What type of description did you see: subjective, objective, or a combination of both? Provide examples.
How did each use visuals in shaping their descriptions?
What type of audience is each example trying to reach? Provide an example to support your ideas.
Which description would make you most want to buy the item and why?
Item: Plumrose Canned Ham (http://www.allmylifeforsale.com/html/items/000238.html) All My Life For Sale, John D. Freyer, 2001. The item I was drawn to in the “All My Life For Sale” project by John D. Freyer was the Plumrose Canned Ham. I thought it was such an odd thing to sell in an auction and was curious how he would convince a buyer that the ham was something missing from their life. Mr. Freyer didn’t necessarily describe the ham itself, instead he used a quippy anecdote about his father purchasing “end of the world y2k survival kits” from which the still remember the hysteria and hype surrounding the turn of the millennium. This listing was entirely subjective, not providing a single fact or detail about the canned ham, which was the complete opposite of the same item I found by searching on eBay. After reading three or four listings of the same, or similar item, it is clear that Mr. Freyer was assuming his reader would know what a can of ham …show more content…
There isn’t much to be interpreted when looking at a can of ham, as the can itself displays a piece of meat, sliced, on a dinner plate. Although Mr. Freyer used an actual photo of the item, his description gave another visual that wasn’t particularly the item itself. As I read his listing, I imagined myself at the end of the world, scrounging for food and thankful I had purchased this canned ham for sustainability. I envisioned being prepared in the worst case scenario because I had food. He not only gave me a photo of the item, but triggered and emotional and imaginative
How did each use visuals in shaping their descriptions?
What type of audience is each example trying to reach? Provide an example to support your ideas.
Which description would make you most want to buy the item and why?
Item: Plumrose Canned Ham (http://www.allmylifeforsale.com/html/items/000238.html) All My Life For Sale, John D. Freyer, 2001. The item I was drawn to in the “All My Life For Sale” project by John D. Freyer was the Plumrose Canned Ham. I thought it was such an odd thing to sell in an auction and was curious how he would convince a buyer that the ham was something missing from their life. Mr. Freyer didn’t necessarily describe the ham itself, instead he used a quippy anecdote about his father purchasing “end of the world y2k survival kits” from which the still remember the hysteria and hype surrounding the turn of the millennium. This listing was entirely subjective, not providing a single fact or detail about the canned ham, which was the complete opposite of the same item I found by searching on eBay. After reading three or four listings of the same, or similar item, it is clear that Mr. Freyer was assuming his reader would know what a can of ham …show more content…
There isn’t much to be interpreted when looking at a can of ham, as the can itself displays a piece of meat, sliced, on a dinner plate. Although Mr. Freyer used an actual photo of the item, his description gave another visual that wasn’t particularly the item itself. As I read his listing, I imagined myself at the end of the world, scrounging for food and thankful I had purchased this canned ham for sustainability. I envisioned being prepared in the worst case scenario because I had food. He not only gave me a photo of the item, but triggered and emotional and imaginative