"Chicks in the Line of Fire"

The headline is very effective as the subject has been cleverly incorporated into the healdine. In addition, the headline ' Chicks in the Line of Fire' draws the readers attention in and makes one wonder what it is about and therefore achieving its goal in making the reader read on.

In not including an extensive byline, means that one does not need to read a lot to understand what the article will be about and won't be caught at the byline and end up not wanting to read on as it was too long. The byline, 'Natalie Maines is one of those people born middle finger first.' tells the reader that the main topic will be about a person called Natalie Maines and her rudeness. This short byline grabs the readers interest as, if they knew the band ' Dixie Chicks' they would know who this person is, the main lead in the band, and would draw these people who have an interest to this person into the article further. In addition, they would have a greater understanding of what the article is about as they read on.

The intoductory paragraph really emphasis on her attitude as a person whilst explaining how the band came to be and what the article is related to/ how this article came to be/ why the author wrote this article which would be the incident where she spoke of her thoughts in London, 2003. This paragraph gives the reader a solid understanding to what is to come within the article.

The journalist clearly states his/her opinion in a manner which doesn't put her in a position where she could be in trouble. At first there are signs of sympathy, empathy, as the journalist describes, ".. group received death threats and was banned by thousands of country radio stations, may of which still have informal bans in place."in knowing that they received death threats and were not able to broadcast their songs on various radion stations when they only stated their opinion makes one feel sorry for them. Later we realise that the journalist kind of looks up to this group or more like, respects them as she conitnuously quotes Maines,' " I apologised for disrespecting the office of the President...But I don't feel that way anymore. I don't feel he is owed any respect whatsoever."... " I don't know what to do about that. I can't change who I am."..."I guess if we really cared, we wouldn't have released that single first... that was just making people mad. But I don't think it was a mistake." ' I think the journalist respects this group or Maines for how she stood up for what she beleives and continues to stand firm and that the journalist does not believe that it is right for anyone to be threatening her or simply be so against her when she simply stated what she beleived in. This is clearly shown when the journalist wrote, ' three Texas women have the biggest balls in American music.'.

The journalist seems to be telling the readers that the Dixie Chicks are standing strong and will continue to and that it was a brave thing to state her opinion on current issues and it should not cause them so much pain for just doing so.

In using direct quotes within the feature article, the reader is able to get a sense of who the person being spoken of is and their personality, ethics, way of thinking, values. For example, " I don't know what to do about that. I can't change who I am." and " I apologized for disrespecting the office of the President.. But I don't feel that way anymore. I don't feel he is owed any respect whatsoever" from these we can see that Maines is pretty stubborn, but she is not wrong. We cannot change who we are simply because a large group of people disagree with our ideas and opinion, we can't just change and be who others expect us to be. This shows that she isn't just some wishy washy person who will follow the crowd just because it's easier but instead she is able to stand up to what she believes and keep standing her ground. This really makes one think that she is a a great and respectable person.

The journalist sympathising with the Dixie Chicks. She uses direct quotes to provide examples of the severe treatment of the Dixie Chicks. The purpose of the article is effective in achieveing its defensive stance of the band.

Song - Not Ready to Make Nice by Dixie Chicks

S - The song is about how she won't back down from what she believes and the fact that they all know what she is thinking, she likes it. she doesn't regret saying what she said despite receiving such an awful backlash.

P - This song was recorded in response to all the backlash received after what the main lead had said.

E - Anger is a very prominent emotions throughout the whole song, I think there's also a lot of frustration, sadness and disbelief? Frustration can be heard, just before the second chorus the pace picks up drastically( more like she's rapping but not, still singing) and its as though she's just letting it all out, it's different to how she sings at the chorus, beginning and end. Bits of sadness seeks through at the beginning and the end where it says, ' Forgive, sounds good, Forget, I'm not sure if i could, They say time heals everything, but I'm still waiting'. These words kind of gives off the feeling that the reaction received from the audience has left such a scar in her that it's hard to forgive and let alone forget. It might have even shown that she's sad that her fans were unable to accept her ideas. Disbelief would be, ' ...a mother would teach her daughter that she ought to hate a perfect stranger...how in the world can the words that I said send somebody so over the edge...'

C - Rhyme and Imagery

S  - This song makes me feel understanding, it doesn't make me angry but instead it makes me understand her anger, frustration and sadness. It puts me in her place, in her shoes and why she said, ' forgive, sounds good, forget i'm not sure if i could.' then when it comes to ' they say time heals everything but I'm still waiting' really gives off the feeling of sadness.

S - 8 stanzas, clear chorus and versus.

L - The language used really effective in bringing out the emotion presented and clear and straight to the point providing some examples in what she's trying to say.

I - ' I made my bed and I sleep like a baby'

M - I think the instrumental just before the second chorus, gives you time to process what she just said and really think about her last words, ' Shut up and sing or my life would be over?'

S - Rhyme, pauses.

HWK

S -Irish Civil War
P - talks of a soldiers view, why he fought and it's like he's reflection on the war before dying
E - it seems to be from ones mind, a very dense feeling, kind of feels as though he's falling to his death and he thinks of all this as he looks up to the sky.
C -  Imagery
S - This poem kind of makes me feel empty, it is sad but not crying sad. It makes me think that this soldier wasn't really able to enjoy life and do many things. I feel that he accepted his death too early, like he gave up.

S -one stanza, 16 lines
L - old english, personal
I - clouds, death (personification)
M - consistant flow
S - Rhyme