Reflective Essay Outside Reading: October 10

Reflective Essay Outside Reading

“Dispatches from a Guy Trying Unsuccessfully to Sell a Song in Nashville” by Charlie Hopper

McSweeny’s October 1, 2010

Charlie Hopper’s “Dispatches from a Guy Trying Unsuccessfully to Sell a Song in Nashville” describes one man’s attempt to make something extraordinary of his life.  On his way back from Nashville, Charlie Hopper prompts a conversation with his twelve-year-old son about this hobby.  Although this discussion eventually produces results that Mr. Hopper deems unfavorable, he is able to effectively communicate through a variety of rhetoric choices.

Perhaps the most prevalent syntax structure that appears in this essay is the use of short sentences.  As he’s explaining the process of selling a song, Hopper continually uses short, choppy sentences.  These propel the story forward, and create a suspense that would not normally be present in a simple narrative.  These short sentences often act as interrupters, as well.  These further the pace of the story even more, and are a big strength of Hopper’s in this essay.

Another thing that Hopper does quite effectively involves relating the story back to the reader.  After his son discovers that selling a song would make his dad a lot of money, Hopper realizes the effect this could have on his son and immediately begins back tracking.  “If those are horses I’m hearing, son, hold them” (5).  This figure of speech makes the story relatable to the reader, because Hopper is speaking in a voice that everyday people are familiar with.  Hopper also directly alludes to popular culture.  As he attempts to justify his hobby, he suddenly dead ends and recognizes that ordinary, everyday parents do not spend their free time writing songs.  “Normal as… what, blueberry pie?  Wait, that’s from a Broadway musical song” (7).  This relation to everyday life once again contributes to the reminiscent, yet common, tone that Hopper exercises throughout the essay.

Because the tone is so common, this essay would not make for a good AP essay.  The informality does not meet the voice standards of the AP Exam, and would therefore not be appropriate in an academic setting.  Hopper also is not very concise and often wanders off on unrelated tangents: both of which are weaknesses that are not suitable in formal writing.  However, I enjoyed this essay as I studied it.  The scatterbrained nature of his writing contributes to the overall tone of the essay; although Hopper’s point is to inform the audience of unimportant facts, he constructed his essay in a way that is pleasant and easy to read.