Writing Close Anolysis - PC\|MACimages.pcmac.org/SiSFiles/Schools/AL/EnterpriseCity... · and film star Groucho Marx. Marx performed with his brothersZeppo,Chico, and Harpo - they

58 CHAPTER 2 . CLOSE READING

longer roise himself; his legs skuggled voinly. But, os I stretched out o pencil,

meoning to help him to right himself, it come over me thot the foilure ond owk-wordness were the opprooch of deoth. I loid the pencil down ogoin.

The legs ogitoted themselves once more. I looked os if for the enemy ogoinstwhich he struggled. I looked out of doors. Whot hod hoppened there? Presum-

obly it wos middoy, ond work in the fields hod stopped. Stillness ond quiet hodreploced the previous onimotion. The birds hod token themselves off to feed inthe brooks. The horses stood still. Yet the power wos there oll the some, mossed

outside, indifferent, impersonol, not oitending to onything in porticulor. Some-

how it wos opposed to the llttle hoycolored moth. lt wos useless to try io doonything. One could only wotch the extroordinory efforts mode by those tiny legs

ogoinst on oncoming doom which could, hod it chosen, hove submerged onentire city, not merely o city, but mosses of humon beings; nothing, I knew, hodony chonce ogoinst deoth. Nevertheless olter o pouse o[ exhoustion the legs flut-

tered ogoin. lt wos superb this lost protest, ond so frontic thot he succeeded otlost in righting himself. One's sympothies, of course, were oll on the side of life.Also, when there wos nobody to core or to know, this gigontic effort on the portof on insignificont little.moth, ogoinst o power of such mognitude, to retoin whotno one else volued or desired to keep, moved one strongely. Agoin, somehow,one sow life, o pure beod. I lifted the pencil ogoin, useless though I knew it to be.

But even os I did so, the unmistokoble tokens of deoth showed themselves. The

body reloxed, ond instontly grew stiff. The struggle wos over. The insignificontlittle creoture now knew deoth. As I looked ot lhe deod moth, this minute woy-side triumph of so greot o force over so meon on ontogonist filled me with won-der..Just os life hod been stronge o lew minutes before, so deoth wos now os

stronle. The moth hoving righted himself now loy most decently ond uncom-

ploiningly composed. O yes, he seemed to soy, deoth is stronger thon I om.

Writing o Close Anolysis Essoy

We're going to look now at steps you can take toward writing a close analysis essay.

Good writing comes from careful reading, so the first steps will always be to read,reread, ask questions, and either annotate or create a graphic organizer for thetext you will be working with. We're going to look at a 1947 letter from comedianand film star Groucho Marx. Marx performed with his brothersZeppo,Chico, andHarpo - they were known as the Marx Brothers. The letter is a part of his corre-spondence with the film production companyWarner Bros., which had concernsabout an upcoming Marx Brothers film entitled A Night in Casablanca; the com-pany worried that the title was too similar to the title of its l94Z film Casablanca.Read the letter carefully, and then read it again. Ask some questions, and eitherannotate the letter or make a graphic organizer. Pay close attention to the dictionand syntax choices Marx made and how they might help him achieve his purpose.

WRITING A CLOSE ANALYSIS ESSAY 59

Deor Worner Brothers,

Apporently there is more thon one woy o[ conquering o city ond holding it os

your own. For exomple, up to the time thot we contemploted moking o picture, I hod

no ideo thot the city of Cosobloncol belonged exclusively to Worner Brothers. How-

ever, it wos only o few doys ofter our onnouncement oppeored thot we received o

long, ominous legol document worning us not to use the nome "Cosoblonco."

It seems thot in 1471 , Ferdinond Bolboo Worner, your greotgreotgrondfother,

while looking lor o shortcut to the ciiy of Burbonk, hod stumbled on the shores of

Africo ond, roising his olpenstock,2 which he loter turned in for o hundred shores

of common,3 nomed it Cosoblonco'

I iust con't understond your ottitude. Even if you plon on releosing your picture, I

om sure ihot the overoge movie fon could leorn in time to distinguish between lngrid

Bergmona ond Horpo.s I don't know whether I could, but I certoinly would like to try.

You cloim you own Cosoblonco ond thot no one else con use thot nome with-

out your permission. Whot obout "Worner Brothers"? Do you own thot too? You

probobly hove the right to use the nome Worner, but whot obout the nome Brothers?

Professionolly, we were brothers long before you were. We were louring the sticks

os the Morx Brothers when Vitophone6 wos still o gleom in the inventor's eye, ond

even before us there hod been other brothers-the Smith Brothers; the Brothers

Koromozov; Don Brouthers, on outfielder with Detroit; ond "Brother, Con You Spore

o Dime?" fihis wos originolly "Brothers, Con You Spore o Dime?" but this wos

spreoding o dime pr.tryiin, so they threw out one brother, gove'oll the money to

the other one, ond whittled it down to'"Brother, Con You Spore o Dime?") '

' Now Jock, how obout you? Do you mointoin thot yours is on originol nome?

Well lt's not: lt wos used long belore you were born. Offhond, I con think of two

Jocks-there wos Jock o[ 'Jock ond the Beonstolk," ond Jock the Ripper, who cut

quite o figure in his doy.

As for you, Horry, you probobly sign your checks sure in the belief thot you

ore the first Horry o[ oll time ond thot oll other Horrys ore imposlors. Offhond I con

think of two Horrys thot preceded you. There wos Lighthorse Horry of Revolution-

ory fome ond o Horry Appelboum who lived on the corner of 93rd Sireet ond Lex-

ington Avenue. Unfortunotely, Appelboum wosn't too well-known. The lost I heord of

him, he wos selling neckties ot Weber ond Heilbroner; but l'll never forget his

mother, she mode the best opple strudle in Yorkville.

tCasablanca is the title of a romantic-and perennially popular-film released by Warner Bros.

in 1942 that won the Academy Award for BeslPicture. It starred Humphrey Bogart in his first

romantic role.-Eds.2walking stick.-Eds.3Common stock in a company.-Eds.aThe beautiful female star of Casablanca.-Eds.sHarpo was Groucho's brother and part of the Marx Brothers; he wore a red, curly-haired wig

and did not speak, communicating instead by biowing a horn or whistling.-Eds.6Vitaphone was the process developed by Warner Bros. for adding sound to fllm. - Eds.

60 CHAPTER 2 . CLOSE READING

Now qbout the Burbonk studio.T I believe this is whot you brothers coll yourploce. Old mon Burbonk is gone. Perhops you remember him. He wos o greotmon in o gorden. He wos the wizord who crossed oll those fruits ond vegetoblesuntil he hod the poor plonts in such confused ond iittery condition thot they couldnever decide whether to enter the dining room on the meot plotter or the des-se* dish.

This is pure coniecture, of course, but who knows-perhops Burbonk's survi-vors oren't ioo hoppy with the foct thot o plont thot grinds out pictures on o quotosettled in their town, opproprioled Burbonk's nome ond uses it os o front for theirfilms. lt is even possible thot the Burbonk fomily is prouder of the pototo producedby the old mon thon they ore of the foct thot your studio emerged "Cosobloncq" oreven "Gold Diggers of I93l ."

This oll seems to odd up to o pretty bitter tirqde, but I ossure you it's not meontto. I love Worners. Some of my best friends ore Worner Brothers. lt is even possiblethot I om doing you on iniustice ond thot you, yourselves, know nothing obout thisdog-in-the-Wongers ottiiude. lt wouldn't surprise me ot oll to discover thot the heodsof your legol deporiment ore unowore of this obsurd dispute, for I om ocquointedwith mony of them ond they ore fine fellows with curly block hoir, doubl*.breostedsuits ond o love of their fellow mon thot out-Soroyons Soroyon.e

I hove o hunch thot this ottempt to prevent us from using the title is the broin-child of some ferret-foced shyster, serving o briel opprenticeship in your legol deport-ment. I know the type well*hot out of low school, hungry for Success ond tooombitious to follow the noturol lciws of promotion. This bor sinister probobly needledyour ottorneys, most of whom ore fine fellows with curly block hoir, double.breostedsuits, etc., inlo ottempting to enioin us. Well, he won't get owoy with itl We'll fighthim to the highest court! No posty-foced legol odventurer is going to couse bodblood between the Worners ond the Alorxes. We ore oll brothers under the skin,

ond we'll remoin friends till the lost reel of A Nrghf in Casoblonco goes tumblingover the spool.

Sincerely,

Groucho Morx

TMovie production studios located in Burbank, California, a city close to Los Angeles wheremany movie production companies have their headquarters. AJthough there is a Luther BurbankMiddle School in Burbank, the city is not named after the botanist Luther Burbank-whoinvented the Idaho potato-but after a dentist named David Burbank, who was originallyfrom Maine. Casablanca was filmed at the Burbank studio.-Eds.8A double play on words. Dog-in-the-Manger is one of Aesop's fables, about a dog that didn'teat the grain in the manger but wouldn't let the other animals eat it either. Walter Wanger wasa film producer who produced the first Marx Brothers talkie. - Eds.eA reference to William Saroyan, a writer and dramatist whose work was known for its optimismin the face of hardship.-Eds.

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WRITING A CLOSE ANALYSIS ESSAY 6I

There is some doubt about whether Warner Bros. had actualiy objected to thetitle of the Marx Brothers film; but there's little doubt that this letter was primarilya publicity stunt by Groucho. In any case, it is a great example of the persuasivepowers of humor. Groucho's sryle was instantly recognizable to fans of popularculture in the first half of the twentieth century. Now let's ask some questions tohelp determine the purpose of Marx's letter, what makes his style so distinctive,and how this sryle helps him achieve his purpose.

1. Why does Marx begin with'Apparently"?

2. Why does he say he had no idea that the city of Casablanca belonged toWarner Bros.?

3. What is the effect of Groucho's short history of Casablan ca (para.2)2.

4. Would it really be difficult to distinguish between Ingrid Bergman andHarpo Marx (para.3)?

5. Why does Marx offer so many examples of "Brothers" (para.4)?

6. What is the effect of the parenthetical story about "Brother, Can You Sparea Dime" (para.4)?

7. Why does Marx bring up Luther Burbank's experiments with fruits andvegetables (para.7)?

8. Why does Marx qualif his statement that he loves Warners (para. 9) with"Some of my best friends are Warner Brothers"?

9. Why does Marx suggest that the source of Warner Bros.' concerns about-his film come from an ambitious young lawyer, referringto him as a"pasty-faced legal adventurer" (para. 10)?

Developing o Thesis Stotement

Answering these questions or others like them may help you to get some ideasfor a thesis statement, the first step in writing a close analysis essay. You maychange it as you go along, but having an idea about the argument you want tomake will help you stay focused. As we mentioned, Groucho Marx uses humor tocreate his argument; we might even call this letter a kind of satire-the use ofsarcasm or irony to criticize-so let's think first about Marx's purpose in writingthe letter and why he might have chosen to use humor. Even if this letter was apublicity stunt, we can imagine that Marx wanted to highlight the differencesbetween his film and the romantic adventure Casablanca to show Warner Bros.that it had little to fear from the Marx Brothers film A Night in Casablanca.It'salso likely that Marx wanted to comment on the hot air that sometimes emergesfrom big corporations and their lawyers-especially, in this case, the enormousand powerful movie studio Warner Bros. But he chooses not to take these goalson directly.

62 CHAPTER 2 . CLOSE READING

As you think about a thesis statement, you will want to be careful that yourthesis isn't too broad or just a summary:

Groucho Marx uses humor to defend his movie.

And you will also want to make sure that itt not too narrow or just your personalopinion:

Groucho Marx's letter to warner Bros. is rude and disrespectful.

Most important, a close analysis essay must focus on the choices writers make tohelp them achieve their purpose. Here's a thesis statement that might work:Rather than take on warner Bros. directly, Groucho Marx jabs and feints until thestudio couldn't possibly take its own claim seriously.

A Somple Close Anolysis Essoy

once you have a working thesis statement-(remember, you may change it as youplan and write), think about the ways you will suppo.t it. yo.,r essay may look closelyat different style elements; it may focus on the way the writer organized,the para-graphs and develop-ed his or her argument; it may be a combination of both. It isir-rportant to cite the text, weaving quotes into your essay and explaining eachexample with at least two sentences of analysis or commeniary. Take a look at thissample essay:

- Like a boxer who weighs less than his opponent, Groucho Marx circles the greatmovie moguls-the warner Bros.-baiting them, drawing them out, blinding them withhis fanry footwork in his response to a letter from the studio forbidding the Marx Brothersfrom using the word "casablanca" in the title of their upcoming fiim, A Night in casablanca.Rather than take warner Bros- on directly, Groucho Marxjabs and feints-humorously,of course-until warner Bros. couldn't possibly take its own claim seriously.

Marx opens the retter with an intentionar misunderstanding, the first wayhe highlights the absurdity of Warner Brosl threat of legal action. He claims not tohave understood that warner Bros. had conquered the city of casabtanca untit hereceived their "tong, ominous legar document." Itt not a big reap from there for Marxto imagine Ferdinand Baiboa warner, conveniently named after a real explorer, claimingthe city of casablanca by "raising his alpenstock.,, The image conjures up scenes fromthe lavish epics of earry Holtywood, casting warner as Moses in cecit B. DeMile,s rheTen commandments. Marx extends his misunderstanding by imagining that thestudio's main worry might be the troubte that the ,,average

movie fan.. win have indistinguishing Ingrid Bergman from Harpo Marx. Humbty, Marx says he ,,certainrywould like to try"' This slightty salacious offer reinforces the silliness of lvarner Bros.,worries: Bergman was beautifui, blonde and dignified; Harpo Marx was a short, bewiggedmute ctown-

WRITING A CLOSE ANALYSIS ESSAY 63

Marx creates a sense of fumitiarity, which serves his purpose by reminding hisaudience-warner Bros. and their regai team-that they,re all in the same boat,moviemakers with similar cultural knowtedge, even shared heritage. using classic MarxBrothers absurdist humor Groucho claims that he and his brothers-the Marx Brothers-have been around longer than Harry and Jack have and that they might have more rightto use the word "Brothers" in their name. He piles on a tist of other sets of brothers:"the smith Brothers" (of cough drop fame), "the Brothers Karamazov,, (titte of anineteenth-century Russian novel), a baseball player with the last name of ,,Brouthers.,,

He even riffs a bit on the song "Brother, can you spare a Dime?,, He gets even morepersonal, addressing each warner brother by name: "Now Jack, how about you?,,, ,,fu foryou, Harr!r," and throws in some we[-known examples of Harrys and Jacks, just for goodmeasure' Unwilting to stop, Marx even questions the right of Warner Bros. to name itsworkptace "Burbank studio," suggesting-"pure conjecture, of course,,_that LutherBurbank's suryivors might not be happy to be associated with the warner Bros., body ofwork' One can imagine the effect of Marxt onslaught of examples on the movie studiotlarge and serious legal team, who also come under fire.

Content to let the togic of his defense rest, Marx gives lfarner Brosl legat team abreak, suggesting that the retter was the brainchitd of a young lawyer ,,hot out of lawschool, hungry for success and too ambitious to foltow the natural taws of promotion.,,He ctaims qBpathy and admiration for the heads of the tegal department, ,,fine fellowswith curly black hair, double-breasted suits and a love of their fe[ow man,,, a.formulationhe usertwice-the second time slightiy truncated. and ending in ,,etc..,

Efforttessly,Marx calls up a vision of mindless automatons, led astray by the ,,pasty-faced

legaladventurer" who Marx calls responsibte for the possible "bad btood between the Warnersand the Marxes." Here he reinforces that bond between moviemaking families_"brothers under the skin" - and hightights once .more the absurdity of imagining thatthe reputation or box office receipts of Casablanca, the lg4zAcademy Award winner forBest Picture, wilt be suttied by a fitm made by the likes of Groucho and his brothers.

In this hilarious letter-and in the two letters that followed-Groucho Marxunderscored the ridiculousness of comparing the classic casablancawith the siuiness of aMarx Brothers film in very much the style of his own firms. Fast. clever, not especianylogical. but certainly tireless, Marx wore out his bigger opponent. It took two moreletters fuom Marx to get \{arner Bros. off his back: each one outtined plots that wereso far-fetched as to be nearly incomprehensible, and \Alarner Bros. finalty gave up.

Read the following essaywritten by christopher Morle y in lgz0.Annorate it orcreate a graphic organizer; generate some questions about its styie. Developa thesis statement, and write an essay in which you analyze the ways that thestyle of the essay helps Morley achieve his purpose.

64 CHAPTER 2 . CLOSE READING

On LozinessCHnrsropnen Moncv

Todoy we rolher intended to write on essoy on Loziness, but were too indolent

to do so.

The sort of thing we hod in mind to write would hove been exceedingly per-

suosive. We intended to discourse o little in fqvour o[ o greoter oppreciotion o[lndolence os o benign foctor in humon offoirs.

It is our observotion thot every time we get into kouble it is due to not hoving

been lozy enough. Unhoppily, we were born with o certoin fund of energy. Wehove been hustling obout lor o number o[ yeors now, ond it doesn't seem to

get us onything but tribulotion. Henceforword we ore going to moke o deter-

mined effort to be more longuid ond demure. lt is the bustling mon who olwoysgets put on committees, who is osked to solve the problems of other people

ond neglect his own.

The mon who is reolly, ihoroughly, ond philosophicolly slothful is the onlythoroughly hoppy mon. lt is the hoppy mon who benefits the world. The con-

clusion is inescopoble.

We remember o $oying obout the meek inheriting the ebrth. The truly meek

mon is the lozy mon. He is too modest to believe thot ony ferment ond hubbubof his con omeliorote the eorth or ossuoge the perplexities of humonity.

O. Henry soid once thot orie should be coreful to distinguish loziness from

dignifled repose. Alos, thot wos o mere quibble. Loziness is olwoys dignifiied,it is blwoys reposeful. Philosoihicol lqziness, we meon. The kind of loziness

thot is bosed upon o corefully reosoned onolysis of experience. Acquired lozi-ness. We hove no respect for those who were born lozy; it is like being borno millionoire: they connot oppreciole their bliss. lt is the mon who hos hom-

mered his loziness out of the stubborn moteriql of life for whom we chontproise ond ollelulio.

The loziest mon we know-we do not like to mention his nome, os the brutolworld does not yet recognize sloth qt its community volue-is one of the greotest poets in this country; one of the keenest sotirists; one of the most rectilineorthinkers. He begon life in the customory hustling woy. He wos olwoys too busyto enioy himself. He become surrounded by eoger people who come to him

to solve their problems. "li's o queer thing," he soid sodly; "no one ever comes to

me osking for help in solving my problems." Finolly the light broke upon him.He siopped onswering letters, buying lunches for cosuql friends ond visitorsfrom out of town, he stopped lending money to old college pols ond fritieringhis time owoy on oll the useless minor motters thot pester the good-notured. He

sot down in o secluded cofe with his cheek ogoinst o seidel of dork beer ondbegon to coress the universe with his intellect.

The most domning orgument ogoinst the Germons is thot they were not lozyenough. ln the middle of Europe, o thoroughly disillusioned, indolent, ond delight-

ful old continent, the Germons were o dongerous moss of energy ond bumptious

CLOSE READING A VISUAL TEXT 65

push. lf the Germons hod been os lozy, os indifferent, ond os righteously loissez-

loirish os their n"ighbou., the world would hove been spored o greot deol.

PeopleresPectloziness.lfyouoncegetoreputotionforcomplete,immovoble,

ondrecklessindolencetheworldwillleoveyoutoyourownthoughts,whichoregenerolly rother interesiing'

Doctor Johnson, *r,.'" *"' one of the world's greot philosophers, wos lozy.

O.fy y*r"raoy our friend the Coliph showed us on extroordinorily interesting

,r.,,.g.i, wos o iittl" l"J"obound notebook ln which Boswell iotted down memo

rondo o[ his tolks *itr, *," old doctor.lo These notes he ofterwqrd worked up

into the immortol Biogrophy. And lo ond behold, whot wos the very first entry

in this treosured little relic?

Doctor Johnson totd me in going to Ilam from Ashbourne' 22

September, 7777 , thalthe way the plan of his Dictionary came to be

addressedtoLordChesterfieldwasthis:Hehadneglectedtowriteitbythe time appointed- Dodstey suggested a desire to have it addressed to

LordC.Mr.J.taidhotdofthisasanexcusefordetay'thatitmightbebetter done perhaps, and let Dodsley have his desire' Mr' Johnson said to

hisfriend,DoctorBathdrst:"NowifanygoodcomesofmyaddressingtoLord Chesterfietd it witt be ascribed to deep policy and address' when' in

' fact, it was only a casual excuse for taziness"'

ThusweseethotitwossheerlozinessthotledtothegreoteStkiumphofDoctor Johnson's life, the noble ond rnemoroble letter to chesterfield in 1775 '"=*;;;;r,

urri""tt is o good counsel; but mind your idleness olso' lt's o

trogic thing to moke o businlss of your mind' Sove your mind to omuse your-

t"'t ilJ?;=, mon does nor srond in rhe woy o[ progress. when he sees progress

rooring do*n ,pon ti, f'" steps nimbly out o[ the woy' The lozy mon doesn't

(in the vulgor phror"l poss the buck He lets the buck poss him' We hove

olwoys secretly envied our lozy lriends' Now we ore going to ioin them' We

hove burned our boots or our bridges or whotever it is thot one burns on the

eve of o momentous decision'

Writingonthiscongenioltopichosrousedusuptoquiteopitcho[enthu-siosm ond energy.

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