Event Analysis Part 2

Tommy Ireland

Dr. Ellis

Understanding Literature

31 January 2013

Event Analysis Part 2

            My event that I attended was the Nevergreen’s comedy show on Friday, January 25, 2013 and in this paper I am comparing the action of observing between the show and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark,” Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper,” and William Wordsworth “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.”  The action of observation found in all four of these works allow the reader to get a perspective of what the author or authors of the work want the viewer to see.  The action of observation holds a great deal of significance because it allows you to form a unique opinion about something based on what you hear, see and read, in this case, the three works and show. 

            “The Birthmark” and the Nevergreen’s comedy show both have the action of observation in them.  One example in the “The Birthmark” of the action of observation is found early in the piece.  “Georgiana, has it never occurred to you that the mark upon your cheek might removed?”  Another example of this is found early on in the piece as well.  “When she blushed it gradually became more indistinct, and finally vanished amid the triumphant rush of blood that bathed the whole cheek with its brilliant glow.”  Both of these examples use the sense of sight in order to produce a vivid image of the scar upon Georgiana’s face.  In the Nevergreen Comedy show, observation plays a huge role.  The audience sits and watches as a group of comedians perform their various skits with many visuals and sounds as well.  Observing body language and various other actions allow the viewer to interpret whether or not the given skit is funny or not.  One skit, one actor uses hand gestures to get the attention of another actor without making any sounds.  In both “The Birthmark” and the comedy show, seeing or reading what is happening allows you to form your own opinion on what to think about the work.  This is important because the authors of the work give the viewers the responsibility of imagining what certain elements and things look like in the work and show.  Therefore, each and every viewer may view what the author is portraying differently from each other.

            “The Yellow Wallpaper” and the Nevergreen comedy show both also have the action of observation.  One example in “The Yellow Wallpaper” of the action of observation is the sense of smell.  “Such a peculiar odor, too!  I have spent hours in trying to analyze it, to find what it smelled like.  It is not bad-at first-and very gentle, but quite the subtlest, most enduring odor I ever met.”  In this example, the narrator uses her sense of smell to detect an unpleasant odor.  She uses many descriptive adjectives to show exactly what the smell’s nature is.  In the Nevergreen comedy show, parts of the play relied on smell as well.  In one skit, a detective walked into a messy room and scrunched his face to the horrible odor that was supposed to be present, portraying how horrible the odor really was.  In both of these works, the authors require the audience to be able to smell in order to follow along with the events that are occurring.  Being able to smell and understand what the works are trying to portray are key in following along with the stories and acts.  This is important because you cannot only just see what the author wants you to see but also smell. 

            “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” and the Nevergreen comedy show both also have the action of observation.  One example in “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” of the action of observation is the sense of hearing.  “The waves beside them danced, but they outdid the sparkling waves in glee.”  In this example, though sight is used, sound is what was described.  The waves dancing represents the waves crashing, which creates a distinct and loud sound.  In the Nevergreen comedy show, sounds were crucial to the show as a whole.  Specifically, one skit used a voice over that played through the speakers in the room where the show took place.  The voice over was representing the main character’s thoughts.  Without being able to hear, you would not be able to follow along with the plot of the skit.  In both of these works, sounds are used to go along with the sights and other senses.  These sounds help us see that what we are learning and seeing is not just visual and soundless, but rather full of sound and life.  This is important because sounds give visuals even more uniqueness and description. 

            Overall, these works all had the action of observation in them.  Observation includes but not limited to sight, smell, and sounds.  Being able to go to comedy show and finding connections between the readings was a great experience.