Goodbye to My Twinkie Days
By: Bich Minh Nguyen
Bich Minh Nguyen, writes about the impact the Twinkie has had on America. Nguyen captures the nostalgia that most Americans are beginning to face. He analyzes the path that American is headed toward using the Hostess cake company. His use of diction, detail and imagery makes this a very memorable article.
Nguyen use of diction to describe the decision is represented when uses "demise". It shows the Hostess cake company has slowly been losing business. I found that the work demise tends to have a negative connotation. Especially since this is talking about a company which going out of business. This word almost makes it seem like the Hostess cake company has turned out as a failure.
The imagery used in this articles adds some depth to it. Nguyen describes the Twinkies to be "...sugary, fake, buttery-ish vanilla…". This builds up the image of a fatty, sweet treat that many people used to indulge in. The imagery of the Twinkies takes the reader back in time to when they were young where they enveloped in the memories of their childhood.
Nostalgia is a major point that Nguyen hits on through the use of details. One thing I found to hold a lot of meaning was how Nguyen transports the reader to their childhood. When he shared the memory of finding a Hostess treat in his lunch box, he mentioned he "...traded them, saved bites of frosting and cream for last...". To me, this is something that many kids do which makes it very connectable to the reader. Nguyen seems to show that the Twinkie has becomes a common symbol that Americans have identified with for many years. Now, through his writing, his readers are able to rekindle those memories.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/17/opinion/goodbye-to-my-twinkie-days.html?_r=1&
Hi Aishwarya!
ReplyDeleteThis is really solid, and it makes me hungry! But I think you picked great details to focus on. Strong details like this is what really can change the whole mood and meaning of the tone and you did a great job of picking them apart. (I love the word "demise," don't you? it's so powerful!)
Erin Donahue
Good post overall. Quite complete and full. You clearly state what your going to talk about and you do just that. You've picked apart the article in its small bits!!
ReplyDeleteGood topic! This was a very big deal in the news so I understand why there would be articles about how people feel about it. The point of nostalgia is very true in this. To me I feel like there are things that all generations have that they can identify to their childhood, to this man a hostess treat. This is very well done.
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