From here, you can simply select a link at the side, and continue on to read a couple of poems by the author Ogden Nash, an analysis of his poem "More About People", a design analysis regarding the layout of this website, or links that you can check out if you wish to read more about Nash and his work.
The general demographic that this site is aimed towards is the teenage demographic. The teenage demographic takes up the majority of internet users, therefore, it is more likely that they will stumble across this website. The teenage demographic will also likely react the most positively towards the design that I have chosen, because blogging is a very common practice in today’s society.
There are many websites that are dedicated strictly to blogging, such as www.bloggingcanadians.ca, www.daypop.com, and www.weblogs.com. Because of the large amounts of blogging that happens on a daily basis, blogging has a huge impact on internet culture, and with the average internet user visiting upwards of 100 websites per month, blogs reach many different people every day. Now, with the ability to tag interesting websites, that number is increasing substantially.
The design of the site is fairly simple, with only a few different graphics. The background is not so complicated as to take away from the main focus, which is the text. The text is written in bright colours, so that it will catch the eye of the reader, but it is not bright enough to hurt the reader’s eyes if reading is prolonged.
The first graphic that was chosen is a picture of Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and Harvey Firestone. The main reason why this picture was chosen is that it directly relates to the poem “More About People”. In the poem, Nash mentions Ford, Edison, and Firestone. This is most likely due to the successful nature of their respective careers, and not necessarily because they were oppressive employers. However, this picture still relates to the poem because it gives the reader a strong representation of successful people at the time.
The second graphic that was chosen, that goes along with the analysis of “More About People”, is a picture of the author, Ogden Nash. I found this image to be appropriate because the analysis is about him and his style of writing in relation to his poem. Nash’s style of writing is uniquely his, so I figured that it would be appropriate to include a picture of him with the analysis.
The third graphic that was chosen is a picture of the cast of the movie series “High School Musical”. Unfortunately, many people in the general population have been entertaining the notion that they too can be famous. By "hitching their wagons to a star", these people have an unreal expectation of themselves, which can cause their lives to feel unfulfilled. The High School Musical movies seem to have a large impact on the average high school demographic, which explains why the series has such a large effect on teenagers.
The final graphic that I chose is a picture of Lucy, from the Peanuts comic strip, in her psychiatric booth. This picture represents the critical nature of Nash’s poetry, which is merely just trying to point out the flaws in human nature, an activity that Lucy also loves to partake in. The comic strip aspect of Peanuts also represents how even though Nash is deep in analysing human nature, he believes that he can take a satirical view on the flaws as well. Peanuts is very well known for its satirical view of humanity, fitting in nicely with Nash’s philosophies.
The layout of the website is rather simple, with the links to other pages over at the side of each page, in plain sight. The text for each page is placed right in the middle, at the top of each page, where the reader can notice it easily. It is also possible to open more than one page at a time, which can be more convenient for the reader.
Links to other sites of interest are also located on a separate page, in case the reader would like to read more about Nash and his work.
I hardly suppose I know anybody who wouldn't rather be a success than a failure, Just as I suppose every piece of crabgrass in the garden would much rather be an azalea, And in celestial circles all the run-of-the-mill angels would rather be archangels or at least cherubim and seraphim, And in the legal world all the little process-servers hope to grow up into great big bailiffim and sheriffim. Indeed, everybody wants to be a wow, But not everybody knows exactly how. Some people think they will eventually wear diamonds instead of rhinestones Only by everlastingly keeping their noses to their grhinestones, And other people think they will be able to put in more time at Palm Beach and the Ritz By not paying too much attention to attendance at the office but rather in being brilliant by starts and fits. Some people after a full day's work sit up all night getting a college education by correspondence, While others seem to think they'll get just as far by devoting their evenings to the study of the difference in temperament between brunettance and blondance. Some stake their all on luck, And others put their faith in their ability to pass the buck. In short, the world is filled with people trying to achieve success, And half of them think they'll get it by saying No and half of them by saying Yes, And if all the ones who say No said Yes, and vice versa, such is the fate of humanity that ninety-nine per cent of them still wouldn't be any bettter off than they were before, Which perhaps is just as well because if everybody was a success nobody could be contemptuous of anybody else and everybody would start in all over again trying to be a bigger success than everybody else so they would have somebody to be contemptuous of and so on forevermore. Because when people start hitching their wagons to a star, That's the way they are.
The cast of High School Musical, from left to right: Olesya Rulin, Ashley Tisdale, Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Monique Coleman, Lucas Grabeel
Theme The theme of this poem is that the people who slack off at work irritate those who do work hard. The people who receive the majority of Nash’s scorn are the employers, as he states “They employ you”. This course of action is very ironic, because those that do not want to work will never earn enough money to not be able to work. This effectively creates a paradox for those slackers in the workplace. This critical point of view on humanity is reminiscent of themes in many of Nash’s poems. This take on humanity is part of what makes Nash such a well-known poet.
Tone The tone the Nash takes on in this poem is very critical, but also very ironic. He looks at the aspect of how even though some people work much harder than others, they only get paid the same amount, if not less, depending on they’re position in the company. Even though employers do not seem to work as hard as many employees, they get paid more money. Irony is a key element is most of Nash’s works. Another common element that Nash uses in his poems is humour, which is portrayed by the satirical approach he takes in criticizing humanity.
In his poem, Nash brings up three names: Firestone, Ford, and Edison. These three people are all very successful business people, with Henry Ford being the late founder of the Ford Motor Company, Harvey Firestone, who was the founder of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, and Thomas Edison, the inventor of the phonograph and the light bulb.
The comparison here is that employers and just generally people who try to motivate the workers tell them to look at famous inventors and founders, who were very successful because they put a lot of effort into their inventions.
He states at the beginning of the poem that “When people aren't asking questions they're making suggestions”. This is a reference to how even though the people are ignorant (why they ask questions) they still believe that they should be the ones giving the orders (making suggestions).
Poetic Devices One poetic device that is used is a euphemism. Nash uses the word “displeasure” to describe how the workers must feel about their employers’ actions. Another poetic device that is used is a metaphor. Nash states that work is “a wonderful medicine”. While the employers that tell you this they most likely use it in a serious fashion. However, when Nash uses this statement, he gives it a more satirical and sarcastic tone, as he obviously does not agree that work is a great way to keep up your mental health.
A third poetic device that is used in this poem is “lecture you till they're out of breath”. This statement is a hyperbole, because it is likely that the speaker will not be completely out of breath when they are finished talking to you. However, this statement does impress upon the reader that the speaker is obviously passionate about what he is saying, although whether it is relevant to the situation or not is another story. Another hyperbole is used in the next line, which states “then if you don't succumb they starve you to death”. Once again, it is highly unlikely that the employer will starve his employees to death if they do not take his lecture into account. The employer does, however, have the ability to lower the employee’s pay, which could cause the employee to go bankrupt, indirectly “starving” them.
Nash also uses some interesting diction. “Irking” is a rather obscure word. Irk, the root of irking, is defined as “to annoy or bother”. From this the reader can assume that Nash uses this word in place of words such as “annoying” or “bothersome”. Nash is well known for using strange or obscure diction is his poems, and the word irking is a fine example of such a word.
Ogden Nash uses a simple form of rhyme scheme, with an interesting twist on the rhythm. He uses a simple AA BB CC rhyme scheme, but he has no set rhythm in the length of his lines.
And then as if that weren't enough to annoy you A They employ you. A Anybody at leisure B Incurs everybody's displeasure. B It seems to be very irking C To people at work to see other people not working, C
He rhymes a line such as “And then as if that weren't enough to annoy you” which is eleven syllables long with a line such as “They employ you”, which is only three syllables long. He also has a tendency to repeat words in his rhyme scheme. For example, he rhymes the word “you” with “you”, and the word “something” with “something”. Some might see this as laziness on his part, or cheating. While this is not cheating, it could still be mistaken for laziness. However, this laziness is justified, as it portrays his thoughts regarding the feelings of the employees towards their employers. The employers described in this poem are seen as oppressive, annoying, lazy people with whom the employees hold only contempt for, and nothing else.
There is another bit of irony in this poem as well, where Nash writes “They're either looking over your shoulder or stepping on your toes”. What Nash means by this is that the employers seem to either be edging the employees on, making them work harder, or they seem to be hindering them in some way. This is very contradictory.
The cast of High School Musical, from left to right: Olesya Rulin, Ashley Tisdale, Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Monique Coleman, Lucas Grabeel
Pictured above: Ogden Nash