Ambiguous Contradictions

            Chapters O, P, and Q deal with contradictory statements that generate doubt and reflection in the reader. Shields tries to transmit the message that not every idea we have is as clear as it appears to be. Even the idea we have of reality is paradoxical. What is reality for me is not necessarily the absolute truth; it is only my version of the story. However, there needs to be a reality; therefore, everyone tries to create reality. One of the most important antithetical statements in these chapters is the one that states, “Something can be true and untrue at the same time” (p.  135). At first, I compared this to saying that something can be black and white at the same time since both are opposites. Nevertheless, as I reflected further upon this matter, I realized that what Shields was trying to say was that reality is not absolute and that it is only real for the person who created it.

            Also, I found it interesting to interpret the idea that is pointed out when Shields states, “We’re only certain (“certain only”?) about what we don’t understand” (p. 138). I completely agree with this antithetical statement because the only thing that people can assure is what they do not know. In other words, people can be sure they do not know something, but they cannot be certain that they understand another thing. Finally, another statement that captured my attention was the following: “Great art is clear thinking about mixed feelings” (p. 136). A great artist is not the one that simply restates what has already been said, it is the one that gathers mixed feelings or ideas and is able to organize them in a way that becomes clear for the audience. According to this statement, not everyone can be an artist, at least not a good one.

 

 

Conciseness is the Key

           Some people believe that the longer a text is, the better it must be. This is certainly not true in most of the cases. Conciseness and directness allow the author to transmit his message in a clear and effective manner. Long texts usually confuse the reader and make the author’s objective obscure. Shields points this out when he states, “The merit of style exists precisely in that it delivers the greatest number of ideas in the fewest number of words” (p. 127). Brief texts do not represent a lack of ideas or topics; on the contrast, they reflect profound ideas that it is the reader’s responsibility to recognize. Perfect examples of this are Michael Kimball’s postcards which have a description of someone’s life written in them. An individual’s life is certainly very complex and long to completely describe it. This is what makes Kimball so fantastic. It is his ability to put years of experiences into a very brief text.

            In addition, the reaction of the people when they read their postcards has always been positive. This shows that Kimball’s synthesis of the person’s life has shown them how valuable they are and how interesting their lives are. Shields supports this point when he declares, “It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what everyone else says in a whole book-what everyone else does not say in a whole book” (p. 129) Synthesizing very long ideas into a few words is not an easy task; only a few can master this skill. Kimball is able to do what Shields describe in a very effective manner. Kimball not only synthesizes the lives of the people, he highlights key points that in some cases the individual himself has not realized. This makes people passing through hard times realize the positive moments they have had and that their live is not complete misery. Sometimes one needs another person to point out certain events for you to remember them.

 

Meaningful Fragments

            “Genre is a minimum-security prison” (p. 70). Genre is said to be a way to join books that have similar subjects or that address similar topics. However, I strongly believe that genres are not necessarily that stable. It is true that books have specific genres and that almost all of them have been categorized by this manner. However, after reading a book or watching a movie, sometimes you are not satisfied with or do not understand why that genre was given to the piece of art if it fits in another one. A work could even change from one genre to another as it develops. Django Unchained and Never Back Down are examples that reflect this issue. Therefore, genres are not as secure as they seem to be. There are certain times when you feel that this categorization has been given arbitrarily and could have been modified to be more exact.

            “Our culture is obsessed with real events because we experience hardly any” (p. 82). I believe that the less an individual has of a certain object or experience, the more desire he has of that thing. Therefore, if people are not living what we call real experiences, then their desire for real experiences will increase. We might consider real events every event that happens to us; however, this is reality to us, not to the rest of the people. In fact, once you realize a moment is reality, that moment has already passed as is no longer reality. Therefore, there are very few, if any, real moments in our lives which make us eager for real events.

            “We live in difficult times; art should be difficult (my goal is to make every paragraph as discomforting as possible)” (p. 84). Reading an easy novel, watching a movie that is easy to understand or looking at a work of art that has no profound meaning has to real charm. We live in a time where the more difficult a work is, the more it attracts and engages the audience since they feel it is their job to decipher the hidden message. Shields even provides an example of this idea in the very same fragment he uses to explain it. This fragment is confusing and not completely coherent. Nevertheless, once the reader understands it, he comprehends a profound meaning that can be applied to real life.

 

Practice and Revision Makes Perfection

            Mr. Tangen did a very effective job in the audio commentary and was able to transmit several important points to keep in mind in every research paper I write. First of all, I completely agree that the title is one of the most important parts in a document, since it not only captures the reader’s attention, but it provides a very brief insight on what the paper will be about. Also, I agree that the language government uses is very particular since it has to be very careful with saying inappropiate words or ideas that might be misinterpreted since it can result in nation-wide chaos. I found it very interesting as I was listening to the audio commentary to see that sometimes I was redundant with some ideas. I believe I did this with the intention of making my point clear and maybe because that was a crucial point in my argument. Nevertheless, I recognize that these points could be made without the necessity to reapeat myself.

            In addition, I also considered the subtitles to be effective in my research paper since they visually helped the reader to see how the document was layed out and the different topics I was going to discuss. Another suggestion Mr. Tangen made was to avoid wordiness and long sentences. These two suggestions go together because wordiness lead to long sentences. Varying the length of my sentences will most definitely make me write more concisely. Finally, it is important to point out that there was one case in which I needed to revise gramar. I wrote “reflects on” instead of reflects. This is due to the fact that there are some times that I think what I am going to say in Spanish and then translate it in my mind to English. I have to get used to thinking in English when writing in English and thinking in Spanish when writing in Spanish.