SOAPSTone #1

The subject of Dave Barry’s “Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out” is that males and females don’t always see eye-to-eye but it makes up for what the other gender doesn’t see. The difference between genders is illustrated with the quote, “I just Windexed, and she is seeing dirt! Everywhere! And if I tell her I already cleaned the bathroom, she gives me this look that she has perfected…”This shows how the man doesn’t see the dirt and the female does, but they are still married and she ends up  making the bathroom clean, compensating for his lack of sight for dust.

“Batting Clean-up and Striking Out” was written during the late 1980’s . The essay’s time of creation is displayed by the use of references to the “Etch-a-Sketch” and “The World Series”. The references seem discreet but the Etch-a-Sketch was popular during this time period and The World Series isn’t as popular today as it was in the 80’s. The probable place of this essay’s creation is America because that is where the World Series is held.

The time and place of this essay’s creation influence the essay by the fact that there was some different humor and women and men were still not equal. This really shows in the essay by using the stereotypes of females and males with the cooking v. the baseball games.

Dave Barry’s specific audience for the essay is married couples in the age range of 30-40. It basically says that yes there are differences, but it’s okay because you still love each other and that is just a natural difference between the two genders. The audience is revealed through the way it talks about the cleaning of the house and kids. It is supposed to be about parents with kids leading to the age range of 30-40. This essay is not geared toward the easily offended because there are many stereotypes used and some people may be hurt or offended by these comments.

Dave Barry’s purpose in the essay is to entertain you about stereotypes. He wants you to see the stereotypes and he wants you to be able to put your own experiences into these stereotypes so it then relates back to you. This is shown when the author talks about how the women didn’t even realize the game was going on and paid no attention. It shows the difference with how the men were obsessed and the women could care less about sports.

Dave Barry, the humorist, believes that everyone is equal and that differences are okay. He accepts everyone no matter what they believe and he thinks it is okay if some people disagree because that is what makes us human, we all have our opinions on certain things.

His tone throughout this is very sarcastic. We can see this through the use of phrases such as “so”
 and “or something”. The “or something” shows a lack of care about the topic mentioned prior saying, it may or may not be true, don’t fully trust me on this. The “so” makes it seem very drawn out and hyperbolized. The use of italics also shows a use of sarcasm because the italics make you read it in a more joking sort of manner.