The author of both Charlotte's Web and The Elements of Style, E.B. White's writing exemplifies clear, concise, well-written prose.
For this entry, read his essay "Death of a Pig," and find one sentence you feel is especially well-written. Then write a short explanation of your choice.
For example, I enjoy his sentence "I went back up to the house and to bed, and cried internally - deep hemorrhagic intears" (from the second paragraph of the fourth section) because of the irony of crying "internally," as though he were ashamed to show his tears, and because the phrase "deep hemorrhagic intears" is an effective echo of the pig's own affliction, from the "deep hemorrhagic infarcts." Thus, this sentence uses humor to distance himself from the pig's death while at the same time using parallel language to illustrate a similarity between himself and the pig.
The essay tells the story of a man building a deep bond with his pig because of a tragedy that was occurring, “He had evidently become precious to me, no that he represented a distant nourishment in a hungry time, but that he had suffered in a suffering world” (from the third paragraph of the first section) because of the change the man had to see things in a different light. The sentence is good because it shows the usual feeling that farmer feel towards pig and the actual feeling that he had gained. In most cases pigs are raised to a certain age and killed for food. The fact that this is a normal occurrence helps people separate the animal from the act that they will eventually perform. In this sentence the farmer realizes that in normal circumstances this pig would be no different than any other, but from the moment it became sick the relationship had been altered.
ReplyDeleteJesus, that's a good line to choose. There's also the surprise implied in the word "evidently" and the personification of a "suffering world." Normally, we think of suffering as an action only a person can endure, but here it is both the pig and the world itself that suffers.
Delete“The screams, slightly muffled by oil, were pitched in the hysterically high range of pigsound, as though torture were being carried out, but they didn't last long: it was all over rather suddenly, and, his legs released, the pig righted himself.” (In the second section second paragraph) This sentence made me think about how heartless people can be when it comes to killing animal. When we eat the delicious ham we don’t think about the suffering the pig goes through because we wouldn’t enjoy our meal the same. The description is great it made me feel as if I could hear the pig and watch it be killed.
ReplyDelete-Faviola Gurrola
You're right, Faviola. This is definitely a horrific auditory image that is meant to shock the reader.
Delete“He stood his ground, sucking slightly at the residue of oil; a few drops leaked out of his lips while his wicked eyes, shaded by their coy little lashes, turned on me in disgust and hatred. I scratched him gently with oily fingers and he remained quiet, as though trying to recall the satisfaction of being scratched when in health, and seeming to rehearse in his mind the indignity to which he had just been subjected,” (third paragraph in the second section), is a well written sentence because of its descriptions. The author, E.B. White, clearly describes the scene between the owner and the pig. The format that White wrote this sentence allows the reader to visually see the scene in their head. The description becomes realistic to the reader and they can visualize the pig giving the owner this hatred look and disgust. There is great detail in White’s writing that allows the readers to visualize the scenarios causing them to understand the relationship between the owner and pig.
ReplyDeleteChristina Orozco
Nice work, Christina. Also notice White's attention to detail: the few drops leaking from the pig's lips, the pig's "coy" eyelashes. A well-placed detail will make the scene come alive.
DeleteIn the fourth section first paragraph "He died 24 hours later, or it might have been 48 there is a blur in the time here, I may have picked up a day in the telling and the pig one in the dying". I find this particular sentence a good example of how much his pig meant to him and how he still uses the unsureness and comedy factor of the story to lighten the mood. I also found this sentence to have multiple meanings, but I do feel that this quote exemplify the great amount of emotion the owner felt towards his pig, who wasn't just a pig to him. Not remembering exactly the time of death of his pig wasn't what this quote was about, it was more about how the loss and distress got to him and the need to tell the story and express himself was blurred with the actual time of death of the pig. I chose this quote because when I first read it I thought, how can someone who says they cared so much for their animal who wasn't just an animal, not remember when it was that they died. But when I read it again, I then realized that maybe he cared so much that the event made him loose all senses of time and his need to incorporate a comedic theme was to help with the story telling and emotions attached.
ReplyDelete-Maria Zamarripa
Nice work, Maria, in your analysis of the time symbolism !
Delete“When my son and I arrived at the pigyard, armed with a small bottle of castor oil and a length of clothesline, the pig had emerged from his house and was standing in the middle of his yard, listlessly,” (from the second paragraph of the second section) the sentence demonstrates how White narrates the initial experience encountered with the pig. This sentence gives readers hindsight on what will happen next. The sentence was a great sentence, and is one of the initial sentences that grasp the reader into the relationship bond that the pig and the narrator will hold. The sentence gives perception on two emotional roles, the pig’s feelings and White’s feelings.
ReplyDeleteThe simple words that White gave the sentence in defying that the pig owned property, “his house,” “his yard,” is a great hook to help readers visualize a breathing harmless animal minding his own business in his own property that may be on the verge of being executed. The pig is in “his yard” and poses with such innocence, not showing interest in anything. I liked how White gave the pig more than just life, he gave the pig property. Therefore, the readers would get a sense that White was about to invade the pig’s privacy—privacy of property and life.
White sees an innocent pig and he knows that he will kill that pig. White confronts the pig and is holding a “small bottle of castor oil and a length of clothesline.” The pig might not be consciously aware of how the tools may be exercised, yet, White and his readers are aware of what the tools are for. The tools that White is holding are used to execute the pig. Overall, White and the readers anticipate and feel anxiety on what will happen to the pig—death by execution.
Nice work, David, in your analysis of these foreboding details !
Delete“The murder, being premeditated, is in the first degree but is quick and skillful, and the smoked bacon and ham provide a ceremonial ending whose fitness is seldom questioned.”(First section second paragraph) this sentence provides the cruel reality that pigs are not consider a pet you can raise and endure happiness with until their dying day. The reason for buying a pig is to raise it by feeding it to become big and bulky and killing it so it parts can be distributed to many store over the country with their delicious ham and bacon. Pigs do not have the opportunity to live a long life, once they are big enough their lives are taken away which makes it premeditated murder since they get slaughter without a say. This sentences give the realistic details and makes the reader feel as if they are there observing the pig getting bigger but knowing that eventually the pig will get killed. The author enacts that it’s a tradition that most farmer follow, but he thinks it’s a tragedy that many pigs get killed for food.
ReplyDeleteNice work, Maria. You're picking up on White's use of irony, which is when there is a discrepancy between expectation and reality. We expect the pig to be a source of food, but White uses personification and empathy to make us sympathetic for the pig's plight.
DeleteIn reference to his dog Fred, E.B. White stated: "You could see him down there at all hours, his white face parting the grass along the fence as he wobbled and stumbled about, his stethoscope dangling - a happy quack, writing his villainous prescriptions and grinning his corrosive grin."
ReplyDeleteWhite is describing his dachshund in this sentence, as he is consulting the ill pig. White describes Fred as a physician who is ultimately concerned about the pig, but almost seems to be enjoying the spectacle overall. White used some common literary tools in this sentence to describe the scene. With his in depth use of personification, White has provided us a mental image of Fred trotting around the pigpen like he's on a mission to diagnose the pig. Personification was used throughout the essay in the same manner, in reference to both Fred and the dying pig, to provide a detailed image of the event. His use of these tools allows the reader to be in the moment with him, feel the way he felt, and see the event as White saw it. This sentence is just one of many examples of White's literary talent.
Nice work, Sabrina. The description of the dachshund (also known as a "wiener dog") is another example of White's use of irony; we expect a dog, especially a wiener dog, to be loyal and true, but here the dog seems like an evil doctor.
DeleteIn the fourth section second paragraph “I knelt, saw that he was dead, and left him there: his face had a mild look, expressive neither of deep peace nor deep suffering, although I think he had suffered a good deal”. Through this quote the readers are able to visualize the scenario when the pig die. The writer describe in very specific details when the pig die. He describes how his pig was suffering but in the same time he said that it was better for him to die because anyway they were going to kill him. This sentences made me feel sad because I never thought about the suffering of the pigs, I always thought of as cooking them.
ReplyDeleteDiana C Montoya
Nice work, Diana. You've picked up on White's use of irony.
Delete"I discovered, though, that once having given a pig an enema there is no turning back, no chance of resuming one of life's more stereotyped roles. The pig's lot and mine were inextricably bound now, as though the rubber tube were the silver cord. From then until the time of his death I held the pig steadily in the bowl of my mind; the task of trying to deliver him from his misery became a strong obsession.His suffering soon became the embodiment of all earthly wretchedness." Here, the author gives great insight to the suffering of not only the pig, but himself as he tries to nurse the pig back to health. He describes the pig as though he were more than just a pet and his pain was the worst kind of pain to be felt, like he was a family member and not just a pig.
ReplyDeleteNice work, April. One could argue that this is White's thesis, that life is about breaking out of "stereotyped roles" and about recognizing how we are all "inextricably bound" together.
DeleteIn the third paragraph of the second section, it states "We had been having an unseasonable spell of weather- hot, close days, with the fog shutting in every night, scaling for a few hours in midday, then creeping back again at dark, drifting in first over the trees on the point, then suddenly blowing across the fields, blotting out the world and taking possession of houses, men, and animals." I found this sentence to be a perfect description of the past days of the weather and how it came about. The word choice of "unseasonable spell" lets the reader know this is not a normal occurrence. E.B. White goes into specific detail to describe weather changes day in and day out. The way he guided the reader step by step on the changes of the fog rolling onto the land as the night came and then eventually the fog rolling out midday was pitch perfect. E.B. White made me feel the presence of the fog engulfing items of the land item by item.
ReplyDeleteNice work, Michael, in picking up on the foreshadowing implied in the word "unseasonable." One word can carry quite a bit of meaning.
Delete"The grave in the woods is unmarked, but Fred can direct the mourner to it unerringly and with immense good will, and I know I shall often revisit it, singly and together, in seasons of reflection and despair, on flagless memorial days of our own choosing". This quote to me was emotional because the owner of the pig was actually really sad about the death of the pig. It's like they had this good relationship of human and animal because he spoke about failing to raise the pig after he has done to many. It is interesting to see how he gives the pig human characteristics , as it makes it seem more sentimental to the reader. He talks about visiting the grave and keep going on any day.
ReplyDeleteNice work, Berenice, in picking up on White's use of personifcation of the pig.
DeleteThe sentence that stood out to me in “Death of a Pig” by E.B. White is “I have written this account in penitence and in grief, as a man who failed to raise his pig, and to explain my deviation from the classic course of so many raised pigs” (fourth section last paragraph). This sentence summed up the story of how he felt about the pig with words such as ‘penitence’ and ‘grief’. Those words are usually used for when something wrong has happened and when ‘grief’ is used, that usually refers to the death of someone. Pigs are rarely considered pets since pigs are raised mostly for food. For the pig to not follow the naturally planned death he had for food had sadden him since he could have wasted a lot of time to feeding the pig preparing the pig for food. Though studies have shown that pigs have complex emotions and maybe that is why he felt he did something wrong for not being able to help the pig recover because of the emotions that pigs can express and that is why the owner has grown fond of the pig.
ReplyDelete"From the lustiness of a healthy pig a man derives a feeling of personal lustiness; the stuff that goes into the trough and is received with such enthusiasm is an earnest of some later feast of his own, and when this suddenly comes to an end and the food lies stale and untouched, souring in the sun, the pig's imbalance becomes the man's, vicariously, and life seems insecure, displaced, transitory.” With this line White describes the expected relationship between a pig and his owner. The pig is supposed to grow, and become the ultimate meal for the farmer and his family to enjoy. Instead, the pig's illness changed the dynamics between the two. Although the farmer tries to go on with his daily routine, he can no longer think of the pig as just an animal he raised to eat. Their relationship has changed to that of two friends, and friends are there in time of need. In the farmer’s eyes the pig is no longer a spoiled meal, but a friend who passed away, and he mourns the pig's death. White illustrates the change that occurred between the pig and the farmer as a friendship that is not supposed to be.
ReplyDelete“The scheme of buying a spring pig in blossom time, feeding it through summer and fall, and butchering it when the solid cold weather arrives, is a familiar scheme to me and follows an antique pattern.” (Section one, second paragraph) This quote demonstrates that the sole purpose of raising a pig is to kill it. Clearly, the murder of the pig is premeditated but considered okay because consumers continue to buy products such as bacon. If people continue to expect to have a pig for lunch, then the premeditated murder will continue to take place. It’s ironic how individuals place such harsh judgment on human premeditated murder, but when it comes to pigs it suddenly becomes okay because they are not humans. They may not be humans, but they are breathing beings.
ReplyDeleteSecond paragraph from the first section, "The murder, being premeditated, is in the first degree but is quick and skillful, and the smoked bacon and ham provide a ceremonial ending whose fitness is seldom questioned" this sentence is ironic because it describes the murder of a pig being planed and the way we as humans feast on it by eating the product. The sentence makes the reader feel empathy for the pig.
ReplyDeleteLaura Gudino
In the sentence “The scheme of buying a spring pig in blossom time, feeding it through summer and fall, and butchering it when the solid cold weather arrives, is a familiar scheme to me and follows an antique pattern”. What interested me the most in this sentence was that all the seasons were mention and how the author related them to the pig. In this sentence I see the pig being referred to a flower. People buy flowers during the spring and plant them; maintaining it alive and healthy by watering and doing the appropriate care for it during the summer and fall; and during the winter/cold weather people usually either trim or remove plants to plant knew ones in the following spring. The pig in this case is being compared to a flower, and the tone of this sentence makes the reader feel like the characters have learn to adapt to this routine, and makes it seem like if it a normal thing they do each year.
ReplyDeleteRuby Montes
I chose E.B. White’s sentence “I scratched him gently with oily fingers and he remained quiet, as though trying to recall the satisfaction of being scratched when in health, and seeming to rehearse in his mind the indignity to which he had just been subjected” from the third paragraph of the second section. I chose it because the author is showing how the pig has emotions, that he/she is not just an animal, that he/she was being comforted by “being scratched” although the pig was “seeming to rehearse in his mind” the bad thing that had just occurred. It made me feel sad for the pig and also made me understand the pig’s personality, or rather, the author’s view of how the pig acted/reacted and how the pig's personality and reaction was.
ReplyDeleteIn the reading “Death of a Pig”, I was intrigued by the following sentence: “As my own spirits declined, along with the pig's, the spirits of my vile old dachshund rose. The frequency of our trips down the footpath through the orchard to the pigyard delighted him, although he suffers greatly from arthritis, moves with difficulty, and would be bedridden if he could find anyone willing to serve him meals on a tray”. (In the third section first paragraph). The interpretation I received on my end is that the trip down the footpath symbolizes peace. He is full of joy as he continues down the pigyard, but physically he’s in pain. Us as humans can find ourselves in similar situations such as this one. We deal with trauma everyday, whether is be emotionally or physically, and some of us continue to keep our head high and smile even when we are hurting deeply.
ReplyDeleteIn reading the "Death of the Pig", I chose the sentence, “I discovered, though, that once having given a pig an enema there is no turning back, no chance of resuming one of life's more stereotyped roles.” The author recognizes that there is no turning back and the pig’s sickness is deteriorating. He is devastated and desperate in trying to find a cure. These words are carefully written to show the author’s pain as the pig’s sickness worsens. The author attempts to bring the pig back to health, but nothing seems to work. The author shows how he is greatly affected by the pig’s health condition and is terrified. The author is terrified that the pig may have the sickness condition: erysipelas. The words “there is no turning back” demonstrate his greater fear of loosing the pig once he finds out of the possibility of erysipelas. The author was emotionally bound to the pig and loosing the pig would not only cause pain to the pig, but also to himself. The pig was not just an ordinary animal that he owned at the farm; it was a family member that he felt close to. The pain a person may encounter in the death of a family member is normal to as what the author felt towards the pig. What is cultivating about the story is how close the author was to the animal that made the suffering have more significance to the reader.
ReplyDelete“I knelt, saw that he was dead, and left him there: his face had a mild look, expressive neither of deep peace nor deep suffering, although I think he had suffered a good deal". (fourth section, second paragraph) This quote describes the horriffic death of a pig who is dearly cared for. Although this may be, the sentence says "I knelt, saw he was dead and left him there . . ." this shows it was okay for the pig to die, because even if the pig was healthy, it would still be on the way to being killed for the meat market. The pig being sick led to his death, but in either healthy or unhealthy situation the pig would have had a suffering end.
ReplyDelete-Andreina Rendon
"He came out of the house to die. When I went down, before going to bed, he lay stretched in the yard a few feet from the door. I knelt, saw that he was dead, and left him there: his face had a mild look, expressive neither of deep peace nor of deep suffering, although I think he had suffered a good deal." I chose this sentence because I just recently had an uncle past away this weekend and I can relate to how the author sees the face of no suffering. Although, he knows how much pain he had gone through before his death, he feels no sympathy towards him. When I saw my uncle in the coffin I didn't see any pain in him, but the pain that he went through made me have sympathy towards him. I believe morality has a lot to play a role in how individual sees pain and death.
ReplyDelete"His suffering soon became the embodiment of all earthly wretchedness. Along toward the end of the afternoon, defeated in physicking, I phoned the veterinary twenty miles away and placed the case formally in his hands. He was full of questions, and when I casually mentioned the dark spots on the pig's back, his voice changed its tone." I choose this part because it is hard when you are trying to help someone that is ill. Every time a voice changes in a person, my heart drops. I have been in that situation at it have never been well news. I never lost an animal before, but i recently got a pet, but if anything were to happen to him, my heart would break. It is hard to loose someone, but this made me realize that it is also hard to loose a loved animal.
ReplyDeleteJasmin Vega
E.B. White's “Death of a Pig,” explains the author, possibly a pig farmer, had encountered a pig that had died under his supervision. The quote that stood out to me was “I just wanted to keep on raising a pig, full meal after full meal, spring into summer into fall.” The author raises pig after pig, which he uses as a food source, but then finds himself in trouble when one of his pigs get sick. Normally, those that are used to doing this type of work know they shouldn’t get attached to animals that they are going to kill for food. The last thing the author wants is a sick pig on his hands. He knows that having one is no good as a food source, so thinking that it’s a minor illness, he attempts to bring the pig back to full health. The quote tells that the author only intended to raise the pig for food, but in the process of nursing the pig, he grew attached to it. He seems to have genuinely cared for the health and life of the pig, but when it is overcome by illness, the author becomes filled with grief as if he failed at being a successful pig farmer and caretaker.
ReplyDeleteStefano Subia
pig first gets sick and the farmer is treating him, White writes, ““I scratched him gently with oily fingers and he remained quiet, as though trying to recall the satisfaction of being scratched when in health, and seeming to rehearse in his mind the indignity to which he had just been subjected” (third paragraph in the second section). I feel this sentence is especially well written. When White states the pig seems to be rehearsing “in his mind the indignity to which he had just been subjected”, he giving the idea the pig is capable of having real feelings and the farmer is sympathetic towards how the pig is feeling. The farmer views his pig as more than just a farm animal as he grows close to the pig. He sees he has violated him while trying to give him a cure and feels a sense of guilt. The farmer tried to comfort him with the gentle scratches immediately after with his oily fingers rather than to simply walk away after giving him a treatment.
ReplyDeleteEmily Chim
E.B. White writes a story of a farmer and his bond with one of his farm pigs. As the pig falls ill, the farmer begins to develop a bond with the pig, although he knows the pig’s life will not be long lived. When the pig first gets sick and the farmer is treating him, White writes, “I scratched him gently with oily fingers and he remained quiet, as though trying to recall the satisfaction of being scratched when in health, and seeming to rehearse in his mind the indignity to which he had just been subjected” (third paragraph in the second section). I feel this sentence is especially well written. When White states the pig seems to be rehearsing “in his mind the indignity to which he had just been subjected”, he giving the idea the pig is capable of having real feelings and the farmer is sympathetic towards how the pig is feeling. The farmer views his pig as more than just a farm animal as he grows close to the pig. He sees he has violated him while trying to give him a cure and feels a sense of guilt. The farmer tried to comfort him with the gentle scratches immediately after with his oily fingers rather than to simply walk away after giving him a treatment.
ReplyDeleteEmily Chim (please disregard my previous post)