1.    Write two sentences summarizing each contradiction mentioned.

2.    What reactions do you have to the contradictions?

3.    What assumptions are needed for each contradiction?

4.    How is semiotics used to develop each contradiction?
(Maasick and Solomon use a very straightforward example of semiotics when they write: You know what these regions are; they are the red states and the blue states, signifiers of a divided country that can help us interpret a great deal of what happens in contemporary America (521).