As portrayed in her own words, Marilyn Monroe emerges as thoughtful and accomplished -- not characteristics that most biographies emphasize. She had marvelous taste and could decorate a house or cook a meal with panache. Photographs in this book document her avid reading and her craving for the classics. Her diaries, letters and notes record responses to literature even as they reflect the misspellings and grammatical errors of an earnest but self-educated artist.
Monroe's unstable aspect certainly makes an appearance in this handsomely illustrated volume, complete with facsimiles of her writing. She was beset with self-consciousness so severe it disturbed her concentration while acting and made it difficult for her to manage everyday life. She believed in the efficacy of psychoanalysis, but she was quick to realize that mental institutions often infantilized patients. During her own incarceration (that is how she saw it) at the Payne Whitney Clinic she observed: "Oh, well, men are climbing to the moon but don't seem interested in the beating human heart."
This witty woman, reacting to her acting teacher's complaints about her tardiness, taunted him by reprising her dumb blonde secretary lines from "Monkey Business." Lee Strasberg never got the joke. The Marilyn Monroe of this book was no joke -- to quote a line from Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman," "Attention must be paid.
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The impact of the first paragraph is to establish that Marilyn Monroe lived a life of many talents and unique qualities. It establishes Monroe as a simple person who was more than just an actress. I like how it really humanizes her and mentions her misspellings and grammatical errors, but praises her ability to critically think and be artistic.
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There is something you can get from Monroe in her own words that you can’t get in a biography.The Monroe who writes letters and poetry is more relatable, more genuine, the showgirl is what we know through the screen…the more genuine and truthful Monroe is behind her own words
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The first paragraph pulls the reader in by mentioning a side of Marilyn Monroe most biographies lack to elaborate. It makes her more relatable and perhaps misunderstood. As a reader it made me feel more intrigued to read more in depth about her.
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Instead of “lack,” the word “fail” may be substituted. In the context of the comment, "relatable"refers to the humanity of Marilyn Monroe, since this review emphasizes how mundane Monroe was, allowing the layman to empathize with her as a person, not just as a sex symbol or celebrity.
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The first paragraph impacts me in a important way. It gives a very good impression of Marilyn because she so thoughtful and accomplished. It also made me respect her more because the last sentence told me she was a self-educated artist.
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The impact in the first paragraph draws the reader to meet Marilyn Monroe real character. The writer do that by carefully choosing his words to show Marilyn Monroe’s both worlds, of an artist and a regular person. The words accomplished, marvelous taste,avid reading, craving for classics and could decorate a house, cook and her misspelling and grammar errors shows how the real artist Monroe was, something the biographies don’t tell.
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Let’s the reader know what sets this biography apart from its previous counterparts, also gives some background on the subject as well.
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it shows that Monroe was more than a sex symbol and a beautiful actress; she was also a simple woman who enjoyed trifles such as cooking, and more profound activities such as writing. The first paragraph also establishes the reviewer’s credibility. Readers can tell that the reviewer knows enough about the subject, since he is able to confirm that this book is accurate.
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The impact of this paragraph is that it shows the reader they still have things to learn about Monroe, and that she’s more interesting than she is often made out to be. It makes me want to learn more about who Marilyn was, not who others portray her as. The paragraph also serves to establish the reviewer and his expertise on Monroe.
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The Impact of the first paragraph is to introduce you to the Marilyn outside of the quirky showgirl she was always portrayed as. There were things such as her cooking and decor skills that a person wouldn’t know about her because as a star she was a separate character aside from her true self, it almost gives a more intimate look to give her “normal” everyday human qualities to coin on “stars are people too”.
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I suppose most biographies emphasize on her identity as an actress on a exterior level. Indicating by the second sentence it seems as though her biographies were written about the basic facts of her life such as her impact in a fashion sense and her documented rise to fame.
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I am assuming most biographies do not focus on her personal characteristics or achievements besides being in movies. The second sentence shows there is more to Marilyn then meets the eye.
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I suppose most biographies emphasize her career as an actress and her personal life. They explain her rise to fame, but they fail to show the simple Marilyn who enjoyed ordinary activities like cooking and decorating her house.
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It seems a little silly that the standard for Marilyn Monroe being viewed as a more complex historical figure is her ability in the kitchen and eye for interior design.
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The quotation serves the paragraph by bringing Marilyn Monroe’s words back to the forefront of the review — just as the collection is her own words. The quotation highlights Monroe’s insightful side and supports the assertion of Monroe as “thoughtful and accomplished.” I think it connects the second paragraph to the first paragraph more than wrapping up the second paragraph nicely.
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Agreed.
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Since the rest of the passage sets up Monroe as a thoughtful yet insecure person and focuses particularly on her writings, the quote introduces her voice into the narrative about herself.
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The review is about a biography that emphasizes Monroe’s personal writing, so ending that paragraph with a quote is appropriate and also the best way to introduce the subject’s “thoughtful” voice.
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then I should say that the review is about a book that emphasizes Monroe’s personal writing. But I still think it is appropriate to end the paragraph with a quote because it shows Monroe’s thoughtful writing.
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Including “witty” and “dumb” in the same sentence is quite a good antithesis. In order to be witty or funny in general, you need to be bright (or at least have some sort of intelligence—even street-smart works), creative and, most importantly, quick-minded. Then, Rollyson proceeds to explain that in reaction to her whiny teacher, she would provoke him by playing her dumb blonde secretary side.
These words say a lot about Monroe. Even if you know nothing about her, which is unlikely, you would still get a sense of her character. In other words, she was pretty smart and, consequently, she could exploit different aspects of her personality.
Personally, I think that in order to play dumb, you must be pretty smart.
I also interpret that she knew a lot about marketing, and that she definitely knew how to sell herself to the world (figuratively speaking).New Conversation
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Including “witty” and “dumb” in the same sentence shows Monroe’s versatility as an actress. Playing the role of a character with a personality completely different from your own is difficult, but for Monroe this wasn’t a challenge.
The short example gives good insight into Monroe’s character and shows what kind of person she was. She had the wit to think of clever comebacks and the acting skills to go through with them.
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The impact of mentioning Miller is again to humanize Marilyn Monroe. The theme “Death of a Salesman” is about the illusions of the American Dream some may have like the character Willy who becomes conflicted by his dreams and reality. The quote “Attention must be paid” was Miller’s way of humanizing his character Willy, whether his social status was achieved or a failed attempt, the experience of failure, strife, and struggle makes a person human therefore the book highlights the beauty and the ugly of Marilyn Monroe making her a much more complex person than she’s usually portrayed
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Arthur Milller is a respected author and so is his work “Death of a Salesman” In that piece of work the main characters wanted attention to see underlying truth. Marilyn wants everybody to pay more attention to things other then her beauty.
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By likening Monroe’s experiences to the severity of the themes presented in “Death of a Salesman,” her emotions are given a larger sense of validation. Further, Miller’s role as her ex-husband seems to implicate a deeper understanding of her person.
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It’s relevant because it slyly references their marriage and refers back to Marilyn’s insecurities, with a need for attention being both her road map to success and her biggest downfall.
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It is appropriate and relevant because Miller was Monroe’s husband. But also, “attention must be paid” means that we must closely examine the book because the Marilyn that this book presents is way more than the stereotypical “dumb blonde.” To me, that last sentence endorses the book.
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