U3 My Father Is A Simple Man - Media

Define

Media is the plural form of the word medium. A medium is a means of sending a communication to an intended audience.
Throughout most of human history, people communicated through three main media: speech, drawing, and writing. But in the
middle of the 19th century media options suddenly exploded. The invention of photography, and then the telegraph and the
telephone, changed the world. Within a century, radio, motion pictures, and television followed.

Today new media are being invented at a much faster pace than ever before. We still see films in theaters, but now we also make
our own videos with smartphones. We chat, we text, we tweet, and each of these forms of online communication has its own
“language” and creates its own experience.

Meanwhile, our stories and ideas change as they are translated from one medium to another. For example, a dialogue between
two characters in a novel becomes very different when it is delivered by actors in a film—with close-ups, sound effects such as
music, and other elements unique to the medium of film itself. Consequently, examining and comparing how different media affect
the content and ideas of our communications is a very important 21st-century skill.

Identification and Application:

●Comparing and contrasting the print text of a poem to another version, such as an audio recording, can deepen or change
your understanding of the poem’s meaning.

●To compare and contrast the experience of reading a text to listening to the same text read aloud:

○Compare and contrast what you “see” and “hear” while reading the text with what you notice while listening to it.

○Identify how elements unique to a particular medium can shape meaning. For example, notice how a poem’s words
are arranged on the page in a print text. Be aware of the ways in which someone reading a poem aloud may
emphasize certain words and details.

○Notice the ways in which a reader on an audio recording uses the punctuation and line breaks of the print text to
guide his or her reading of a poem.

Model

The poem “My Father Is a Simple Man,” by Luis Omar Salinas, is available on StudySync in both a print format and an audio version. Comparing and contrasting the two
versions allows readers to analyze how each medium affects the impact of the words.

There are many different ways that someone reading aloud can shape a listener’s response to a text. For example, the reader can emphasize particular details by adjusting
the volume, pace, and tone of his or her voice. It is up to the listener to notice the reader’s adjustments and to decide if the interpretation seems to reflect the poet’s
meaning.

Let’s consider this print excerpt of lines 1 through 14 from “My Father Is a Simple Man”:

I walk to town with my father
to buy a newspaper. He walks slower
than I do so I must slow up .
The street is filled with children.
We argue about the price of pomegranates. I convince
him it is the fruit of scholars.
He has taken me on this journey
and it’s been lifelong.
He’s sure I’ll be healthy
so long as I eat more oranges,
and tells me the orange
has seeds and so is perpetual;
and we too will come back
like the orange trees.

The poet provides readers with many clues about how to read the text aloud. For example, the punctuation echoes what is happening in the poem. The first eight lines
consist of short sentences, as if father and son are walking along (rather briskly at first), talking and arguing. Lines 9 through 14, on the other hand, are composed of one long
sentence, as the father presents an idea that is rich and complex. A comma and a semicolon separate the sentence into three parts, as the father’s thought continues.

Model

As you listen to the audio version of the same lines from the poem, notice how the reader uses the author’s punctuation as he reads aloud. He comes to a complete stop at
the end of sentences where there are periods. However, as he reads lines 9 through 14, he pauses not only on the comma and semicolon, but also, briefly, after the word
“seeds” and again after “come back.” These brief pauses help the reader focus on the meaning of the words and ideas that follow each pause.

Now consider lines 15 through 23 of the print text, noting the changes in the tone of the poem from serious to humorous to reverent:

I ask him what he thinks

about death and he says

he will gladly face it when

it comes but won’t jump

out in front of a car.

I’d gladly give my life

for this man with a sixth

grade education, whose kindness

and patience are true ...

The old man’s son, the poem’s narrator, provides a lot of information about his father. Readers know that the old man is physically fit: He “walk(s) to town.” He is
philosophical: “we too will come back / like the orange trees.” He is opinionated: “I’ll be healthy / so long as I eat more oranges.” Additionally, the old man is witty: “won’t jump
/ out in front of a car.” The speaker tells readers how much he admires his father: “I’d gladly give my life for this man,” he says.

Model

Yet, if readers listen to the corresponding segment of the audio version, they will hear not only how the reader conveys his
admiration for his father in words, but also in unique ways through the sound of his voice. For example, the reader lowers his voice
when he says the words “my life” in line 20. The softness of his voice emphasizes the reverence the speaker feels for his father and
contrasts sharply with lines 18 and 19, which the speaker delivers with expressive dry humor. The vocal shift also calls attention to
the son himself, and to the son’s recognition that his feelings for the father are so powerful. The long pause at the end of line 23
slows the pace of the poem and allows the reader, as well as the listener, time for reflection before continuing.

As readers compare and contrast the print version with the audio, they may ask these questions:

●Where does the reader present a faithful representation of the text as indicated by the author?

●Where does the reader add his interpretation to the author’s text?

●How do the reader’s choices affect the listener’s understanding of the text?

●By analyzing similarities and differences across mediums, readers gain an understanding of how the elements of any given
medium affect the creator’s meaning. This is a crucial skill for those who communicate in a world dominated by media.

Your Turn

Read lines 5–6 and 24–32 of “My Father Is a Simple Man,” then listen to the corresponding audio clips to identify how the reader uses the
repetition of language. Answer the follow-up questions.

We argue about the price of pomegranates. I convince /
him it is the fruit of scholars.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The truth of it is, he’s the scholar,
and when the bitter-hard reality
comes at me like a punishing
evil stranger, I can always
remember that here was a man
who was a worker and provider,
who learned the simple facts
in life and lived by them,
who held no pretense.

Multiple Choice

Part A

In the print and audio versions of “My Father Is a Simple Man,” how does the meaning of the word “scholar” change?

• evil shifts to good

• arrogance shifts to humility

• laziness shifts to work

• scarcity shifts to provision

Multiple Choice

Part B

Which lines from the passages support your answer in Part A?

• “learned by simple facts” and “held no pretense”

• “like a punishing / evil stranger” and “here was a man”

• “when the bitter-hard reality / comes” and “and lived by them”

• “the price of pomegranates” and “bitter-hard reality”