Journal 2

What is a closing reading?   Webster’s Dictionary says a close reading is the interpretation of a brief passage of text.  Such a reading places great emphasis on the particular over the general, paying close attention to individual words, syntax, and the order in which sentences and ideas unfold as they are read.  Daniel Likavec says a close reading is digging deeper than what is on the outside, but finding out what the words in the text mean on the inside.  It is like the judgment of an individual person.  Say a hot babe walks by me.  She is gorgeous on the outside, but how do I know what kind of person she is on the inside?  I have to read and analyze each and every thing she does.  From the flick of her hair to the way she walks.  Each and every thing says something new about her.  This to say, when dealing with a text you have to pick apart each and every word, figure out its meaning and then explain how and why that word fits with the rest.  Finally, you analyze all of the words together, and come up with an explanation of why the writer wrote what he wrote, did what he did, and how he did it.  It takes time and effort to achieve this marvel, but I assure you that if I can do it you can do it too.