted and sentences must be made clear in order to convey the correct message. The ability to articulate clear sentences is critical in public speaking as well. A public speaker must know how to articulate sentences in order to convey their message.

Analyzing the Functions of Allusions in Fiction

     An allusion is a reference to something outside the text, such as other texts or history. For example, Eve from Wall-E is an allusion to Eve from the biblical story of Adam and Eve. This is proven by the fact that in both stories, Eve takes a plant and everything goes awry. The purpose of an allusion is to reward and define the audience by inquiring, "Who should get these?' Wall-E does this through an allusion to A Space Odyssey. When the captain takes his first steps to attack Auto, the intro song from A Space Odyssey plays. This is a well-choreographed fat joke. The allusion portrays the captain as huge, just as A Space Odyssey did to the planets. The right allusions build credibility for the text. They show appreciation of past works in the form of homage.