ACTS

Audience and Purpose:

The text is a memoir written with the aim of projecting the character of Mary Seacole in a favourable and positive light in the eyes of the beholder.
“The Wonderful Adventures of Mary Seacole (1857)” was available back in her time as a possible form of entertainment or enlightenment. Those with a fascination of reading firsthand the lifestyles of those immersed in the British culture at its height, particularly that of one of their colonies, could have their interests piqued by such a text; alternatively, it could be of interest to people such as those who have a desire to read about the effects of Yellow Fever on a society from a personal perspective.

Content and Theme:

It is a memoir which takes place in 19th century Jamaica. The content of the text is the depiction of the struggles and suffering when she, as a nurse, witnessed the death of patients. She provided an example of one patient in particular: a surgeon, whom she didn't knew extensively well. These experiences being shared further suggests the text type to be a memoir, in which a theme could, arguably, be death, among others.

Mood and tone:

The mood and tone of the excerpt is relatively dark and depressing, based on the many reiterations of the word death, and the content in general. But this is not the case throughout the entirety of the piece. The mood does lighten up. "His kind heart feigned a feeling that he saw would bring me joy." (The peaceful death of the surgeon). One can notice how the mood and tone alter from beginning to end.

Structure and Style:

The structure is very precise when considering the text type. The piece is written in first person, as a memoir should be. (Use of 'I') There is a date provided as well, which further suggests the text type. The style of language is very formal, along with the vocabulary used. Both these points could be supported by one piece of evidence. "I do not willingly care to dwell upon scenes of suffering and death." The use of English here is very formal, and the use of 'I' supports the idea of first person writing.

WT1 Rationale

The written task is in the form of a formal interview. This is because discussing with an artist the meaning of their lyrics and the reflection of culture within them is a very personal topic, which can best be portrayed in an interview.

Specific aspects of my chosen text type that I wish to emulate are the depth of each question, and, therefore, answers that require a level of thinking and self-reflection to answer. The answers to the questions asked in the interview are from Tupac’s point of view.

In the case of this text type, the intended audience consists predominantly of those who do not know much about 2Pac. It includes those who feel desire to learn more about what his music conveys, or any aspects that the audience does not yet understand or appreciate, especially considering the sheer depth of every uttered word.

The intended purpose is to show a strong understanding and appreciation for the true significance behind the lyrics. It is additionally to put emphasis on the context in which 2Pac wrote a lot of his music. It takes place in the 1990’s, during times of difficulty for African American people, the context in which 2Pac wrote much of his music.

Topics that I’ve desired to communicate and show understanding of is the presence of AAVE in the lyrics of 2Pacs music and how AAVE itself relates to the background of African American people, and therefore the background of Tupac himself. Another is how he uses the language to express his views on the community in which lived, and how his lyrics reflect his own culture as well. I lastly wanted to portray how the lyrics depict the context in which he wrote, and the hardship he felt and experienced.

Written Task 1 Draft

2PAC Interview

Interviewer:

Welcome! It is really a pleasure to have you here.

Tupac:

It's my pleasure to be here.

Interviewer:

I would like to start by asking you a relatively personal question. Have you, at any point in your life, experienced hardship or conflict?

Tupac:

My life is and always has been full of conflict. So many stumbling blocks have been placed on my path of life, it's near unfathomable.

Interviewer:

Anything specific; any events that have remained with you until today?

Tupac:

Well, looking back to my childhood revives no sensations of nostalgia or wistfulness, but rather feelings of melancholia. Significantly seldom, in hindsight, were there any clear or distinctive 'bright sides' to many events in my life. I could muse on the countless experiences of criminal actions within the community in which I was raised, and even within my own family. My stepfather is a good example, as he remained for four years on the FBI's list of the 10 Most Wanted Fugitives, starting in 1986, at which point I was only around 10-12 years of age. He was imprisoned for murder; he was imprisoned for involvement in robberies, and yet, surprisingly, that alone is so minute in comparison to the rest of my experiences. Generally speaking, I was constantly surrounded with violence and crime, even drug abuse and the dismantling of families. In all honesty, it was really depressing to a certain extent, but that was everyday life for me.

Interviewer:

Now, you obviously write most of your music with these inner and outer conflicts in mind, and, based my own assumptions, I feel as if your music strongly depicts these conflicts. Do I make a valid argument?

Tupac:

Indeed you do. If I may reiterate, the violence, crime, drug abuse, and dismantling of families, all of which I spoke of just a second ago, are often themes that lay in the depths of my music. I saw rapping as a unique way to express and depict the aspects that define my difficult yet resultantly successful life.

  Interviewer:

"Difficult yet resultantly successful." Interesting. Do you refer, perhaps, to the idea of your difficulties acting as the greatest of factors in the success of your career?

Tupac:

Yes. That is the basis of what my life is: turning struggle into success. Considerably, what does the large majority of my lyrics illustrate anyway?

Interviewer:

On that note, I was listening to your song "My Block," paying close attention to the lyrics of the song. Would you share with us the real meaning behind the lyrics, or at least what thoughts and feelings had, seemingly, taken over your mind while writing it?

Tupac:

"My Block" simply represents my block. It is an illustration of my life; a memoir of my struggles. I uttered the words crime and violence and claimed that they acted as one of multiple underlying themes of my music. It is the case in this song specifically, out of which so many excerpts could be taken, and, believe me, each line is equally meaningful. Let me give an example. "Now s*** is constantly hot, on my block, it never fails to be gunshots." Truer words have never been spoken. It is a description of my surroundings; my environment. For us, struggling each and every day, hearing a gunshot was just as common as a rich man hearing his new BMW arrive at his doorstep. Sometimes we actually saw it happen as inner scars formed, changing us and altering our view on life, which was constantly in flux.

I, additionally, talked about family problems. One line from the song reads: "A single mother with a problem child, daddy free." How sad it was that that very line could accurately portray the unfortunate reality that was, for many, life: a split and morally drained "family." Alike violence and crime, it was all around me. Honestly, I could baffle on for hours upon hours, because, for me, looking back at these lyrics and reflecting on them are opening multitudinous floodgates, out of which so many memories are flowing as we speak. It is quite incredible what I've been through.

Interviewer:

I can speak on behalf of your fan base of millions by stating that indeed, we feel it. I may not be able to feel it with you, but there are millions out there who do, because you've reached out and provided hope to so many dark corners of this world.

Tupac:

That's what my overall intention was from the very start.

Interviewer:

Well, it's quite clear that you have, over many years, more than successfully expressed your difficulties and hardship through your music, but is that it, or do your lyrics portray any positive aspects of your life?

Tupac:

Elaborating on what mentioned earlier, my music could just as easily and accurately be described as being a cultural memoir as one of my struggles and pain. My lyrics link, strongly, back to my African-American roots, and it doesn't lay in the depths of my music, but rather at the very surface. I, extensively often, use African American Vernacular English while writing my lyrics, evident of the fact that I do, as well, portray a sense of pride in culture and backgrounds. I could very easily adapt the use of the words "going to" instead of "gonna," or "am not" instead of "ain't" in my lyrics, but why do that when it is the truncation of words and forms of negation that clearly illustrate the spirit of my African-American roots and emphasize the cultural connection that my music has?

Interviewer:

Well this is exactly why you should, rightfully so, be considered one of the greatest and most influential artists of all time, and this is despite the statistical success that you have achieved over the past few years, and solely based on the depth and meaning that you have proved your music to portray and possess. On that note, I would like to thank you for giving a few minutes of your time to be here with us.

Tupac:

It is my absolute pleasure.

lol jk

Both linguists argue against the typically negative view that most people have on technology, as well as it's influence on language in recent years.

In a TED talk from February 2013, American linguist John McWhorter stated his relatively unique perspective on the affect of technology on language. He doesn't agree with the idea that technology is having a detrimental affect on language. McWhorter rather argues against it, by stating that 'textspeak' and writing are two different things. He stresses that over many generations, people had the tendency to speak like they wrote, but the ability to write like one speaks did not become a seamless process until technology came in. In this way, he proves that technology has come to suite our needs when communicating, such as the need to communicate quicker, as we tend to do when speaking. (And therefore textspeaking)

British linguist David Crystal also views the issue in a more opposed and positive way in comparison to a majority of linguists. Crystal perceives 'textspeak' to be a language of limited punctuation, excessive abbreviations and excluded letters. He states that these characteristics are a result of the limitations that technology brought along with it, causing its users to communicate more efficiently and therefore suiting our needs to do it quickly. Crystal also comments against any negative statements in regards to the affect technology has on the performance of children at school, arguing that it should be seen as a way to practise language rather than destroy it.

Both Crystal and McWhorter address the issue in a more positive way, stating that technology is a way to suite our communicative needs. Yet, they both view the idea from a different perspective. Crystal believes that 'textspeak' is a result of our communicative needs, evident in the way we have manipulated standard writing. In contrast, McWhorter argues that textspeak is detached from writing, and is the ability to write like we speak (Faster), which is a developing language of its own.

A letter to the Editor

Keenan Paterson

5 October 2014

Dear Editor,
After reading the article "Wanna ‘Go Indian’? Welcome to the Party of 1 Billion+!" stating your view on the use of cultural symbols in pop culture, I felt the urge to comment on certain points that were brought about. I, not being from the Sub-continental region of Asia, do not have much first hand knowledge of the cultural meaning and value behind these symbols, and I, therefore, feel that I have no right to judge, nor fully argue against your views on the use of your own cultural traditions. But I will take the time to comment on some points you made based on what I perceive the general idea of cultural appropriation to be.

Firstly, you stated that if she wants to be indian, she should be welcomed and embraced with open arms into the "party of 1 billion+." Selena Gomez received much controversy regarding her use of the bindi in several performances. When Gomez was criticised for it, she was asked to apologise and said:
"I think the song has that Hindu, tribal feel and I wanted to translate that. I’ve been learning about my chakra and bindis and the culture — it’s beautiful."
Where's the wrong in that? With regards to the idea of cultural appropriation, Gomez states that she has been learning about the cultural symbols that were used. As long as this is the case, there is no reason why it should be considered inappropriate cultural appropriation, and in the same breath, I do agree with the idea that she should be welcomed to the "party of 1 billion+."

I am also in agreement with the contradictory comment that was made about the loss of authenticity and ancient meaning. It's great to have brought up this topic.
Referring to what was said in the last paragraph, it is true that Americans may not have known what a bindi was around a decade or two ago. But now that more Americans do, many of whom supposedly see the bindi as nothing more than a "pretty" accessory, it is beginning to lose its authenticity. It's in situations like these where use of cultural symbols should be seen as inappropriate cultural appropriation, when the user has no knowledge or appreciation for its meaning.

If I see or hear of foreigners using objects or components of our own cultural, I too tend to feel a strong sense of pride over offence, that is if I feel offended at all, but as long as they know of the cultural meaning and authenticity of it. Overall, the level of cultural open-mindedness that you express is a really great thing, for as long as they understand, why not embrace them?