https://padlet.com/rsowens/wckaunq9x8s8 Made with mad skills.... en-us 2016-08-05 21:44:16 UTC 2017-09-06 14:55:57 UTC hello@padlet.com http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/sites/default/files/styles/insert_large/public/images/7123/SAT_Essay.jpg?itok=nq2y09Gh https://padlet.com/rsowens/wckaunq9x8s8/wish/118004542 The narrator highlights McTeague’s simplicity by emphasizing that his dreams and things he considers his successes are actually failures in the eyes of others. For instance, he calls his business “Dental Parlors,” but in reality it’s only one tiny room that is located on the second floor of a post office. Members of the upper class frown upon this because of its unfitting location, and the working class swarm to him because its placing is also cheap meaning that he’d provide inexpensive services regardless of its quality. McTeague attempts to present himself as a professional, but this is contradicted by the fact that he lives in his “office.” He was very proud of the three chairs he bought from a second-hand store, but others are unable to share his appreciation because of the chairs’ lack of quality. He also invests in other things he considers fancy to dress his facility up, but he doesn’t actually understand what they really are or what they mean. This is shown when the narrator describes the small marble-topped filled with books including “The American System of Dentistry.” He never actually reads the books that he has, but he purposely placed them on the shelves to make himself appear intelligent. McTeague is very fond of the work he has accomplished, but other people aren’t as impressed as he is.

]]> 2016-08-11 13:35:07 UTC https://padlet.com/rsowens/wckaunq9x8s8/wish/118004542 https://padlet.com/rsowens/wckaunq9x8s8/wish/118004867 The narrator feels that McTeague has untapped potential in which he is oblivious to. The narrator says “he felt that his life was a success, that he could hope for nothing better.” This is a direct connection to our claim since McTeague is content with his living conditions regardless of how shoddy they may be. A person cannot hope to further their success if they do not know what they are striving for. In this way, McTeague is trapped in his current situation, since he is not aspiring to advance. Immediately following, the narrator reveals that “In spite of the name, there was but one room.” In this way, we can see that even based on just the name of McTeague’s dentist’s office, there was potential expansion to be done. Obviously, this might cause the narrator to hope for more from McTeague.

]]> 2016-08-11 13:37:50 UTC https://padlet.com/rsowens/wckaunq9x8s8/wish/118004867 https://padlet.com/rsowens/wckaunq9x8s8/wish/118004910 In the second paragraph, the narrator compares McTeague’s personal standards with his own. McTeague felt that “his life was a success, that he could hope for nothing better”, though he only had one room above the post office. The narrator sees this as a low-life situation compared to McTeague seeing it as the greatest thing in the world. Becuase of his low-class living, his dental office is also his bedroom, making him look less professional. There is also a dental engine, three second-hand dentist chairs, and McTeague’s purchase of a “steel engraving of the court of Lorenzo de’ Medici” that he knew had “great many figures in it for the money.” This suggests that McTeague was smart enough to recognize a good buy, although he doesn't really understand what he is actually buying. He then comments on the educational qualities of McTeague by mentioning the “seven volumes of Allen’s Practical Dentistry’” sitting on his shelf, belittling his medical capabilities by doubting he actually reads them, but acknowledging his determination towards dentistry.

]]> 2016-08-11 13:38:14 UTC https://padlet.com/rsowens/wckaunq9x8s8/wish/118004910 https://padlet.com/rsowens/wckaunq9x8s8/wish/118005083 The narrator indirectly characterizes McTeague as being blissfully ignorant and as having kind simplicity by relating his physical surroundings to his character. The narrator belittles McTeague by describing that even though his “Dental Parlors … [have] but one room,” McTeague feels “that he could hope for nothing better,” implying that McTeague himself is mentally as small as his business. The narrator diminishes McTeague’s accomplishments and his limited ambitions, construing that the narrator believes himself to be superior to McTeague. In contrast, the narrator recognizes the harmlessness of McTeague. By characterizing McTeague  as “obedient,” as having “nothing vicious about [him],” and as someone who keeps “bird seed for the canary,” the narrator recognizes that while unintelligent, McTeague has an almost admirable softness to his character. 

]]> 2016-08-11 13:39:38 UTC https://padlet.com/rsowens/wckaunq9x8s8/wish/118005083 https://padlet.com/rsowens/wckaunq9x8s8/wish/118005613 The narrator continues his attitude of disdain in the second paragraph, with small inflections of respect. The narrator often alludes to McTeague’s lack of ambition and disdain for grandeur. McTeague’s use of his office as well as his house reflects his rejection of splendor, which confuses the narrator. The “mingled odor of bedding, creosote, and ether” found in McTeague’s office, and his contentedness with his circumstances not only displays a lack of consideration for luxury, but also a lack of ambition. This paired with McTeague’s lack of culture, shown in his display of the “engraving of the court of Lorenzo de’ Medici,” causes the narrator to mock him, as the de Medici family is renowned for their cruelty as well as their wealth and patronage to the arts. McTeague’s bought the portrait due to its looks and the fact that it was a “bargain.” Even though the author shows his disdain for McTeague’s simplicity and lack of ambition but show hints of admiration when he mentions, McTeague’s “Military precision. “ 7C66C8F�~w�5�

]]> 2016-08-11 13:44:25 UTC https://padlet.com/rsowens/wckaunq9x8s8/wish/118005613 https://padlet.com/rsowens/wckaunq9x8s8/wish/185153028 The author begins to describes McTeague's heightened aspirations of being a “Doctor”, however the quotation marks around doctor suggests the authors mockery of McTeague's ability to be a such a professional of hygiene. The author strengthens his claim through his characterization of McTeague, describing the method he uses to pull teeth, “Often [dispensing] with forceps and [extracting] a refractory tooth with his thumb and finger.” The author further discusses McTeague's faulty aspirations to be a professional dentist as he illustrates McTeague as a gentle giant yet somewhat of a slow, brutish and docile. “McTeague’s mind was as his body, heavy, slow to act...although he suggested a draught horse, immensely strong, stupid, docile, obedient.” The use of docile and obedience usually are positively connotated, however, they suggest that the author sees McTeague as simplistic and animalistic.]]> 2017-09-06 14:54:26 UTC https://padlet.com/rsowens/wckaunq9x8s8/wish/185153028