1. Heather Havrilesky's main insight about the television series Mad Men, is that it displays the idea that the "american dream" is not as glamourous as a person would think. She explains the characters as rather sophisticated and high class. She also goes into detail about the difficulties they face, which are unknown by others. The author explains this idea in the eleventh paragraph "The lovely details of this fantasy--the hairstyles, the costumes, and the props that come with the dream--occasionally fail to obscure the confused humans who straighten their shoulders and dry their eyes and take the stage day after day, dutifully mouthing lines about the thrills of work and family, all of it the invented, peppy rhetoric of laundry detergent jingles."
2. Heather Havrilesky establishes her authority to write about this show by informing the reader she is a television critic at Salon. We learn that she wrote this piece in 2010 about the new television series Mad Men. We also learn that this series is set in New York, at a advertising agency in the 1960's.
3. The author appeals to readers' emotions in various ways. In paragraph 10, she gives a very detailed description, creating a vivid image in the readers' mind, "Bourbon glistens among ice cubes in immaculate glasses, fire engine red lipstick frames heartbreakingly white teeth, fingers tap perkily on typewriters as young men amble by, their slumped shoulders hidden behind the heroic cut of their tailored suits."
4. I was not familiar with the television series Mad Men before reading this essay. I now understand its basic premise. This essay has also peaked my interest, making me want to watch this series. I feel like this series is relevant to quite a few people, being so relatable.
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