Anonymous targets Westboro Baptist Church for planning Newtown Picket

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/12/16/anonymous-targets-westboro-baptist-church-for-planning-newtown-picket

In this article discussing Anonymous's responses to the Westboro Baptist Church, the author uses selective details, strong diction and clever language to encourage an already popular anti-Westboro bias.

Bias in this article is most evident in its use of details. The details selected are extremely one-sided. Not only do Anonymous and its supporters get more quotes than the church, three to the church's two, but they also get far more attention in the article; Westboro defense and reasoning gets a total of two short paragraphs, while the entire rest of the article is directed against the group. Some details are downright deliberate, such as that Anonymous released info that "can be easily accessed on sites like armywtfmoments.com." Unbiased articles rarely directly link readers to sites where incriminating information can be found. In addition, quotes from the church are not necessarily used to counter bias. The placement of the reported tweet "Westboro will picket Sandy Hook Elementary School to sing praise to God for the glory of his work in executing his judgment," it was directly preceded by a reminder that this was released ''hours after the tragedy." Not only was the placement indicative of strong bias, but the diction was telling as well.

Diction plays a large role in the bias of this article. Before any facts are given, the church is called a "hate group" and is later called "vicious."All language used to describe them is negative, with no effort given to hiding clear bias. The poll attached to the article is similarly telling. There are only three choices, one deeming the group "Total lunatics" and the other, the only positive choice, "They have a point on some issues." There is no choice to support the church in any way beyond marginal agreement. However, the article is short and to the point; the word count runs out and the diction runs dry quite early, but the language is clear.

In general, news articles have a set, scholarly language. Coming off as overly biased through their language can make a story illegitimate, no matter how good the information. The article in question pulls this off fairly well, and despite questionable diction, as the language tends to stay simple and detached. This use of language lends itself to bias well. Had it been written with an emotional air, the representation of both sides would be instantly brought into question to a far greater extent, despite the fact that representation is already unequal. Facts could be suspected to be exaggerated. With the simpler style, information is given at face value, leaving it up to the reader to decide who they support.

Death of a Salesman

Setting: New York City, a small house surrounded by apartment buildings. Small, barren back yard. Kitchen. Sometimes, an office building or hotel. Post-WW2 era.

Characters

Willy- the main protagonist, and main tragedy. An aging man with a stubborn streak and a dream to become a success by being "well liked." Refuses to accept reality and fades into his own memories. Puts his dreams on Biff's shoulders before killing himself. Awestruck by the American Dream.

Biff- the second main protagonist. A realist, sees the world as it is and understands the futility of Willy's dream. Always willing to accept cruel truths and work past them. Represents the west, happiness and opportunity. Popular jock.

Happy- Biff's brother. A lot like Willy. Doesn't accept the truth, carries on Willy's dream. Very sexual.

Linda- Willy's wife. Never sexualized. Always supportive of Willy and his dreams, even though they end up hurting him. Also blind to the real world. 

Howard- Willy's boss. Very new-world, merciless and self-centered. Doesn't care about sentiment. 

Charley- Willy's neighbor and only friend. Not very close, doesn't get along well with Willy. Willy's foil- succeeded by accepting the world as it is. 

Bernard- Charley's son and Biff's foil. Found success because his father didn't press him. Unpopular geek kid. 

Ben- Willy's brother. Usually seen in non-memory hallucinations. The epitome of success, if through questionable means. 

Plot

-Willy comes home after nearly crashing the car. Rants for a while as Linda tries to calm him, then goes downstairs to get food. 

-Boys hear him. Share optimistic plans.

-Collectively, the family makes a plan to get Biff and Happy into business. 

-Argument. Linda reveals Willy's plan to kill himself.

-Optimistic morning. Willy leaves and is fired.

-Goes to dinner with his boys. Biff reveals that the plan failed. Willy goes into his memory.

-Remembers his affair.

-All go home. Biff tells Willy he's leaving for good. Willy agrees.

-Willy gets in a car and kills himself to give the insurance to Biff.

-Funeral. 

(More details in your annotations and in Sparknotes- make use of resources)

Voice/Style

Point of view- A play. Limited omniscient. Typically following Willy, even through his memories. 

Tone- very grim and agitated, like nothing is right. Never comfortable. Happy scenes are overly optimistic and carry a note of dread. Sad scenes are hopeless and brutal. 

Imagery- Not much, being a play. Setting was set well and conveys the message of the play early on. Willy's movements bring out a lot of emotion and characterization. 

Symbolism- Full of it. See annotations inside book cover for full list and notes. 

Quotes
"Nothing’s planted. I don’t have a thing in the ground."-Willy
-Basically Willy's life in one line. He's toiled and toiled and toiled, but nothing has been done. He'll leave nothing behind to grow, and nothing he's done has come to fruition.
"The only thing you got in this world is what you can sell. And the funny thing is that you’re a salesman, and you don’t know that." -Charley

-Willy isn't made for his job. He wants to be sentimental, but his job is demanding and very material. He only cares about memories but the world only cares about the things he can sell. 

Theme

-The capitalistic world will eat you alive if you buy into it, and only by breaking away can you be happy.

-Biff goes to the west to find opportunity, away from the more capitalistic east.

-The tragedy takes place in cities and the business world.

-The apartments, car, devices, etc. are all from a capitalistic world and all fail Willy.

-Whenever they're in a business-like situation, tragedy occurs. 

Response to Course Materials (Dec 2)

The majority of our time in class has been spent with Death of a Salesman, more specifically the film version. I was honestly rather surprised that we spent so much time going over the movie and so little (in comparison, at least) time going over the actual text. Perhaps it just felt that way to me because I dislike the movie more. Either way, it was really quite interesting to compare the two, as we spent several days doing. I hadn't realized there'd been any changes made at all until I read the book as the movie played in the background. It certainly gave me some respect for the filmmakers. I had assumed cutting out text would be fairly easy, but reading the text with that in mind made me realize how much every line counted. Cutting even a single line took away from the conflicts and characterization. I suspect it's mostly because of its form as a play. It's meant to be acted out, so fluff is just a waste of the audience's time.

The rest of our time has been spent reading Hamlet aloud. I am extremely glad Mrs. Holmes is here for this. Typically, out-loud readings of Shakespeare's plays are nothing but painful in highschool classes. Nobody knows how to pronounce his abbreviations, everyone is so confused with their words that adding any actual spirit or voice is impossible, and we're bombarded with new, complex information at such a fast rate that actually comprehending it is a mammoth task best reserved for later readings. Mrs. Holmes has made the "comprehending" part a lot easier. Frustratingly, I'm still baffled by some of the language, and her explanations make everything fall into place. She's also added a lot to the characters, which I found rather flat before. Polonius is my favorite.

I'm looking forward to reading more of the play. While I don't doubt that it's brilliant, I've heard so much about it and it's been referenced so many times that I have to wonder what about it makes it so memorable. Hopefully we can find out.