Entry 1 - Phạm Thuỷ Tiên

• Note: all the Rhetorical Devices are underlined.

Item 1: Picture

http://www.grinningplanet.com/2005/05-31/1_oxygen-cylinder-tree-copyright2.gif

 This cartoon shows a message about environment in a satirical way. A man’s wearing a container with a tree inside behind his back and he’s breathing with the oxygen produced by that tree while walking in the fog or some kinds of polluted air. The artist used metaphor and symbol to compare the tree in the container with the amount of oxygen the man can consume in such environment. The air pollution here has been overstated. The message send to us is just simply about environment: Protect the environment, stop deforestation or else the mankind will be deprived of oxygen.

Item 2: Song

Amazing by Aerosmith

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSmOvYzSeaQ&ob=av2e

I kept the right ones out

And let the wrong ones in

Had an angel of mercy

To see me through all my sins

There were times in my life

When I was goin' insane

Tryin' to walk through the pain

And when I lost my grip

And I hit the floor

Yeah, I thought I could leave

But couldn't get out the door

I was so sick n' tired

Of livin' a lie

I was wishing that I would die

It's amazing

With the blink of an eye

You finally see the light

Oh it's amazing

When the moment arrives

You know you'll be alright

Yeah it's amazing

And I'm saying a prayer

For the desperate hearts tonight

That one last shot's a Permanent Vacation

And a how high can you fly with broken wings

Life's a journey - not a destination

And I just can't tell just what tomorrow brings

You have to learn to crawl

Before you learn to walk

But I just couldn't listen

To all that righteous talk oh yeah

I was out on the street

Just tryin' to survive

Scratchin' to stay alive

It's amazing

With the blink of an eye

You finally see the light

Oh it's amazing

When the moment arrives

That you know you'll be alright

Oh it's amazing

And I'm saying a prayer

For the desperate hearts tonight

"So, from all of us at Aerosmith

To all of you out there, wherever you are.

Remember- the light at the end of the tunnel

May be you. Goodnight!"

The song carries a meaningful message about life: when life hitting rock bottom, people don’t know what to do any more and then finally they realize that there is a light at the end of the tunnel that can change the situation. And to rescue other people in the same position, the lyric says "and I'm sayin' a prayer for the desperate hearts tonight".What ever people are trying to do, they must keep thinking positively so that they can lean on those optimist thoughts to get out of the tough downward spirals or life.

Besides the rhyme (in-sins, insane-pain, floor-door, tired-lie-die, etc.) and repetition (''It's amazing'' to emphasis how wonderful life can be) that we can find in most songs, ‘Amazing’ also holds a smallmetaphor:

‘Life's a journey not a destination

And I just can't tell just what tomorrow brings.’

That’s a common metaphor of life as a journey, you must live to discover everything around you, don’t just give up when you fall and stop by the destination of life (dying, suicide, etc.).

 Item 3: Poem

My River a poem by Emily Dickinson 

http://www.love-poems.me.uk/dickinson_my_river.htm 

My river runs to thee. 

Blue sea, wilt thou welcome me?

My river awaits reply.

Oh! sea, look graciously.

I’ll fetch thee brooks

from spotted nooks.

Say, sea, Take me!

Literally, the poem details a river wondering whether or not the sea will welcome it as it flows to it.  The river seems to plead to the sea that it would find any other creeks or small streams and give them to the sea in order to be found. In the figurative sense, we can see the passion of surrendering to love. Emily used the metaphor to hide the real image of a person in love. This poem was successful in create a mixture of senses, range from being funny to being sad. Plus, one more interesting point is how the poem doesn't seem to rhyme in the usual order, but follows a pattern of keeping the same overall letters from the word above it and make it sound rhyme: ‘’Thee’’,’’ me’’,’’ reply’’,’’ graciously’’, etc.