Assignment 9

After rereading my essay and reflective writing, I didn't connect Orlean's choices I choose to talk about and I didn't state my own thoughts and views once again. In the first assignments, I did not use much examples from Orlean's article. I would just tell what her choices were, and say how it may have helped further her purpose. For assignment 7, I begin to incorporate certain quotes from Orlean's article and I would explain how it helped me understand her purpose. I feel that I do have my purpose stated clearly because at our group discussion, my colleagues point out what my purpose is. Although, I am still debating what is really Orlean's purpose for composing an article like this.

Assignment 8

I read all the ones that had their posts up. It's interesting how everyone's idea were similar, but with different interpretations and specific examples from Orlean's article. Some supported their ideas and gave their opinions, and some didn't. The more supporting and feedback that the writer gives, the better my understanding why they chose certain examples. In my writings, I feel that I used enough support from the text, but not enough of my own reasons of why and how. Therefore, looking at what my colleagues wrote, I feel that I need to connect my thoughts to Orlean's choices. My approach to writing my essay for "Lifelike" will be incorporating texts and explain it with my reactions. Although, I feel that I wouldn't know how to write it in a way to connect with my audience while explaining Orlean's text.

Thinking back to my first essay for "Standing By" I thought of my audience as  a whole, and used commonplace in most of my paragraphs. I didn't really write about my purpose, it was more about Sedaris. I feel that my tone was like insecure. I felt that if I wrote about my views, I would have trouble talking about Sedaris' purpose and connecting his choices. The thing that sets my essay from others was that, I would usually just say, "I think Sedaris' purpose is..." I didn't expand to my reactions and thoughts why and what.

Assignment 7

1) What did Orlean achieve to provide the history and progress of taxidermy?
     The topic of Orlean's article was about taxidermy; I thought to myself who cares about this exotic topic.  I didn’t have much attention about this topic, until Orlean gave a time frame of when and what was happening with this exotic topic, “In the late nineteen-sixties, a sort of transformation began: the business started to seem cleaner and less creepy” (Orlean 2).  By providing history background about taxidermy, it came to me that this topic is not exotic, because it’s something like art and people did go to school for this, “Taxidermy schools opened; previously, any aspiring taxidermist could only hope to learn the trade by apprenticing or by taking one of a few correspondence course available” (2). Since Orlean included certain year of what happened to taxidermy, “In 1974, a trade magazine called Taxidermy Review began sponsoring national competitions” (2) I feel she is knowledgeable of the topic. She collected her own resource and put it in her article to show the reader when taxidermy national competition began. As a reader, providing facts about a topic that I have never heard before made me looked up the topic taxidermy. This could have been a way to connect with her audience, to make us do more after reading this topic, research more about it.
     Later in Orlean’s article, she provided the progress of taxidermy as of the time when she wrote this article. “Taxidermy is now estimated to be five-hundred-and-seventy-million-dollar annual business, made up of small operations around the country who mount animals for museums, for decorators, and mostly for the thirteen million or so Americans…”(Orlean 3). When she stated a high amount of money made for a taxidermy job, it was unbelievable at first, but when I searched up the annual business income; it came out to be high numbers. Orlean achieved an informative connection with me about taxidermy through these two choices. She provided me the history background and progress of taxidermy where I trusted her to a certain point because it makes me uncertain about the information and question myself; did a taxidermist tell her this? Did she actually found a website or book about taxidermy? Overall these two choices connected together by informing me about when this exotic topic became well-known and the growth of it.

2) Why did Orlean use different dialogues throughout her article, was it to express or entertain her article OR was it simply to make the readers feel something?
     In Orlean’s article she used different dialogues, but for what that was my question. When I read the article the second time, I was getting the idea that she inserted dialogues to share the moments of how taxidermists feel about taxidermy, “I like doing recreations of these endangered animals and extinct animals, since that’s the only way anyone’s going to have one” (Orlean 4). I chose this quote because it gave me the impression that sometimes without these artists, I probably will never see a polar bear for example. Taxidermists do have their own creative way to make something that people would wonder about, "...You aren't likely to get hold of a panda that has met a natural end, so everyone was dying to know how he had done it," (4). This statement connected with me because I was wondering about the same thing as well, and so Orlean included that artist's answer, "The panda was actually pretty easy, I just too two black bears and bleached one of them--I think I used Clairol Basic. Then I sewed the two skins together into a panda pattern" (4). It was nice to know how these artists came up with their own ideas to make a mount so life looking. Taxidermists also had there own way to help one another, "Three thousand visits to Taxidermy.net every day, where taxidermists can trade information and goods with as little self-consciousness as you would find on a knitting Web site: 
"I am in need of several pair of frozen goat feet!"
"Hi! I have up to 300 sets of goat feet and up to 1000 set of sheep feet per month. Drop me an email at frozencritters.com...or give me a call and we can discuss your needs" (3). Orlean provided this example of conversations to show me a way that they ask for help from others, and how one would reply to offer. This made me feel that taxidermists do want their own art work to be the best recreation of their animal, and they do take it seriously.

Assignment 6: Choices

      Orlean used many effective choices in her article. She chose to talk about the background of taxidermy, inserting quotes of the taxidermists, and in general talk about the competition and artwork of taxidermy. As a reader, Orlean’s choices were useful because she supported her topic and purpose well. 

     When someone provides the history of a topic that no one really knows about its valuable because as a reader, I know that my author is knowledgeable about their topic. She provided the history of when taxidermy began, and what made it the way that it is now. Orlean also included how taxidermy may be like in the future, and how it is now for these taxidermists.

     Since Orlean experienced a competition of taxidermy, I think the use of dialogues were to make the readers feel as if they were there to hear the taxidermists talk.  These specific quotes that Orleans caught overhearing made me understand that these taxidermists are serious about sharing their artwork with the world. They know that it may be disturbing to some people, but it is something unique they share and do.

     The choice to talk about the competition of taxidermy is something that I think Orlean used, so she has a topic to talk about.  She tells how taxidermists would do at competitions, and what a taxidermists should posses to become a good one. Her purpose was to inform her audience that taxidermy is a form of artwork people do. Taxidermists makes dead animal to life again, by designing a replica of a specific animal.

Assignment 6

      Susan Orlean is an American journalist and she composed an article call "Lifelike" in an unbiased perspective of her own experience. The competition of taxidermy is the topic of the article through the purpose of informing that taxidermy is an artwork people do.  Orlean wants to provide a matter that people may think it is disturbing, but how it may be useful for the world in certain ways.

      Orlean’s tone is neutral most of the time, but there’s also a serious and shocking tone to the article. She is serious when she wrote, “To be good at taxidermy, you have to be good at sewing, sculpting, painting, and hairdressing, and mostly you have to be a little bit of a zoology nerd." She wants her audience to know that as a taxidermists you need to have some experience.

      In the article, Orlean provided many examples of what a taxidermist does. She seemed to be surprised by one thing that she saw, " One day, I saw him holding a piece of clay while waiting for a seminar to begin, and within thirty seconds or so, without actually paying much attention to it, he had molded the clay into a little mink0like creature." Before this, she stated that people were wondering how this man created a panda when you couldn't kill it. Through this she is connecting with me that she is learning just like everyone else.

      I think Orlean composed this topic as an article because she can expose this topic to the world faster. This may help her achieve her purpose of informing that taxidermy is a work of art and people do it to make people see something that they have not seen before. 

Assignment 5

     The purpose of the article "Lifelike" by Susan Orlean could be about letting people know that taxidermy is a job of art.  People make dead animals back to life again. Her topic is different from her purpose by telling us about taxidermy and focusing on how taxidermy is a job that people do. I think Orlean wanted her audience to appreciate this kind of art that people do. It's not something ordinary that people would think about, but some do have interests to show their artwork to the world.
   
     When I was reading this article I was confuse to what I was going to read about. When I continued reading, it was interesting how this is a job for people.  I mean other than competing, people would do this for a living? Unless I am getting the wrong idea. I still am not clear to what the purpose is about, but I do understand that Orlean is telling us that people enjoy doing this kind of stuff to animals.

Questions:
1) What were your reactions/thoughts about this article?
2) Did you know about taxidermy before when reading this article? Or did you have to look it up?

Standing By CP

     The controlling purpose of this article is to let the readers know that we live in a society that  judge everyone, and complain for any reasons.