Analysis of 'An Ode to the Hoody'

'An Ode to the Hoody' is an opinion article written by Minsky, who created the piece to express his views on the controversy over how we should dress in society. He also addresses the unnecessary conflict an inanimate object, a hoody, can cause. The article is directed towards teenagers or young adults which is proven through the fairly explicit humour and taboo language used at the beginning in the first paragraph; 'mouth drier than a nun's chuff'. The verb 'Arrrgh' opening the article immediately informs the reader with a social contact as it creates an informal tone.


Furthermore, the reader becomes even more involved into the situation described in the article through the personal pronouns such as 'you've' and 'your' used by Minsky to directly address the reader and make them read on. The author then uses a negative lexical field such as 'enemy', 'intrusive', 'plight' and 'conspiring' to suggest that the hoody has violent connotations. Hyperbole is then used through the metaphorical sentence 'rumbling grey clouds mock you'. This is done through the verb 'mock' as it evokes a sense of intimidation and further adds to the informal tone the article portrays while presenting it as a shared experience with the audience.


As the second paragraph is introduced, we are first made aware of the hoody, an inanimate object which slowly transforms into some type of character, through the abstract noun 'ally'. This has been used to personify the hoody, as well as the adverb 'patiently' and adjectives 'undemanding presence' and 'always willing to serve' to describe it's actions. These evoke a positive effect the hoody brings in comparison to the mood created in the previous paragraph. Also, the fact that the author has used additional personal pronouns for example 'he' and 'him' to describe the hoody, it makes it seem even more realistic as if the item of clothing is so significant that it could fit in to a part of society itself. Moreover, the sematic field of adjectives 'pen pushing', 'mackintosh sporting', 'jag driving' and 'pompous' to describe the politicians tell us that interestingly even though the older generation agree with the hoody, the younger generation on the other hand do not. Clearly, the author is trying to reinforce that he is pro hoody as he criticises those of higher status such as politicians he negatively labels, as they feel threatened by such a simplistic piece of clothing, and that Minsky doesn't understand the reasons behind the people in society who want to get rid of it.


Finally, the author's seriousness towards the subject is also emphasised through the graphology of the article as it has been printed in black and white, black being a dark colour therefore acting as a symbol of the prejudice against the hoody or society. Eye catching, bold titles and 'edgy' fonts have also been used as well as words stated in capital letters here and there to ensure the message is getting across distinctly to the reader. For example, the stative verb 'SURVIVE' has been highlighted in the subheading of paragraph three to add emphasis and to be used as a discourse marker to separate the article up. This is from speaking about the hoody's characteristics in the second paragraph to 'kings and queens' and 'world wars' in the third through more hyperbolic language. This is because the hoody has been used for a variation of years before, so they state as if it's similar to the time period when kings and queens were around and the significant world wars, but all of a sudden people are now deciding that they want to ban it for no valid reason.