Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Response to "Stone Soup" by Barbara Kingsolver
(Due Thursday)
Directions: In one well thought out paragraph, discuss any element or aspect of purpose, audience, OR strategies of "Stone Soup." (Choose only one.) Proofread your responses for grammatical errors BEFORE submitting.
Purpose:
ReplyDeleteBarbara Kingsolver's "Stone Soup" discusses the different types of marriages and families in the US. She makes it clear that it is okay for families to divert from the accustomed traditional family. She starts out by giving an example of a non-traditional family, then continues on by saying how even though she is a single parent, her along with her two daughters, are completely fine. To continue, she states how many people are quick to judge when parents are divorced, and children living in broken homes. Kingsolver admits to thinking that every marriage is perfect, and the belief that divorce is a lazy way out of marriage. She wanted so badly to be apart of "The Family of Dolls" but quickly realized after getting married, and going through a divorce of her own that not every marriage is a perfect fairytale. Through her reflection, she states that families are constantly reformed. She also states going through her divorce was tough at first because friends that used to be close to her, quickly judged her situation and left. She concludes her essay by stating, the faster our society erases that fairytale image of a marriage, the quicker we will unite as one community.
Kingsolver uses diction to her advantage to better portray her purpose in "Stone Soup". The tone used is formal which shows the seriousness of the topic; the experience of a divorce, someone who has gone through a separation and has felt the loneliness and isolation that can be felt in this type of situation. This piece shows the tension of the situation, “there’s a current in the air with ferocious moral force that finds its way even into political campaigns, claiming there is only one way to do it, the way it has always been”. As well as the chosen diction she often uses allusions in the piece. She refers to the famed story Cinderella, which helps relate the reader to a well known story. By doing this she can connect the reader to her story by using something else more familiar to the audience. These two strategies support her piece and further the persuasion aspect.
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ReplyDeleteStrategies:
ReplyDeleteStone soup encompasses several strategies like descriptive imagery, emotional appeals, metaphors, and similes. When she describes her experiences with marriage she uses emotional appeal to relate to her readers. The simile to Cinderella increases the story's readability. Throughout the entire story she utilizes elevated diction with a somber rumination tone to describe the seriousness of the experience most people go through."It's awfully easy to hold in contempt the straw broken home..." This quote acquires descriptive imagery and a metaphor in order to show the somberness of the subject. When she labels the children of the happy home "the children of divorce" she is utilizing emotional appeal to relate to her readers on a deeper level since most readers adore children of all ages.
Stone soup uses several different strategies to hook the readers. Throughout the entire story, Kingsolver uses elevated diction as well as imagery to describe the seriousness of this experience that people have to go through: divorce. When she brings the children into it by saying "the children of divorce", she catches readers with the emotional appeal of a child going through something like this. When she describes the original marriage she also uses emotional appeal to help relate. She uses several different metaphors and similes to better get her point across. One of the metaphors she uses is the one about Cinderella.
ReplyDeleteThe primary audience for "Stone Soup" is people who have nuclear or "normal" families. Kingsolver at some points gets very defensive explaining the reasons why her divorced family is just as normal as one that is not divorced. In some sections of the piece she even states that with her experience her daughter found perks of having divorced parents so therefore, it was better. Her secondary audience is divorced, gay, blended, and single parents. She says at one point "That our children are at risk..." Kingsolver's use of the word our implicated that she is also talking to these parents. Also this piece is partially intended to give these parents confidence. Many parents of divorce etc. feel that they are failures and this piece gives them confidence to prove that they are failures. King solver does a good job talking as a whole giving confidence to everyone.
ReplyDeletePurpose:
ReplyDeleteIn Kingsolver's "Stone Soup," she claims that there is not an accurate representation of an ideal family, or a "Family of Dolls." The story first drops you in the middle of a soccer game, where a boy scores a winning goal while his entire family stands and cheers celebrating the accomplishment. Kingsolver then challenges the reader by saying "I dare anybody to call this a broken home." She also declares that although she used to have a similar opinion; people are quick to stereotype divorced people, blended families, gay families, and single parents as "failures." Kingsolver also conveys that life may not have a fairy-tale ending, and having a unique type of family does not necessarily mean that the parents do not care for their children.
In "Stone Soup" Kingsolver uses a variety of strategies to draw the reader in and make sure they will stay for the whole piece. The elevated diction stands out among the well used strategies as well as imagery and emotional appeal. The children being brought into the scene provokes an emotional response from the reader and connects them to the story. These strategies are incredibly useful for this type of writing and they all fit in perfectly.
ReplyDeleteThe purpose of Stone Soup by Barbara Kingsolver is to expel the stigma placed on non traditional families. In this piece, Kingsolver wishes to dispel the myth that children who are raised outside of the societally placed mold of parenting are less likely to succeed. She compares an ending marriage to a “gangrenous leg” and argues that often, a finished marriage is better than a miserable marriage. The purposes within this piece relate to the idea that all families are composed differently, but their composition does not determine the validity of the love within them.
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ReplyDeleteAlexa Belanger
ReplyDeletePurpose:
Barbara Kingsolver's purpose of "Stone Soup" is to inform the readers that not all families have to resemble "The Family of Dolls". "The Family of Dolls" is supposedly the image of perfection among family types. This type of family consists of a mom, dad, junior, and sis. This family is classified as the model of normality for families. In many cases, families are not comparable to "The Family of Dolls". There are divorced parents, blended families, gay families, and single parents. Unfortunately, people are quick to judge and stereotype families that are in these positions. Kingsolver explains that it's okay to stray away from the traditional view of "The Perfect Family" and people should not be judged because of it. Kingsolver also adds her own personal experiences. She had been through a divorce as well and recalls how quick people were to judge her situation. Not only her acquaintances judged her but, her friends and companions did as well. All her life she had dreamed of a "perfect" fairytale marriage and family. She also once believed that divorce was a lazy way to get out of marriage but, she has since changed her opinion. Barbara states that if people diminish the standard idea of the "perfect" family, we will be able to demolish those stereotypes and harsh words of judgement and come together as a community.
In Kingsolver's "Stone Soup,"Kingsolver uses several strategies very effectively. Because the topic is about family's in America, strong emotional appeals should be and are used effectively.She ustalizes these emotional appeals to connect with the reader, then once the connection is made, she draws them in with her persuasion. The topic of her pursausion is dispelling the stigma of non traditional or non nuclear family's in the United states and her use of emotional appeal on an emotional topic is utilized quote effectively.
ReplyDeleteBarbara Kingsolver's purpose of "Stone Soup" was to show that not all families are traditional like the family of dolls. Even though not all families are the same, a child can grow and exceed in different environments. She showed imagery by describing a poor marriage as a gangrenous leg that needs to be cut off. I think she is trying to show that each situation is different but ultimately diversirtv my if families is fine and children will still prosper.
ReplyDeleteStrategies:
ReplyDeleteBarbara Kingsolver, the author of "Stone Soup" used many effective strategies that helped to get her point across and to draw in the reader. Her use of imagery allowed the reader to picture in their mind exactly what she wanted them to. Kingsolver also used elevated diction throughout her piece. An example would be "We're social animals, deeply fond of companionship, and children love best to run in packs" (Kingsolver 402). The use of elevated diction made her piece more of a formal writing. This quote is also an example of a metaphor, which is another strategy that Barbara used. Metaphors help to get a specific point across to the reader. Kingsolver uses emotional appeal when she states "the children of divorce". This causes the reader to feel the sad emotions as they are reading the story.
The primary audience for "Stone Soup" by Barbara Kingsolver is families that are considered to be "normal". This normal family has come to be known as a happy marrage with children. Kingsolver writes to express that a divorced family, like her own, can be just as "normal". It is the concept that if your marrage fails then your family must now be broken. This however is not the case from Kingsolver's point of view, who belives that people must learn to accept and live with the families that didn't last as long as people had expected.
ReplyDeleteThe primary strategies in Barbara Kingsolver's "Stone Soup" were the use of imagery, elevated diction, and emotional appeal. By combining all three of these elements she created a strong and persuasive essay. Kingsolver analyzes the prejudice views of many Americans towards families such as "broken homes" or "children of divorce". She uses examples from her own family and experience to argue that every family is unique and just because they seem unusual, that doesn't mean they don't have a good family. She uses imagery to paint a picture for her audience of a what as seen from the outside as a "dysfunctional family" but shows that there is love within all of there hearts. She also incorporates an elevated diction which makes her sound intelligent and helps to persuade people and show them her purpose. Because she uses personal examples and real life time stories, Kingsolver appeals to her audience's emotions. She describes a little boy with curly blonde hair and a large family cheering him on in his soccer game. Though this family isn't perfect she shows that they are still a good family.
ReplyDeleteStephanie Rauhoff
ReplyDeleteThe purpose of Barabara Kigsolver's "Stone Soup" was to dissolve the stereotypes of nontraditional families and state that families who do not resemble a "Family of Dolls" can still be considered perfect. She discusses her own situation, her with her two daughters, and talks about how she sometimes wishes she could be considered "normal". By using examples such as divorced families as well as herself, she advances her purpose by discussing how these families can still function by supporting children at sporting events and things of that nature. She states that if these stereotypes were to be dissolved, then first instance judgements can also be dissolved.
The primary audience for "Stone Soup" are people who are nuclear families. Kingsolver explains the reasons why her divorced family is as normal as families that are not divorced. Her secondary audience is divorced, blended, single parents, and gay parents. A lot of parents in these categories feel that they are failures and this piece gives them the confidence to prove that they aren't.
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