Reading Journal II Baker and Liu

 In his essay “The Art of Eating Spaghetti,” Russel Baker illustrates the events that led him to pursue a career in writing.  Based on his description of his junior year English class experience, Baker is targeting other high schoolers who are also trying to figure out what they want to be.  Baker describes Mr. Fleagle to be have a “primly pointed jaw, a primly straight nose, and a prim manner of speaking that was so correct, so gentlemanly, that he seemed a comic antique,” basically creating a caricature out of him. His repetition of the word “prim” when describing his teacher, Mr. Fleagle, creates a mocking tone that a student could easily relate to. Baker also describes reading to be as “deadening as chloroform” most likely to establish a sense of understanding with the reader. Baker’s overall purpose with this essay is to convey that the point that he, like many others out there, didn’t have much hope with his career choice but was able to find the courage in an unexpected situation. In order to connect better with his audience Baker utilizes a more informal tone, which allows the reader to remain interested throughout his recollection. He switches from a somewhat derisive tone to describe his initial experience in his English class to a more shocked, and eventually an appreciative one towards the end of the piece. Baker describes how his class “bursts into gasps of irrepressible snickering” as a reaction to Mr. Fleagle’s reenactment of one Macbeth’s more “indecent” scenes. The class’ response enhances the informal tone of the essay.

Liu’s most successful strategy was the way he described his experience with details that made it clear that it was rather uncomfortable for him to be in Chinatown. He describes himself “[keeping] an eye on the side walk…so that [he] wouldn’t soil [his] shoes in the streams of putrid water.” The word “putrid” is just one of many that illustrate how Liu sees Chinatown as a place that is somewhat dirty. Creating a foreign environment is Liu’s personal strategy for his detailed descriptions. His word choices include “incongruous”, “emporium”, and “fortified” and they help create this sort of environment. They evoke a sense of feeling like an outcast in a large place which is most likely what Liu felt as he walked through Chinatown that night. Liu also mentions that he takes a shower at the end of his essay as if he is trying to wash away his culture to show that how he feels grimy after being engrossed in it after going to Chinatown for the night.