OITNB discussion
This topic is about
Orange Is the New Black
Syntax and Rhetorical Appeals - Thread 2
date
newest »
newest »
I have to say Pipers use of short simple sentences kept me on my toes and curious as to what will happen as the tensions rise. After speaking briefly of her wonderful times in her San Fran refuge and new home in New York she quickly transitions into a colder, more anxious state. She begins the story with the sentence, "One warm May afternoon the doorbell rang" (19). Just from this simple sentence the reader gets draws into the suspenseful storyline. Piper goes on to state "I had put my past behind me, had kept it a secret from just about everyone,even Larry. But that was over" (19). The abrupt ending to her long past of secrets is reflected in the simple sentence "But that was over."
I'm going to transition to emotions, everyone feel free to reply and add onto what I say! Piper was "normal". She had a respected family, good education, and a decent reputation. So as one may expect, when others heard of her predicament they were truly shocked. Piper uses syntax in order to reflect her deep dismay over the situation. "She didn't say I was an idiot. No one actually said I was a shame or a disappointment either. They didn't have to. I knew it. They were worried for me. They would help me" (22). Her long agonizing journey took a toll on her, "There was no end in sight" (24). Here the reader doesn't focus on the crime itself but instead the saddened women dealing with a long difficult struggle. The pathos evoked from the sentence structure makes the reader more understanding and sympathetic to the young criminal.
The contrast between risks that Piper writes about is so intriguing. Clearly one of her biggest risks taken landed her in trouble so when she brings up happy risk memories, I find that her ultimate fate becomes more and more gloomy. She starts off the book describing her anxieties while committing the crime. I felt her nervousness as she asked the questions, "Had my bag been detected? I knew that caring more than $10,000 undeclared was illegal, let alone carrying it for a West African drug lord. Were the authorities closing in on me? Maybe I should try to get through customs and run? Or perhaps the bag really was just delayed..." (3). Her obsessive thoughts basically have your skin crawling with worry, too. Her next section about her graduation explaining how her "stately southern grandparents" are sticklers for modesty and the fact that she "came from a family that prized education" (4). Obviously not the risk-taker-type, Piper's curious mind wanted to explore the world she was never subject to. The people she had begun to get mixed up with fueled her longing to vary her experiences; she "was entranced by the illicit adventures Nora represented" (8) and these risks "sounded dark, awful, scary, wild — and exciting beyond belief" (7). Her craving of adventure is opposite within itself and beyond it is her polar personality against the wannabe personality. Now I know this is crazy long but I'm almost done; When in Bali, Piper jumped (literally lol), yet again, way out of her comfort zone to cliff dive, something even the reckless Nora wouldn't have contemplated without Piper initiating it (12-13). When she finally realized Nora's true intentions, she was gravely upset and she "thought I understood the risk" (17); she spirals down further and further from the consequences of her typically unlikely actions. Finally, when deciding to be in a relationship with Larry, she describes it as "by far the best risk I have ever taken" (19). The first two chapters really seem to focus in on the risk she feels compelled to take in her life, good and bad which gives us insight into her thoughts and what she felt growing up isolated from instability. She hopped on the streetcar named desire and wouldn't realize the consequences; setting an ominously grim mood for the following chapters.
The first thing I noticed in this book was pathos. Even while describing her past, the reader still feels sympathy for Piper. "I wanted to go home... I alone had signed up for this misadventure and I alone would navigate it to some conclusion, although I was petrified that it might be a very dismal end" (p. 15). Piper was just young when she fell helplessly in love with Nora, or the idea of danger, and she made one foolish mistake. Lost, and confused in Europe, Piper has no where to turn to. She is too scared to talk to her parents, and she has realized that Nora is simply bad news.
Adding onto that, another example of pathos is "No matter how badly things had ended between us, I never dreamed that Nora would turn me in to save her skin (p. 22). This just shows that Nora was basically using Piper for the money, and I could just imagine the heartbreak she must have felt when she came to this realization. Like Val said, Piper described herself in the first chapter as not really being a risk taker, so for her to take such a huge risk to be involved in drug trafficking business, and travel around the world with a mysterious woman demonstrates how naive and ignorantly in love Piper was.
Piper first begins her story with a general background of her life to where she is at now. As she falls in love with Nora she begins to adventure and take more risks, even those she doesn't feel comfortable doing. This is noted through her shifting tone from excitement to displeasure by "i could not even remember being so happy" (pg. 9) to "i knew i had to escape" (pg. 15). Although Piper realizes all that glitters is not gold and leaves Nora and all criminal actives behind her, it comes back to bite her in the end. The use of syntax really jumps out at the reader, making them feel the tension. "i blinked at him silently, and the veins in my temples suddenly pounded as if i run miles at top speed" (pg. 19). Pathos also draws me in further, feeling sympathy for Piper as she states "All i felt was that i has willfully hurt and disappointed everyone I loved the most and carelessly thrown my life away" (pg. 21). All this so far makes me realize how dumb mistakes can turn into serious situations and affect not only you, but everyone surrounding you as well. Do you think if Piper wasn't blinded by love she wouldn't have made these decisions?
In response to Emma, I don't think she would have made the mistakes if it wasn't for her crazy romance. When being asked by a guard if her finance "knew what she was up too" she was angered, "Up to? What did she know! My temper flared again as I said defiantly, '"It's a ten year old offense. He had nothing to do with it'" (37). As you can tell, the anger Piper feels when being asked such a question is reflected in her writing. This is important because it not only shows the guard, but the readers as well that her mistake was her past not her present. She has changed into a new women, which is also seen repeatedly in the novel through clever uses of pathos.
Mod
Regarding Julianna's latest comment, I also have taken note of the short and basic sentences closing long, detailed paragraphs. Kerman writes "After spending months in the underworld, it took a while to get used to a normal life." She then goes on explaining the changes in her life, finishing the description with simply "I quit smoking." (8) I feel that she does this in order to place emphasis on how extreme her changes were, as it is ubiquitous that quitting smoking is a large obstacle for an addict.
In general I believe that authors use this strategy primarily to create emphasis, and OITNB is a perfect example of this. ^^^
To start off, I think it's important to establish the fact that Piper's perspective is from that of an educated, white female, which already gives her the opportunity for a prison experience not half bad. I agree with what you said, Julianna. However I also like how Piper's syntax alludes to other novels, providing a more realistic POV for the book. “Two hundred women, no phones, no washing machines, no hair dryers--it was like Lord of the Flies on estrogen.” (174) By connecting Lord of the Flies with a female hormone appeals to the audience using pathos. Another example of pathos is when Piper says “Do you have to find the evil in yourself in order to truly recognize it in the world?” (*PDF does not contain page numbers*) By shifting the perspective from herself to ourselves, we see her rationale in logic, and why we shouldn't be so ignorant as to neglect that. Piper's syntax offers many different rhetorical appeals that allow the reader to see what she's thinking and assess her situation from her shoes.
I agree with Erica that Piper's use of pathos really stands out even so from the beginning of the book. I found that a strong example of pathos on page 36 when Piper describes her clothes being sent to Larry "like the personal effects of a dead soldier." This sentence shocked me just because of the strong comparison and made me do a double take because of how blunt almost it was. I also felt however that it symbolized how her identity in society would basically be dead for the next 15 months while in prison. This sentence really made me realize how tough prison could be on someone, but also drew me into the story more.
Other than pathos, do you find any ethos or logos present in Pipers writing technique?
As anxiety builds and Piper realizes her fate, (imprisonment for God knows how long), her narrative becomes almost calculated. How does Piper's syntax detailing the events leading up to her sentence affect your perception of her situation?
With looming fear for her prison time, and a greater understanding of the U.S. criminal justice system, how does Piper's story begin to incorporate rhetorical appeals? How do ethos, logos, and pathos further connect you to the story?
Be analytical, listen to each other, and ask questions along the way!