Nonfiction: "Primal Screen" by Ellen Goodman

Answers to nonfiction section: "Primal Screen" by Ellen Goodman

Responding to Reading- First Impressions
1. What is your reaction to the final statement in Goodman's essay?

I think the last statement is an over statement. I believe she's trying to make the problem of television a lot more serious or widespread than it actually is; I know plenty of families who spend quality time together away from the television. Also there are plenty of families who don't watch television, but still don't spend time together. Plus, when I think of people I've been around while watching TV, they are rarely in that semi comatose phase she mentions.

Second Thoughts
2. How did Goodman's essay affect your opinion of your television-viewing habits?

Goodman's essay didn't have much affect on my opinion of my television-viewing habits firstly, because it's not the first essay I've read about the negative effects of television on the family, secondly, because I only watch TV when I know there's a movie on that I really want to watch; no essay's going to make me not watch a movie that I want to watch. A lot more of my time is spent reading or talking to people.

3. Which of Goodman's arguments did you find most convincing? Why?

I think the most effective thing Goodman mentions (pg 47, 3rd par) is how the series we watch on television are examples of how we think families should be, but instead of trying to be like them we only sit around watching them and not communicating. I think this statement is most effective because it makes the reader remember how a family should be and causes him to examine his family. Comparing the two, he may decide that his family is spending too much time watching TV and should try mimicking some of the things the TV family does.

4. The title of this essay is a pun of Primal Scream, a book describing a therapeutic treatment for people who find it difficult to face reality. Why do you think Goodman titled her column "Primal Screen"?

I think Goodman titled her column "Primal Screen" because when people spend all of their time watching television, they're living outside reality and possibly avoiding it.

Literary Concept: Newspaper Column
1. "Someday, I would like to see a television…about a family that sits around the set." – I find this opening sentence effective because it's a little ambiguous making the reader interested about what the rest of the essay is about.

2. "On the scale of problems… but it ran neck and neck with unemployment." – This is an effective sentence because it makes readers want to know what makes television as much of a problem as unemployment.

3. "The average viewing of the American child… to twenty four hours a week." – Sentences with statistics tend to be effective, so are things that mention the concern of children.

4. "But a television set has a dial and a plug. And we have hands."- This sentence is effective because it's like a wake up call telling us it's not a hard thing to stop watching TV.

Writing Options
1. For a public service message have pictures of a person on a date with a television set, a woman pushing a TV in a stroller, a child playing a game with a TV, and a funeral with a TV in the casket. Then for the last scene the question "How much of your life is revolved around the television set?" shows on the screen.

2. A typical day in which I go to class is spent as follows:
5:30am- Wake up and get up while listening to music
6:40am- Leave for class
7:40am- Have coffee with friend
8:00am- Classes start
1:00pm- Leave University campus
2:00pm- Change, relax a little, have lunch
3:00 pm- Study/Clean/Shower/Sleep
5:30pm- Go to Grandparents/Sit with family
7:00pm- Study/Go online
8:00pm- Watch TV if there's a good movie on/Study if necessary
9:00pm or 10:00pm- Sleep

If I were to not watch TV I'd use that time for reading a novel or chatting on the net.

Vocabulary Practice
1. The Basics of Woodworking- Fundamental
2. A Peek at the Lives of the Rich and Famous- Vicarious
3. How to Invest Your Money Wisely- Inflation
4. Exploring Communication- Medium
5. Sleeping Your Way through Life- Semi comatose