Observation and Interpretation Exercise, Essay Example

In this scene, I see a man who is wearing an orange hat, green snow jacket, and khakis, holding a cell phone. It is snowing outside and he is standing in front of a street cart that serves food. The front of the cart depicts meals that customers can select from, and there is a shelf within the cart that is being used to hold utensils and straws. To the side of the cart, there is a garbage can. Above where the man is standing, there is metal awning which is being used to protect customers from the snow.

One possible interpretation of what is occurring in this scene is that the man is upset that it’s taking a long time for his food to be made, which is affecting his overall experience at the cart. In order to make time pass more quickly, he texts people on his cell phone. A second interpretation of what’s occurring in this scene is that the man is happy with the cart’s service, and is willing to wait in the snow to get the delicious food. He is texting his friend about how he wants the food even though it’s cold out. A third scenario is that the man is visiting the food cart because other locations in the area are closed due to the snow storm. He texts his friend to complain about this.

Three questions I could ask the user to determine which interpretation is correct include:

• Were there other people waiting for the food cart in the snow storm?
• Did businesses in the area appear to be open?
• Did the man start eating the food right away?
• Does the man’s facial expression change? What does it change to?
• Does the man seem annoyed?