Close Reading 3

This article is a political article called “The Liberal Gloat.” http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/18/opinion/sunday/douthat-The-Liberal-Gloat.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss 

            “The Liberal Gloat” is a political article by Ross Douthat written about the Democrats’ attitude after their win of the Presidential election. The use of the author’s syntax and figurative language really emphasize his opinion and help the reader see what he’s thinking.

            The author’s syntax is used for specific reasons, especially the use of the dashes. Most of the time, when he makes a statement, he follows it with a dash, and multiple examples or more details that show what he is trying to say. This emphasizes his point, because it provides real-life examples or more specifics that the reader can relate to. For example, he says “Liberals look at the Obama majority and see a coalition bound together by enlightened values — reason rather than superstition, tolerance rather than bigotry, equality rather than hierarchy.” Following the dash, he gives examples of the values he thinks the liberals see about themselves. While this statement seems as if he’s favoring the Democrats, it’s actually quite the opposite. This statement merely mentions that delusion he thinks the Democrats are living under, and then he goes on to refute it. Another example of when he uses the dash, is when he says “What unites all of these stories is the growing failure of America’s local associations — civic, familial, religious — to foster stability, encourage solidarity and make mobility possible.” Here, Douthat again goes into more specifics, of exactly which types of local associations are going in the negative direction.

            Douthat also makes comparisons between the two political parties multiple times. In this specific quote, he again scorns what the liberals think of themselves. He says according to Democrats, “Republicans are now Radio Shack to their Apple store, “The Waltons” to their “Modern Family,” a mediocre Norman Rockwell to their digital-age mosaic.” Through a couple of common-place comparisons, the reader can get a better feel for the supposed attitude of the Democrats, because most of them can relate to the pop culture examples. In another instance, he talks about how Republicans think of Democrats, mentioning that they view “Democratic-leaning voters as lazy moochers or spoiled children seeking “gifts.”’ In using these comparisons, Douthat again is making sure to use an example that his readers can relate to, so it’s easier for them to understand him.

            Overall, the syntax and figurative language used in this political article were strategies used by the author to help the reader with the understanding of the article and to make his position clear. The syntax structure with the dashes allows for more information and the comparisons make the point easier to understand for the reader.