Rosenwasser brings up many ideas that I have never considered before in analyzing a subject. The first point made is to suspend judgment. Stated in page 5, “Judgments usually say more about the person doing the judging than they do about the subject being judged.” What I believe this means is that, subconsciously we all make instant judgments on a subject but we may not say those thoughts out loud. These subconscious thoughts have nothing to do with the actual subject itself because these thoughts are our opinions. What I learned from this, is that our initial thoughts on a matter should be put aside while listening to the subject. Before, if my first thought on a report is boring, then I wouldn’t be that focused on listening. But if I thought it was interesting, then I would show more interest in the matter.
Another point Rosenwasser makes is to take account for patterns and anomalies. Patterns are repeated ideas that all come together and add up to one conclusive idea. An anomaly maybe harder to find in certain texts because they do not fit the pattern, but noticing them will lead to a new and better theory. What I took from this is that, if there is something that seems out of place, then it is wrong to completely shutdown those ideas.
One final point I took from Rosenwasser, when analyzing a portrait or other visual image, is to ask the right questions. First is to ask what the attraction of the painting is. The attraction is the main idea of the painting. Within the main idea are significant details. Then, with the details you find, you have to find how these details fit together. This becomes your summary of the painting. To go more in depth is to find the analysis. The analysis starts to go into the writer’s own thinking; the reason why he did things the way he did.
– John Kim
Rosenwasser makes a great point about suspending judgement when reading and analyzing a subject. When we read things, we often tend to offer a bias opinion of the subject matter. It is important to suspend judgement when reading anything because it allows the reader to fully understand and take in what the reading is trying to explain. However, this is sometimes more easier said than done. For example, if you are reading / analyzing a topic that you completely disagree with, it might be harder to suspend judgement.
I have the same problem with judging a piece of writing before I finish reading a piece. I agree how we have this subconscious thought that makes us jump to conclusion and make premature judgement. At times, we don’t even realize that we’re making these premature judgement, making it difficult to comprehend the text for itself. I find your final point interesting; when I try to make an analysis, I end up summarizing the text. I fail to go in depth and go in to what I think about the text.
I thought it was quite interesting to ponder the use of analysis on visual images because it offers insight into the creator’s mind. Observing the details of a visual image can somewhat describe the person that the creator is.