Response chapter 4

I really enjoyed Pico Iyers essay, "In praise of the Humble Comma." he introduced a very colorful dimension of the importance of a comma. He uses very descriptive images to communicate the point to his readers. For instance he compares punctuation to road signs, he says they are "placed along the highway of our communication." Iyer says that the period is like a red light, telling us to stop with finality. And the semicolon is like the stop sign telling us to stop and then ease into starting again gradually. A comma, however, allows us to pass through only requiring that we slow down. Iyer then explains that punctuation is important in how we express ourselves. He again uses excellent comparisons by comparing punctuation to the " way one bats ones eyes, lowers ones voice or blushes demurely." It is the pause that seems so insignificant if taken out of the picture but very important when added into it. A comma can make all the difference in the world. I especially like Iyers comment, " Thus all the tiny scratches give us breadth and heft and depth. A world that has only periods is a world without inflections. It is a world without shade. It has a music without sharps and flats... A comma, by comparison, catches the gentle drift of the mind in thought, turning in on itself and back on itself, reversing redoubling and returning along the course of its own sweet river of music.." Iyers essay causes his readers to consider the importance punctuation plays in our lives.