You looked at opening lines, so now let's look at closing lines. What is the last line of the essay and is it an effective way to close the piece? If it is, why? If it isn't, is there a better ending earlier in the piece? Or feel free to suggest your own. Does the ending tie it all together? Does it feel complete? So many questions, so little time.
Great job so far. Keep it up.
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Article: "Politicians Seeing Evil, Hearing Evil, Speaking Evil," Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times Op-Ed, September 23 2015.
Closing Line: "And then, all of it — the words, tweets, signs and boasts — will be footage for another documentary that ends badly."
Friedman begins this article by describing a movie called "Rabin: The Last Day," which focuses on the assassination of a left-wing Israeli politician, Yitzhak Rabin, by his right-wing opponents after a campaign of hate speech that was ignored rather than taken seriously by citizens. From this talk about Israeli hate speech, Friedman moves into talking about the hate speech used by American presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ben Carson, who he describes as crossing several "red lines," including speaking badly about Muslims as a whole. In this closing line, Friedman ties his whole essay together. In reality, this is a compare-and-contrast essay which takes the form of subject-by-subject; he speaks about the Israeli movie, then he speaks about the American candidates, showing how their brands of hate speech and the manner in which they are ignored in their respective societies are similar. By ending with a reference back to Israel, Friedman makes his point very clear: if we don't start really thinking about the consequences of hate speech in politics and if we don't stop brushing it off, America in our era will turn into a documentary-worth tragedy just as Israel did in the time of Rabin.
I think this is an effective way to end the piece. It gives the essay a "full circle" aspect, which helps it to feel complete and makes the point clear.
Article: "Concussions story in the NFL seems to have been lost in the shuffle"
Closing Line: "It would murder the bottom line."
This article discusses concussions in the NFL and how they are now acknowledged but issues like the Ray Rice and Tom Brady scandals have taken precedent over the daunting issue of concussions. The NFL used to deny every connection between football and brain damage but science has proven them wrong and they do not have a choice but to be proactive about it. Towards the end of the piece Dwyre discusses how the game cannot be changed to a point to help reduce concussions without dismantling some of the principles of football. I think the last line is very effective because it leaves a strong imprint on the reader. When I first read the line it felt as though Dwrye was slamming down a point that needed to be heard.
Article: For Lower Taxes My Vote is for Sale, Joe Queenan, Wall Street Journal
Groucho Marx is supposed to have said, "These are my principles. If you don't like them, I have others." I'm with Groucho.
Queenan's overall article is about Donald Trump's tax policies (and how he views some of them as ridiculous). He tackles this issue by basically saying that if Donald Trump is going to be able to reduce his property taxes by 90%, Queenan wants to be able to do what he's doing. I felt that this final sentence (even though I don't know who Groucho Marx is) tied up the piece in a very nice and comical way, keeping up with the humorous criticism and also self-mocking that is apparent throughout the rest of the article. I have found that I always like how Queenan ends his articles, with a final concluding thought in usually a very concise manner, which is apparent here.
Article: "Francis, The Perfect 19th Century Pope" by Maureen Dowd
Closing Line: If only the pope could apply this Golden Rule: Do unto women as you would have them do unto you.
Dowd's op-ed focuses on the fact that even though Francis is considered a progressive pope, and in many ways he is, he has not supported equality for women within Catholicism. This closing line is effective because it plays on one of the central tenants of Catholicism, the Golden Rule, but it shows the hypocrisy in it. The closing line is powerful, to the point, and leaves the reader with an ugly message. In a way, it is like the criticisms of "All men are created equal" in the Declaration of Independence, when the author, Thomas Jefferson, held slaves. Both the Golden Rule and "all men" are supposed to be inclusive, but glaringly ignore a large population.
Article: "Carlos Hyde on his running style: 'I like to deliver the hit'" Paul Gutierrez
Closing Line: Last year at Arizona, Hyde had three carries for 13 yards, including a 6-yard TD that gave the Niners a 14-6 second-half lead in an eventual 23-14 loss to the Cardinals.
This closing line does a great job ending the article. The article surrounds the Forty-Niners second year running back, Carlos Hyde, recapping his performance last Sunday and the injuries he sustained. The article touches on his style of play and his susceptibility to injury from his aggressive running style. This ending is a good transition from Hyde's performance last year to prefacing his predicted performance at Arizona. However, the statement could include the fact that Hyde was the second string running back, behind Frank Gore, last year and did not receive as many touches as he is this year. Understanding that Hyde is taking on a larger role this year, this conclusion suggests a solid performance by Hyde in today's upcoming game.
Article: "Technology disrupting the American Dream" Richard Cohen
Closing Line: The disrupters disrupt sleep itself.
This article discusses the role of technology in the modern American economy and how that technology is slowly killing the American dream. This closing line is perfect the show the weight of the transformation technology brings. It is changing the way the economy is shaped and structured. The article is written in a face paced, yet sarcastic and pessimistic tone. This closing line reflects that tone and ends with a feeling of unknown economic ruin. Technology is replacing humans to the extent that jobs are no longer necessary. Jobs are being destroyed, yet the wages of those that skill exist are not rising. Cohen argues technology is killing the American dream, and this comes with unforeseen consequences.
Article: "The Soft Bigotry of Ben Carson" Charles M. Blow, New York Times, September 23, 2015.
Closing Line: " No one can discount what Carson accomplished professionally, but those accomplishments must now stand shoulder to shoulder with this new persona: whisper-soft purveyor of hyperbolic hucksterism".
Charles' closing statement is perfect, without reading any part of the article you can tell what the article is generally about. Even though this is the closing statement he does a good job of having the reader wanting more even after the article. At the same time the concluding statement completes the whole article very well, it also makes the reader want to look further into Ben Carson. Charles continues to surprise me and fill me with love for his words and ideas.
Article: "The American Idea and Today's G.O.P." by David Brooks, New York Times Op-Ed, September 25, 2015
Closing line: "This is an attitude that sours the tongue, offends the eye and freezes the heart."
This article discusses the G.O.P.'s current views on immigration policy and what America "should" be. Brooks discusses how conservatives today are hopeful and eager to restore American "exceptionalism" to what it once was (many, many years ago). He argues that this view is discriminatory and wrong when presented with the facts about immigration today. This last line is a very effective way to end this piece. The usage of sensory parallelism really urges the reader to truly feel the descriptions and connect them with the attitude being described (G.O.P. views on the current state of immigration in America). For lack of a better description, the final sentence "feels" like it ends the piece on the right note, so to speak. By appealing to our senses, Brooks crafts a powerful final line that emphasizes the point of his piece, while also using eloquent rhetoric that appeals to all readers in order to encourage them to think about the merits of this perspective as well.
Article: "Why Do We Care Whose Side the Pope Is On?" Matt Taibbi
Closing Line: "It seems strange that it's the year 2015, and we still can't say that out loud."
The "that" that Matt is referring to is him saying that Pope might just be a guy in a funny hat, and not have any special connection to God. Throughout the piece, there are places where Taibbi could have ended the article with good points and few loose ends. However, after each one he picks up his train of thought and keeps drawing it out, but not in a forced way. Nothing gets repeated and the flow of the essay is smooth. The reason why his final line really ties everything up is because it addresses the title of the article. His other potential end points would have made the piece a complete one, but didn't answer the question of why people care about the political leanings of the Pope. By making the point in his last couple of lines, Taibbi closes out his piece in a nice way, tying everything together.
Article: The Blinding Cinematic Whiteness of “Black Mass” by Richard Brody, The New Yorker, September 23 2015
Ending Line: "For Cooper to have included them would have risked turning the screen into a mirror."
The “them” that Brody is referring to is the anti-black racism coming from South Boston in the time where “Black Mass,” the Whitey Bulger biopic. The piece talks about how the fact that the film shows the intense bonds between the residents of white, affluent South Boston (where Bulger came from) but don’t show how those bonds relate to the forced desegregation of schools in the 1970s. Its final argument is that by not showing the racial tensions of the times, it makes makes a point that racism is worse than murder. The senseless gang violence in the movie seem (by virtue of Bulger’s capture a few years ago) solved, but by including the racism, the film would be too current and unsettling for the audience.
To me, this ending is very confusing and engaging at the same time. The ending of the piece does exactly what the film doesn’t—it forces the mirror (that Brody talks about) on the readers. It does exactly what a film should; it makes a point—or at least raises a question—about the audience. It does what “Black Mass” should have done but did not. As an ending line, it compensates for a massive shortcoming of the film (whether or not people think this is a shortcoming or not is a different issue, but I think it is—I’d rather watch a film that made me uncomfortable with myself than a film that just made me smile).
This is the perfect ending of the piece. Brody should have just included this sooner, however, and cut out some of the pieces about Johnny Depp’s mistakes or the director’s. Those are the superfluous paragraphs and lines, not the final ones. Even with the aforementioned froth of the piece, Brody does a pretty seamless job of making a simultaneously sharp and curious ending to the piece.
Article: When It Came to My Depression, Medicine Was More Effective Than Mindfulness, James Nolan, Vice
Ending line: Because you're not a failure if you can't treat depression with the power of your own mind.
This article talked about the differences between "mindfulness" therapy and using medication to combat depression. In his last line, Nolan explains why he is worried that a new study about mindfulness therapy might increase stigma against depression. He answers it with a statement that rings true, however, I think he cuts his piece short by not further explaining the stigma he is talking about or further dissecting the truth about depression. I would add a section outlining the stigmas against depression. This final line is very powerful and I wouldn't change it, I would simply add some more teasing out of the subject before ending it so powerfully.
Article: Yes, selfies and shark attacks can kill. But what we really fear is old age
Ending Line: We literally cannot face our own futures.
This article talked about the fear of dying, or not so much dying, but aging as it says in the title. Moore articulated that as she has grown up, she has become increasingly aware of the ailments and problems that come with old age. Now to address the ending line. I find it a bit excessive; had she cut the piece off without this sentence, the article would have had a more refined and abstract vibe. My biggest problem with the sentence is the word "literally". It strikes me as too conversational and takes away from the powerful message the article has. It's a clever wrap up thought, but it makes her writing sound more juvenile than insightful. Yet despite all of my criticism, I can't come up with to better way to wrap up the article. Perhaps the sentence's crass tone was the only one that fit, even if I find it unsettling.
Article: A sinner pope (9/22/15)
Closing line: It would seem that the 78-year-old sinner pope is looking for a successor just like him—someone who is fallible, and willing to admit it.
While the closing line in Ramos’ recent article correlates with what he talks about, it does not do a great job at explaining the purpose or the reason why he decides to talk about the pope. One could argue that the purpose is to admire the pope’s honesty about himself, but I feel like Ramos still fails to explain why this topic is important to him and to the world. I think that Ramos could have added a paragraph or two that would make this piece a bit more opinionated. Those paragraphs could have served as a way for Ramos to talk more about how the topic affects him. The lack of a great ending sentence makes this piece incomplete and seem like a biography instead of an opinion piece.
Article: I Know Why the Fat Lady Sings
Closing Line: "Because at the moment, I can't help but notice that in a society obsessed with fat—so eager in the appellation, so vocal in its disapproval—the only people who aren't talking about it are the only people whose business it really is."
While I liked this article a lot, it also raised a lot of questions for me. Not necessarily surrounding the subject of weight, but rather Caitlin's tone. At some points she seemed really serious about the subject of weight while throughout most of the essay she used a humorous tone or almost tried to hide her sincerity about the topic, through jokes. She decides to end the piece with her more serious tone and while I think that was a smart choice, I don't think that the way that she did it was completely effective. She raises a question of why the people who's issue it is don't talk about it, yet I would've loved to hear her talk about it more. Having said that, I honestly have no idea how to better end the essay as my issue isn't necessarily with the ending, but then fact that I wanted more, which technically implies a good ending. I've just confused myself a lot and changed my opinion about four times while writing this, but overall i think I'm going to stick with this being an effective closing sentence as it leaves me wanting more while also showing the reader that she is in fact serious about the piece.
Article: I settled your Brooklyn neighbourhood and now you're dissing me? 9/24/15
Closing line: I guess it is like Bob Dylan said: “Times they are a’ changin’”.
I do not think this line was a great way to end this piece. The essay was a high energy and super opinionated, and the closing line in this with the guessing seems pretty out of Bakare’s norm. He wrote an opinion essay about the modern-day colonization that is plaguing many “urban” neighborhoods. This whole essay is centered around a viral video that shows a “settler” verbally abusing a new (white) neighbor. He continues to link a clip of Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, re-depicting the incident of extreme cultural appropriation. Right after he links the 2nd video, he writes the sentence, “It’s so infuriating to see a place you know and love changed by people who come in and do whatever they want.” That sentence perfectly sums up the angst that he portrays in the writing. The actual ending sentence does somewhat tie together the idea that times are a’ changin’.
Article: Disaster capitalism is a permanent state of life for too many Americans.
Closing Line: "And it asks us to accept that when you work full time driving workers to the richest corporation in the history of the human race and must live in your car, you should be grateful that you’re “making ends meet”, keep calm and carry on."
I think this is a good ending line to his piece because it points out the absurdity of the situation he is talking about in the piece. It makes you feel bad and realize that the current capitalistic system we are using in America is not only not working but most likely won't be changed. Also he refers back to the situation he talked about in the beginning of the article bringing it full circle and yet the reader is in a different place when hearing the story of the bus rider again. Also it continues the sarcastic tone, which was prevalent throughout the whole piece.
Article: "Atlantic depression could become Tropical Storm Joaquin and threaten Mid-Atlantic and/or Northeast by the weekend" by Jason Samenow
Closing line: "Not only is the track uncertain, but so too is the type of weather system that will affect the coast, whether it’s a tropical depression, a tropical storm, hurricane (as predicted by some high resolution models), or a post (non-) tropical storm."
The ending to this article makes it incomplete. I understand that there is a lot of uncertainty in this article, but due to that, the way he ended it made it extremely incomplete. If I was in Samenow's shoes, I would have signed off or stated something such as "stay tuned for additional updates" or something.
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