Close Reading Bingo

Weaknesses:

Rule Number 1 - There is a chattiness about the writing with words like "black Penguin paperback" and "integral signs swooping upward between two floors". From Happy Go Lucky 

Rule Number 6 - J.D. Salinger masters the voice of his protagonist, Holden Caulfield, in the first page of his novel Catcher in the Rye, using direct, colloquial, and bluntly offensive diction.  From Zengerine

Rule Number 8 - Baker describes his surroundings as "towering volumes of marble and glass" and "long glossy highlights to each of the black rubber handrails". To Kill A Mockingjay

Rule Number 2 - "Turned toward the escalators, carrying a black Penguin paperback and a small white CVS bag, its receipt stapled over the top," describes the harsh clattering of the setting." T-Rex


Best Close Reading

In the excerpt from his novel Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger’s blunt, informal diction depicts the wry frankness of the narrator. The narrator briefly discusses his “lousy childhood” and “all that David Copperfield kind of crap” before exclaiming to the reader that he will not tell his “whole goddam autobiography.” After all, he explains, his parents “would have about two hemorrhages apiece” if he revealed any personal information about them. He discloses that he lives in a “crumby place” and admires his brother’s “dough.” This terse introduction emphasizes the outspokenness of the narrator. Also, the narrator’s repetition of slang suggests that he is uneducated or unconcerned with perfecting his speech.

From Keep It Classy