Closed Reading

Article Link: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/closeread/2011/10/afghanistan-war-ten-years.html

Article Title: AFGHANISTAN: A THOUSAND SONGS AGO

     Signifying certain things in life and giving more importance to one over the other is embedded in human nature. This article, posted by Amy Davidson, sheds light on weighing the prevalence of the ten years anniversary of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan with other matters such as the death of Steve Jobs and the anniversary of the dawn of the ipod. The author of this article utilizes the literary techniques of diction, imagery, and syntax to cleverly allude to the meaning of her piece, which rests specifically on the tendency of human beings to differentiate and adhere to one aspect or another of society with bias while overriding the significance of the other.

     Davidson relies on diction throughout her piece in order to illustrate her central argument. The use of the word "entirely" near the beginning of the second paragraph directly refers to the ten year anniversary of the war in Afghanistan. By this one word, the author is contrasting to the reality of the situation with the ideality of the optimism associated with the United States public recognition of the war through the use of bitter sarcasm. The word directly refers to the next few lines in the paragraph and illustrates the author's sarcasm pointing to human ignorance for judging importance. The use of the word "guess" near the end of the second paragraph further enhances the position of the author on critiquing the lack of acknowledgement of the war in Afghanistan by the people of the United States and their utter disregard conveyed through the evident use of repeated sarcasm in her writing.

     Imagery is another tool used by the author to convey her point. Around the middle of the first paragraph, for instance, the use of the words "Some of the first ones in rode horses..." paints a very glorious picture arousing memories of wars fought for honor. This image sets up a direct contradiction to the actual outcome of the war over the last ten years and attempts to indicate the metamorphosis in the perception of the war and the information that the people have failed to acknowledge. This technique clearly lays out the format and structure of her writing that relates to the change in perspective while at the same time coalescing that aspect of her opinion with her central argument.

     Like all authors, Davidson utilizes a unique writing style conveyed through syntax that gives her piece a distinct impression and aids the elucidation of her argument. In the second paragraph, the writer uses internal monologue: "...the first ones went on sale a few weeks later, on November 10th, 2001—it’s probably a good guess that, next month, that anniversary won’t be ignored—and held a thousand songs." The break in thought mindfully sends through her opinion about weighing importance while concurrently enhancing support for human ignorance through this solid piece of evidence. By using the quote "Yesterday, at the Council on Foreign Relations, General Stanley McChrystal said that we’re barely—maybe—halfway done," Davidson further enhances support for her argument by using speculation in the break in thought in the sentence to cleverly utilize syntax, indicate the precariousness of the situation, and complete the circle from the reference to glorious war in the beginning of her commentary to the debilitating effect of the conflict near the end of her writing.

     This well-written piece by Amy Davidson is a testament to complex human thought giving rise to the weighing of priorities in life. The central message of the writer is to encourage equal consideration for all activities in this world and play an active role in celebrating as well as mourning for peace and stability as well as lost lives in order to form a cooperative society based on genuine support and advocation for each other for the progress and prosperity of all.