Literature Analysis for Masterpiece: "#GIRLBOSS" by Sophia Amoruso (non-fiction)

Literature Analysis (Nonfiction)

TOPIC(S) and/or EVENT(S)
1.     As we have discussed in class, a book is said to be nonfiction if its content is based on facts or events.  What is your book about?  [a]. Try writing a paragraph first to capture your thoughts.  [b]. Then see if you can boil it down to one clear statement.  (Even if you feel like you can just skip to [b], please do both; remember that your reader doesn’t know what you know.

[a] " A #GIRLBOSS takes her life seriously without taking herself too seriously. She takes chances and takes responsibility on her own terms, She knows when to throw punches and when to roll with them, When to button up and when to roll with them. When to button up and when to let her freak flag fly. As Sophia writes, " I have three pieces of advice I want you to remember: Don't ever grow up. Don't become a bore. Don't let the Man get to you. Okay? Cool. Then let's do this."
[b] My book is about how Sophia Amourso made it big with her success with her store "Nasty Gal". It also talks about how you can become a #GIRLBOSS and other #GIRLBOSS s that she knows. 

2.     Why did your author choose to write about this topic, person or event?

The author of this book, Sophia Amourso, chose to write about herself because why not? Her story is so aspiring and basically a rags to riches kind of story. So she wanted to write about how she made it and some tips on how to become a #GIRLBOSS. 

3.     Why did you choose this book?  What about the book appealed to you the first time it came to your attention (and how did it come to your attention)?  What about the book made you want to keep reading once you began?

This book "#GIRLBOSS" applied to me because I love the company Nasty Gal and Sophia Amourso is the CEO and founder of the store. I love how spunky the book is and how Sophia portrays herself in the book. 

4.     Did you find the book realistic?  Did you make any connections between people/events you read about and people/events in your own life?  Why or (if you didn’t) why not?

Yes, I do find the book realistic because it happened to her and I made a few connections in the book to other things I like such as the first investor for Nasty Gal is also an investor for ASOS, another website/store that I adore. 

PEOPLE
1.     Since this book is nonfiction, the theory goes that the author didn’t create characters.  But that’s not entirely true, is it?  Doesn’t the author report his/her own interpretations based on personal observations?  If we met his/her subjects for ourselves we might see them completely differently.   What do the author’s choices say to you?  Why did s/he choose to write about this book?  What is the author’s tone, and what (if anything) does it say about the author and his/her subjects?

Yes, the author did report her own interpretations based on her own personal observations. The author's choices says to me that she is like everybody I know, she and others are just trying to make something of themselves and it can be confusing. She chose to write this book because she has knowledge from a different perspective. The author's tone in this book is "THE I CAN DO ANYTHING I SET MY MIND TO AND SO CAN YOU" tone, so inspiring is her tone. Her tone in the book tells me she is fierce. 

2.     Describe two or three people from the book.  What do they look like?  How do they act?  How would you write them as fictional characters (would you use direct or indirect characterization?

In her book almost after every chapter their were pages of a #GIRLBOSS, the spotlight talked about what she did and advice that we should take. One oft he #GIRLBOSS s on one of those spotlights was Christina Ferrucci, the Buyer Director at Nasty Gal, she was the first person that Sophia hired for Nasty Gal when Nasty Gal was just getting huge. It doesnt really describe how she looks like but she is a very hardworking person. There was a piece in the book that Sophia talked about Christina and it mentioned that one day she was sick and threw up before getting to work but Christina pushed through it because she knew she needed to help Sophia send out orders/ get work done. I believe Christina if I wrote her as a fictional character I would write her with indirect characterization because I think a story like that one would definitely show her personality and work ethic. Another person that was in the spotlight of being a #GIRLBOSS is, Madeline Poole, of MPNAILS.com who talked about a success story of her life and not really knowing where she was headed. 

3.     What about these people makes them interesting enough to write about?

These characters are interesting enough to write about because they all have somewhat different paths and how they got to where they are now. I think them being #GIRLBOSS s is awesome!

STYLE
1.     Did the author use any tools from fiction writing (such as foreshadowing or symbolism), or did the author use a journalistic style? Example(s)?

The author used a journalistic style of writing because she writes about events that have happened. Example," A #GIRLBOSS is in charge of her own life. She gets what she wants because she works for it." 

2.     Does the author use lengthy descriptions of places and people,or does s/he focus more on action or dialogue?  What overall effect do these choices have on the book?

I think the author doesn't really focus on one effect. Sophia doesn't really dialogue much, but she does use actions and descriptions. 

3.     What tools does the author use to demonstrate tone and create a mood? 

The author demonstrates tone and creates a mood by how she gives I Don't care what you think attitude. She is spunky but asking questions then answering them herself. 

4.     What do you think the author’s attitude was toward the subject, or the characters, or the audience (i.e., you)?  Why?

The author's attitude toward the subject of being a #GIRLBOSS is be one and create great change!

5.     What resources (newspaper articles, interviews, historical documents, e.g.) does the author offer?  Did it matter in your thinking?  Why/why not?

Resources that the author offered was what other people told her and I think that matters to what I think of the book because it showed that people doubted her in the beginning and look where she is now type of feeling. 

ENDURING MEMORY

Write a paragraph in which you describe the one or two ideas from this book that you expect to remember for a long time.  Explain your choices and their importance.  Share a passage or two that give your reader a taste of the same effect

"Money looks better in the bank than on your feet" is one of the chapters in this book. This idea stood out to me because I am not one to save money EVER. I like to spend, spend, spend and that is not good. The passage talked about how she didn't get any loans for her company because she had bad credit because she opened a Victoria Secret credit card and spent so much money that her credit went bad. She then had to get crappy jobs that she never stayed long enough for. She started her Nasty Gal account on ebay and started her journey. She said that it wasn't that hard for her to start getting bigger when the store got so much people because she saved and never really bought anything for herself, maybe it was because she stayed in her room working on her vintage items to put on ebay every minute of her life for about 2 years but that hard work got her to where she is now. So back to the idea of "Money looks better in the bank than on your feet," she got to where she is know by saving and eventually she had so much money in her bank account to widen her business. She said to save at least 10% of your paycheck not for a rainy day but so when you find yourself in a rut you can get yourself back up.