FOR MONDAY, DECEMBER 3RD–Practice Final Exam
Although our actual final exam prompts will be different from the ones below, answering one of these is the best practice for the actual exam. With that in mind, set aside one hour and fifteen minutes (no more) on Monday. Plan and write a 400-600 word response to one of the following questions. Post your response here by Monday at midnight.
1) Choose one work from two genres of literature we have discussed this semester. You may choose one poem and one story; or one story and one play; or one play and one poem. Compare and contrast your experience of reading and studying the two works you choose. In your comparison, you may consider (among other possible considerations) the demands that different genres place on you; the surprises, joys and challenges you encountered while reading and studying the pieces; the ways in which you like to receive information and to be entertained; and the relationship between what happens in what you were reading and what was happening in your life or in your other courses.
2) We live in a complex world, and have to face complex issues on a daily basis: war, poverty, bigotry, religion and faith, the effects of technology and many others. Discuss how two works of literature, each from a different genre, have affected the way you think about a specific issue in the world today.
WORK FOR MONDAY, DECEMBER 3RD
Below please post one paragraph describing the topic and argument of your research paper, by midnight on December 3rd.
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Please read the presentation links below. Then post at least two questions about making your presentation.
Powerpoint Tutorials
http://www.electricteacher.com/tutorial3.htm
http://homepage.cs.uri.edu/tutorials/csc101/powerpoint/ppt.html
Oral Presentation Advice
http://ppop.stanford.edu/oralpresentation.html
http://go.owu.edu/~dapeople/ggpresnt.html
http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~markhill/conference-talk.html
PLEASE COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING EXERCISE BEFORE THANKSGIVING (In other words, by Wednesday, Nov. 21st):
Guidelines for Outlining a Literary Research Paper (from Valencia College)
1) Using the guidelines in the link above to help you, post a detailed outline of your research essay.
2) Once you post your outline, respond to at least two other students’ outlines with a probing question or critical comment. The goal of asking or commenting is to make sure that the author is doing everything he or she needs to in the research paper.
ESSAY #4 (“Hamlet” Character Study) WORKSHOP
Please post your draft of Essay #4 here by Monday, November 12th, at 1 p. m.
Please then reply to two of your classmates’ drafts by Midnight on Monday, November 12th. Use the following questions to guide your response:
1) Does the essay select and describe the most significant of the chosen character’s thoughts, words, actions and interactions in the play?
2) Does the essay draw conclusions about the character’s personality and motivations?
3) Does the essay reveal the most important traits of the character’s personality, and show how that
those traits drive his or her behavior in the play?
4) Does the essay draw conclusions about the character’s importance to the play as a whole?
5) Does the essay use evidence and explanation in each paragraph to support his or her claims about the character? (Does he or she quote from the text, cite the act, scene and lines of the passage, and follow up the quotation with a comment on it?
6) How is the essay organized? How could it be better organized?
7) Does each paragraph make a single point? Do all the sentences of each paragraph contribute to making its point? Does each paragraph contain enough evidence and explanation to make its point?
8) Are there any sentences that are not written clearly? If so, just point them out to the author. If you want to try to correct them, consult the instructor.
9) Is the essay in correct MLA format? (See Appendix B in Literature for Composition, for citation and formatting guidelines.)
10) What other suggestions do you have for improving the essay, making it more appealing, informative or convincing? Think here of the paper’s introduction, conclusion, presentation of material, and style.
“HAMLET” DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Read Acts I and II or Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” carefully. Then watch the clips from those acts, which are posted to the Course Texts and Links page. When you are done, respond to the following questions, and post your answers here.
1) Cite a particular scene in Act I or Act II that tells us a lot about Hamlet’s personality? What exactly do we learn about Hamlet in that scene?
2) Cite a particular scene in Act I or Act II that tells us a lot about another character’s personality? What exactly do we learn about that other character in that scene?
ESSAY #3 (Political Speech Analysis} WORKSHOP SHEET
POLITICAL SPEECHES EXERCISE (complete by midnight, Monday, October 22nd)
Read the document “Propaganda Techniques,” posted below. Then identify at least one example of three different kinds of propaganda in the speech you are watching. The speeches are posted to the Course Texts and Links page. Right click on the speech links, to get them to open. When you are finished, post the examples to the appropriate. Be sure to identify the type of propaganda that each example represents.
RESEARCH BLOG UPDATE–Please post an update here by midnight on Monday, Oct. 15th. In a paragraph or two, describe what you have accomplished so far by writing in your research blog.
Please post a draft of Essay #2 (Key Passage Essay) by 1 p. m. on Wednesday, October 10th. Please then use the questions below to respond to at least two classmates’ drafts by giving advice that responds to the questions in the Workshop Guidelines link below.
Workshop Sheet for Essay #2 (Key Passage Essay)
Discussions, exercises and essay draft exchanges happen here.
ESSAY #1 ONLINE WORKSHOP (for Wednesday, September 19th)
Please post your essay here by Wednesday morning. Then respond to at least TWO classmates’ essay drafts, by replying with answers to the questions in the Workshop Guidelines for Essay #1 document. Your replies are due by midnight on Wednesday, Sept. 19th)
Workshop Guidelines for Essay #1
(sorry for late work prof.)
Presentation about research Paper.
Muhammad Shaukat
Women’s suffrage in America
Book I chose for this topic was “Women suffrage in America” an eye witness history, by Elizabeth Frost and Cullen DuPort Kathryn. Both of these writer mostly wrote their books about women in America.
In this book I found very interesting stories about women history in America, who they did fight for their rights and they didn’t stop until they got all their rights. Some of the interesting information I am going to share with all my class members.
– Women had no right in America until 19th century. In 18th century women had no control inn their earning, they had no right to vote, they can’t divorce their husbands, can’t go to school, even they don’t have rights to custody their children, they were also not allowed to speak in church, they were totally excluded from their father’s property. Women were locked in their houses. The only thing they do is take care of their house and children’s.
– 1st campaign for women suffrage started in 1800’s. This campaign was led by Susan B. Anthony, Lucy Stone and Elizabeth Cady. They marched all over America and did a lot of struggle to get their rights. This fight for women right ended in 1920, when 19th amendment gave women their rights.
– On feb. 21,1838 first women “Angelina Grimke” stood up and gave a speech that made a history. She was called a “Devil Ina” became the first women to address the legislative. On that same day women also signed the petition to end slavery.
– In 1836 Ernestine L.Rose came to America from poland and lectured on behalf of women. In the winter of 1836, a bill was introduced to the N.Y legislature to give married women property right.
– In 1890 “The National American Women Suffrage Association” was formed and Elizabeth Cady was elected as a president. In 1920 after a lot of struggle women had a right to vote and also got their many other rights.
Practice Final Exam
12/10/12
Literature this Past Semester
This semester I have enjoyed reading Hamlet by William Shakespeare and Infant Sorrow by William Blake. I anticipated learning about literature in a fun and expressive way; tackling a writing assignment. Each Monday afternoon I have had the luxury of peace and quiet so I could delve into these assignments. These two works were definitely my favorites. The poem Infant Sorrow was not a difficult assignment and started the semester off in a hopeful way. The play Hamlet was a more challenging.
The reading and writing for both these assignments had similar demands but, in different measures. Reading a poem and interpreting it was something I have not done in ages, but doing the same with a play, especially Shakespeare was something I had never done. So it was kind of a cool thing to learn about. The biggest demand was concentration while reading and, I usually read a piece more than twice. Staying focused on the task at hand was demanding for me especially when the reading or writing were difficult. Another demand was making sure the assignments were completed on time.
Hamlet was tough enough to read. The Hamlet character analysis assignment required the most concentration to read as well as write. It took longer to read and comprehend, so I started to jot down notes while I read. This helped me considerably when it came time to write an outline and then write the paper. Hamlet tested my ability to stay focused. This assignment was time consuming making it difficult to sit and stay focused. I found myself making excuses to stay on track; however the demand to complete the assignment on time was successful.
Less demanding concentration was necessary for Infant Sorrow. I liked the poem, it reminded me of bringing home a newborn baby. It’s a happy, cozy fond memory for me. I liked the poem even more when focusing deeper on my second read. William Blake compares bringing home a new baby to life’s ups and downs. I thoroughly enjoyed the reading and writing for this assignment. It was turned in on time.
These assignments were great learning tools for me. I feel they have given me a better understanding of literature and a more critical eye. My biggest hope is to develop more patience when reading, learning to take my time and enjoy.
Research paper (draft)
Eng 1121
Women’s Suffrage In America
In 18th century, women had no rights to do anything. They had no control of their earnings. They had no rights to vote. They couldn’t divorce their husbands. They had no claim to property. They couldn’t speak in public meetings. They were just like slaves. Everywhere men were dominant. Women faced many problems in those days to get their rights. The women’s suffrage movement, a political campaign they sought to address these problems, began about 1800 and ended in 1920 with the passage of 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. This campaign led by women such as Susan B. Anthony, Lucy Stone and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. These women were members of the movement petitioned Congress. Who Struggled and marched allover America and gave their speeches in an effort to achieve their goals.
Women struggle for rights start with the campaign to end slavery. On February 21, 1838, small, blue eyed, curly haired women stood up and delivered a speech that made history. Angelina Grimke, called “Devil-ina” by the press, that day became the first women to address a legislative body. She and her sister Sarah were early leaders of the abolitionist movement, and on february 21, they represented the 20,000 Massachusetts women who had signed a petition to end slavery.(Women suffrage in America. 25). These two women also did a lot of effort for women education. Women were not allowed for vote and they also couldn’t go to college. Women were also not allowed to speak out or participate in church affairs. There was only one college for women “Oberlin College” founded in 1833. Fight for women education didn’t stop here many other women joined them an had big roles.
The other big problem for women was property rights. Girls were excluded from their fathers wills. Later women were entitled to one-third of their dead husband property in many colonies. Many men become worried by this act and tried to restrict it. Divorce was another big issue. It was very difficult for the women in North and in South it was almost impossible. After divorce Women also had no right to custody of her own children.(Women suffrage in America,2). In 1836 Ernestine L. Rose came to America from poland and lectured on behalf of women’s right. In the winter of 1836, a bill was introduced to the New York legislature to give married women property rights. And in 1838 Mary Grove Nichols gave the first public anatomy lectures ever made by a woman.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton one of the five daughters of Margaret Livingston. Elizabeth had the leading role in the early women’s rights movement. Susan B. Anthony and Lucy Stone another main character in this movement of women’s right. They marched everywhere in America to get the support of there followers women and men. Day by day their campaign became bigger and bigger. Countless numbers of women knocked on their neighbors door and asked for signatures in support of women’s suffrage. This all was not so easy. They gained very few supporters. In 1890 the National American Women Suffrage Association was formed and Elizabeth Cady Stanton was elected president, Susan B. Anthony, vice president, Lucy Stone , chairman of the executive committee.(Women suffrage in America,244). At last after facing a lot of problems in 1920 women had the right to vote by 19th Amendment.
As the 19th century ended and the 20th century began, women’s right leader had some achievements in their missions. Their goals for women included an acknowledgment of the rights to speak in public, women equal right of education, the continuation of civil existence after marriage, control of personal wages and property, legal custody of children, in the beginning no state granted any one of these rights to women. In 1900, 52 years later, not even one state denied them all.(Women suffrage in America,267). In 1900 women had a lot of educational opportunities. 58.36 of the country’s high school enrollment was female. Women start employment, over three million women worker worked for wages. All women had total control on their earnings.
This struggle of equality didn’t not just stop here it moved on and on. Not only in America women faced all these problems, many other countries in world had that same problem of inequality and in justice with women. Still in these day we have many issues of women in whole world. The goals that women had in 1800 was like impossible to gain but with a lot of struggle and sacrifices, they achieved all their goals. And prove that all men and women are created equal.
I’m sorry for the late announcement but because I was unable to get the book and enough research I had to scrape my original outline. This is my revised one. I would’ve posted it sooner but I was having issues with the site for a while.
Leona Cooper
Book: “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe”
Author: C.S. Lewis
Thesis: Is Christianity represented positively in this book
OUTLINE
I.) Intro
-State the topic and subject book
II.) Background
-Brief bio/background of C.S. Lewis
III.) Core Analysis
-Comparison of major characters, events and themes between the Chronicles series and the Bible
IV.) Conclusion
-Restate thesis and main point
-Determine if thesis is proven or not
Research Paper
Ana Aguilar-Cerrato
ENG 1121
“Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost and now I’m found, was blind but now I see.”
Jonathan Kozol, the author of “Amazing Grace. The Lives of Children and the conscience of a Nation.” takes us in a very painful and harsh journey through the South Bronx of New York City, in the housing project of Mott Haven. Kozol bases his book on interviews with residents of the area who honestly and genuinely express the truth, and their feelings regarding the deplorable state in which they live. Through his book the author exposes concepts such as racial segregation, the failure of the educational system, an inapt health system, drug-related violence, the spread of AIDS, inhumane living conditions, government unfairness, the atrophy of childhood, and the power of religion which is what holds this community together. Amazing Grace shows us the cruel reality of a neighborhood which even though is located only nine stops from East 59th Street, which according to the author is one of the seventh richest congressional districts in the nation, is living in such inhumane conditions. Through dialogues and facts Jonathan Kozol presents a tremendous critic of the system, and portrays the life of children who are being raised in a toxic environment in every single aspect, but still have hope and faith that there will be a better tomorrow.
According to the New York Times “Mr. Kozol has been plumbing the depths of poor inner-city neighborhoods and the children who live there.” But who is Jonathan Kozol? As stated by Wikipedia the author of books like “Savage Inequalities” and “Shame of the Nation” graduated from Harvard summa cum laude in 1985 with a degree on English Literature; he has a background on social psychology and has made contributions to the interpretation of scientific research of peaceful human relationships among others. The author started his career teaching in an elementary school in Boston, where he was fired for teaching a poem written by Langston Hugues who is an African American author that writes about the working class blacks in America. After this experience kozol became an activist deeply involved in the civil rights movement and since then, have written books criticizing the inequalities of education, racial segregation of Hispanics and blacks, and the poor educational system that this society offers children of minorities and low socio-economic status. Amazing Grace was written by this author on 1995 and we can clearly see that the author imprinted his passion and values through the facts presented, and the testimonies of innocent children who keep the hope and faith alive while living in such dangerous and deplorable conditions in today’s society.
Mott Haven and its surroundings is a toxic environment as described by the author. Buildings are in such bad conditions to the point that the physical damages are life threatening to its habitants. Collecting information from the community, the author learned that Bernardo, who was an eight years old boy fell through the elevator doors in one of the buildings because the doors were loose, the fall caused his death. The community lives in fear and do not feel secure even in their homes, “Shootings are always happening around and sometimes I have to sleep on the floor with my kids” said Charlaynne who is a single mother of two kids, and almost a college graduate. The author points out that besides the physical conditions of the buildings, and the uncontrollable violence that they are faced with on a daily basis, the city has many failures in the way that they dispense their basic services, buildings are infected with rats and mices, there was a case of a 3 month old baby who was attacked by rats while sleeping in his crib, the board of health is not efficient enough to control this problem. There are cases presented on an everyday basis of children with asthma, low weight prematurity, and lead poisoning which they get from their homes, school, the waste burners which are located in the neighborhood, the fear of violence, lack of heat and housing infestation. Kozol used all these facts in order to give us a physical picture of the condition in which this community exists, Mott Haven’s residents hate the place where they live but have no other choice than to stay.
Under these conditions of poverty, lack of stability and constant struggles youth take the wrong paths at times, creating a violent environment, filled with drugs and its effects such as the atrophy of childhood. As portrayed by the author the community of Mott Haven is infected by drugs and addicts who surround children and impact their lives. The children’s park which serves as the main playground and way of distraction for children is also the place for needles exchange, condom distribution and drug dealing. According to the information collected from Kozol, people in this community use drugs in order to face the pain of living. Addicts often try to get children involved in drugs, to either sell them or try them, which will only create more violence and future addicts. Amazing Grace compares the lives of children in Mott Haven and the lives of children in Nazi camps; they both have a feeling of eclipse, likelihood of death for many, and they both experience a sense of people watching from the outside but seeming paralyzed and doing nothing. As Wikipedia mentions, Jonathan Kozol condemns the inequalities of education and through the book he criticized the educational department of the city of New York. As an example, he gives us statistics of the local High School, Morris H.S. which is presented as having devastating academic records, offensive place, out of 1700 students only 70 are qualified for graduation. The children in Mott Haven do not receive the best education, and they have trouble finding quite places to read and study. Students often try to get into better schools but the lack of resources and poor education received places them at an academic disadvantaged and are not qualified to get into them. The lack of education brings deeper issues like the author describes such as early pregnancies, and the spread of AIDS which is one of the main causes of death, and family destruction in this community.
Kozol emphasizes the struggles and impact that HIV/AIDS has not only in this community but within minorities, and the lack of resources that the hospitals offer to them. In the book he uses statistics to prove how chaotic the situation is, and compares Jails and schools in order to show how inefficient and unbalanced are the services that the government provided the minorities in need. Jails are crowded with blacks and Hispanics, 70% of inmates women are drug users and 25% are HIV positive. As described by the New York Times, New York’s prison system is the largest AIDS care provider in the state. People receive better treatment and services while they are incarcerated, outside of jail they find hospitals such as Lebanon which is described by the author as a place in inhumane conditions, where a patient can wait in the emergency room for up to 4 days in order to be admitted because there is a lack in beds, and there is not enough medical qualified staff to cover the patient’s needs. On page number 194 of the book the author implements the use of statistics once again to emphasize that minorities are the ones more affected by the disease, “91 percent of children in New York who are born with AIDS are black or Hispanic.”
Despite all the negativity in their environment, people in the Ghetto living in evil and unnatural conditions as the author describes it, preserve their values and beliefs. Religion is what makes this community stay composed in front of the whole situation. Children are raised in a way where parents try to keep their innocence intact as much as they can, values get transmitted from generation to generation. Children in Mott Haven think of death and heaven. In an introduction to the book, the Crown Publishing Group says that “it is the very young whose luminous capacity for love and transcendent sense of faith in human decency give reason for hope.”
Jonathan Kozol gets his point across without a doubt. Many people live in New York City and are unaware of the tragic reality that many communities face, the injustices in which children are growing up, the unfairness of the government and the way the system is manipulated and works in favor of those who are more privileged due to their race or socio-economic status. Amazing Grace presents all these scenarios in a way that the reader feels the pain and agony that this community is experiencing. In one interview Kozol said: “Many people tell me is a very painful book to read. Well, if it was painful to read, it was also painful to write. I had pains in my chest for two years while I was writing that book.” Reality is harsh and painful for many, but the more it gets exposed, the more chances we have of being heard and being able to help the ones in need. Jonathan Kozol is definitely an advocate who uses his books and works in order to favor the less fortunate, by making people aware of situations like Mott Haven which are often hidden and forgotten.
The topic of my paper is about discrimination and inequality. It’s about revealing the untold stories of the colored help and how they were being treated by their white employers. It presents difference in race, color and social status. Examples of civil rights movements will be given to support the theory of discrimination and how it has changed over the years. I will also give examples of the people that have made a difference.
Great, Melody. This sounds right on target.
The topic of my paper is about discrimination and inequality. It’s about revealing the untold stories of the colored help and how they were being treated by their white employers. It presents difference in race, color and social status. Examples of civil rights movements will be given to support the theory of discrimination and how it has changed over the years. I will also give examples of the people that have made a difference.
Welcome to the new millennium. An era in which information is only a Bing search away. An era in which six television programs can be recorded at the same time. An era where payphones are replaced by cellular phones, friendships are maintained by tweets, and there is an app for everything. Over the last twenty years, technology has taken great leaps in innovation, giving people’s lives the ease and comfort only dreamed about in the 1950’s. It has, unfortunately, also brought a new breed of dangers. As predicted in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, technology’s “easy access” to information has led to the loss of knowledge, human connection, and the written word.
Kim,
I like how you’ve framed the topic. Farenheit 451 is certainly a predictor of things that followed it in this regard.
Everybody in Janie’s life seemed to have the same notion about what success meant, living as close to the way the white folks did and as far from the common black person as possible. Not many black people in the late 19th to the early 20th century were truly able to attain success to the level of the “white man.” As they did the women in their lives became more of an accessory and less of a partner. This was reflected in Janie and Joe’s relationship where Janie’s expectations of building a life together side by side as an equal mate was shattered when Joe kept his original promise of treating her like “a pretty doll baby lak you is made to sit on de front porch and rock and fan yo’self and eat p’taters dat other folks plant just special for you.”(Hurston 57) She was expected to just be pretty by his side. This was first made evident when Tony asked her to make a speech and while she wasn’t even sure she wanted to Joe didn’t allow her the opportunity to reject the offer, he responded “Thank yuh fuh yo’ compliments, but mah wife don’t know nothing bout no speech makin. Ah never married her for nothin’ lak dat. She’s a woman and her place is in de home.” (Hurston 73)
Stacey,
It looks like you’ve got a little bit of your paper in this abstract. The topic is great, but you can stick to topic and brief description of the argument.
The topic for my research paper is acceptance. Acceptance is a person’s assent to the reality of a situation, recognizing a process or condition (often a negative or uncomfortable situation) without attempting to change it, protest, or exit. Most people want to be accepted in society now because they want to be known. In the book The Bluest Eye Pecola is a young black girl who thinks she is ugly; she wants to fit in by looking like someone else and not herself. She wants to be accepted by the other people around her and at school.
Taiwo,
I think you’re talking about social acceptance, maybe even acceptance among young people on the basis of appearance. You need to be as specific as you can be in your definition and in your focus for this essay.
The topic for my research paper is Language, Communication and Belonging. When I talked about ethnic experience in America: “identity.” The ambiguity, crisis, and struggle centered on identity, a problem of belonging. The parents in the book, “Native speaker” is a story of cultural alienation. It is about fathers and sons, about the desire to connect with the world rather than stand apart from it, about loyalty and betrayal, about the alien in all of us and who we finally are.
Jeong Cheol,
Your topic is great, but you haven’t clearly stated what your argument will be about the representation of language and belonging in this book.
The topic for my research paper is immigration. My argument is the dependency immigrant parents have on their children in order to survive. The parents in the book, “Try to Remember” look to their teenage daughter Gabby to pitch in. One need the parents have is Gabby’s reading and writing skills in order to find the dad a job. The author, Iris Gomez brings to light Gabby’s responsibilities along with her frustrations, sacrifices and sometimes despair.
Linda,
This looks like a promising topic. Would you call the issue something like “dependency among older immigrants”?
Paragraphs
1. Introduction- Quick intro of book (title [the help], author) and main social issue (discrimination).
2&3. Summary/relation of book with the social issue.
4&5. History/timeline
6&7. Examples discriminations
8&9. Changes and civil rights law
10. conclusion
Bibliography
1. Is it mandatory to use PowerPoint? Can we use handouts instead of PowerPoint.
2. If PowerPoint is necessary, will we be able to use our own devise (laptop)?
Di Zhang
Title: The impact of Declaration of Independence on feminist movement and social equality
OUTLINE:
Introduction
Brief background and summary of the document
Spirit of Declaration-“All men are created equal”
Core Analysis
Severed as a theoretical guide in contemporary American society that everyone should be treated fairly and deserve equal chances
Permenant influence on social trend of thoughts on women’s social statue and practice
Conclusion
Restate the main points
Questions for Presentation
1. We are presenting our research paper, correct?
2. Are we to use powerpoint in our presentation ?
What is the time limit on the presentation?
Will there be a clicker available for powerpoint?
Title: Male Dominance and the Change of an Era
Introduction: Dominance has always been in this world. Whether it is man over man or animals over animals, it will be one of those things we won’t completely remove from society. During the 19th Century men were completely dominant over women. Women were regarded as homemakers and were not allowed to make much decision outside the home.
Background: During the 19th Century men were completely dominant over women. Women were regarded as homemakers and were not allowed to make much decision outside the home.
Analysis: The notion of male dominance annoyed feminists, by clearly stating, “It does not matter whether the reader enjoys the idea that the male dominates and protects the female, or detests it” in this book “Why Men Rule”also evidence from Stories as the Trifles and the Yellow Wallpaper.
Conclusion: Men and women have equal rights as inborn traits, but this equality of rights should not be confused with the identity of functions.
Worked sites:
Poem: Women; Story: the Yellow Wallpaper; Books: Why Men Rule.
Question 1: Do I have to use power point for my presentation?
Question 2: How should I structure my presentation? What time frame should I base it on while practicing?
Peter Lam
11/19/12
English 1121 Essay #4
Hamlet Character Study Essay
Hamlet is a story that was written out by William Shakespeare back in the 1603. This story was told in a unique way; it was done in a play by actors. Throughout the story it talks about revenge, betrayal, and shows a lot of emotions from each of the characters. The characters all has different personalities that makes them come to life in this story. Hamlet the son of the first king that has passed away is a main character that is in this story. Most of the events that happened are influenced by his actions.
In the beginning of the story of where the ghost of the dead king appeared, it seems as if he was looking for someone or something. When the guards trying to talk to the king, all the ghost did was turn their backs on them and disappeared. On the scene when Claudius was talking with the counsel Hamlet just sat there quietly. You can tell that he was still very emotional that his father has died 2 months ago. But what made him enraged was the fact that his mother has hastened marriage with his uncle; the brother of the dead king. During the first scene when Hamlet was alone after everyone has left, he said “She married. O, most wicked speed, to post” (I, II).
When Horatio talks to Hamlet about the ghost of his father, you can tell his mood has changed; it seems like it has brightened. I believe that shows that Hamlet is someone who is very fond of his father. Once Hamlet talks to his father and discovers that he was killed by being poisoned; “May sweep to my revenge” (I, IV) “So uncle, there you are. Now to my word” (I, IV) those lines are basically all talk about revenge for his father. On Act 3, Scene 2, Hamlet has written a play, he decided that he will show everyone. When the play played the scene where the king died, his uncle stood up in haste and ran out. “Why, let the stricken deer go weep, the hart ungallèd play” (III, II); the words he said way to show his uncle that he has discovered how his father has died.
During the scene when Hamlet is talking with his mother, he goes ballistic and kills Polonius behind the “arras” before he can enter because his mother tried to call for help; Polonius shouted before he was about to come in therefore Hamlet knew he was there listening to the conversation and stabbed him “How now? A rat? Dead for a ducat, dead!” (III, IV). The Queen thought that Hamlet was going to kill her, but he really wasn’t planning to therefore it had led to the accident. Throughout the play after the death of Polonius that was caused by Hamlet, a lot of other events started happening; Ophelia died due to her depression from the death of her father. I believe that during the scene when Hamlet was talking with the Queen, he showed a lot of emotions. To conclude, Hamlet’s actions are led by his emotions, therefore his emotions make him who he is in the story Hamlet.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. “Hamlet.” Sylvan Barnet, william Burto, and William E. Cain. Literature for Composition. n.d. 910-1011.
Introduction
Title: All that glitters is not gold; the differences between what women want and need.
An investigation into the challenges faced by the women in the book “Their Eyes were Watching God”
Discuss the choices and challenges of women from slavery days to the present and the events that shape their lives.
Show the difference in priorities as with Nanny and Janie.
Background
A brief biography about Zora Neal Hurston, her background in anthropology and literary achievements.
Explore real events concerning the topic that were taking place around the same time period that the book was written; thus uncovering the influences.
Core Analysis
Dissect various major events from the book and connect them to the thesis
Use evidence from articles, journals and other books to support the argument.
Conclusion
Restate the thesis and main points
Forward to today and discuss whether things have changed and if so, how?
Based on findings, what does the future hold for this generation?
Citation
MLA formatting
Introduction
Title: All that glitters is not gold; the differences between what women want and need.
An investigation into the challenges faced by the women in the book “Their Eyes were Watching God”
Discuss the choices and challenges of women from slavery days to the present and the events that shape their lives. [All women? For the last 150 years? That’s a lot of ground to cover.]
Show the difference in priorities as with Nanny and Janie.
Background
A brief biography about Zora Neal Hurston, her background in anthropology and literary achievements.
Explore real events concerning the topic that were taking place around the same time period that the book was written; thus uncovering the influences. [Good. Here you are focusing on the 1930s, a specific era, which will make your research manageable.]
Core Analysis
Dissect various major events from the book and connect them to the thesis
Use evidence from articles, journals and other books to support the argument.
Conclusion
Restate the thesis and main points
Forward to today and discuss whether things have changed and if so, how?
Based on findings, what does the future hold for this generation?
Stacey,
This is a solid outline. It provides the foundation for a good essay. You should, however, think about limiting the scope of the introduction.
Leona Cooper
Book: “The Da Vinci Code”
Author: Dan Brown
Thesis: The Social Impacts and Influences of Christianity in the World
OUTLINE
I.)Intro
–The Strict hold that Religion has on the world, none more so than Christianity
–Often determines what is acceptable in society
–With most problems, is always in a “grey area”; half in the right, half in the wrong, but always has some problems.
II.)Background
–The Da Vinci Code shows some specific points of interest involving the power that Christianity holds on the world, especially when it involves their image and when beliefs are questioned.
–The book has received negative reception by all Christian groups
–Biased against “realistic” or “human” interpretations of their religion.
Example: “Chronicles of Narnia” are greatly praised by the Christian community
III.)Analysis
–The unwillingness to compromise or accept certain things about our society causes more problems then solutions.
–Moral views and beliefs do help people in need
–Their are historical examples of negative out weighing the positive.
IV.) Conclusion
Leona Cooper
Book: “The Da Vinci Code”
Author: Dan Brown
Thesis: The Social Impacts and Influences of Christianity in the World[This is a topic, not a thesis, which is an argument about a topic or about the way the book presents the topic.]
OUTLINE
I.)Intro
–The Strict hold that Religion has on the world, none more so than Christianity
–Often determines what is acceptable in society
–With most problems, is always in a “grey area”; half in the right, half in the wrong, but always has some problems.
[Your intro. should include some sort of statement about the book as well as the issue it addresses.]
II.)Background
–The Da Vinci Code shows some specific points of interest involving the power that Christianity holds on the world, especially when it involves their image and when beliefs are questioned.
–The book has received negative reception by all Christian groups
–Biased against “realistic” or “human” interpretations of their religion.
Example: “Chronicles of Narnia” are greatly praised by the Christian community
III.)Analysis
–The unwillingness to compromise or accept certain things about our society causes more problems then solutions.
–Moral views and beliefs do help people in need
–Their are historical examples of negative out weighing the positive.
[This analysis should focus on the presentation of Christianity in Dan Brown’s book.]
IV.) Conclusion
Leona,
As my comments above suggest, your outline needs to focus more on the book, at least as much on the book as on the issue it addresses.
Ana Aguilar-Cerrato
Book: Amazing Grace
Author: Jonathan Kozol
Thesis: Drugs and Poverty impact in our children’s world
OUTLINE
I) Introduction
II) Description of scenario
III)History of Drugs and Poverty in Society
a) Current effect on Children
b) Consequences of negative effects for our future
c) A better world for our children
IV) Conclusion
Ana Aguilar-Cerrato
Book: Amazing Grace
Author: Jonathan Kozol
Thesis: Drugs and Poverty impact in our children’s world
OUTLINE
I) Introduction[What will this introduction include?]
II) Description of scenario
III)History of Drugs and Poverty in Society[American society?]
a) Current effect on Children
b) Consequences of negative effects for our future
c) A better world for our children
IV) Conclusion
Ana,
This outline promises a report on child poverty, drawn from Kozol’s book, which should not be the aim here. You need to discuss the way Kozol’s book presents the problem of child poverty. The emphasis is on the book’s presentation, not on the issue with Kozol’s book being just a source for the discussion.
Professor:
Does that mean that my research paper should be on the book and not the topic itself?
Linda J Lando
Outline Research Paper
11/19/12
Intro: Try to Remember. Iris Gomez- Immigration
1a Title: a child’s burden
1b The burden of immmigrant children
1c,d Thesis: The responsibilty of children in Latino immigrant homes.
1 Time frame: from 1960’s to today.
1 Do girls carry more of the burden than boys.
2 Historical and basic info on topic.
Core
3 Identify & define points.
4 Reasons for points. facts
5 Evidence of points.
6 Conclusion- sum up, reinstate points, significance of essay. Evidence leads to? future? the next. step
Works Cited
Intro: Try to Remember. Iris Gomez- Immigration
1a Title: a child’s burden
1b The burden of immmigrant children
1c,d Thesis: The responsibilty of children in Latino immigrant homes [What about it are you arguing for?].
1 Time frame: from 1960′s to today.
1 Do girls carry more of the burden than boys.
2 Historical and basic info on topic.
Core
3 Identify & define points.
4 Reasons for points. facts
5 Evidence of points.
6 Conclusion- sum up, reinstate points, significance of essay. Evidence leads to? future? the next. step
Works Cited
Linda,
This outline promises a paper that argues for action to be taken on the issue of child immigration, using Gomez’s book as a source. The focus here should be on the way Gomez’s book presents the issue.
Ana Aguilar-Cerrato
November, 19th 2012
Essay Number 4
Case Study of a Character in “Hamlet”
Prince Hamlet
Hamlet is a play which involves concepts such as betrayal, revenge, homicide, suicide, death, love, passion, and madness among others. In this play written by Williams Shakespeare a king is assassinated by his own brother who was driven by ambition. The king’s soul is not able to rest in peace because the real cause of his death which is Poisoning has been covered with a lie, in this case the sneak bite. The sneak bite in my opinion is a symbol of betrayal which was implemented perfectly to cover the real reason for the king’s death, “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life
Now wears his crown.” (I,v)
Prince Hamlet is the king’s son. And since the beginning of the play, Shakespeare introduces him being very affected by his father’s death and the sudden marriage of his mother Gertrude and his uncle Claudius, arranged right after the king’s death. And we can clearly see it when he tells his uncle and now step-father and king, “A little more than kin, and less than kind!” (I, ii) to express that yes he recognizes him as family and the king but at the same time he is disgusted with his less than kind actions, such as marrying his brother’s widow right after his death.
The prince discovers the truth through an encounter with the king’s ghost who is wondering around lacking peace to rest his soul. In my point of view Prince Hamlet is very respectful and humble; even though the guards were the ones informing him about the ghost’s existence he never ignored their story. As royalty he could have thought they were too little of a thing to even pay attention to them, but instead he gave them full attention and even trusted them enough to follow them and see for himself what they were talking about. Another sign of his respectfulness was the statement he told his uncle as he entered the play, he could have insulted him but instead he expressed himself in the best way he could.
As the play goes along we can notice the passion in Prince Hamlet’s character, and this is the quality that drives his dramatic actions through the whole play. When the Prince expresses his feelings regarding his mother’s sudden marriage he does it in such a passionate and dramatic way, he goes as far as wanting to commit suicide to escape the situation: “O that this too too solid flesh would melt, Thaw, and resolve itself into dew! Or that the Everlasting had not fix’d His canon ‘gainst self-slaughter! O God! God!”. (I ii) his passion grows intensively as he finds out about his father’s real cause of death because it is fed by the anger of finding out such betrayal during scene five, even the way he expresses the love for the Ophelia (the woman of his life) becomes affected by everything to the point that he becomes aggressive and possessive towards her.
Prince Hamlet’s character is crucial to the whole play. All the events derive from his anger driven passionate actions, his grieving and feeling of betrayal caused his creativity to flourish, he came up with the idea of making believe he was mentally ill, and doing a public role play demonstrating the real cause of death. Prince Hamlet acted in a very humanistic way; all human behaviors are driven by feelings and emotions, and even though his actions were very dramatic, he did everything in his power to honor his father and let his soul rest his peace.
Ana Aguilar-Cerrato
November, 19th 2012
Essay Number 4
Case Study of a Character in “Hamlet”
Prince Hamlet
Hamlet is a play which involves concepts such as betrayal, revenge, homicide, suicide, death, love, passion, and madness among others. In this play written by Williams Shakespeare a king is assassinated by his own brother who was driven by ambition. The king’s soul is not able to rest in peace because the real cause of his death which is Poisoning has been covered with a lie, in this case the sneak bite. The sneak bite in my opinion is a symbol of betrayal which was implemented perfectly to cover the real reason for the king’s death, “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life
Now wears his crown.” (I,v)
Prince Hamlet is the king’s son. And since the beginning of the play, Shakespeare introduces him being very affected by his father’s death and the sudden marriage of his mother Gertrude and his uncle Claudius, arranged right after the king’s death. And we can clearly see it when he tells his uncle and now step-father and king, “A little more than kin, and less than kind!” (I, ii) to express that yes he recognizes him as family and the king but at the same time he is disgusted with his less than kind actions, such as marrying his brother’s widow right after his death.
The prince discovers the truth through an encounter with the king’s ghost who is wondering around lacking peace to rest his soul. In my point of view Prince Hamlet is very respectful and humble; even though the guards were the ones informing him about the ghost’s existence he never ignored their story. As royalty he could have thought they were too little of a thing to even pay attention to them, but instead he gave them full attention and even trusted them enough to follow them and see for himself what they were talking about. Another sign of his respectfulness was the statement he told his uncle as he entered the play, he could have insulted him but instead he expressed himself in the best way he could.
As the play goes along we can notice the passion in Prince Hamlet’s character, and this is the quality that drives his dramatic actions through the whole play. When the Prince expresses his feelings regarding his mother’s sudden marriage he does it in such a passionate and dramatic way, he goes as far as wanting to commit suicide to escape the situation: “O that this too too solid flesh would melt, Thaw, and resolve itself into dew! Or that the Everlasting had not fix’d His canon ‘gainst self-slaughter! O God! God!”. (I ii) his passion grows intensively as he finds out about his father’s real cause of death because it is fed by the anger of finding out such betrayal during scene five, even the way he expresses the love for the Ophelia (the woman of his life) becomes affected by everything to the point that he becomes aggressive and possessive towards her.
Prince Hamlet’s character is crucial to the whole play. All the events derive from his anger driven passionate actions, his grieving and feeling of betrayal caused his creativity to flourish, he came up with the idea of making believe he was mentally ill, and doing a public role play demonstrating the real cause of death. Prince Hamlet acted in a very humanistic way; all human behaviors are driven by feelings and emotions, and even though his actions were very dramatic, he did everything in his power to honor his father and let his soul rest his peace.
Kimberly Torres
Book: Fahreheit 451
Author: Ray Bradbury
Thesis: What we are losing in exchange for technology
OUTLINE
I) Introduction-thesis statement
II) Brief Summary of Book
III) Body-should include reference to story along with research articles
A) The Loss of the Written Word
B) The Loss of Human Connection
C) The Loss of Knowledge
IV) Conclusion
Kimberly Torres
Book: Fahreheit 451
Author: Ray Bradbury
Thesis: What we are losing in exchange for technology
OUTLINE
I) Introduction-thesis statement
II) Brief Summary of Book[The introduction is not the place for a summary of the entire book.]
III) Body-should include reference to [book] along with research articles
A) The Loss of the Written Word
B) The Loss of Human Connection
C) The Loss of Knowledge
IV) Conclusion
Kim,
The body of this essay will require more than just reference to Farenheit 451. It should focus on exactly how Bradbury presents the loss of knowledge in the book, and how that connects to what was going on in society at the time of its publication.
ESSAY #4 Hamlet
Hamlet is a moody, “little cry baby” but very smart and brilliant young man, tormented by doubts. It is famously difficult to pin down his true thoughts and feelings. Does he love Ophelia, and does he really intend to kill Claudius! In fact, it often seems as though Hamlet thought and emotion merely for their experimental value, for example as if he’s just testing this or that idea without any interest in applying his thoughts into reality. Hamlet is a very interesting character in the play, and the first thing I would point out about hamlet is that he is very confusing/confuse. There is always more to him than the other characters in the play; even when I’ve seen the play a few times I still have the sense that I don’t know everything there is to know about this character. When he speaks, he sounds as if there’s something important he’s not saying, maybe something even he is not aware of.
Hamlet is particularly drawn to difficult questions or questions that cannot be answered with any certainty or confidence. Faced with evidence that his uncle murdered his father, evidence that any other character in a play would believe, Hamlet becomes obsessed with proving his uncle’s guilt before trying to act. The standard of “beyond a reasonable doubt “is simply unacceptable to hamlet, he prefer to be sure or certain. He is equally plagued with questions about the afterlife, about the wisdom of suicide, about what happens to bodies after they die, the list goes on and on.
Taiwo Adegbamigbe
Research Outline
The Bluest Eye
Author: Toni Morrison
Topic: Acceptance
Introduction
• Short description of the novel
• Introduce main points
3 paragraph Body
• racism
Conclusion
Taiwo Adegbamigbe
Research Outline
The Bluest Eye
Author: Toni Morrison
Topic: Acceptance[Acceptance is an act, not a social issue. Acceptance of what?]
Introduction
• Short description of the novel [A description (not a full summary) is fine here.]
• Introduce main points
3 paragraph Body[What will these main points be?]
• racism[Is this really the issue the book addresses? Or is it something more specific than racism and acceptance?]
Conclusion
Taiwo,
Obviously, you need to be much more specific about how the Bluest Eye addresses whatever the issue at hand is, once you more clearly define that issue.
Make Lemonade
Author: Virginia Euwer Wolff
Poverty as a Social Issue
Introduction
• Short description of the novel
• Introduce key topics
3 paragraph Body (reflecting on the novel & research articles)
• Poverty & Single family homes
• Teenage Parenting resulting in poverty
• Inequality in America/ lack of quality education due to poverty
Conclusion
Pretty good outline for a first draft.
Make Lemonade
Author: Virginia Euwer Wolff
Poverty as a Social Issue
Introduction
• Short description of the novel
• Introduce key topics
3 paragraph Body (reflecting on the novel & research articles)
• Poverty & Single family homes
• Teenage Parenting resulting in poverty
• Inequality in America/ lack of quality education due to poverty
Conclusion
Shantel,
You identify the issues the novel addresses in the is outline, but remember that you need to keep the focus on how the novel addresses them. You should refer to the model outline as you add detail to this outline.
Hamlet is a Shakespearean tradegy, revolving around the titular character’s quest for revenge. The other characters he interacts with all play thier roles, either directly involved or merely adjacent to his plot. Despite their proximity or lack thereof to Hamlet, each character reveals a glimpse of their personality and motives in the time they are present. One such character is Laertes. Though his presence is limited to most of the second half of the story, he still manages to show his love of family, his sense of duty, and his moral sense of right and wrong.
Laertes is first introduced in Act I, scene iii, as he is bidding farewell to his sister and father. Before he parts, he asks Ophelia what is going on in her life and she tells him of Hamlet’s interest in her. Rather than dismiss her as a love-struck girl or advise to ignore Hamlet as Polonius will, Laertes advises her to tread carefully in the relationship. He tells her: “Then if he says he loves you, It fits your wisdom so far to believe it…Then weigh what loss you honor may sustain, If with too credent an ear you list his songs, Or lose your heart, or your chaste treasure open. To his unmaster’d importunity. Fear it, Ophelia, fear it, my dear sister.” (I, iii) Laertes displays a brotherly concern for his sister falling for the heir to the throne and, since he will not be there to watch her himself, tells her to be careful. He also uses the word “dear”, possibly as a sign of respect to her womanhood or as a term of endearment.
Laertes’ love for his family is shown again when he reappears, incensed by the news of his father’s death. “O thou vile king, Give me my father!” (IV, v), Laertes demands of Claudius, seething with such rage he must be held back by the Queen. The news worsens when he discovers how Ophelia has reacted to their father’s death- “O heavens, is ‘t possible a young maid’s wits Should be as mortal as an old man’s life?” (IV, v)- succumbing to madness and lost in rhymes and songs. Laertes is disappointed by the lack of tribute paid to his father at his funeral and insulted when Claudius insinuates that Laertes’ rage is circumstantial. Whatever his relationship with Polonius was, Laertes clearly loved him and is grieving over him. Yet another cruel twist of fate takes away Laertes’ remaining family member when Ophelia drowns. At Ophelia’s funeral, Laertes is distraught and inconsolable, jumping into her grave to hold her one last time. This love for his family is what drives Laertes to act, to fulfill the responsibility he now holds.
Laertes is first introduced into the play in Act I, scene ii, requesting Claudius for his leave. As he states: “From whence though willingly I came to Denmark To show my duty in your coronation. Yet now I must confess, that duty done, My thoughts and wishes bend again toward France And how then to your gracious leave and pardon” (I, ii). Laertes does not stray from the path of responsibility laid out before him. He is called to pay homage to the king’s coronation so he attends; when he his task is complete, he wishes to return to his previous work in France. Laertes has a clear sense of duty, which carries over to getting revenge for his father. Unlike Hamlet, who in his own quest for vengeance must clarify if the news is true and then scheme endlessly, Laertes makes a plan that is quick and to the point. As he tells Claudius in Act IV, he has already purchased a poison that “but dip a knife in it… I’ll touch my point With this contagion, that if I gall him slightly, It may be death” (IV, vii), soon after discovering that Hamlet is the one who killed his father. Laertes does respond to the duty’s call, but he is also called to his sense of fairness in who to blame in this debacle.
Laertes grants Hamlet a boon of forgiveness at several points. In concerning his father’s death, before he and Hamlet duel, Laertes informs him that he is “satisfied in nature, Whose motive in this case should stir me most To my revenge” (V, ii), meaning that it is no longer personal vengeance that drives Laertes to kill Hamlet, but rather the divine responsibility and honor of the son to avenge his father. Laertes does not blame Hamlet for his indirect involvement for Ophelia’s death. As she would not have been driven mad and drowned had it not been for Hamlet’s overwrought schemes, Laertes could hold Hamlet culpable, but he instead absolves him of that blame. As he lies dying, realizing he has been duped by Claudius into getting rid of Hamlet, Laertes informs Hamlet of the king’s schemes. He also asks Hamlet to “exchange forgiveness with me…Mine and my father’s death come not upon thee,” (V, ii) in realizing the blame lands solely on Claudius. Laertes’ morality calls him to blame those responsible and forgive those who aren’t.
Is there no class today? I went to class there was no one there. Then I went to the library thinking we may have had a library day but there was another class in the room.
Taiwo Adegbamigbe
Essay # 4
Case Study of a Character
November 12, 2011
Hamlet Character Study
In Hamlet by William Shakespeare, it is obvious the story is about revenge. A son who was haunted by his Father’s ghost, have just discovered how and who murdered his Father. Now this son is on a quest to seek revenge for his father. Hamlet who is the son of the murdered King, discovered that his father was poisoned by his own Brother, who a month later married Hamlet’s mother. When Hamlet’s father’s ghost reveled himself to Hamlet, he told the store of his death and ask Hamlet to seek for revenge. Hamlet then made a promise to his father that he will avenge his death.
Hamlet the royal prince and son of Queen Gertrude. Hamlet is brilliant, artistic, virtuous, and idealistic in so many ways. At the beginning of the play, Hamlet experiences a near suicidal depression from the shock of his father’s death and his mother’s hasty remarriage, but also of being bypassed in the succession to the throne. Under pressure, he becomes cynical, sarcastic, and ruthless and thinks obsessively about himself. This comes as a dramatic contrast to his former joyful and positive nature.
Hamlet is a nice young boy but the death of his father totally changed his life. He starts acting mad. When ghost told him that his father was poisoned by his own uncle, Hamlet had no proof of this and he also cannot believe that. He starts behaving very odd, so nobody can understand him and what he is doing, but he was gathering information about his father’s death. Hamlet showed the play in front of his mother and his uncle that acted the whole scene, how his uncle poisoned his father and gets married to his mother. He wanted to see how his uncle would react to the play and wants to make sure that his uncle was the one who killed his father. His anger drives him to kill his girlfriend’s father Polonius, which he killed him by mistake.
It is noticeable that the entire story is about revenge but also that it is a cycle that continues to repeat over and over. Hamlet initiated this cycle, which then led someone else to do the same. Hamlet’s anger directed the entire story. This eventually led him to his death.
Drake Li
ENG 1121-5465
Professor Guida
November 12, 2012
Case Study of Claudius
Hamlet is written during the 1600’s and is taken place in Denmark. The current king of Denmark is Claudius, who is the brother of the previous king. Unlike the other male characters in Hamlet, Claudius is a shrewd, lustful and conniving king whereas the other male characters are preoccupied with ideas of justice, revenge, and moral balance while Claudius ensures that he maintains the throne.
Claudius was able to claim the throne due to his marriage with Gertrude. Although his love for Gertrude may seem sincere, the marriage also can be seen as a strategic move played by Claudius so that he can prevent Prince Hamlet from obtaining the throne and then claiming the throne for himself. A ghost of the previous king makes appearances throughout the story, in Act I scene V. 35, the ghost makes an appearance and speaks to Hamlet claiming to be the spirit of his father. The ghost tells Hamlet that he had been poisoned in the ear by his brother Claudius, while he slept in the garden (Act 1.SceneV.35 “A serpent stung me. So the whole ear of Denmark is by a forged process of my death rankly abused. But know thou noble youth, the serpent that did sting thy father’s life now wears his crown”). This confirms all of Hamlets suspicions of Claudius. The action of Claudius murdering his own brother just for his own benefit shows that he is greedy, selfish and ruthless.
Claudius’s behavior eventually catches up to him when Hamlet starts to plot his revenge for his father. In Act V Scene II, rather than letting Laertes killing Hamlet with the sharpened sword and the poison on the blade, Claudius insisted on a third method, a poisoned drinking cup. What had originally been a cup for Hamlet, Gertrude drinks it instead and dies(Act V Scene II, 280). When Laertes and Hamlet is fighting each other, Laertes wounds Hamlet with the poison sword, but they get into a scuffle and somehow exchanges swords. Hamlet now possesses the poison sword and he too wounds Laertes. Before Laertes dies, he blames Claudius for his and Gertrudes death “The King, The kings to blame”(Act V Scene II. 290). Before Hamlet dies, he is left with one task, to kill Claudius. He stabs Claudius and also forces him to drink out of the poison cup. All four of them will later die.
Had Claudius not have been selfish and murdered his brother, his death would not have been played out like this. Had he also not had been greedy with methods of killing Hamlet (by using the poison drinking cup) Gertrude wouldn’t have died. His greediness, selfishness and ruthlessness eventually lead up to not only his own death, but four other peoples deaths.
Linda Lando
Essay # 4 Draft
Case Study of a Character in “Hamlet”
November 12, 2011
Claudius Character Study
The setting for the play “Hamlet” is Elsinore Castle, Denmark early in the seventeenth century. The character Claudius is the king of Denmark and he is also the former king’s brother. His wife Gertrude was also his brother’s wife. The character Hamlet is the son of Gertrude and the former king. Claudius reveals different aspects of his personality through his actions, interactions, thoughts and words.
The former king’s ghost has been seen by watchmen guarding the castle. The ghost speaks to his son Hamlet. The ghost informs Hamlet that it was Claudius who murdered him. “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life Now wears his crown.” (I,v) Claudius killed his brother to become king. This brutal action proves his greed. Claudius’s wants it all and he is motivated by power. “She married. O, most wicked speed, to post with such dexterity to incestuous sheets!” (I,ii) Hamlet is distressed his mother the queen had married Claudius so soon after his father’s death. Claudius is so greedy, he marries the queen too.
Polonius the councilor to the king agrees to spy on Hamlet’s conversation with his mother. The king thanks Polonius for undertaking this task and left alone the king ponders all that has happened. His thoughts become remorseful. “ O, my offense is rank! It smells to heaven.” (III,iii) Claudius is filled with regret and guilt-ridden over his brother’s death. The king is sorrowful but he does not chose to give up all that he has gained.
In Act 5 scene 2 Gertrude dies from accidentally consuming the poison drink. “No, no, the drink, the drink- O my dear Hamlet-The drink, the drink! I am poisoned.” (V,ii) Claudius does not try to help his wife. He acts cowardly. The king is worried about being implicated and remains quiet. Hamlet shouts out treachery “O-villainy! Ho, let the door be locked.” (V,ii) Claudius only begs for help after being stabbed. “O, yet defend me friends! I am but hurt.” (V,ii)
Claudius wants too much and his greed is a driving force in the play. He is remorseful but unwilling to change. The ending shows he is nothing but a coward.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Literature for Composition.9th Edition. Barnet, Sylvan.Burto,William.Cain,William E.NewYork:Longman, 2010.908-1011.Print.
Stacey-Ann Yapp-Burke
Professor George Guida
English 1121
Essay #3: Hamlet
11/12/2012
Gertrude, Naïve and Dependent Female or a Greedy Manipulative Wench
Gertrude is Hamlet’s mother; she was married to his father King Hamlet of Denmark. However, less than two months after her husband’s death she married his brother Claudius. Claudius’ motive for marriage was quite obvious; he wanted to take the throne which rightfully belonged to young Hamlet. But Gertrude‘s motives weren’t as clear. Throughout the play, it was hard to discern whether she was complicit with Claudius’ murderous plot or just a naïve woman who needed a man to make her decisions.
In act 1 scene ii young Hamlet was growing suspicious of his mother’s hasty decision to marry Claudius and thus her commitment to his father while he was alive, “Must I remember? Why, she would hang on him, As if increase of appetite had grown by what it fed on: and yet, within a month–Let me not think on’t–Frailty, thy name is woman.”(I,ii) He then went on to compare her to a heartless beast, “Like Niobe, all tears:–why she, even she– O, God! A beast, that wants discourse of reason, would have mourn’d longer. Hamlet thoughts about his mother are torn between hating her for being so cold in response to his father’s death, and possibly being an accessory to his murder. He also pities her for being a typical woman who needs to be protected.
Gertrude’s interactions with Hamlet appear to be those of a concerned mother at times; however, her actions throughout the play did not mirror that sentiment. For example she must have known that her son was next in line to rule as king and that her marriage to Claudius would change that. What did she have to gain or lose by allowing Hamlet to rightfully take the throne? Also, throughout the play she never prompted a private discussion with her son about his worries, there was always an audience. Even after the play when Hamlet revealed what he knew about Claudius, Polonius hid behind curtains. She had removed herself from the duty of caring for or watching over Hamlet and left it in the hands of spies. Her choice to stand by Claudius when he decided that Hamlet was to be sent to England to be executed was questionable. At this point she was already armed with the information about her late husband’s murder and was also aware that Polonius’ death was purely unintentional. Most mothers, even if they thought their child is crazy would have at least tried to protect them from sure death. During the duel between Hamlet and Laertes she drinks to Hamlet and offers him her handkerchief, this was after Claudius declared that Hamlet would win. Meanwhile Laertes has opening to hurt Hamlet but doesn’t take it. Was Gertrude trying to distract Hamlet or was she genuinely celebrating her son’s impending victory?
Her actions throughout the play are so contradictory that Gertrude’s character can be hard to play or decipher. Maybe what we see in her character is how she feels, conflicted and confused. Or maybe like Hamlet she is wearing a mask that hides her true identity, a manipulating and heartless individual who will let nothing or no one stand in the way of what she wants to accomplish. Not even a man who loved her so much that he defends her from his grave, “Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive Against thy mother aught: leave her to heaven And to those thorns that in her bosom lodge,To prick and sting her.” ( I, V) Or her son who tried tirelessly to prove Claudius’ foul play to her.
Works cited
Shakespeare, William. “Hamlet.” Literature for Composition.
Ed. Barnet, Sylvan, William Burto, and William E. Cain. 9th ed.
New York: Longman, 2010. 908-1011. Print
This is Essay #4. The former king is King of Denmark. not King Hamlet of Denmark. Organized essay. I liked the last paragraph the best. Clarify the character’s importance to the play as a whole.
Muhammad shaukat,
Eng 1121,
Essay 4 draft,
The Tragedy of Hamlet.
“The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” by William Shakespeare is a story of young prince ‘Hamlet’, who’s father King of Denmark was murdered by his own brother. This whole story is about revenge. Hamlet is a main character in the whole story. When he finds out that his father was poisoned by his own uncle, the only thing he wanted to do was revenge. The death of his father and the marriage of his mother only after one month of his father’s death, totally changed his personality. He start acting mad fool and very inappropriate ways.
In the beginning of the story we can see that how Hamlet feels about his father and his mother. In the way he start acting after his father’s death tells us how much Hamlet loves his father. When the ghost tells him who murdered his father, the only thing he wants to do to get revenge of his father’s death. Hamlet also loves and respect his mother a lot, but what his mother did after the death of her husband was not normal and that effected Hamlet a lot. Marriage of his mother with his dead husband’s brother after only one month of his husband death disappoint Hamlet, and made Hamlet to act mad. As Hamlet said in the story “O God, a beast that wants discourse of reason, would have mourned longer-married to my uncle”.(pg.917). Hamlet wanted his mother to mourned little longer for his father’s death, but still he respects her when he said “but break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue”.(pg.918). This show us the love of Hamlet to his father and how he feels about his father death. That love I think made Hamlet to get revenge.
Hamlet was a nice young boy but the death of his father totally changed his life. He start acting mad and fool. His whole acting and madness was for some reason. When ghost told him that his father was poisoned by his own uncle, Hamlet had no prof of this and he also can not believe that. He start behaving very strangely, so nobody can understand him, but he was collecting information about his father’s death. Many think that he is mad. Hamlet presented the play in front of his mother and his uncle that acted the whole scene, how his uncle poisoned his father and get married to his mother. He just wanted to know how is uncle behave on this play and wants to make sure that his uncle killed his father. His anger drive him to kill his girlfriend’s father Polonius. He killed him by mistake. But he does not feel any sorry for him.
Revenge of his father’s death totally change his life and the life of the people around him. Hamlet doesn’t care about anything else anymore not even his girlfriend Ophelia. When he killed Polonius, Polonius son also want a revenge of his father’s death and that revenge leads to Hamlet death. This whole story was about revenge and tells us how something change person’s whole life. Hamlet wanted a revenge of his father’s death but this revenge also hurt many other people feelings and totally changes their life and also a cause of Hamlet’s own death.
Melody Cabalda
Professor Guida
English 1121
November 12, 2012
Essay #4
Who is Hamlet?
In Hamlet by William Shakespeare, it is obvious the story is about revenge. A son who was haunted by his Father’s ghost, have just discovered how and who murdered his Father. Now this son is on a quest to seek revenge for his father.
Hamlet who is the son of the murdered King, discovered that his father was poisoned by his own Brother, who a month later married Hamlet’s mother. When Hamlet’s father’s ghost reveled himself to Hamlet, he told the store of his death and ask Hamlet to seek for revenge. Hamlet then made a promise to his father that he will avenge his death.
The many different characters in this store, I believe that Hamlet is the most significant character of all. From the beginning of the store it is clear how much he loves his mother and how he feels towards his mother marrying his uncle. Regardless of his disapproval of his mother marriage to his uncle, Hamlet refrains from expressing how he truly feels, which I see as proof of how much he loves her, “…It is not, nor it cannot come to good. But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue.” (I, ii). It is obvious that he loves his father as well. This love is what drives him to seek that revenge.
After Hamlet saw his father’s ghost and found out that his own brother murdered him, he began to act mad. He began talking to himself and when spoken to, his words did not make sense. His mother and uncle are beginning to think he has gone mad. His actions were driven by anger and desperation to reveal his murderous uncle. Such as when he directed a play that acted out the situation of his mother marrying his uncle and how his uncle murdered his father. His anger also drove him to kill. He killed Polonius, when he thought that it was his uncle.
Hamlet’s thoughts and actions were consumed of anger that he lost sight of everything good, such as his love for Ophelia. The change in his personality, from a good son to a man with hate, seeking revenge is significant and sudden. His actions changed everyone’s lives around him, such as the death of Polonius that drove Ophelia to insanity. This behavior eventually led to Laertes seeking his own revenge for his father’s death and his sister’s insanity. Laertes blames Hamlet for killing his father and for driving his sister to her death.
It is noticeable that the entire story is about revenge but also that it is a cycle that continues to repeat over and over. Hamlet initiated this cycle, which then led someone else to do the same. Hamlet’s anger directed the entire story. Which eventually led him to his death.
Reveled s/b revealed. store s/b story. I would say to quote from the text, cite act and scene 2 more times.
Sorry Professor Guida, I miss today class because I was to the hospital… (My wife have a baby Girl yesterday Nov 6 2012).
1) At the end of Act 1, Hamlet declared that he would put an “antic disposition” on. So, he planned to act mad perhaps so that he would be able to minimize his seeming threat to Claudius, to gather more information, to stall until he came up with a plan, to hide his true emotions, to provide a cover for his eventual act of revenge insanity. He goes to Ophelia first perhaps to determine if she’s with him or against him. He learns from his encounter with Ophelia, that she reports to her father who reports to Claudius. He can gather that she is not to be trusted. Yes, I think he loves her very much, but that this revenge thing has driven a wedge between them that cannot be dislodged. He cannot confide in Ophelia, so he must break off the relationship–something she’s already done anyway. He upsets her but does not physically hurt her. He may be expressing his hurt that she has refused to see him (per her father’s orders).
2) In Hamlet act 2: Hamlet is philosophizing about the nature of pretend grief versus real grief, all is ultimately pretend because there was no poisoning, not really. On this second level, it seems almost as though Hamlet “knows” that he is in a play. He does not hurry along the revenge because he knows there is nothing really to revenge; nothing really happened; it has all been staged. Of course, he can’t really “know” this, but Shakespeare creates the effect of self-awareness and self-doubt that reaches beyond the limitations of the stage.
In Hamlet Act 1 scene 2 the characteristics of Prince Hamlet are clearly shown. Prince Hamlet is suffering from the death of his father and betrayed by the marriage of his mother to his uncle Claudius. IN this scene it seems as if Hamlet is the only honest character of high standings and who seems to uncover Claudius real identity. The death of his father has shown great effects on Hamlet, but most importantly the re-marriage if his mother not only has caused disappointment but also seems to have formed a different view towards women.
Muhammad Shaukat
Hamlet Assignment Discussion Questions:
1). In “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” the scene I find that tell us a lot about Hamlet personality is in Act 1, Scene 2. In the scene Hamlet talk about his father who died two months ago and his mother who remarried to his uncle. In this Act Hamlet looks very upset because of what his mother did. Hamlet tells that its only been 2 month since the King his father died and his mother already remarried to his uncle. Hamlet is not happy with this act of his mother. He thinks that his mother loves his father and should be mourning for little longer time for the death of her husband. That shows the love of Hamlet with his father and how he was emotionally attached to both of their parents. But when his mother remarried to his uncle in less then two months after his father died was very unpleasant for Hamlet. In this act Hamlet also tells us that his uncle is no where like his father. In the last of that paragraph Hamlet said “But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue” that shows the kindness of Hamlet and his respect for his mother.
2). The other character I m going to talk about is Polonius. Act 2, Scene 2, a discussion between Hamlet and Polonius. Polonius, father of Ophelia. Ophelia Hamlets girlfriend, who always listen to he’s father and her brother. Whatever they say to her she always listen them. Hamlet doesn’t like Polonius much and Polonius has same feelings for Hamlet that we can see by the conversation they were having. When Hamlet talk to Polonius about his daughter and tells him to keep her safe, Polonius get confused, how Hamlet knows his daughter. The way Polonius was talking to Hamlet helps us to know the personality of Polonius a lot. Polonius was trying to be very nice to Hamlet but in real Polonius thinks that Hamlet is a mad sick person.
“HAMLET” DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Taiwo Adegbamigbe
Sorry For the Late Work
Act 1 Scene 2 line 130 tells us about Hamlet’s personality. This is the scene after The King says that he’s gonna marry Hamlet’s Mother. Hamlets pour his heart out about how he feels about the two of them marrying each other. You can tell Hamlet loves his Father and is disappointed that his Mother is marrying his Father’s brother after only a month since his father’s death. He believes that his mother should be mourning his father’s death longer and that it is unrighteous.
Act 1 Scene 3 Ophelia is the obedient daughter, who is being controlled by her brother Laertes and her father Polonius. Ophelia is Hamlet’s girlfriend. Her brother and father are swaying her away from Hamlet
Sorry that I’m Posting my assignment late
Peter Lam
11/4/12
Hamlet Assignment Discussion Questions:
1.) Act I Scene II -From lines 140 – 156 on page 917 on literature for Composition, Hamlet is very emotional from the death of his father, and very disappointed at his mother which is the queen. The passage explains the situation that has past in 1st person form; Hamlet tells that its been only 2 months since the death of his father the former king, and his mother already remarried to his uncle which is the brother of the decease king. He believes that his mother should actually be mourning for a bit longer for the death of her husband. Hamlet says that his prescription of his mother has changed. She used to be a “Hyperion” and a “Satyr”. The way how he said that was not a pleasant way of thinking. In the last line Hamlet said, that his uncle is no where near like his father, and the way how his mother was married already after the death of the former king was so fast that it was scary.
2.) Act I Scene III – Page 922 – 924 Lines 55 – 137. The way how Ophelia listens to Polonius and Laertes is kinda weird. Its like she she will only listen to what they say no matter what circumstances are. For example, Polonius keeps on telling Ophelia that Hamlet’s affections are nothing but lies and has no meanings in him, therefore she shouldn’t trust him. To conclude I believe that Ophelia might be easily deceived by her own family members into doing false things.
sorry for the double Post, the website lagged and made it double
Sorry that I’m Posting my assignment late
Peter Lam
11/4/12
Hamlet Assignment Discussion Questions:
1.) Act I Scene II -From lines 140 – 156 on page 917 on literature for Composition, Hamlet is very emotional from the death of his father, and very disappointed at his mother which is the queen. The passage explains the situation that has past in 1st person form; Hamlet tells that its been only 2 months since the death of his father the former king, and his mother already remarried to his uncle which is the brother of the decease king. He believes that his mother should actually be mourning for a bit longer for the death of her husband. Hamlet says that his prescription of his mother has changed. She used to be a “Hyperion” and a “Satyr”. The way how he said that was not a pleasant way of thinking. In the last line Hamlet said, that his uncle is no where near like his father, and the way how his mother was married already after the death of the former king was so fast that it was scary.
2.) Act I Scene III – Page 922 – 924 Lines 55 – 137. The way how Ophelia listens to Polonius and Laertes is kinda weird. Its like she she will only listen to what they say no matter what circumstances are. For example, Polonius keeps on telling Ophelia that Hamlet’s affections are nothing but lies and has no meanings in him, therefore she shouldn’t trust him. To conclude I believe that Ophelia might be easily deceived by her own family members into doing false things.
Stacey-Ann Yapp-Burke
Professor George Guida
English 1121
Comparison of Speeches
10/22/2012
President Obama almost always uses the plain folk’s form of propaganda. In the speech about immigration reform he opened with a joke relevant to his location and then expressed concern for his audience’s well-being, by asking if they had their sunblock on and also stating that there is no rue that they had to stand while he spoke. Next, he went into a story about a graduation he attended with multinational graduates uniting in applause to the U.S flag.
He then moved into other stories reflecting the testimonials technique, speaking about the marine from Papua New Guinea, who fought in Iraq three times and expressed his love for the U.S. The next story was that of the Mexican woman, who spoke about how proud she was to represent the U.S navy. This tactic is used to make a personal connection between his audience and his ideals.
The President also uses some glittering generalities such as all of us are created equal and we all deserve our freedoms and pursuit of happiness. This tactic plays on these needs in the audience while he attaches his agenda to the meaning of these words.
Card stacking technique is used during Mitt Romney’s speech in which he has selective memory about President Bush’s immigration plan and selecting points about the plans from senator McCain and Cornyn which are favorable to the question he was asked at the time.
Mr. Romney also tries to play on the American need for freedom and security by suggesting that securing the borders from illegal entry will provide such things. This combines two forms of propaganda called glittering generalization and simplification or stereotyping illegal immigrants as a threat to Americans’ freedom and security.
Romney who is a businessman himself, stated that the landscaping business that he hired was responsible for ensuring that the people they hired were legal workers, therefore he was not responsible for the fact that they had undocumented workers working on his property. However, when asked about the penalties on businesses for not verifying legal status of workers he then blamed government policies for making hard for businesses to verify workers’ legal statuses. These are examples of scapegoating, never accepting responsibility and in turn the consequences of one’s behavior.
1. Stacy analyzed the speech she is talking about. The Immigration speech.
2. Yes she has three propaganda, Plain Folks, Glittering, Card Stacking.
3. Yes she explained each propaganda used in the speeches.
4. Yes she used each paragraph to make different point and the transitions between paragraphs are clear. However, it think she can use a more defined conclusion, maybe put the two together.
5. The sentences are written clearly. Some minor mistakes that I think was just a typo like “rue” and I knew she meant “rule”
President Obama almost always uses the plain folk[’]s form of propaganda. In the speech about immigration reform he opened with a joke relevant to his location and then expressed concern for his audience’s well-being, by asking if they had their sunblock on and also stating that there is no rule that they had to stand while he spoke. Next, he went into a story about a graduation he attended with multinational graduates uniting in applause to the U.S flag.[How does this opening demonstrate the use of the plain folks technique? You need a little further explanation here.]
He then moved into other stories reflecting the testimonials technique, speaking about the marine from Papua New Guinea, who fought in Iraq three times and expressed his love for the U.S. The next story was that of the Mexican woman, who spoke about how proud she was to represent the U.S navy. This tactic is used to make a personal connection between his audience and his ideals.
The President also uses some glittering generalities such as all of us are created equal and we all deserve our freedoms and pursuit of happiness. This tactic plays on these needs in the audience while he attaches his agenda to the meaning of these words.[Remember that you only need to discuss one technique in each of the politician’s speeches.]
[The] Card[-]stacking technique is used during Mitt Romney’s speech in which he has selective memory about President Bush’s immigration plan and [selecting points] about the plans from senator McCain and Cornyn which are favorable to the question he was asked at the time.[What exactly does he say about these plans? In what language?]
Mr. Romney also tries to play on the American need for freedom and security by suggesting that securing the borders from illegal entry will provide such things. This combines two forms of propaganda called glittering generalization and simplification or stereotyping illegal immigrants as a threat to Americans’ freedom and security.
Romney who is a businessman himself, stated that the landscaping business that he hired was responsible for ensuring that the people they hired were legal workers, therefore he was not responsible for the fact that they had undocumented workers working on his property[; however, when asked about the penalties on businesses for not verifying legal status of workers he then blamed government policies for making hard for businesses to verify workers’ legal statuses. These are examples of scapegoating, never accepting responsibility and in turn the consequences of one’s behavior.
Stacey,
As I say above, you identify the techniques involved, but instead of identifying several and moving quickly on from each, you need to focus in greater depth on the use of one technique in each speech.
President Obama almost always uses the plain folk[’]s form of propaganda. In the speech about immigration reform he opened with a joke relevant to his location and then expressed concern for his audience’s well-being, by asking if they had their sunblock on and also stating that there is no rule that they had to stand while he spoke. Next, he went into a story about a graduation he attended with multinational graduates uniting in applause to the U.S flag.[How does this opening demonstrate the use of the plain folks technique? You need a little further explanation here.]
He then moved into other stories reflecting the testimonials technique, speaking about the marine from Papua New Guinea, who fought in Iraq three times and expressed his love for the U.S. The next story was that of the Mexican woman, who spoke about how proud she was to represent the U.S navy. This tactic is used to make a personal connection between his audience and his ideals.
The President also uses some glittering generalities such as all of us are created equal and we all deserve our freedoms and pursuit of happiness. This tactic plays on these needs in the audience while he attaches his agenda to the meaning of these words.[Remember that you only need to discuss one technique in each of the politician’s speeches.]
[The] Card[-]stacking technique is used during Mitt Romney’s speech in which he has selective memory about President Bush’s immigration plan and [selecting points] about the plans from senator McCain and Cornyn which are favorable to the question he was asked at the time.[What exactly does he say about these plans? In what language?]
Mr. Romney also tries to play on the American need for freedom and security by suggesting that securing the borders from illegal entry will provide such things. This combines two forms of propaganda called glittering generalization and simplification or stereotyping illegal immigrants as a threat to Americans’ freedom and security.
Romney who is a businessman himself, stated that the landscaping business that he hired was responsible for ensuring that the people they hired were legal workers, therefore he was not responsible for the fact that they had undocumented workers working on his property[; however, when asked about the penalties on businesses for not verifying legal status of workers he then blamed government policies for making hard for businesses to verify workers’ legal statuses. These are examples of scapegoating, never accepting responsibility and in turn the consequences of one’s behavior.
Stacey,
As I say above, you identify the techniques involved, but instead of identifying several and moving quickly on from each, you need to focus in greater depth on the use of one technique in each speech.
Pressing for Immigration Reform
One year ago the President of the United States gave a speech on immigration reform. The location for the speech was El Paso, Texas, it is one of the many borders that the U.S. shares with Mexico. President Obama is advocating for immigration reform and deems the site appropriate for “for a big policy speech”. This speech is relatively short and Mr. Obama’s objective is to gain support for his policy on immigration.
In one part of the speech the president recounts the stories of two members of our military. These members joined the Armed Forces before they became citizens. One in particular is a Marine originally from New Guinea. At his naturalization ceremony he expresses his desire to become a U.S. citizen. “I might as well, I love this country already.” Another soldier states at her naturalization ceremony, “I take pride in the flag and the history we write day by day.” She is originally from Mexico and joined the U.S. Navy after 9/11. Both soldier stories are testimonials. They are testimonials of successful immigration. The Marine loves America. The female soldier takes pride in being an American. They both are saying the American dream works. They are testimony that immigration worked for them and it can work for others.
For the longest time the middle class in the America have always been the majority. However in the last few years during economic hard times, the middle class numbers have dwindled. This is due to the prices of goods and services have increased and paychecks have not. People have also lost their jobs. The President addresses the middle class and strongly suggests “to strengthen the middle class with immigration reform.” He understands their dilemma as if he were one of them. With immigration reform there will “no longer be a massive underground economy that supports a cheap source of labor while depressing wages for everyone else.” He is referring to the illegal immigrants wages impact on middle class earnings. He speaks the language of the middle class. He becomes one of them, a plain folk speaking to the plain folks. He is convincing them to support his immigration reform policy.
The President’s speech sells the American dream. He uses the phrase “freedom to work and worship” more than once. He adds “the immigrants first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty and the flow of immigrants has strengthened and more prosperous.” He adds, “all of us deserve our freedoms and pursuit of happiness.” This speech sells the American dream. The concepts of freedom and liberty are laced throughout it. The president use of these words and phrases connote patriotism, a strong love and loyalty for our country. This is a valued concept. People will listen, this is what they want to hear. All these glittering generalities portray him and his speech in a positive light. Turning his listeners to believers in immigration reform.
The president makes many good points in this speech in hopes to gain immigration reform support. The opportunities seized by the two military personnel are testimonials to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Mr. Obama puts himself in the shoes of an American middle class worker. The worker whose pay is undervalued because of the undocumented immigrants cheap labor. He points out this negative impact on our society. The president sells immigration reform further. He adds sparkling and patriotic content to the speech, using words like liberty and freedom. All of these techniques undeniably figure in into the equation of the perfect policy speech.
1) llando was very detailed about the speech he was analyzing by giving even the location and approximate time.
2) He identified the testimomial, plainfolks and glittering generalities techniques and gave several examples of each.
3) The analysis explains the overall message of the speech it was even summarized in the end of his essay.
4) Llando was very clear about the subject of each paragraph.
) The sentences and paragraphs were pretty clear
1. Yes Llando identified his speech, Immigration.
2. Yes Llando identified 3 propaganda, plain folks, glittering and testimonial and he did provide examples for each.
3. Yes Llando explained how each propaganda contributes to the overall each, his examples are very clear.
4. Each paragraph made different points and the transition between paragraphs were clear.
5. The sentences and paragraph were written clearly.
Llando,
you may correct me if i’m wrong but I think the essay was suppose to be a comparison between President Obama and Romney and the different propagandas they are using. You might want to confirm if the Professor.
Yes, you are right. thanks for the heads up.
Pressing for Immigration Reform
One year ago the President of the United States gave a speech on immigration reform. The location for the speech was El Paso, Texas, it is one of the many borders that the U.S. shares with Mexico. President Obama is advocating for immigration reform and deems the site appropriate for “for a big policy speech”. This speech is relatively short and Mr. Obama’s objective is to gain support for his policy on immigration.
In one part of the speech the president recounts the stories of two members of our military. These members joined the Armed Forces before they became citizens. One in particular is a Marine originally from New Guinea. At his naturalization ceremony he expresses his desire to become a U.S. citizen. “I might as well, I love this country already.” Another soldier states at her naturalization ceremony, “I take pride in the flag and the history we write day by day.” She is originally from Mexico and joined the U.S. Navy after 9/11. Both soldier stories are testimonials. They are testimonials of successful immigration. The Marine loves America. The female soldier takes pride in being an American. They both are saying the American dream works. They are testimony that immigration worked for them and it can work for others.[In this paragraph you’re discussing a different kind of testimonial. Take another look at the definition of the “testimonials” propaganda technique. Does Obama actually use the testimonial technique, by indirectly citing or by quoting members of the armed forces you mention above?]
For the longest time the middle class in [the] America have always been the majority. However in the last few years during economic hard times, the middle class numbers have dwindled. This is due to the prices of goods and services have increased and paychecks have not. People have also lost their jobs. The President addresses the middle class and strongly suggests “to strengthen the middle class with immigration reform.” He understands their dilemma as if he were one of them. With immigration reform there will “no longer be a massive underground economy that supports a cheap source of labor while depressing wages for everyone else.” He is referring to the illegal immigrants wages impact on middle class earnings. He speaks the language of the middle class. He becomes one of them, a plain folk speaking to the plain folks. He is convincing them to support his immigration reform policy.[This may be true, but does the example you use above represent the language most people of the middle class use? “Depressing wages?]
The President’s speech sells the American dream. He uses the phrase “freedom to work and worship” more than once. He adds “the immigrants first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty and the flow of immigrants has strengthened and more prosperous.” He adds, “all of us deserve our freedoms and pursuit of happiness.” This speech sells the American dream. The concepts of freedom and liberty are laced throughout it. The president use of these words and phrases connote patriotism, a strong love and loyalty for our country. This is a valued concept. People will listen, this is what they want to hear. All these glittering generalities portray him and his speech in a positive light. Turning his listeners to believers in immigration reform. [Yes, indeed.]
The president makes many good points in this speech in hopes to gain immigration reform support. The opportunities seized by the two military personnel are testimonials to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Mr. Obama puts himself in the shoes of an American middle class worker. The worker whose pay is undervalued because of the undocumented immigrants cheap labor. He points out this negative impact on our society. The president sells immigration reform further. He adds sparkling and patriotic content to the speech, using words like liberty and freedom. All of these techniques undeniably figure in into the equation of the perfect policy speech.
Linda,
Although you identify three techniques that Obama certainly uses, you illustrate the first of them in a way that suggests somebody other than Obama is talking in his speech.
Melody Cabalda
English 1121
Professor Guida
1 November 2012
Comparison of Speeches
After watch the 3 political debates between President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney, it is evident that each candidate has its own propaganda technique. In the first debate when the candidate discussed the topic of “Income Tax”, it is clear that President Obama used the Plain Folks propaganda technique, while Governor Romney used Pinpointing the Enemy technique.
In almost all of President Obama’s speeches he addresses to his audience in a calm and friendly manner. He begins by greeting and thanking them, sometimes even making jokes, like in his Immigration debate in Texas. In the President’s speeches he gives examples of his topics that the audience, which are the common people, can relate to, such as his speech about the income tax. He discussed the tax break for the middle class family and how tax break will help them. I believe that the “middle class families” are the common people. In his speech he talks about how the economy will do best when the middle class are doing well. Giving a tax break to the middle class will help boost the economy because people will have money to spend. He also mentioned that the middle class would be able to afford education, which will help America grow.
President Obama targeting the middle class and by presenting things that the common people will benefit from is a Plan Folks propaganda technique. The President also includes himself in his examples to show that he is one with the people. Here is what President Obama said in his speech that I believe is a good example of him being one with the people, “I believe that the economy works best when the middle class families are getting tax breaks so they’ve got money in their pockets and those of us who’ve done extraordinarily well because of this magnificent country that we live in, that we can afford to do a little bit more to make sure we’re not blowing up the deficit.” You notice in President Obama speech he includes himself to show that he understands the common people.
In the same debate and topic Governor Mitt Romney used the Pinpointing the Enemy technique in his speech. He begins his speech by listing how he will improved the economy and how he will fix the deficit. He then follows it with a list of all the things he believe President Obama did wrong and as well as the negative outcome that has happened in the past 4 years. An example of Governor Romney’s pinpointing technique is when he said, “ When President look office 32 million people on food stamps, 47 million on food stamps today. Economic growth this year slower than last year and last year slower than the year before.”
The candidates’ propaganda techniques are very different but I believe that President Obama used the plain folks technique very well. He maintained his focused on the common people and the things that they will benefit from. President Obama’s words were things I can relate to. Governor Romney using pinpointing the enemy technique made his speech very negative. The blaming was what stood out from his speech not what good he would do to this country.
Good writing skills. Assignment calls for 3 propaganda techniques, correct? Need works cited.
1)Melanie clearly identified the speech that she was analyzing
2) Melanie identified only two techniques by two different candidates, however she did give several examples of each especially the plain folks technique.
3) She did explain the effect that the speeches had on her by stating in the end what stood out in Mitt Romney’s speech, so I assume that speaks to the message that she took from the speeches.
4)) The analysis uses each paragraph to make different points and accomplish different purposes. The transitions between paragraphs are clear and logical.
5) There are a few grammatical and spelling errors but, I’ve made them myself using this blog, so I think if and when Melanie rereads this she will see them.
Thanks Stacy, I did see them as soon as I reread essay.
After watch[ING] the 3 political debates between President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney, [YOUR SUBJECT HERE SHOULD BE “I,” SINCE THE INTRODUCTORY PHRASE REFERS TO AN “I”]it is evident that each candidate has its own propaganda technique. In the first debate when the candidate discussed the topic of “Income Tax”, it is clear that President Obama used the Plain Folks propaganda technique, while Governor Romney used Pinpointing the Enemy technique.
In almost all of President Obama’s speeches he addresses [to] his audience in a calm and friendly manner. He begins by greeting and thanking them, sometimes even making jokes, like in his Immigration debate in Texas. In the President’s speeches he gives examples of his topics that the audience, which are the common people, can relate to, such as his speech about the income tax. He discussed the tax break for the middle class family and how tax break will help them. I believe that the “middle class families” are the common people. In his speech he talks about how the economy will do best when the middle class are doing well. Giving a tax break to the middle class will help boost the economy because people will have money to spend. He also mentioned that the middle class would be able to afford education, which will help America grow.
President Obama targeting the middle class and by presenting things that the common people will benefit from is a Plan Folks propaganda technique[WHETHER OR NOT IT IS DEPENDS ON THE LANGUAGE HE USES TO DO IT]. The President also includes himself in his examples to show that he is one with the people. Here is what President Obama said in his speech that I believe is a good example of him being one with the people, “I believe that the economy works best when the middle class families are getting tax breaks so they’ve got money in their pockets and those of us who’ve done extraordinarily well because of this magnificent country that we live in, that we can afford to do a little bit more to make sure we’re not blowing up the deficit.” You notice in President Obama speech he includes himself to show that he understands the common people.[Yes, indeed: His use of “we” makes this a plain folks appeal.]
In the same debate and topic Governor Mitt Romney used the Pinpointing the Enemy technique in his speech. He begins his speech by listing how he will improve[d] the economy and how he will fix the deficit. He then follows it with a list of all the things he believe President Obama did wrong and as well as the negative outcome that has happened in the past 4 years. An example of Governor Romney’s pinpointing technique is when he said, “ When President look office 32 million people on food stamps, 47 million on food stamps today. Economic growth this year slower than last year and last year slower than the year before.”
The candidates’ propaganda techniques are very different but I believe that President Obama used the plain folks technique very well. He maintained his focus[ed] on the common people and the things that they will benefit from. President Obama’s words were things I can relate to. Governor Romney using pinpointing the enemy technique made his speech very negative. The blaming was what stood out from his speech not what good he would do to this country.
Melody,
These two candidates do use the two techniques you identify here, one certainly more positive than the other.
1. Yes Melanie identified his speech, Immigration.
2. Yes Melanie identified three propaganda, plain folks, glittering and testimonial and he did provide examples for each.
3. Yes Melanie explained how each propaganda contributes to the overall each, his examples are very clear.
4. Each paragraph made different points and the transition between paragraphs were clear.
5. The sentences and paragraph were written clearly.
Hamlet’s character is best described in Act 1, Scene 2, after speaking with his mother and uncle. Hamlet is distraught over his father’s death (“So excellent a king, that was to this/Hyperion to a satyr, so loving to my mother”) and disgusted over the fact that his mother has remarried in less than a month after his passing (“Why, she would hang on him/As if increase of appetite had grown/By what it fed on, and yet within a month-/Let me not think on ‘t; frailty, thy name is woman!-), and to his uncle no less (O God, a beast, that wants discourse of reason,/Would have mourned longer-married with my uncle,/My father’s brother, but no more like my father/Than I to Hercules. Within a month,/Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears/Had left the flushing in her galled eyes,/She married. O, most wicked speed, to post/With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!) This incensed and indignant anger is what will spur Hamlet to make the choices he does later in the play.
Laertes’ character is best described in Act 1, Scene 3 as he speaks with his sister. Laertes advises Ophelia on being wary of Hamlet’s romantic advances (“Fear it, Ophelia, fear it, my dear sister./And keep you in the rear of your affection,”). Laertes cautions Ophelia that although Hamlet’s affections may be real, Hamlet’s royal position and prestige may sway his actions differently than that of a commoner (“Perhaps he love you now,/And now no soil nor cautel doth besmirch/The virtue of his will, but you must fear,/His greatness weighed, his will is not his own./For he himself is subject to his birth./He may not, as unvalued persons do./Carve for himself, for on his choice depends/The safety and health of this whole state,/And therefore must his choice be circumscribed/Unto the voice and yielding of that body/Wherof he is the head.”) Laertes shows great concern for his sister’s well-being, which foreshadows how he will react later on in the play.
Kim,
You’ve got the right idea here. A character’s personality determines how he or she will act and react. This is true for both Hamlet and Laertes, who are in fact foils, characters who are tested by similar situations.
“Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother’s death
The memory be green, and that it us befitted
To bear our hearts in grief and our whole kingdom
To be contracted in one brow of woe,
Yet so far hath discretion fought with nature
That we with wisest sorrow think on him,
Together with remembrance of ourselves.
Therefore our sometime sister, now our queen,
The imperial jointress to this warlike state,
Have we, as ’twere with a defeated joy,–
With an auspicious and a dropping eye,
With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage,
In equal scale weighing delight and dole,–
Taken to wife: nor have we herein barr’d
Your better wisdoms, which have freely gone
With this affair along. For all, our thanks.
Now follows, that you know, young Fortinbras,
Holding a weak supposal of our worth,
Or thinking by our late dear brother’s death
Our state to be disjoint and out of frame,
Colleagued with the dream of his advantage,
He hath not fail’d to pester us with message,
Importing the surrender of those lands
Lost by his father, with all bonds of law,
To our most valiant brother. So much for him.
Now for ourself and for this time of meeting:
Thus much the business is: we have here writ
To Norway, uncle of young Fortinbras,–
Who, impotent and bed-rid, scarcely hears
Of this his nephew’s purpose,–to suppress
His further gait herein; in that the levies,
The lists and full proportions, are all made
Out of his subject: and we here dispatch
You, good Cornelius, and you, Voltimand,
For bearers of this greeting to old Norway;
Giving to you no further personal power
To business with the king, more than the scope
Of these delated articles allow.
Farewell, and let your haste commend your duty.”
King Claudius was extremely harsh on Hamlet following his father’s death especially after announcing marriage to his mom so soon. He comes off as uncaring and unconscionable. He showed his arrogance and hypocrisy in response to Fortinbras, the nephew of Denmark’s longtime rival, the ailing king of Norway, who wanted to take back lands that were conquered by Hamlet’s father. He implies that Fortinbras shows no compassion, and bad taste in making his demands so soon after his brother’s death and his marriage. Meanwhile he married his brother’s wife not long after he died.
Stacey,
He does come off as an arrogant (though smooth-tongued) hypocrite. What else do you see in him?
I believe Act 1 Scene 2 line 130 tells us about Hamlet’s personality. This is the scene after The King (his Uncle) says that he’s gonna marry Hamlet’s Mother (The Queen). Hamlets pours his heart out about how he feels about the two of them marrying each other. You can tell Hamlet loves his Father and is disappointed that his Mother is marrying his Father’s brother after only a month since his father’s death. He believes that his mother should be mourning his fathers death longer and that it is unrighteous. But regardless of how he feels about it he knows he has to keep his feelings inside “I must hold my tongue.” I believe his is doing this in respect to his Mother. He seems like a good son to both his father and mother.
Melody,
Hamlet’s love for his parents clearly drives the action of the play, so this is an important observation. What about another character from the play?
Hamlet Discussion question.
In Act 1 Scene 2 Hamlet is distressed. He is stricten with grief over the death of his father. Hamlet is also bitter about his mother marrying his uncle so quickly after his father’s death.
In the next scene, (Act 1 Scene 3) Ophelia is the obedient daughter, who is being controlled by her brother Laertes and her father Polonius. Ophelia is Hamlet’s girlfriend. Her brother and father are swaying her away from Hamlet.
What we learn about Hamlet is that he is obsessed wth death. What we learn about Ophelia is that she is easily brainwashed. She will obey her family’s wishes, even at her own expense.
Linda,
This are brief but important insights into Hamlet’s and Ophelia’s personalities. Good work.
In Obama’s speech about immigration he uses the plain folks technique. He makes a few jokes and tries to explain the view of the people at the college when all the flags were being marched across the stage. He also uses uses the technique Card stacking. He says its the right thing to do and explains why it is the right thing to do. He supports it with all good reviews about how it can help legal immigrants as well and how them being illegal was still breaking the rules as well as how illegal immigrants get paid less.
Taiwo,
What about the “Hamlet” discussion questions?
Cite a particular scene in Act I or Act II that tells us a lot about Hamlet’s personality? What exactly do we learn about Hamlet in that scene?
“O that this too too solid flesh would melt,
Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew!
Or that the Everlasting had not fix’d
His canon ’gainst self-slaughter! O God! O God!
How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable
Seem to me all the uses of this world!
Fie on’t! O fie! ’tis an unweeded garden,
That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature
Possess it merely. That it should come to this!
But two months dead!—nay, not so much, not two:
So excellent a king; that was, to this,
Hyperion to a satyr; so loving to my mother,
That he might not beteem the winds of heaven
Visit her face too roughly. Heaven and earth!
Must I remember? Why, she would hang on him
As if increase of appetite had grown
By what it fed on: and yet, within a month,—
Let me not think on’t,—Frailty, thy name is woman!—
A little month; or ere those shoes were old
With which she followed my poor father’s body
Like Niobe, all tears;—why she, even she,—
O God! a beast that wants discourse of reason,
Would have mourn’d longer,—married with mine uncle,
My father’s brother; but no more like my father
Than I to Hercules: within a month;
Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears
Had left the flushing in her galled eyes,
She married:— O, most wicked speed, to post
With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!
It is not, nor it cannot come to good;
But break my heart,—for I must hold my tongue.”
Hamlet is a fairly young man who has just lost his father and witnessed his mother’s marriage to his father’s brother within a month of his father’s death. In act I scene ii his grief has sent him into severe depression where he actually contemplates suicide. However his strong religious beliefs would not allow him to commit suicide, as it would be the ultimate sin.Hamlet strikes me as a person with very high morals and a strong sense of right and wrong. He wanted to kill himself because the world was revealing itself to be a place where incest, murder and just bad taste were easily accepted. In this scene he is terribly upset not just by the timing of the marriage of his mother to his uncle; which he would have thought at least for his mother would have been delayed out of respect for his father. He thought that if she loved his father as much as she let on while he was alive that she would have mourned longer. This begged the question of whether or not she was faithful to his father to begin with. He was plagued with questions and contradictions that sent him spiralling down into madness especially after he spoke with his father’s ghost which revealed, that his uncle Claudius was responsible for his father’s death.
Stacey,
This is a great reading of Hamlet’s character in a single speech. He is indeed plagued with questions, though I’m not sure the evidence points to his being mad.
Amadou Bah
English 1121
Professor Guida
Essay #3 (First Draft)
President Obama & Mitt Romney on Women Issues
During those debates President Obama uses the (Stereotyping) Simplification’s form of propaganda while Mitt Romney uses the Card Stacking form of propaganda. In Women Issues both candidate know winning women is a key to a November triumph, something Romney knows well, having lost women by 2-1 in his Senate defeat against Ted Kennedy in 1994. The Democrats have painted Republicans as in “a war against women” with their social policies, and Republicans have accused their opponents of bludgeoning women with their economic ones.
When asked what they would do about the enduring pay gap between men and women, Obama emphasized that the first bill he signed as president was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which extended the amount of time women had to file an equal pay lawsuit (Lilly Ledbetter discovered she had been paid less than her male coworkers for her whole career more than 180 days after her first paycheck, so was past the statute of limitations). Although he did not mention it in the debate, Obama also pushed for the passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act earlier this year, which would have required employers to prove that differences in pay were based on real things (qualifications, education, experience) and not gender. It also made violators of sex discrimination laws liable for more damages.
Senate Republicans filibustered the bill, saying it would lead to a flood of spurious lawsuits, and scare employers from hiring. The Romney camp refused to say what its candidate thought about this bill or the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, but a campaign spokeswoman said, “Of course Gov. Romney supports pay equity for women. In order to have pay equity, women need to have jobs, and they have been crushed in this anemic Obama economy, losing far more jobs than men. As president, Mitt Romney will create a pro-jobs business climate that will put all Americans back to work.”
Birth control popped up in Tuesday’s debate, with Obama standing by his health care law provision that took the existing law: that companies that provided health insurance had to offer birth control and took away co-pays for women. Obama slammed Romney for supporting legislation that would allow any employer to opt out of this law if it violated their religious beliefs (an exemption already exists for churches, synagogues and other houses of worship). “I don’t believe employers should tell someone whether they could have contraceptive care or not,” Romney fired back. “Every woman in America should have access to contraceptives.” And while Romney may support the availability of contraception, he does not think employers and health insurers should have to provide it to women for free. In an August TV ad, Romney accused Obama of launching a “war on religion” through his health care law. But even if he repeals it as president, religious colleges and hospitals will still have to provide birth control.
Finally both candidates, uses his propaganda technique more effectively because are not unaware of this powerful tool used; Mr. Romney tries to play on the American need by describes how every hard working American deserves a better future. He argues that America has been in an economic downfall and if a new president is not elected, this country’s circumstances are not going to improve. Mitt Romney present only information that is positive to get him elected and omitting information contrary to it as wants to stop funding Planned Parenthood, an indispensable source of health care for many low-income women. He has never recognized the disgraceful injustice done to Lilly Ledbetter, whose equal pay suit was rejected by the Supreme Court, and he opposed the Fair Pay Act. He opposes abortion rights except in certain cases.
Obama have one purpose of action, to become the next president of the United States but by trying to get his aim, he tells his true feeling. He tells us that the process of a strong America takes time. That slowly but surely, we are getting there. That he is opening opportunities for every American in this country.
President Obama & Mitt Romney on Women Issues
During those debates President Obama uses the (Stereotyping) Simplification’s form of propaganda while Mitt Romney uses the Card Stacking form of propaganda.[SHOULD YOU IDENTIFY THE TECHNIQUES THEY USE AFTER YOU DESCRIBE THE ISSUES?] In Women Issues both candidate know winning women is a key to a November triumph, something Romney knows well, having lost women by 2-1 in his Senate defeat against Ted Kennedy in 1994. The Democrats have painted Republicans as in “a war against women” with their social policies, and Republicans have accused their opponents of bludgeoning women with their economic ones.
When asked what they would do about the enduring pay gap between men and women, Obama emphasized that the first bill he signed as president was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which extended the amount of time women had to file an equal pay lawsuit (Lilly Ledbetter discovered she had been paid less than her male coworkers for her whole career more than 180 days after her first paycheck, so was past the statute of limitations). Although he did not mention it in the debate, Obama also pushed for the passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act earlier this year, which would have required employers to prove that differences in pay were based on real things (qualifications, education, experience) and not gender. It also made violators of sex discrimination laws liable for more damages.
Senate Republicans filibustered the bill, saying it would lead to a flood of spurious lawsuits, and scare employers from hiring. The Romney camp refused to say what its candidate thought about this bill or the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, but a campaign spokeswoman said, “Of course Gov. Romney supports pay equity for women. In order to have pay equity, women need to have jobs, and they have been crushed in this anemic Obama economy, losing far more jobs than men. As president, Mitt Romney will create a pro-jobs business climate that will put all Americans back to work.”
Birth control popped up in Tuesday’s debate [THIS ESSAY ISN’T SUPPOSED TO BE A COMPARISON OF DEBATE PERFORMANCES, BUT OF SPEECHES], with Obama standing by his health care law provision that took the existing law: that companies that provided health insurance had to offer birth control and took away co-pays for women. Obama slammed Romney for supporting legislation that would allow any employer to opt out of this law if it violated their religious beliefs (an exemption already exists for churches, synagogues and other houses of worship). “I don’t believe employers should tell someone whether they could have contraceptive care or not,” Romney fired back. “Every woman in America should have access to contraceptives.” And while Romney may support the availability of contraception, he does not think employers and health insurers should have to provide it to women for free. In an August TV ad, Romney accused Obama of launching a “war on religion” through his health care law. But even if he repeals it as president, religious colleges and hospitals will still have to provide birth control.[DO YOU ACTUALLY DISCUSS HOW THE EXAMPLES ABOVE ARE EXAMPLES OF THE TECHNIQUES YOU IDENTIFY IN THE INTRODUCTION?]
Finally both candidates, uses his propaganda technique more effectively because are not unaware of this powerful tool used; Mr. Romney tries to play on the American need by describes how every hard working American deserves a better future. He argues that America has been in an economic downfall and if a new president is not elected, this country’s circumstances are not going to improve. Mitt Romney present only information that is positive to get him elected and omitting information contrary to it as wants to stop funding Planned Parenthood, an indispensable source of health care for many low-income women. He has never recognized the disgraceful injustice done to Lilly Ledbetter, whose equal pay suit was rejected by the Supreme Court, and he opposed the Fair Pay Act. He opposes abortion rights except in certain cases.
Obama have one purpose of action, to become the next president of the United States but by trying to get his aim, he tells his true feeling. He tells us that the process of a strong America takes time. That slowly but surely, we are getting there. That he is opening opportunities for every American in this country.
AMADOU,
I LIKE HOW YOU FRAME YOUR ANALYSIS, WITH A DISCUSSION OF THE CANDIDATES’ STANCES ON THE ISSUES; HOWEVER, YOUR DISCUSSION OF WHAT THEY SAY FAILS TO SHOW HOW THE EXAMPLES YOU CITE ARE EXAMPLES OF THE TECHNIQUES YOU SAY EACH CANDIDATE USES.
The main technique that Obama used in his speech is the Plain Folks technique. He mentioned the nationalities of many immigrants and described some experiences that many common immigrants go through. He made people feel like his ideas are similar to those of their own. He told people to sit down on their chairs because he is equal as everyone else. Obama also use the testimonials technique by bringing in the story of people in the military and navy and how they decided to become a citizen.
His use of the “plain folks” technique shows up as much in his choice of words and phrase as in the stories he tells–as we discussed in class.
I watched President Obama’s speech on immigration. During the whole speech, he managed to keep my attention which I suppose is a good thing considering the nature of the debate itself. He also praised our country in the beginning of the speech but I think that’s to be expected from anyone in public office, especially since elections are coming up. The propaganda technique he used was “Plain Folks”, sometimes putting his attention on the regular people in the audience. He talked about specific points about illegal and legal immigration. For example, he talked about immigrants joining the army and how they loved their country and were willing to fight for it just like any other american.
Leona,
The “plain folks” technique is not really the pointing out of plain folks in the audience. It is more about identifying one self as a man of the common people, like them.
I watched the Obama immigrant speech on 2011, the propaganda technique he used was “Plain Folks”. During the introduction he would ask the folks about how they are doing and if they had sunblock on. The way he talked was also in a different way that you would do in a normal speech. And I have noticed The president had praised the country in the beginning of his speech.
Muhammad Shaukat
ENG 1121
I chose president Obama’s speech on immigration. In his speech president Obama talk about legal immigrants and illegal immigrants, how they came here and how they are serving United States of America. In the beginning, president Obama start his speech by using “Plain Folks” technique. President Obama was talking about the big Texas State and their big welcomes. He also made a joke on those who wearing jackets in hot weather,”those of you who are still wearing jackets, feel free to take them off”.When president Obama was talking about immigrant military, he used the “Testimonial” technique. He quoted ‘Granger Michael’ from Papua “I might as well, I like this country already” and one other women, to tell us how they are feeling while serving in U.S military. President Obama also used “Glittering generalities” technique, when he talked about how the legal and illegal immigration effect our economy.
In Obama’s speech about immigration he uses the plain folks technique. He makes a few jokes and tries to explain the view of the people at the college when all the flags were being marched across the stage. He also uses uses the technique Card stacking. He says its the right thing to do and explains why it is the right thing to do. He supports it with all good reviews about how it can help legal immigrants as well and how them being illegal was still breaking the rules as well as how illegal immigrants get paid less.
Drake Li
ENG 1121-5465
I chose to watch Obama’s speech on immigration. Obama used the “Plain Folks” technique. Towards the beginning of the speech where he was mentioning the graduation at Miami Dade County College. His speech was slightly slurred and was stuttering. He also made a small joke prior to this about anyone wearing jackets in the hot weather. When he enters into the topic of immigrants joining the military, he is using the Testimonial technique by quoting them of how they love their country and will fight for it. Later on in the speech, he again uses Plain Folks by telling the audience to feel free to sit down, since there are chairs. After the speech about the immigrants joining the military, he uses that to show that anyone can be the future, which is glittering generalities.
Obama on Immigration
President Obama uses the technique of testimonial in his immigration reform speech. He goes into detail describing the situation of many immigrants and they are now serving our country. He goes on to describe how we all deserve “the pursuit of happiness” here in the United States. The president also uses the glittering generalities technique by describing how well deserve freedom.
Mitt Romney On Immigration
The first question that was asked was based on a previous statement he has said. One in which it had seemed he agreed with the policies of previous presidents/ politicians. He quickly denied that statement and used the card stacking technique in terms of the 12 million immigrants here in The United States. He also used the scapegoating technique to blame the government and its policies on immigration.
Gloria,
I see all of the techniques you mention, in the two speeches, but I’m not sure you provide examples that illustrate the techniques you’re describing. Make sure you’ve got the definitions of those techniques right.
In Obama’s speech regarding immigration, the propaganda techniques employed was scapegoats, laying the decline on economy on the influx of illegal immigrants. In Romney’s speech supporting amnesty for illegal immigrants, the propaganda technique employed was testimonals, using his own personal experiences to relate to the issue at hand. In Romney’s CPAC speech and Obama’s UAW address, the propaganda technique employed was pinpointing the enemy; Romney laid the lack of improvement in employment on Obama, and Obama blamed banks and “others” for letting the auto industry flounder. The CPAC speech also used glittering generalities to paint the vision of the American dream. The UAW address, in addition to the previous technique, used plain folks, to relate to the workers in Detroit.
Johnny Yip
ENG 1121
10/22/12
Obama on Immigration, In his speech Obama uses the “Plain Folks” propaganda to get to his audience. In the beginning, Obama started off with a joke and somewhere towards in the middle of his speech he tells his audience that there is no rule for them to stand up when they could be sitting down. He also used the “Testimonials” propaganda to introduce the Marine and the Navy because they were all immigrants before they became citizens. “I might as well, I like this country already.” Said Granger Michael from Papua, New Guinea and Pearla Ramon who joined the Navy and she said “I take pride in our flag and the history we write day by day.” By doing this, he shows that the Marine and the Navy officer show love for their country in which they proudly serve. Obama says “Doesn’t matter where you come from, doesn’t matter what you look like, doesn’t matter what faith you worship, what matters is that you believe in the ideals on which we were founded.” Lastly, I think that Obama is using the “Glittering Generalities” propaganda because the audience values the idea of legal immigration.
Johnny,
Remember that the testimonial technique is an attempt to identify someone whom the audience sees as a credible or admirable person with a particular policy or position.
I watch the speech that President Obama made in Texas in 2011. He spoke about immigration reform. Three of the types of Propagandas he uses are plain folks technique, cardstacking and glittering generalities.
President Obama’s speech is from 2011, he is pressing for immigration reform. He is speaking in Texas close to one of our borders with Mexico. The crowd is fired up and ready to listen.
The president uses the cardstacking propaganda technique in the beginning of the speech. “Every thing is big here in Texas” This is part of his opening statement and he is insinuating Texas is a big awesome place. The crowd roars as he humbles himself by thanking everyone for coming.
After the opening lines of the speech, the president then shifts to stories about American servicepeople. One in particular is a US Marine. The marine is an immigrant and says, “I might as join, I love this country.” Here the president is using the plain folks technique, but he also does it a few more times. It seems he always uses that technique.
The president continues with “A promise anyone can write the next chapter.” Here he is using glittering generalities. The reference to the next chapter can be interpreted as the American Dream. However, it can construed as something else.
Linda,
Card-stacking is really the enumeration of achievements, without the mention of failures.
Is anyone else having problems viewing the video?? I have been clicking on all the links all day and nothing seems to be happening.
No. Are you logged in?
Right-click on the links, everyone.
Prof. Guida
Stacey-Ann Yapp-Burke
Professor George Guida
English 1121
Comparison of Speeches
10/22/2012
President Obama almost always uses the plain folk’s form of propaganda. In the speech about immigration reform he opened with a joke relevant to his location and then expressed concern for his audience’s well-being, by asking if they had their sunblock on and also stating that there is no rue that they had to stand while he spoke. Next, he went into a story about a graduation he attended with multinational graduates uniting in applause to the U.S flag.
He then moved into other stories reflecting the testimonials technique, speaking about the marine from Papua New Guinea, who fought in Iraq three times and expressed his love for the U.S. The next story was that of the Mexican woman, who spoke about how proud she was to represent the U.S navy. This tactic is used to make a personal connection between his audience and his ideals.
The President also uses some glittering generalities such as all of us are created equal and we all deserve our freedoms and pursuit of happiness. This tactic plays on these needs in the audience while he attaches his agenda to the meaning of these words.
Card stacking technique is used during Mitt Romney’s speech in which he has selective memory about President Bush’s immigration plan and selecting points about the plans from senator McCain and Cornyn which are favorable to the question he was asked at the time.
Mr. Romney also tries to play on the American need for freedom and security by suggesting that securing the borders from illegal entry will provide such things. This combines two forms of propaganda called glittering generalization and simplification or stereotyping illegal immigrants as a threat to Americans’ freedom and security.
Romney who is a businessman himself, stated that the landscaping business that he hired was responsible for ensuring that the people they hired were legal workers, therefore he was not responsible for the fact that they had undocumented workers working on his property. However, when asked about the penalties on businesses for not verifying legal status of workers he then blamed government policies for making hard for businesses to verify workers’ legal statuses. These are examples of scapegoating, never accepting responsibility and in turn the consequences of one’s behavior.
This is excellent work, Stacey.
ESSAY #2: The Lesson Chapter 42-47
In Toni Cade Bambara’s short story, The Lesson, the author presents a lesson to be learned. The narrator, Sylvia learns the lesson that people should be grateful for what they have but also strive for the best in life.
In The Lesson, a group of poor black children meet a black woman named Miss Moore. They find her unusual because she is a black woman who has, “…proper speech…”(42). Miss Moore was educated and, “…been to college and said it was only right she should take responsibility for the young ones’ education” (42).
Di Zhang
Eng1121-5465
Professor Guida
Essay #2
Key Passage
A Rose for Emily
The story “A Rose for Emily” to me, this is a simple story of how Emily lived a miserable life. But why did she has to live a miserable life? Poor Emily was born in a rich family that was respected by people in town. Then the death of her father leaving her alone with only a Negro manservant in a big house.
Reading through the story got me thinking of one question, is anyone ever going to help Emily out of her misery? The answer is no, she continues to suffer. Everyone in town knows her, they all know what she has been through, yet no one cares enough to help her, like maybe sending someone to talk to her or showing some care would have helped. The part of the story where it takes my question further is when people broke open the cellar door and sprinkled lime. At first, I was thinking that the people in town are immoral, they wouldn’t help anyone. However, if they are really immoral, they could have steal from the house when they broke in instead of only to sprinkle lime to get rid of the smell that was bothering them. This can only tell that people in this town are selfish.
This might not be an important part of the story, but it made me compare their society to ours today. It got me thinking that if Emily live in our society, she wouldn’t have to suffer the way she did through all the years, and there wouldn’t be a dead body in the bed for so many years.
Muhammad shaukat
english1121-5465
Professor Guida
Essay #2
Key Passage(draft)
A Rose for Emily
When her father died, it got about that the house was all that was left to he; and in a way, people were glad. At last they could pity Miss Emily. Being left alone, and a pauper, she had became humanized. Now she too would know the old thrill and the old despair of a penny more or less.
This is the key passage for me I think. By this paragraph we can get the idea of whole story. This story is about a lady name Miss Emily Grierson, a daughter of rich person. She lived a beautiful life when her was alive. Whole town respect her father because he helped the town financially whenever its needed. But this respect was only for her father not for Miss Emily, because her father was wealthy. After the death of her father Emily was totally alone with her servant, she had no social life. Nobody know how she was living after her father’s death, everybody thinks that she still has enough money for survival, but they didn’t know that her father left her no money. Most of the people in town were jealous by her, because of her wealth.
Nobody in the town had interest, how she is. Instead of showing
her some respect because of her father, everybody totally ignored her and they seem happy. Emily was very alone after her father’s death. No one saw her for long time. For long time Emily couldn’t believe that her father died. Then later Homer came in her life. That seems a healthy change in her life. Homer was a worker in town and also northerner. Whole town start talking about their relation and thought that Emily is going to marry Homer. No one seems happy but Emily because she again starts leaving her house. Emily was afraid that Homer would leave and going to left her alone like her father. Her relation with the town was not good. Nobody care about her but Homer. He was the only person that had some relation with Emily. When Emily knew that Homer is going to leave her, she poisoned him and kept his body in her room for many years. This is not a normal behavior I think, and I believe the community people made her like that. Everybody totally ignored her after her father’s death and she didn’t want to be alone again.
For my research paper, I will be going to write about the story “Mother Tongue” written by Amy Tan. The story is about Amy and her mother. It focuses on how people speaks English(grammar,slang, and accent if any) differently from one another. What is, and what isn’t a “proper” way to speak English. Of course, that varies from who you are talking to of course. The social issue that I will talk about is how there are people who discriminate and treat people differently if they speak “broken” English and have an accent as Amy Tan also mentions in her story.
I’ve decided to write about the book “The child called It” by Dave Pelzer. It is a true to life story of the author himself about the abuse he endured as a child from his own mother. It was said to be one of the most severe case of child abuse in California.
Melody,
This will be fine, but please take a look at my comments in the file you submitted to our Google Docs/Drive page.
I am writing about the lives of immigrants. The book I will be using title is “A Native Speaker” by Lee, Chang-rae. Wheeler Publishing. This book is about a man his name is Henery Park, a Korean-American Private spy, is Cheallenged by a new assignment to investigate a rising politician, but the secrets he uncovers theraten his cultural identity and his realationshio with his wife. the title “native speaker” it word implies more than means. It means will say ‘Speaking people who own unique language Based on their own cultural characteristics’. so the book talking about Immigrant’s identity.
Great, Jeong Cheol. Lee is an important author, and the issue of identity among immigrants is an enduring one. Have you been using the blog to collect your notes and ideas on the subject?
Yes I have been using My country blog and web site.
I am writing my research paper on women abuse. The book I will be using is A Thousand Splendid Sons by Khaled Hosseini. This book is about two women who live completely different lives until one day an unfortunate event ties theirs lives together forever. After this event the two women suffer emotion, physical and sexual abuse from their husband. The pain these women endure is inhumane. Unfortunately many women through out the world still endure this type of pain.
Melissa,
This is an excellent choice of both book and topic. Have you made any blog entries thus far? You should be using the blog to record your thoughts on the subject.
I am writing about the cycle of abuse, sexual and mental and the far reaching effects it has for many women. The main book I am using in my research is Their Eyes were Watching God. In this book three generations of women ‘s stories were told. Yes the book was set back in the early 1900s and even further back still for the grandmother’s story, however, the message is still relevant today.
Janie the main character is trying to break the cycle, she wants a relationship in which she is loved and she loves back. According to summaries I’ve read on this book she endurs three marriages trying to find this phenomenon she has dreamed of since was sixteen called love and marriage.
Stacey,
This is a terrific topic and book, as I’ve indicated in my comments to your document on our Google Docs/Drive page. Have you used the blog yet, to collect thoughts and information?
Linda J Lando
Eng 1121
October 15th Assignment
Initially, my research title was hydro fracking. When I started looking for research material for this subject, I quickly realized I needed better information that what was available. First the subject hydro fracking is hydralic fracturing. Next, the literature is basically limited to articles. I was able to find one book in another cuny library, which I may or may not receive this week.
So I decided to change my topic to another social issue, immigration. There is a wealth of information on this subject. At this time, I am interested in writing about the impact immigration has had on our society in the last twenty years. The book I am reading for this project is “Crowded Land of Liberty solving America’s Immigration Crisis” by Dirk Chase Eldredge.
Amadou Bah
English 1121
Professor Guida
Essay #2 (First Draft)
For me the key to understand the story about the “Lesson by Toni Cade Bambara” is on the second and third paragraph starting throughout their trip from the mailbox “held a cab” to toy store (F.A.O. Schwarz) and taking the train back to the mailbox where Miss Moore is constantly talking to them about money by “asking us do we know what money is, like we bunch of retards”.
Within The Lesson, written by Toni Cade Bambara, the question of inequality and poverty arises in response to the juxtaposition of the two neighborhoods where the story took place in NYC. As highlighted in the story, the elders of this African American community have accepted the social inequality and the economic conditions without question, which only hinders their ability to break away. To contrast this complacency, Miss Moore is portrayed as an independent, educated, and liberal African American woman who not only recognizes the lack of democracy, but who also seeks to educate children and encourage them to demand more from their society. In order to highlight the gap between the rich and poor, Miss Moore decides to teach the children living around her a lesson that will one day be important in their life by taking them on that trip on Fifth Avenue so they can learn firsthand of their own social conditions compared to the conditions of others rich. Finally Sylvia, the most out-spoken and prideful of the group, immediately recognizes the difference between her communities by slowly realizes that everyone is not equal through the distribution of wealth. Sylvia is angered by the prices in F.A.O Schwarz because she knows that the items for sale are just toys, and that these toys would never take precedent over other things her parents desperately struggle to buy.
This story “The Lesson” exposes the injustices and inequalities imposed on African Americans of that time. The practical way to build the unforgettable lesson is that tactic uses by Miss Moore to show the children the harshness of the world is to take them around to local shops and stores because the prices in the shops show the children just where they stand in society.
Jeong Cheol Park
Prof. Guida
October 10,2012
Essay #2/ First Draft
Key Passage
Tell tale heart
This is true story. One woman she got nettle rash, when she see the red color car. When she Works on the street then see the red color car, and she got nettle rash again. She went to the hospital. But there was nothing other way to fix her problem.
Few years later people find that problem because it problem comes from when she was in newlyweds time, her husband went to army. That time she got illicit love with other man. It was just one time only. And other people nobody didn’t know about it happen. After then usually she feel uneasy about hiding but she try too hard to forget about that. Past Few more years later her things she complementally forgot about it, but it comes be problem about “psycho-somatic-illness” when she see the red car.
This days many people got disease and almost 85% is from “psycho-somatic-illness” like “the tell tail hart” story’s character. the character killed his landlord and hide his body under the floor but he listen to the some sound from man who dined his heart sound. He was very state of tension. His body got wet by the pouring with sweat. He tried to close his ear but the noise steadily increased.
There is no other way to hide about that sound finally he know about where comes that sound that sound comes from his heart’s sound. And he thought about this ”anything was better than this agony! Anything was more tolerable than this derision! I could bear those hypocritical smiles no longer! I felt that I must scream or die! and now –again! –hark! louder! louder! louder! louder! “
This situation is describe Unforgiving men fain.
in Latin word of Conscience is “conscientia” this word’s definition is People and sharing whos knowledge, so, self-consciousness. It means People cannot deceived them self even if can deceive all of world of the people.
People cannot live better life when who take off sin. If people cannot resolved about guilt it must be bring Hugh pain. Live be a good people.
There doesn’t seem to be a specific passage chosen here, and it also seems this was mainly a summary.
1.Yes.
2.Yes.
3.Yes
4.Yes
5.yes
6. This is good eassy.
7. yes
8. everything clearly.
9. yes
10. nothing need.
Taiwo,
One-word answers to the questions on the guide sheet are not particularly helpful to the author. Please try to give advice that points to specific places in the draft.
Johnny Yip
ENG 1121
Key Passage
A Good Man Is Hard to Find
The paragraph I chose to understand the story’s meaning is “The Misfit said as if he agreed. Jesus thown everything off balance. It was the same case with Him as with me except He hadn’t committed any crime and they could prove I had committed one because they had the papers on me. Of course, he said they never shown me my papers. That’s why I sign myself now. I said a long ago, you get you a signature and sign everything you do and keep a copy of it. Then you’ll know what you done and you can hold up the crime to the punishment and see do they match and in the end you’ll have something to prove you ain’t been treated right. I call myself The Misfit, he said, because I can’t make what all I done wrong fit what all I gone through in punishment.” Another line I would add to this would be “I found out the crime don’t matter. You can do one thing or you can do another, kill a man or take a tire off his car, because sooner or later you’re going to forget what it was you done and just be punished for it.”
I chose this particular paragraph because the word “Him” is used a lot. Towards the end of the story, that is all The Misfit and the grandma talk about so she wouldn’t get shot. The grandma kept talking about Him because The Misfit told her that he was once a gospel singer so she must’ve thought that he was religious and try to make him change his mind about shooting her. When The Misfit said “Jesus thown everything off balance”, he was agreeing with the grandma because she said “Jesus, Jesus” as if she was cursing his name and the way he was thinking was that since the court never showed him his papers to prove that he killed his father The Misfit believes that the court did him wrong and sent him away to the penitentiary for no apparent reason.
I also chose the other line “I found out the crime don’t matter. You can do one thing or you can do another, kill a man or take a tire off his car, because sooner or later you’re going to forget what it was you done and just be punished for it.”, because The Misfit was in denial that he killed his father and was trying to forget about it. In a way, The Misfit is a bit confused with everything and trying to cover everything up by first saying he didn’t kill his father but that he died of the epidemic flu and then he later goes on saying that you’ll forget what you did and just be punished for it. Towards the end of the story The Misfit brings up that He was the only one that could raise the dead back saying that everything was thrown off balance because he could do such things. By The Misfits doing, I guess he is just very confused and insane.
Work Citied
O’Connor, Flannery. “A Good Man Is Hard to Find.” Literature for Composition.
Ed. Barnet, Sylvan, William Burto, and William E. Cain. 9th ed.
New York: Longman, 2010. 4040-14. Print
1.Yes.
2.Yes.
3.Yes
4.Yes
5.yes
6. This is good eassy.
7. yes
8. everything clearly.
9. yes
10. nothing need.
Peter Lam
English 1121
Professor Guida
Essay #2; Key Passage Exercise
10/10/12
“The “Red Death” had long devastated the country. No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or hideous. Blood was its Avatar and its seal – the redness and the horror of blood. There were sharp pains, and sudden dizziness, and then profuse bleeding at the pores, with dissolution. The scarlet stains upon the body and especially upon the face of the victim were the pest ban which shut him out from the aid and from the sympathy of his fellow-men. And the whole seizure, progress and termination of the disease, were the incidents of half an hour.”
The passage that I took was the introduction paragraph, I think it is important to understand it because it I stating that something is going to happen to an individual or many people at once. It says that the “Red Death” is something that is a great danger and it can never be stop unless everything that has seen, or touched it dies. The story described that the red death is very ugly and “hideous”; since it says “blood was its avatar and its seal” the red death must be thick bloody red / scarlet.
This section was taking from the story “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe. It was written in 2 different personas; 1st person and 3rd person. The story was taken place in a prince’s palace; he was planning to have a party at night with all the nobles around the area. The ball that the prince has hosted required that people are to dress up and have masks on; in other words it was a masquerade that the prince was hosting. Before all these events were happening the main character was the story which was the prince was setting things up for the party in his place. During that time there was nothing about the red death that was seem or spoken about. When the gathering has started, everyone was having fun. People were drinking, eating and there were entertainments. Until a certain time has arrived as the events starts happening.
Since a lot of nobles attended this festivity there has to be a lot of guards, and soldiers to guard them. When a certain time on the clock struck the Red death has appeared. Everyone froze, silence grew all over the room; it was like time was frozen. The Prince had ordered his guards to remove the Red death because he was making his way towards the prince slowly. On the 2nd to the last paragraph, death has “made his way uninterruptedly” therefore it must mean that the guards has been killed. When the prince tried to attack him, he was instantly killed from a “sharp cry”. At the end of the story it said that everyone in the party had died one by one and it dominated all of the people. To conclude I believe that Edgar Allan Poe had wrote the end of the story in the beginning that is why it is important to know the introduction passage.
Works Cited
Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Masque of the Red Death.” Literature for Composition. n.d. 207 – 211.
Melissa Vazquez
Prof. Guida
October 10,2012
Essay #2/ First Draft
“The Lesson” is a short story written by Toni Cade Bambara. The setting of this story is in New York City during the 1900’s. This story is about a lady, named Miss Moore, who puts it upon herself to educate the neighborhood children. One day she decides to take the children on a field trip to teach them about different social classes. The main characters of the story are Sylvia and her cousin Sugar.
The passage of the short story that indicates the turning point is line 43 through line 55. Line 43 says “ So me and Sugar turn the corner to where the entrance is, but when we get there I kinda hang back”. This is starting to show that Sylvia is feeling uncertain about going into the store because she knows that most things in the store are not in her budget. Also she begins to feel angry because she isn’t comfortable in the toy store. During these lines Miss Moore is watching the kids and observing their reactions. Also the kids are all looking at a sailboat that costs more than $1000 dollars and wondering who would even consider paying that much for a toy. At the end of the day Miss Moore asks the children what they thought of F.A.O Schwarz. Surprisingly Sugar says “I think that it is not much of a democracy if you ask me. Equal chance to pursue happiness means an equal crack at the dough don’t it?”. As Sugar speaks Sylvia is standing on her foot angry and trying to get Sugar to be quiet. This shows that Sylvia is still close minded and does not want to even listen to Sylvia or Miss Moore.
At the end of the story however Sylvia understands what Miss Moore was trying to teach her and the other children. She begins to understand that it isn’t fair that what one family might spend on a toy Is the same amount of money that can be used to feed a entire family meals for a whole year. As the short story closes Sylvia says that ain’t nobody gonna beat her at nuthin. When I read this I felt that Sylvia meant that nobody will stop her from pursuing her dreams .
1.Yes.
2.Yes.
3.Yes she explains certain phrases in the key passage she chose.
4.Yes she did quote from the text.
5.There is connection of the passage in the text.
6. Separating the intro and body would help the organization of this essay.
7.I could not distinguish the differences of the intro body and conclusion.
8. Everything is written clearly.
9.MLA format was not presented.
10. Adding an elaborate conclusion will help understand the points in this essay.
Linda J Lando
Essay #2 /First draft
October 7, 20212
“The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara is a short story set in New York City on a hot summer day. The speaker’s name is Sylvia and along with her friends they are spending the afternoon with a neighbor, Miss Moore. The neighbor’s intentions are to teach the children since she feels it is her duty to do so. The children and their parents feel obligated to these gatherings with Miss Moore.
Paragraph forty four of the story sums up the meaning of story. Sylvia and Sugar are on their way home from a day trip to FAO Schwartz with Ms. Moore and their other friends. Sylvia is recounting the cost of a “this tricky toy she saw in the store.” It is a toy clown that does somersaults and cost thirty-five dollars. The girls are joking around about what if they asked their mothers for the money to buy this toy, even as a birthday present.
Sylvia and Sugar know all too well what the outcome would be. Thirty-five dollars could buy new beds or pay the rent. The mother’s reactions is to see the hole in the girls head for asking for something so outrageous.
Questions start to arise. What kind of people can afford expensive toys? Like the thousand dollar toy sail boat they saw in the store. Where do they live and what do they do? The girls also want to know how come they don’t have that kind of money. Ms. Moore points out, “Where we are is who we are.” She also believes that poorer people have to speak up and take their share of the pie.
The summation of paragraph forty-four in“The Lesson” is twofold. One lesson is the value of money. The other lesson is the obligation to oneself to go and find “your share of the pie.”
Gloria Vaquiz
Professor Guida
English 1121
10 October 2012
“I’m not Romero, besides you don’t know about these things, m’ijo. Romero would be unhappy if his schedule was upset. Right now everyone likes him and takes care of him. He sweeps the sidewalks because he wants something to do, not because he wants money.” “I’ll pay him out of my money, don’t worry about it then.” “The money is not the point. The point is that money will not help Romero. Don t you understand that?”
This passage from “El Tonto del Barrio” written by Jose Armas is the key passage to understanding the story. Romero is “El Cottoro” of the town. Cottoro is a parrot; Romero was called that because he was known for whistling and singing random melodies throughout the day. Romero was well known through the barrio, he had a daily routine one in which is consisted of sweeping the dirt and garbage from the main street in the barrio. All the business owners were very grateful of this but they never offered Romero cash. Romero never asked for cash but the business owners made sure they took care of Romero’s need. In a way this was a form of repaying Romero for all his hard work he put into the community.
Seferino, Barelas son offered Romero 50 cents to sweep up the front of his father’s barber shop. As described in the passage Barelas explained to his son that this would be a bad idea. The son being a high school graduate (one of few in the barrio) explained to his father how it was unfair for Romero to keep doing all the hard work without being paid. Barelas although he strongly disagreed with his son could not change his mind. As the days went by Romero’s attitude quickly changed he only swept the front of the barber shop since that was the only business that was willing to pay and after a week or so asked Seferino for a raise. This highly disappointed Seferino and he decided to end the agreement they had. All in all Romero ended up going into bad habits and quit sweeping the barrio, he no longer sang and soon became a burden to the community. Barelas knew why all this was occurring and knew although his son made a nice gesture it was not taken so. Once Seferino headed to college everything went back to normal, Romero was singing again, he began sweeping up the streets and soon was welcomed back into the shops.
Lines 20-25 in this story is the key passage because it clearly explains that Romero was accustomed to his schedule, that everyone liked and took care of him and most importantly that he did not do it for the money. Romero was pleased to help the community out because he felt appreciated for the work he put in. Not only did the barrio take care of him they acknowledged him and looked after him. Once money was brought into the situation Romero began to change because he almost felt as if everyone was entitled to pay for his hard work. At one point he became quite selfish hence why he asked for a raise merely a week into his work. Overall the reasoning behind this story is to show how money can change the way of thinking. Although one is humble money can truly affect a community as a whole.
Armas, Jose. “El Tonto del Barrio.” Literature for Composition.
Ed. Barnet, Sylvan, William Burto, and William E. Cain. 9th ed.
New York: Longman, 2010. 638-43. Print
Stacey-Ann Yapp-Burke
English 1121
Professor George Guida
Essay 2: Key Passage
Due: 10/10/2012
The Lesson by Toni Cade Bambera
Paragrapgh 44:
Me and Sugar at the back of the train watchin the tracks whizzin by large then small then gettin gobbled up in the dark. I’m thinkin about this tricky toy I saw in the store. A clown that somersaults on a bar then does chin-ups just cause you yank lightly at his leg. Cost $35. I could see me askin my mother for a $35 birthday clown. “You wanna who that costs what?” she’d say, cocking her head to the side to get a better view of the hole in my head. Thirty-five dollars could buy new bunk beds for Junior and Gretchen’s boy. Thirty-five dollars and the whole household could go visit Grand-daddy Nelson in the country. Thirty-five dollars would pay for the rent and the piano bill too. Who are these people that spend that much for performing clowns and $1000 for toy sailboats? What kinda work they do and how they live and how come we ain’t in on it? Where we are is who we are, Miss Moore always pointin out. But it don’t necessarily have to be that way, she always adds then waits for somebody to say that poor people have to wake up and demand their share of the pie and don’t none of us know what kind of pie she talking about in the first damn place. But she ain’t so smart cause I still got her four dollars from the taxi and she sure ain’t gettin it Messin up my day with this shit. Sugar nudges me in my pocket and winks.
The “Me” in this passage is Sylvia The young lady whose point of view this story is told from. She is a stubborn young lady who has her own ideas about life and how it should be. She doesn’t really care for the lessons from Miss Moore; a college educated resident trying to give back by sharing her knowledge, especially with the young people of her community. As a matter of fact, Sylvia’s description of Miss Moore In the first paragraph as laughed at and “hated the way we did the winos who cluttered up our parks and pissed on our handball walls and stank up our hallways and stairs so you couldn’t halfway play hide-and-seek without a goddamn gas mask” as well as in this paragraph, “I says to Miss Moore though I never talk to her, I wouldn’t give the bitch that satisfaction” Her attitude towards Miss Moore throughout the story reflects her distaste for this lady.
Sylvia and Sugar are close friends as shown twice in this paragraph where they are depicted being together and like-minded “Me and Sugar at the back of the train” and thinking alike “Sugar nudges me in my pocket and winks.” Sylvia also describes her and Sugar as “the only ones just right.” It becomes more evident, however, as the story progresses that Sugar was much more open to change and learning new things. This did not sit well with Sylvia as shown in paragraph forty nine. “Then Sugar surprises me by sayin, “You know, Miss Moore, I don’t think all of us here put together eat in a year what that sailboat costs.” And Miss Moore lights up like somebody goosed her. “And?” she say, urging Sugar on. Only I’m standin on her foot so she don’t continue.”
Passage forty four sums up the entire story for me, as it is evident that Miss Moore was trying to open up the children’s minds so they knew and understood that there was much more out there beyond the boundaries of their community, a poor one, as made evident in paragraph four “And then she gets to the part about we all poor and live in the slums.” Miss Moore also wanted the children to see how the other side lived. By taking them to FAO Schwartz, a place they could identify with as children, she was able to get their interest, after much reluctance to participate. Even Sylvia, who wouldn’t say it out loud, began to think about a particular toy as described above, “I’m thinkin about this tricky toy I saw in the store.” This leads her to doing exactly what Miss Moore set out to achieve. She was thinking about the cost of the toy and the things her mother would do with that money, which were much more important than a silly toy. She and the other children also questioned about the kind of people who could afford such luxuries and why it was that everyone did not have those same privileges.
By the end of the story most of the children were excited about the things they had seen. They all seemed to have walked away with questions about money, the expensive toys and the people who could afford them. Sylvia, however, seemed to have been affected on a deeper level. Yes she would love to have one of those toys but she wanted more, as she stated in the last paragraph “She can run if she want to and even run faster. But ain’t nobody gonna beat me at nuthin.” She wanted to win, she wanted it all, the toy and the life and she as going to figure out the secret to achieving these things just the same way she figured out a way to get back at Miss Moore for dragging her out when she didn’t want to, “But she ain’t so smart cause I still got her four dollars from the taxi and she sure ain’t gettin it Messin up my day with this shit.”
Works Cited
Bambara, Toni Cade. “The Lesson.” Literature for Composition.
Ed. Barnet, Sylvan, William Burto, and William E. Cain. 9th ed.
New York: Longman, 2010. 638-43. Print
I enjoyed reading this essay draft, especially, “Ms Moore lights up like somebody goosed her”. Well written, all writing criteria met.
1.Yes.
2.Yes.
3.Yes
4.Yes
5.yes
6. This is good eassy.
7. yes
8. everything clearly.
9. yes
10. nothing need.
English 1121
Usman Rasool
Wed 1:00-2:15
“Me and Sugar at the back of the train watchin the tracks whizzin by large then small then gettin gobbled up in the dark. I’m thinkin about this tricky toy I saw in the store. A clown that somersaults on a bar then does chin-ups just cause you yank lightly at his leg. Cost $35. I could see me askin my mother for a $35 birthday clown. “You wanna who that costs what?” she’d say, cocking her head to the side to get a better view of the hole in my head. Thirty-five dollars could buy new bunk beds for Junior and Gretchen’s boy. Thirty-five dollars and the whole household could go visit Grand-daddy Nelson in the country. Thirty-five dollars would pay for the rent and the piano bill too. Who are these people that spend that much for performing clowns and $1000 for toy sailboats? What kinda work they do and how they live and how come we ain’t in on it? Where we are is who we are, Miss Moore always pointin out. But it don’t necessarily have to be that way, she always adds then waits for somebody to say that poor people have to wake up and demand their share of the pie and don’t none of us know what kind of pie she talking about in the first damn place. But she ain’t so smart cause I still got her four dollars from the taxi and she sure ain’t gettin it Messin up my day with this shit. Sugar nudges me in my pocket and winks.”
This passage from “The Lesson,” by Toni Cade Barbara is the key passage to the understanding of the story. This passage is where Sylvia reluctantly starts to learn Miss Moore’s lesson. Miss Moore is trying to teach Sylvia as well as her community the importance of demanding “their share of the pie.” She tries to teach them to demand their fair share of the wealth and she does this by showing the children how much the toys cost for the rich.
Sylvia describes, “A clown that somersaults on a bar then does chin-ups just cause you yank lightly at his leg. Cost $35.” She then goes on to show her amazement at the price tag. She lists many other more practical uses for the $35 such as rent money or travel money. She’s dumbfounded at the type of people that could actually afford to pay for such luxuries. She has no idea what type of work those people do and wonders, “how come we ain’t in on it?”
Sylvia realizes that no one in her community even knew what they were missing out on. She realized that it was ignorance that had lead them to be happy and continue to lead their lives in the way that they did. Earlier in the story when Miss Moore had said that Sylvia’s community was poor and lived in the slums, Sylvia was about to argue because she was ignorant of the financial situation that her community was in.
After this passage, later in the story at the end, Sugar also comes to realize Miss Moore’s lesson. She realizes that the toy boat cost more than all their food bills for a year. Sugar feels that it their society isn’t much of a democracy, as Miss Moore had been trying to teach them all along. Whereas Sugar learned this lesson without anger, Sylvia refuses to acknowledge Miss Moore’s lesson. But, by the end of the story Sylvia resolves that no one would ever get the best of her, and that she would succeed.
I think this essay draft is well written. My suggestion is the last paragraph should just be a conclusion, convincing the reader why this passage is key to the story. I could have done that too.
I agree with Llando with the conclusion. But it’s a well written conclusion.
Linda,
While this is good advice, can you make any other suggestions?–about organization? about the use of evidence?
Wow, this was a really good draft. It makes you realize what you have and that you shouldn’t take it for granted. There are people out there who struggle to make ends meet, while there are people who can spend (for some people) a fortune on novelty items. As for the writing criteria, you seem to fulfill all of them.
Melody Cabalda
8 October 2012
“The Lesson”
Essay #2 Key Passage Essay
Some short stories present a great lesson about life, society and the difference in human kind. One short story in particular that shows a lesson in society is “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara. The book is about a group of kids getting exposed to a different life style, a life style so different from theirs that they are having a difficult time understanding it. The story begins with a field trip with Miss Moore to the toy store FAO Schwarz on 5th Avenue. It seems that the children have never been to 5th avenue let alone FAO Schwarz. They immediately began to notice that the place is very different and unfamiliar. As the kids look around the store from the outside, they started to see different toys on display and realize how ridiculously expensive these toys are and that never in their life time will they ever be able to afford any of these toys and also wondered what kind of people would spend so much money on a toy, money that to them could feed an entire family.
As I continued to read the story, I slowly started to understand what the lesson of the story was about. One paragraph in particular stood out. In the middle of paragraph forty where the children were told to go inside the store to look around. Sylvia resisted going inside, she felt afraid, funny and ashamed, “ But when we get there I kinda hang back. Not that I’m scared, what’s there to be afraid of, just a toy store. But I feel funny, shame. But what I got to be shamed about? Got as much right to go in as anybody.” I felt that this part of the paragraph represents so much of the story, the difference in people’s life style and social status and how it makes other people feel. Sylvia felt like she does not belong there nor has right to be there. I believe this is where the lesson of this story begins. The children are exposed to a different world and realizes how different this world is from theirs and how unfair life could be, seeing that there are people who would actually spend this kind of money on a toy, knowing that that much money would go a long way in their lives.
Exposure was Miss Moore’s way of teaching these children an important lesson in life and perhaps motivate them to strive for more, which I think was accomplished when Sugar said at the end the lesson she learn from the trip, which was that”..this is not much of a democracy if you ask me. Equal chance to pursue happiness means an equal crack at the dough…” Sugar realizes how cruel and unfair life is and feels that it should be fair for everyone since we are all pursuing the same thing, happiness. Also when Sylvia said “ But ain’t nobody gonna beat me at nuthin.” I think that phrase meant so much to the story and really says a lot about what Sylvia learn from this trip. It’s her way of saying that she will strive for more now that she knows there is more out there.
Prof the time on my essay post says 2:42p it is currently 12:08p and it was posted over an hour ago. I just wanted to make sure it isn’t marked late. thanks!
1) Melody chose a passage that she claims is the key to understanding the whole story.
2) She does back her claim with an explanation of her thesis however I think there was much more evidence that she could have used.
3) Not many supporting points
4) Melody uses evidence and expanation to support her claim about the key passage, but once again she could have used more.
5)The key passage is connected to other places in the text
6) The opening of the paper was beautifully done, however I think Melody could have broken it down into more paragraphs, and use more quotes and evidence fro the story to flesh it out.
7)Each paragraph makes a single point and the sentences contribute to making this point, there isn’t alot of evidence, however to back these points
8)All sentences are clearly written
9) There is no works cited
10)Havng read the story I think melody did an excellent job of interpretting it. However as I stated before that there was much more evidence that coul have been offered to back up her thesis
Stacey,
These are helpful comments, but can you point to specific places in the draft, to illustrate each of them?
Drake Li
ENG 1121-5465
Professor Guida
October 10, 2012
Essay #2
Key Passage
A Rose for Emily
“When her father died, it got about that the house was all that was left to her; and in a way, people were glad. At least they could pity Miss Emily. Being left alone, and a pauper, she had become humanized. Now she too would know the old thrill and the old despair of a penny more or less.”
I chose this paragraph from “A Rose for Emily” because how I interpreted it was that the entire community viewed Emily as self-centered due to her father’s wealth. I personally don’t think you should judge someone by their wealth, but by their actions. In the story, Emily for the most part of her life stayed home and had no human interaction other than her servant which baffles me as to how they can judge someone they don’t know. For all we know, Emily is sick and has social anxiety which is why she doesn’t leave the house. Instead of helping Emily cope with her father’s death, they are instead, happy. They are happy that she is lonely, they are happy that she is poor, and they are happy that she can finally realize the value of money. The town seems to have a proprietary relationship with her, but they do not seem to want to help her get better. Instead of helping her cope with the loss of her father, they gossiped about her. Personally, if someone like Emily’s father had helped me from my failing business, I would look out for Emily as I would be indebted to her father. In a way, I feel that the town was jealous because she was born into a wealthy family, which is why when her father died and she was left with no money, the town was happy because Emily would now know what it’s like to be a “regular” human being. It never struck me that she was any other different than anyone else. She may have been introverted and was lonely. All she had was her father, and when he finally died, I think that is when she started to display eccentric behavior. When Homer enters her life, she starts to leave the house more often which I’d say is a healthy change. But since Homer is a day laborer and also a northerner, their relationship was frowned upon. When the townspeople started meddling with the relationship, I think that is when Emily feared that Homer would leave, which is why she decides to purchase arsenic and poisons Homer. She keeps his body in the upstairs bedroom and keeps her fantasy of marital bliss permanently intact. If people had treated her differently (in a good way), I don’t think Emily would have turned out to be like that. It all seems to boil down to the loss of her father, how the community saw that she was sick but did nothing to aid her, and their constant gossiping of her. It was the townspeople that were self-centered, not Emily. If it weren’t for their choice of actions, I think Emily could’ve ended up better.
1. yes the author chose a passage that he thinks is a key to understanding the story.
2. I believe that you made it clear how the passage you chose links with the entire story, especially towards the end of your essay.
3. I think that you explained your point in the essay well but I don’t see enough links to other part of the story to support your point.
4. I did not really see you quote the story at all in your essay.
5. I do not see you next to other places in the story to support your essay.
6. I think the essay is organized well.
7. yes.
8. no
9. Unable to determine MLA format since it is not a print out.
10. My suggestions: Need for quotations from the story, followed by an explanation of the quote.
1.Yes.
2.Yes.
3.Yes
4.Yes
5.yes
6. This is good eassy.
7. yes
8. everything clearly.
9. work citedwas not presented.
10. Need MLA format.
Jeong Cheol,
You need to offer specific advice on specific parts of the essay, in response to these questions, at least to some of them. One-word answers are not very helpful to the author.
Linda J Lando
Eng 1121/5465
Essay #2 Key Passages
“A good man is hard to find”
The story “A Good Man is hard to Find” can be called the road trip that went wrong. The author, Flannery O’Connor is not the speaker. The story is narrated in the third person. The characters are Grandmother, her son Bailey and his family. The other characters are Bailey’s wife and their three children, John Wesley, June Star and the baby. The Misfit and his two men are the remaining characters. The grandmother is a nag who happened to be meticulously dressed. Bailey’s kids seem out of control and obnoxious. The setting for the story is a car trip all the family members are taking together.
I have chosen a passage that sums up what the entire story is about. The passage begins with Grandmother deciding not to mention that the house was in Tennessee. She has just made the biggest mistake, but decides to keep it to herself. She always has too much to say and, it gets her into trouble. Grandmother dramatically waves down the Misfit and his two men for help after the family’s car accident. The dramatically waving of her arms shows one of many times grandmother attempts to get someone’s attention in the story. She tries to have an audience around all the time. She is always talking, a bit too much. The story begins with Bailey announcing the family would be taking a road trip to Florida. Grandmother cannot keep quiet. She carries on and on with all the reasons they should not go there. She again talks too much to the Misfit when her life is in jeopardy after he has just killed her family.
1. I’m not really sure exactly which passage you chose. Did you choose paragraph 63 “It’s not much further,” the grandmother said and just as she said it……?
2. It’s unclear to me how the passage sheds to the entire story.
3. No supporting points from other paragraphs.
4. same as #3
5. Some connections are made regarding the Grandmothers behavior.
10. I think it would help explain your passage if the essay was longer and have more evidence to support how the passage you chose is significant to the entire story.
I posted this in error. Scroll up to find the correct post.
1)Linda says there is a key passage, However, it is not clear which one it is.
2)Due to the fact that the passage of choice is unclear it is hard to figure whether it is relevant to thesis.does not
3)Linda tries to support the idea that grandmother craved attention but this was not backed up by much evidence.
4)There is no key passage to connect anything to
5)There is no key passage
6)Two paragraphs which really only summarized the story to some extent.
7) The essay is broken down into two pargraphs. Not enough points, explanations or topics as a matter of fact.
8)Her sentences were clear
9)No MLA formatting
10) Linda basically did a summary of the story. Rather than choosing a point, an idea, or even a question that the story may have provoked and then backing it up by first choosing a key passage which summed this thesis up, and supporting it with evidnce from the rest of the story
I posted this in error. Scroll up to find the correct post.
English 1121
Usman Rasool
“A Rose for Emily” reveals that people in southern society gossiped a lot and generally knew everything about each other. It also revealed that people in southern society were very judgmental of each other. The narrator reveals all these personal details about Miss Emily that he/she only knew because of all the gossip such as who she was going to marry. Even when Miss Emily died all the women wanted to do was go see what was inside her house because the negro who took care of wouldn’t talk(gossip). “A Rose for Emily” really reveals the negativity in southern society.
“A Rose for Emily” focuses also on a foul smell coming from her house, the use of lime by city officials to neutralize it, the insanity that runs in Emily’s family, her father’s refusal to allow young men to call on her, and the death and burial of her father.
Drake Li
ENG 1121
Professor Guida
September 24th 2012 Assignment – Late
Poem: A Good Man is Hard to Find.
1) The story is told through a third person narration.
2) The characters that are involved in the exposition of the passage are, the grandmother, Bailey, the kids, and also the Misfit.
3) In the story, there is one word that stands out to me. Aloose. It is a word that you used to hear in the South that meant a criminal has escaped from prison, and this is where the Misfit is “aloose” from the Federal Pen and headed towards Florida.
4) One allusion that seemed important was when they talked about Tennessee. The grandmother, Bailey, the wife and kids were planning to travel to Florida, but they could have went to Tennessee instead.
5) This passage connects the other key passages in the story because the Misfit murders people without cause.
Drake,
What’s the significance of Tennessee as a place? Or of the plantation the grandmother is looking for?
This story “A Rose for Emily” written by “William Faulkner” takes place in late 1800’s and in early 1900’s when the societies were divided by the race and class system. The story is told by the third person. Miss Emily Grierson is the main character in the whole story. Her father was one of the richest person of the town and had alot of respect in the town. After the death of her father she was not in very good situation because her father left a house for her but not much money and nobody knew this. Nobody has been to Emily’s house for several years. She also has an affair with Homer Barron, to who people thought Emily is going to marry but he left the town. Emily got ill and later she died. When she deid a lot of people from the town came to her funeral. After they buried Emily they went inside the house where nobody has beed for many years. It doesn’t shows the condolence but the jealousy. After reading the story I found that the people of the society are not very freindly and everybody seem busy in their own business.
It looks like a small town where everyone knows each other. It said the whole town went to her funeral and it seems to be told by somebody from the town who went to Emily’s funeral. it may be because her father was rich or maybe it was because she did not have a husband that they pitied her but they seem to be easy with her. An example is when she was talking to the city authorities about her taxes. All she really said was she has no taxes and they basically left her alone after that.
This story is narrated through a third person’s point of view. The story is told from the townspeople. The setting takes place in the late 1800’s. Emily was wealthy because her father was one of the wealthiest men in town. Due to this many people admired Emily. However when Emily’s father died the people of the town pitied her. Also most of the time people seem to only assume things about Emily and they don’t take time to care for her or check up on her.
A Rose for Emily written by William Faulkner was written during the late 18th and early 19th century. During this time in southern united states slavery existed. Throughout the story the word “nigger” is constantly thrown around, this allows you to understand the mentality of the southerners during that time period. The creation of a postal services and the creation of side walks in the story goes to show that this time period involved the forming of a more civilized and organized town. The society and members of the town believed that Emily should have been married, especially since her father had passed. One of the main reasons the taxes of the town were exempt to her was because there was no man present in the household. Back in the days it was an uncommon situation to see. Therefore the members of the town critiqued her. Emily though as the time passed and things around the town quickly changed stayed firmly attached to the past.
I like how you paid attention to small details of the story about the creations of postal services and the side walks and how it makes a difference in understanding the story where I didn’t pay much attention to.
The society in which this story is set, it’s a very conservative and traditional one. Slavery still existed, and the race difference really affected the way whites and blacks lived back then. Blacks were not taken in consideration for anything, they had no rights. Also the socioeconomic classes were a big denominator, and people were really differentiated by them. The town was constituted by people who lived just to cover the outside imperfections in order not to be “the talk of the town” since as any other small town, everyone knows everyone’s business. People in this type of society are not genuine, they are hypocrites because they never really show themselves as they are.
Agreed, this story does take place in a very conservative time, which probably why they critiqued Emily for not being married. And clearly the status of your economic value did co exist amongst the town.
The society in which this story is set, it’s a very conservative and traditional one. Slavery still existed, and the race difference really affected the way whites and blacks lived back then. Blacks were not taken in consideration for anything, they had no rights. Also the socioeconomic classes were a big denominator, and people were really differentiated by them. The town was constituted by people who lived just to cover the outside imperfections in order not to be “the talk of the town” since as any other small town, everyone knows everyone’s business. People in this type of society are not genuine, they are hypocrites because they never really show themselves as they are.
Professor the time of the posting it’s wrong. It is now 11:02 PM
I agree that people are being hypocritical. They did nothing but talk about her but could not do anything in front oh her.
Drake Li
ENG 1121
Professor Guida
In one or two paragraphs, write what you think “A Rose for Emily” reveals about the society of the American South during the time in which the story is set.
The story takes place during the late 1800’s into the early 1900’s. Although slavery was ended through the Emancipation Proclamation, there was still segregation in the south. Not only racially but socially. There were three tiers, lower, middle, and upper. Emily, who is the person that this story is mainly focused on, was considered upper class. She lived in a fancy house with cupolas and spires that was left to her when her father had passed away. The town seems to be of a low population as everyone seems to know each other but doesn’t get in the way of each other’s personal life. Although Miss Emily wasn’t doing well, they did nothing to help her. All the community did was gossip about her, and try to intervene with her relationship with Homer by calling in Emily’s cousin. When her death eventually comes, the townspeople show up to her funeral. They show up not out of sympathy, but curiosity. Once she is buried, they head to a certain room in the house that apparently no one had seen in forty years. I feel that the southern society at the time was selfish. They sought you out for help but when you are in need of help, they turn the other way. Even though her father has helped the town to keep its businesses running, they did not return the favor by looking out for his daughter when he passed away.
I agree with you that people are selfish in this society and no one was willing to help her.
“A Rose for Emily” paints a picture of the American South in 1930 where men regarded women in chivalrous manner, and people placed on a pedestal were guarded with a hedge of respect. After Emily’s father died, the leaders of the town worked to keep her provided for since there was no husband to do so. When the younger man of the Board of Aldermen made a suggestion to tell Emily to deal with the smell, the older men chastised him for a lack of respect towards a lady. Emily was granted this respect because the community had placed her on a pedestal. It was because of this that the community refrained from pitying her or tiptoed around issues concerning her out loud, although this courtesy did not extend to their personal thoughts. What people truly thought of Emily was spoken in whispers.
I agree with your opinion. No one really spoke the truth directly to someone’s face.
People seemed like they feared her and did not really like her. I agree with what you said but I think they did pity her but didn’t really care much to do anything about it.
Kim,
A white Southerner of the era might have understood the code you describe as a kind of chivalry reflecting the values of the feudal society that the South was into the twentieth century. Others have understood the code as something far more sinister and destructive to the people who were not at the top of the social totem pole.
The setting of the story took place during the late 1800’s and the early 1900’s in southern US when slavery was a big thing. The story mostly concerns Ms.Emily. Also during this time people were separated into classes which were upper class middle class and lower class. Ms. Emily Grierson was in the upper class and was one of the richest people in town. The people of the American South society had a great deal of respect for Emily and her father but after he had died, they were now looking up to her. The expectations they had for Emily were very high. But the people not knowing that Ms.Emily was in a bad situation because they were too minding other people and caring about everything around them that they were blinded to see Ms.Emily Situation.
I agree with your description on Emily, but I think the people around her paid a lot of attention to her. The ladies that walk around would talk about her status and pity her on the current situation that she is in.
Interesting assessment. I think the people had certain expectations of Emily, and when she didn’t reach those expectations they just forgot about her. No one made the effort to truly get to know her; she was merely a relic from an early time.
Taiwo,
Whether or not the were blind or chose not to see her situation is a real question in the story? What does it mean that they don’t see?
I noticed that the story was being told from the point of view of the people around Emily, the community. The people seem to not like Emily and was only dealing with her due to her family’s reputation in the community. They were rich and people respected them. But after her father died, Emily was left alone and was left with nothing but the house. The people seemed to be glad that she was poor and that they can pity her at last and she can be seen as one of them. People had many complaints with Emily but were unable to get through her. I noticed that the community did nothing just assume things, no one took the time to help her, instead they just left her alone. The end reveled an unexpected conclusion of the life Emily was living.
I actually agree with you, about how the people didn’t seem to like Emily. They knew that she wasn’t doing well, but didn’t do anything to help. Instead, they just gossiped about her amongst themselves.
Melody,
You make an astute observation about the story’s point of view. The narrator is in fact a member of the town and appears to speak for the community. Do you see the attitude toward Emily in his voice change as the story goes along?
The story took place in the time where slavery still exist. People were separated into different classes and Miss Emily is the upper class. Her family was rich and they lived in a nice house and they have a manservant. It seems to me that they lived in a small society where everyone knows everybody, or at least they all know the rich people. The people all care about others around them but they were only curious about others business but not care enough to help because they all know what Miss Emily was in a bad situation. People complained about the smell that was bothering them but they wouldn’t do anything to help her get better.
Di,
In fact the story is set in the period after the Civil War ended slavery in 1865. The early part of the post-Civil War era was known as Reconstruction, when the U. S. Government attempted to restructure the social organization of the South through government policy and the enfranchisement of all people of the South, including Black people, some of whom were elected to Congress during this roughly fifteen-year period. The South then slid back into a stratified and segregated social arrangement called Jim Crow, which lasted largely intact through the 1950s. Miss Emily lives from just before the War to the 1920s. Faulkner himself lived from 1899 to 1962.
Discussion Question about “A Rose for Emily”
The setting for the story is the Southern U.S. during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is written by a southerner, William Faulkner who lived during the same period as the story. Perhaps he knew this world too well. The main character Emily is living in a society that is so different than ours today. Her domestic help is described as a negro manservant and other black men are referred to as niggers in the story. Emily believed she did not have to pay her taxes. She was able to buy poison from the druggist, without answering why she needed it.
“A Rose for Emily” takes place more than thirty years after the Civil War. The black men in the story live in a very segregated world. They are also part of two distinct classes of people and belong to the lower class. Emily belongs to the upper class. She does not answer the druggist questions because she is a member of the upper class. The druggist has a lower class member deliver the arsenic because he belongs to the upper class too. Emily is also a woman of privilege. She lives the privileged life, has a servant, probably a freed slave. Emily does not have to go to work to pay her bills.
Miss Emily’s upperclass stature and attitude was proof that she was totally in denial, her family’s money and pull in society was long gone. Just like the circumstances sorrounding Barron’s death where it was quite obvious that for a long time she was sleeping with the corpse. She knew that everyone thought she had gone crazy and rather than agreeing or denying, she became reclusive giving noone reason to talk to or argue with her as a matter of fact.
Linda,
In fact Faulkner lived nearly all his life in Oxford, Mississippi. He knew this kind of society very well. All of his fiction takes place in the fictional country of Yoknapatawpha, Mississippi, most of it during the Jim Crow years.
This story took place back in the late 1800s to early 1900s, a time when slavery was popular. They mentioned the fact the postal service was just being introduced, they traveled in a buggy being pulled by a horse and they also mention the cotton farm. The story’s based on Emily Grierson of the Grierson family. The Grierson family was one of the richer families of the town they resided. When Emily’s father was alive he loaned money to the town to keep its businesses up and running. Because of this the people of this American South society had a great deal of respect for Emily even after her father had died, they placed her on a petal stool, looking up to her. The expectations they had for Emily were very high. When she no longer lived up to their expectation they were very disappointed, even said that is she was to commit suicide that would be what was best for her. This seemed to be a close knit society with very high standards and a great amount of dignity. They felt that everyone in the town should live by those same standards and when they didn’t they turned their noses up and went their separate ways not even lending a helping hand to a fellow member of the society that they once respected.
I don’t even think the town folk really respected Miss Emily. I think that because Miss Emily and her family lived their lives, with their nosed turned up at everyone, much was expected of them. However, Miss Emily’s high horse riding days would only last as long as her father was alive. And then she was fair game to everyone’s ridicule, which was hidden behind feigned concern.
i agree the view Emily as her father and they were hoping that she was going to be able to do as her father did but not knowing that it is putting a great deal of pressure on her.
I agree with your view on how everyone thinks Ms. Emily should be as great as his father and she should be able be like him. And I also agree with your understanding on how the society works in the story.
Just what I was thinking of the community.
This story allows you to understand how the times were during the 18th and 19th century. The use if the buggy is a great example of that as well as the introduction of the postal services.
Definitely, they assumed Emily would continue on the legacy but when they found out otherwise, they started to change their view towards her. It seems like they only interacted with her father because they wanted something out of him, and it was money. Once there was none left, they turned the other way.
Shantel,
You’ve noticed something here that may be a part of every American society: that is, the tendency to put prominent people on a pedestal, in part for the pleasure of seeing them knocked off the pedestal. How does the narrator’s telling of the story reflect how the community might feel about her at the time of her funeral and after?
Stacey-Ann Yapp-Burke
English 1121
Professor Guida
Due: 10/1/2012
A Rose for Emily
The first thing I recognized about the time in which this story was set was the description of Miss Emily’s house, that it was, “in the heavily lightsome style of the seventies.” This led me to believe that the story was set over a period between the late 1800s, maybe 1870s to the early 1900s. Other things that alerted me to the time period was the description of the time that Miss Emily refused to have a number put on her house for postal deliveries and also the fact that she and Homer Baron rode on a horse and buggy around town, “with his hat cocked and a cigar in his teeth, reins and whip in a yellow glove.” There was also a wink at racism in the way Miss Emily’s manservant was described as the “negro,” and Homer Baron the Yankee northerner who “came with niggers and mules and machinery.” This suggested that blacks, at that time, were still second class citizens to people in this region.
Based on the story there seems to have been a disjointed sense of community in the South. Disjointed because it was quite obvious throughout the story that everyone knew that something was wrong at Miss Emily’s house, yet no one was ever strong, willing or persistent enough to confront her and hold her accountable. A sense of community because early on in the story it was revealed that one of the Mayors of that city had granted Miss Emily a pass on paying her taxes. There was also a lot of gossiping and jealousy. The use of the word “tableau” and “noblesse oblige,” to describe Miss Emily and her family, suggested that they held themselves in high regard, apart from the rest of the community; And they were held to that standard While everyone was peeking through their windows and whispering behind closed doors, they really wanted Miss Emily to be more like the common folks as suggested in the passage “and in a way, people were glad. At last they could pity Miss Emily. Being left alone, and a pauper, she had become humanized. Finally everyone’s reason for attending Miss Emily’s funeral was not to offer condolences as much as it as to finally be able to confirm all their speculations. All of this gave me a sense that everything except their blatant racism was a façade, a veil that hid deep seeded jealousy, and the need to see another person self-destruct. Almost like our obsession today with reality television.
The description is crystal clear. Racism is rampant. All the nosey neighbors who knew she was not doing well and did nothing. They came and looked around when she was dead.
I agree, racism and class distinctions were the ones that ruled the town. I don’t think that people genuinely cared about each other.
i agree with you, people of the town are very irresponsible ,nobody care how someone is living…
Stacey,
Setting is vital to this story. You’ve paid careful attention to it here, and to the detail of the community and their attitude. This all makes great sense. Yes, this is the Jim Crow South, so a rigid hierarchy and racism were a part of the picture you see in the Faulkner’s story.
Peter Lam
10/1/12, 9:50 am
Discussion Question:
In one or two paragraphs, write what you think “A Rose for Emily” reveals about the society of the American South during the time in which the story is set.
During the time where the story is set, people were separated in classes. There were the upper class, and the lower class. Some of the people had manservant or slave. From what I read in the story, it seems like the rich had to pay taxes every month. When the father of the main character died; Ms. Emily, she was in denial and went a bit crazy. The upper class ladies that usually walk around the streets together would also be gossiping a lot saying “Poor Ms. Emily” like they are showing their pity her for loss of someone close or her craziness. In society there are rich people would use others for their own needs, like Homer Barron. Overall I think the society isn’t as moral as it seems due to the events that have been told in the story.
The discussion question is as answered at the end of your comment. The society in the story is immoral.
Peter,
Questions of class and morality (or seeming morality) are central to the story and to Southern society of that era. Good observations.
Story: A good man is hard to find
1- The story is narrated by a third person
2- * Grandmother, a very talkative lady who drove the whole family into death without really wanting to do so.
* Father: Bailey, he barely talks but when he does he is always in a bad mood.
* Mother: practically absent in all the conversations
* Kids: they know no boundaries, for instance they seem to be very disrespectful.
* “Misfit”: this character had a lot of issues within himself that drove him to commit all those crimes.
3- “It wouldnt take my children in any direction with a criminal, like that aloose in it. I couldnt answer to my conscience if i did” this was said by the grandmother in the beginning of the story. To me this statement is relevant to the whole story because, without wanting or knowing it was the grandmother who provoked the accident which lead to unfortunate meeting.
4- There are various allussions to the bible and religion through out the story. Such as “Jesus was the only one that ever raised the dead” when the misfit said this phrase the grandmother understood that the whole family was dead.
5- In evry story all passages are connected. In this story the passage in the beginning connects the whole story. It even ties the beginning directly to the end with the grandmother’s statement.
Ana,
Who do you think the third person doing the narration is?
1. It is told by third person point of view
2. The characters involved are the grandmother and the Misfit. The grandmother is a religious person and she prays to Jesus to save her life. It reveals the true personality of the Misfit as a cold blooded killer and that he has a twisted mind.
3. “The Misfit’s eyes were red-rimmed and pale and defenseless-looking.” this sentence tells me that who this person really is. His eyes are red-rimmed from the blood of all the people he killed and pale because he is cold blooded.
4. When the Misfit made his first appearance, he had glasses on and he had a scholarly look, but after he took off the glasses he looked like a different person.
5. The passage reveals how the Misfit is a cold blooded killer and he kills other people for no reason.
Di,
Are there any allusions to things outside of the story here?
James Thurber
The secret life of Walter Mitty
1)It is in the view of someone looking in on Mittys life.
2)it is about walter mitty and his wife.
3)the flashbacks are important. he keeps thinkg of a war he was in.
4)it talks about a commander and sergent.it seems like he has flashbacks.
5)it helps to relize that he keeps thinking about the past.
Michael,
As in an essay, you need to discuss specific language of a passage in this response.
Key Passage Exercise (9/24/12; 11:55pm)
Reading: The Cask of Amontillado
Passage: Paragraphs 1 and 2, Paragraph 3-lines 1 and 2
1) The passage is in the first person view.
2) The narrator and Fortunato, the narrator’s friend. The passage tells us that Fortunato has no problem ridiculing the narrator and that the narrator has had enough.
3) “I must not only punish, but punish with impunity.”-Impunity is the exemption from punishment, which implies the narrator will punish Fortunato without facing any reprecussions himself.
“…he did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of his immolation.”-Immolation is the state of being killed or offered in sacrifice, which reveals the narrator’s plan for Fortunato’s demise.
4) Later in the story, there are references to the masons and Amontillado. Further research offers the reader insight as to why Amontillado is so important (so the narrator can lure Fortunato in) and the occupation of the masons (foreshadowing how the narrator traps Fortuanto).
5) This passage connects with the other key passages of the story and the story as a whole by setting the stage for the plot. It explains the narrator’s motives for revenge and foreshadows how he plans to take advantage of Fortuanto’s weakness. The passage lays out the setting for the rest of the story to take off.
Kim,
Brava! You’ve done your homework. I’m glad to see your looking up “immolation” and the significance of Amontillado. Vocabulary and allusions matter a lot in writing.
Peter Lam
9/24/12
Key Passage Exercise
Poem: A Poison Tree
1.) It was written in a First Person Point of view
2) There are about 3 characters, One is the narrator, second is the friend, and the last one is the foe or enemy. The Narrator is angry with his/her friends and foe.
3) “I was angry with my foe; I told not, my wrath did grow. And I watered it in fears, Night and morning with my tears: And I sunned it with smiles, and with soft deceitful wiles.” The Narrator is angry at his foe or enemy but he did not say anything. He/She is also scared of watering a certain plant. But while taking care of that plant the narrator is crying morning and night time, smiled down on it, and had misleading cries. Since the title was A Poison tree, when the story said something about watering a plant and having a foe, it lead me to think that, the narrator is going to do something to the person he doesn’t like.
4) Phrases like angry at a foe with their wrath growing, and watering a planet is abnormal emotions/actions would be the important points in the story. The speaker is definitely up to something not good to take care of his “foe”
5) During the first stanza he said he was angry with a friend; told his/her wrath, and it ended. But when it was to a foe, he/she told not and the wrath grew; meaning there a lot of hatred that is building up. When watering a plant with such abnormal emotions there is definitely something that is up with the narrator. These connections is similar to a cause and effect. When the narrator was getting more angry he/she was growing a plant with weird emotions/ actions along with it. Meaning that something is bound to happen to the disliked character in the end of the story.
I agree with Stacey, therefore I’m also going to write the time that I have posted up my assignment
Date Completed: 9/24/12
Time Completed: 8:54 PM
On the 4th stanza, the first sentence is plant with**
Peter,
This is a keen analysis of the Blake poem, but the assignment here was to address a story (not a poem) in the reading for September 24th.
Stacey-Ann Yapp- Burke
English 1121
Professor Guida
Due: 9/24/2012
The Judgment of Solomon
The story was written from the point of view of a person observing the events involving two women, depicted as harlots, who appeared in King Solomon’s court to settle a dispute. This dispute was about one woman, accusing the next of taking her child, when the latter’s own child died. The fact that they were seen as harlots already made them less than credible. The king had no idea who to believe, as there was no evidence or witness to prove either women wrong. Therefore, he devised a plan to find out the truth. He suggested that the living baby be split in two, this brought out the truth in the woman who showed compassion and was willing to give up her own child to keep him alive, and the other who was willing to have the child killed to prove her point. King Solomon decided that the woman who wanted to save the child was telling the truth. This story was just one more of many that proved the wisdom of the man, known as the wisest king.
Professor I’m not sure if you are aware but I just noticed that the time on this website is off. I posted my blog at 8:18 pm 9/24/2012 however it is showing up as 12:18 am on the 25th. I hope this does not affect my grade.
Stacey,
This is a neat summary of the story of Solomon, but it is not the kind of response the questions posted for September 24th asked for. Take another look at those.
You do, of course, address point of view, but from there, you move to more or less straight summary.
Shantel Brown
Incident (pg 666)
1). The point of view of this poem is the man that experienced an incident of racial discrimination as a young child.
2). In this poem the characters are the speaker as a young boy, and another young boy. This poem tells us that the young boy that endured racial discrimination is very upset and insulted by being called a nigger.
3). The word whit in the poem means: a particle; bit; (used especially in negative phrases). This word was used to express the anger being voiced from the speaker.
4). The word nigger when being referenced to the young black boy brings the poem together and introduces the underline meaning so its very important to the poem.
5). This word connects with other parts of the poem because it explains the other boys behavior towards the black boy.
Shantel,
While all the questions posted for September 24th could apply to poems, the assignment here was to write about a story, not a poem, and particularly a story from the week’s reading. Please take a look at the questions again, and take a look at the class schedule, to make sure you’ve got it straight.
1) The Misfit and the Grandmother.
2) The characters are the Grandmother and the killer. The Grandmother is trying to understand why this man is the way he is and at the same time trying to save herself by talking about Jesus and beliefs. The killer or The Misfit is does not believe in Jesus or that he exist but yet blaming Jesus for doing the things he does and explains that he kills or does harm for no reason at all.
3)I feel that this passage shows us that the Misfit kills for no reason at all and that killing is an enjoyment to him. This relevant to the rest of the story because it gives us somewhat of an understanding of his actions and his lack of religious belief, since religious as an important dialogue between the Grandmother and the Misfit.
4) The Grandmother and her references to the past, how she constantly compares the present with how it was for her back in the day.
5) The passage I choice tied the entire story together, it gives it’s the shocking ending and answers questions you as a reader would have as you read along, such as why the Misfit does what he does.
Melody,
Your response to #4 raises a lot of questions. What is the past to which the grandmother refers? What do we know about it? And what do we know about her from the way she describes it?
Linda J Lando
Key Passage Excercise
“A Good Man is Hard to Find”
September 24, 2012
1) The story is told in the 3rd person.
2) The characters involved are the grandmother, her son Bailey, his wife and their baby. Also The Misfit.
3)The use of the word aloose is significant. First it reveals the story took place a long time ago since that word is not used today. The meaning of aloose is to break away from. The Fed Pen is the Federal Penitentiary and the Misfit has escaped from there. The Misfit is “headed toward Florida,” the same direction as the grandmother, her son and his family are planning to travel.
4) The reference to east Tennessee is important in the story. It signifies the family can go there instead of Florida. “The children have been to Florida, before,” the grandmother says.
5) This passage connects with the last passage in the story. The family meets The Misfit and he kills all of them. Well, except the cat.
Linda,
You say a lot about the setting in your responses. In what ways is the setting of this story especially relevant to what it has to say?
The car ride is the setting and I would compare it to our journey through life. Sometimes you go along with someone when you don’t want to. Sometimes you try to control a situation and it ends up out of control. Sometimes you are so preoccupied with avoiding a situation that you end up in that same situation.
Linda,
You say a lot about the setting in your responses. In what ways is the setting of this story especially relevant to what it has to say?
1) The passage is in third person point of view.
2) Two harlots and the king are involved in the passage. The passage shows us that the king is seen as a holy man who was given wisdom by God. The Harlots are two women who are arguing about who the remaining baby belongs to.
3) The phrase “for her bowels yearned upon her son” seems important and it means that her heart longed for her son. This is relevant to the story because in the end the mother is reunited with her son.
4)
5) This passage connects with other passages in the story because it reveals the truth about who the baby belong to. At the beginning the women is telling the king her version of the story. In the end the King tests the women and find out who the real mother is.
Melissa,
Your response to #3 pays attention to specific language. What about #4? Since this is a Biblical story, does it refer to other stories in the Bible or remind you of them?
Taiwo Adegbamigbe
English 1121
1. The speaker’s point of view which is the son.
2. The father and the son. The passage tells us that the son helps the father get around the house due to his drunkenness.
3. “The whiskey on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy” The father is a heavy drinker
4.
5. The whole poem is in chronological order and it is something like a domino effect.
Taiwo,
While poems do use point of view and language and allusion, the assignment here was to write about these elements of a story from the week’s reading, not a poem. Take another look at the assignment and at the class schedule.
Usman Rasool
English 1121
1. It is a 3rd person point of view.
2. The two harlots and King Solomon is involved in the exposition of the passage.
3. The words “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other,” are important because these lines are used to figure out which of the harlots is telling the truth.
5. This passage can be seen as the turning point of the story. Before this passage, the women were just telling their versions of the story. After this passage we find out which one was telling the truth due to King Solomon’s judgement.
Usman,
Does the language of the passage also signal that it is a turning point in the story? And what about question #4?
Drake Li
ENG 1121-4353
Professor Guida
In the poem Richard Cory, it is about a wealthy gentleman by the name of Richard Cory. Often times, Cory is admired and envied by those who are less fortunate than him. Cory is portrayed as a humble and intelligent man who occasionally visits down town. He had everything that a person could want, or so we thought. On one calm summer night, he decided to abruptly end his life with a bullet to his head. Let’s further explicate this work by Edwin Arlington Robinson.
In the first stanza of the poem, you can almost immediately figure out who the speaker of the poem is when you finish reading line 2. It is a group of people of lesser status than Richard Cory, a working man in particular. This poem is located in down town, a location usually associated with the working class and often times busy. Line 1 (Whenever Richard Cory went down town) indicates that Richard Cory does not live in the down town area but occasionally visits. Line 3&4(He was a gentleman from sole to crown, clean favored, and imperially slim) focuses on his appearance. These two lines portray him as a slim, humble and well groomed man.
The second stanza of the poem goes further into his appearance. In line 5(And he was always quietly arrayed) being quietly arrayed implies that Cory dresses very simple and nothing too flamboyant. Lines 6-8 (And he was always human when he talked; But still he fluttered pulses when he said, ‘Good-morning,’ and he glittered when he walked) shows that Cory, despite his status, does not discriminate against anyone. People, particularly women found Cory to be attractive. When he greets them with Good Morning, their pulses will flutter or “speed up”, if you will.
In lines 9 & 10 of stanza three (And he was rich – yes, richer than a king –
And admirably schooled in every grace), “yes, richer than a king” shows that they envied his wealth. He’s easily viewed as a renaissance man. Lines 11-12 (In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place) again, shows their envy of Cory. He had everything they would ever want.
Lastly in stanza four, we’re led to the ending of poem in the same tone, up until the very last line. Lines 13-15 (So on we worked, and waited for the light, And went without the meat, and cursed the bread; And Richard Cory, one calm summer night) was just another night for the working class, Their typical day of just wanting to get off work and finish their day. Their dinner was by no means appetizing as they had bread. When you begin line 16(Went home and put a bullet through his head), that is when you are suddenly taken by surprise. Cory decides to end his life by putting a bullet through his head on one calm summer night.
Why would a man like Richard Cory, who had everything that a person could want, commit suicide? Throughout the entire poem, people were easily convinced of how perfect Richard Cory’s life was. He was attractive, rich, and smart. They simply idolized him, and wished to one day be like him. But they didn’t realize one thing. It was not obvious but Cory was a lonely man. They never mentioned Cory with anyone. Since he was a man of different status, it can be intimidating to interact with him, which led to Cory being an outcast. There was little human interaction for Cory, other than greeting people with Good Morning. Social unity is what keeps people sane, something that the people didn’t realize. Due to his loneliness, he decided to commit suicide. This all leads to the clichéd “Money can’t buy happiness”.
Ana Aguilar-Cerrato
English 1121
Assignment #1
Close reading of a poem
To the Virgins, to Make much of time
By Robert Herrick
Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying:
And this same flower that smiles today,
Tomorrow will be dying.
The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,
The higher he’s a-getting,
The sooner will his race be run,
And nearer he’s to setting.
That age is best which is the first,
When youth and blood are warmer;
But being spent, the worse, and worst
Times still succeed the former.
Then be not coy, but use your time,
And while ye may, go marry:
For having lost but once your prime,
You may for ever tarry.
I chose this poem at first because the tittle caught my attention as I was browsing through the book. But after I read it and analyzed it, it became a lot more interesting. Through this poem the author advices young women to take opportunities as they come, to not let time pass, and to enjoy every day as much as possible, because we are young only once. Is the basic concept of carpe diem which is the Latin term for “enjoy the moment”
During the first two stanzas the author advising young women to take advantage of all opportunities while it’s possible; I interpret the rosebuds as the opportunities that are available in our youth that will blossom with time as we get older. The decisions, challenges, and projects that we start developing while we are young, are the base for our future. The flower is a symbol that the author utilizes when referring to a woman, it is the symbol used for the personification of a young woman who smiles during youth while enjoying life, and eventually will get old and die. In the second stanza the author employs the use of personification again, this time using the sun as an example. He compares the sun and his daily journey of rising and setting, to the cycle of our lives. The higher the sun goes, and the further we go in life the closer we are to our sunset or our old age.
In the third stanza the author tells us that the best time of life is when we are young while our blood is the warmest. Growing up I always heard my elders saying that young women’s blood is hot and for instance they take radical decisions. That was my first thought while I read those two lines. The last two lines of the stanza tell us about the concept of life and the experiences that we live. As bad as it seems while we are going through a bad experience it will always get better or we will always find another experience worse than the last. New experiences will always exceed what we have already lived.
In the last stanza the author tells young women not to be neither shy, nor reserved and go get married while they can, because once youth goes away they might just have to wait forever for a new opportunity to come. I interpret the act of getting married in this poem as the opportunity to live life and going further with future plans while we have the chance, energy and strength to do so. In my opinion marriage and virginity are utilized by the author to describe life, opportunity and youth. With this interpretation we go back to the main concept of the poem, which is to live life and enjoy every moment, Carpe Diem.
*Professor, I had uploaded this on Tuesday through the Google documents upload.
Peter Lam
Professor Guida
English 1121
Explication of a Poem (Essay #1)
Page 600 and 601 on literature textbook
“In Harmony with Nature”
In the poem “In Harmony with Nature”, the short work was spoken in a third person or persona throughout the story. The narrator described nature with literal terms and man with a lot of figurative language. The word Man in this short work was not meant as an individual, but it was meant as everyone, or mankind. I have also noticed that this poem is similar to an argument or some sort of speech that was made for the public to know that Nature is not as moral as we thought it is. The first line of the poem really hit me hard or caught my attention. “In Harmony with Nature?” restless fool”, Once I saw the last two words of the first sentence, I figured that it was not going to a pleasant poem about nature.
On the first stanza, “When true, the last impossibility. To be like Nature strong, like Nature cool!” the speaker is saying how it is impossible to be like or compared to Nature. The 2nd stanza says mankind has what nature has but more, but that extra is just virtuous hopes or faiths. There are also constant comparisons between Nature and Humans from 2nd stanza to 3rd stanza. Nature is harsh and “man is sick of blood”. I believe that term means that we, the humans don’t always want to hurt each other or have any pointless bloodshed. Nature is Stubborn, and we are gladly or willingly to accept, to resolve our problems. “Nature is fickle” meaning Nature is constantly changing nonstop with instability; basically it is restless. When the speaker said the line “Nature forgives no debt, and fears no grave; Man would be mild and with safe conscience blest.” It really emphasizes the difference between man and Nature because the words he used to separate them are strong. It is for a fact that Nature has no fear in death or grave because storms come and go without a care and destroys anything that comes in its way. Mankind would prefer to be calm, and be blessed with grace or fortune to live longer.
The last stanza “Man must being, know this, where Nature ends.” This line is bit tricky to me, but in my own opinions it means, humans must know when things natural or unmoral things happens and when it ends. “Nature and man can never be fast friends. Fool, if thou canst not pass her, rest her slave!” The 2nd line is straight forward, but to say “never be fast friends”, it must mean that we will be hostile to each other or it can also mean that there is a chance but it won’t be until for a long time. To conclude I believe that the speaker is trying to say Nature is something that has no human morals, unlike mankind; therefore we cannot be compared with each other.
I forgot to add
Works Cited
Arnold, Matthew. “In Harmony with Nature.” Literature for Composition. n.d. 600 to 601.
Richard Cory
Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.
And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
‘Good-morning,’ and he glittered when he walked.
And he was rich – yes, richer than a king –
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.
So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.
Edwin Arlington Robinson
Dominik Bonefont
Richard Cory is an interesting poem written by Edwin A. Robinson. As a poet his idea is not all laid out with in the poem, you really need to focus on the persona, its diction and also look very closely into the metaphors he throws in. The poet technique are quite unique.
The title the author uses “Richard Cory” was a perfect one, because us as readers already knew it was going to be about someone. So for us to find out we need to read and read it carefully each and every detail the poet includes so we get to know who Richard Cory is. As we read into the poem the theme is mainly about this amazing man who people all around town looked up to. They say he is richer than a king (line 7), yet he always talked human (line 6) when he spoke. The people of the town all wished they were him (line 12) and when he walked he just glittered (line 8), to the people in town he was everything to them (line 11); but with all this he was still a gentleman (line 3). Informing us the readers Richard Cory had it all and is still humble. That is all concluded throughout the poem, but it all turns around when the poet moves the poems whole positive vibe, and slams us with the truth, he did not slowly transition his dictions he went right into it in the end … “ and Richard Cory one calm summer night went home and put a bullet through his head “. (lines 15&16)
His ending was very clear and direct, there was nothing to figure out; but to poems there is more, there is a bigger picture. Edwin A. Robinson pointed it out through his poetry which to me was that although one may have it all, does not ever mean we are at our happiest.
Di Zhang
English 1121
Professor Guida
Interpretation of E.E Cummings’ “Anyone Lived in a Pretty How Town”
The language of this poem seems not quite follow grammatical constructions and really difficult to understand. However, after several times of reading, I started to have a clear picture that helps make some sense. The story begins with “anyone”, who was the male character of the poem, led a somewhat isolated life and wasn’t acknowledged by most people. There was no one but children in town care enough to pay attention to “anyone”. As time went by, they noticed “noone”, who was the female character of the poem, fell in love with “anyone”. They enjoyed their time together day by day and even children could see that “noone loved him more by more”. Until “anyone” died, “noone” couldn’t bear the loneliness so she chose to dead with him. People of the town buried them together, side by side, if by yes. Then, they carried on their lives without being learned/affected by the lives of “anyone” and “noone”.
It is apparent that Cummings utilized a unique way to handle the use of time in this poem. The line “summer autumn winter spring” and “stars rain sun moon” continuously repeated to show the change of time. More importantly, it also represents the tone of each stanza (Charles L. Squier (1966)). According to Charles, it is possible to identify each stanza as primarily positive or negative in tone and sense the contradictions involved in this work. When the content of statement is natural, harmonious and positive, Cummings portraits the passing of time with the change of seasons “spring summer autumn winter”, whereas, in less logistical and negative toned stanzas, he used the complex combination of “sun moon stars rain” to express the negation.
Reading the poem over and over, I came up with different understandings from certain sentences. For example, on line 25 where it says anyone died, it might not mean that he died literally. From reference of stanza 3, where it said that the children tend to forget as they grow up. This gives me the thought that anyone died because no longer anyone remember him and is been buried inside of those people’s memories as they’re now adults and are too busy with their works than to remember the old days.
Amadou Bah
English Composition II
Essay #1 (Poem Explication)
Professor Guida
Poem: Womem by Louis Bogan (pp 783 in LC).
This poem “Women” by Louise Bogan is about gender inequality, to break all the stereotypes of women in the nineteen century and presents the struggles of women who are forced to submit to the dominant patriarchal society in which they (Women) live.
Louise Bogan seems to be attacking the male idealized vision of women in her poem by speaking as if she was a man because of the male narrator prides himself on his usefulness in the field and in his adventuring spirit while also degrading women claiming that they do not understand nature or the work outside of house when he states, “they [women] do not see cattle cropping red winter grass”(5), and “They cannot think of so many crops to a field” (13). He claims at the beginning of the poem that “Women have no wilderness in them” (1) confining them to the walls of their home while he gets to roam free in the world.
He believes that they are “content” with their position in life; however, ironically this position is eating “dusty bread” and being confined in “tight hot cells.” The fact that he actually thinks women would be content with these things reveals the way in which the man narrator puts himself above women.
He seems to view them as emotional simpletons who can never be friends with men but merely must serve men, as can be seen in the line “They hear in every whisper…a shout and a cry” (17-18). Perhaps, they hear a shout or a cry in every whisper because everything the man is saying to them is degrading and hurtful.
One of the most interested lines in the poem is “They wait, when they should turn to journeys, They stiffen, when they should bend” (9-10) because of its paradoxical nature. The man wants the woman to be adventurous and not wait, but he also wants them to be submissive (bend over) and not stiffen or stand up to men. It seems as he can find fault in everything they do even when they do what he wants them to.
The last two lines is the most confining as the narrator seems to be stating that women should not take life over their door-sills but remain inside and stay behind their husband’s walls.
Through this poem, the speaker achieves not only allowing the audience to glimpse a preview of how men thought of women, but I also believe that through his word choice in merely describing the confinement of women, the speaker is able to directly confine the woman to a prison-like I sort of imagined the whole way through a man building up a prison around this woman, and each line made the penitentiary a level of bricks higher.
Shantel Brown
Incidents of Racial Discrimination among Young Children
The word incident describes a serious moment of a past occurrence that has had a great impact on a person. The single word title “Incident” introduces a tone of seriousness of the poem. The writer chose this word oppose to have using a word that would describe a more positive or happy situation, such as the word experience. The speaker of this poem is an African American male that has experienced racial discrimination as a young boy. At the age of eight young boys are innocent and naïve in a sense, especially when facing harsh realities of incidents such as racial discrimination. As the speaker recollects the incident, the writer expresses the severity of the effect that racial discrimination can have on a young child. Throughout the poem the writer uses a transformation of emotions to paint a vivid image of the incident.
In the beginning of the poem, the young boy seems to be in such a happy space. The writer uses words such as “heart-filled” and “glee”, which describes the young boy to be extremely happy. He is excited to be visiting Baltimore for the first time. The young boy comes across the first Baltimorean child of his same age and gender; he immediately wants to make a new friend. When he isn’t received as children would usually receive one another at this age; he’s confused and maybe even intimidated by the Baltimorean staring straight at him. He says “now I was eight and very small, and he was no whit bigger”; this indicated that the young boy couldn’t intrepid the Baltimorean’s unfriendly attitude towards him. The fact that the writer uses the word “whit”, which is especially used in a negative phrase, expresses the transformation from confused to slightly angry.
At the end of the second stanza, the underline meaning of the poem is introduced. The poem is no longer describing just the glee of a young boy as he happily travels through Baltimore. The tone now becomes serious. The writer uses pauses and line breaks to help the reader visualize the exchanges and gestures between the young boy and the Baltimorean, leading up to the incident. He says “And so I smiled, but he poked out his tongue, and called me, “Nigger”. This introduces a turn in the poem, which is very dramatic. Although the young boy is confused and maybe even intimidated he still greets the Baltimorean with a polite gesture; and in return he received a negative gesture in which the boy poked his tongue out at him and called him a name. The pause and quotations surrounding the word “Nigger” places emphasis. The emphasis on the word is meant to let the reader know that this a serious term that’s not just thrown around. This made me reflect back in the poem when the writer used the term “old Baltimore”. The word “old” indicates to me that this incident occurred some time ago. From this I came to the conclusion that this poem took place when racial discrimination was a major issue. Therefore the word “Nigger” was used as a profound racial slur against African Americans, meant to humiliate and degrade the receiver.
The writer also used the phrase “no whit bigger”, and “Nigger” to rhyme so the words can stand out and the reader can grasps the severity of its meaning. The line break between “of all the things that happened there” and “that’s all that I remember” indicates that this incident has a traumatic effect on the young boy. It also expresses that this traumatic effect is embedded into his memory and tarnishes his entire Baltimore experience. The writer uses this young boy’s recollection to expresses how powerful the impact of racial discrimination can be on even a young child.
1. Title makes the topic clear.
2. Poem is well interpreted.
3. Nothing unnecessary.
4. Cited parts of the poem well.
5. The conclusion shows the meaning of the poem.
6. The essay is well organized and following the poem step by step.
Melody,
Do you really have nothing in the way of specific suggestion? Isn’t there any part of the draft that could stand improvement? How?
Melissa Vazquez
English 1121
Professor Guida
September 19, 2012
“My Papa’s Waltz” was written by Theodore Roethke in 1942. When I read “My Papa’s Waltz” my overall interpretation was that the young boy was helping his father walk around the house. However since the father was drunk the young boy struggled with the father’s weight and due to their disoriented steps, they appeared to be waltzing. The mother seeing this disapproved and silently watched with a frown on her face. By the end of the poem the father puts his young son to sleep.
In the first stanza the father has had a little too much to drink. This is supported when the author writes “The whiskey on your breath could make a young boy dizzy” (line 1). Following this on the third line of the poem the poet uses a simile “But I hung on like death” (line 3). The poet says this because the young boy is much smaller compared to the father’s height and weight. Therefore the young boy must use all his energy to keep the father upright and walking.
In the second stanza the poet states “We romped until the pans slid from the kitchens shelf” (line 4). The poet is describing that as the young boy and father journey through the house they bump into objects, such as pans, causing them to fall. When the mother sees this she becomes unhappy and cannot her disapproval.
In the third stanza the poet is describing how the young boy is being negatively affected by this situation he has been put in. For example the young boy notices that the father has hurt his knuckle throughout their walk. Also the young boy says “At every step you missed my right ear scraped a buckle” (line 11). This means that as they are walking the father is leaning on the young boy and due to this the ear of the young boy scrapes against the fathers belt buckle.
In the fourth stanza the author uses another simile “You beat time on my head” (line 13). I think this means that since the young boy was unhappy throughout this situation, time seemed to pass by extremely slow. Also since his father put him into the situation, the young boy feels that it’s the fathers fault that time is going by so slowly. “Then you waltzed me off to bed still clinging to your shirt”, this means that the father helped the young boy to bed thanking him for helping him walk around the house (line 15). However since the young boy was so worried about helping his father he was still clinging onto his shirt.
It was a good essay but you didn’t talk about the poet’s techniques such as tone, rhyme scheme, symbolism etc…You summarized the poem rather than analyzing it.
1.No title
2.Yes
3. None
4. yes
5. Author draws conclusions but doesn’t expand on poet’s techniques
6. Organized well.
7. Conclusion could be more clear/more evident.
8. No
9. Yes
10. Yes
Usman,
Again, you need to go beyond one-word answers, to offer advice that will allow the author to make improvements to specific parts of the essay. How could the conclusion be clearer, for example?
Usman,
You make an excellent point here. The purpose here is to show not only what the poem says but how it says it.
When i read this poem i came to the conclusion that his dad became violent after getting drunk, and began to abuse him. So its really interesting to read it from your perspective, which also makes sense.
there is no title. the author presented a well-organized interpretation. interpretation of the story can be reduced for accurate analysis. some lines in the poem have been explained individually. there is general conclusion of the work stated by the author. the author showed a good understanding of the poem and interpreted the story precisely. however, she seems fail to consider some elements of the work, including diction, form, meter, sounds and so forth. analysis of technical terms might be needed for further improvement
Di,
All of your suggestions are potential valuable, but to make them actually so, you need to be specific about each of them. Where, for example, does the failure to consider the elements of poetry really hurt the author’s interpretation?
Shantel,
It is interesting to read other perspectives, but your goal here is to help the author improve the written expression of that perspective, the essay draft? How can she do that by improving specific parts of the essay?
When I read the story I thought that the father was abusing his child while being drunk, but the word Waltz, can literally mean dance also. So I can understand why you would think they are dancing.
1.) No title
2.) Yes
3.) There is nothing that the author has missed
4.) The Author does comments on specific cited lines.
5.) He does draw a conclusion.
6.) It is Organized
7.) Conclusion needs to be a bit more clear
8.) There is none
9.) Yes it does.
10.) It is in MLA format
Peter,
In the name of specific suggestion, how could the conclusion be more clear? And about what?
In the poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke it is generally between the speaker which is the son and the father. The father has a little too much whiskey and he is now waltzing around the kitchen with his son. Their waltz is pretty clumsy that the pans are sliding from the shelf and mom is not too happy about that. The father is a guy who works with his hands because his knuckles are rough and he deals with a lot of dirt. This dance is not all fun and games for the boy because the boy keeps on scraping his ear against his father’s belt buckle each time he misses a step. The father is keeping track of the time but in the end he dances the boy off to bed.
In the first stanza it starts off by saying in Line one “The whiskey in your breath” which is referring to the father that he has been drinking a lot and the whiskey could be smelt of his breath by his son which brings us to line two. “Could make a small boy dizzy” the whiskey smelted off his father’s breath makes the son who is a small boy dizzy. In line three the speaker uses simile “I hung on like death” comparing hanging onto death to hang on the dizziness. Line four says “Such waltzing was not easy” the son holding on his drunken father as he waltzing around the house.
In line five and six says ‘We romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf” meaning that as the father and the son went into the kitchen their waltzing made the pans fall from the kitchen shelf. “My mother’s countenance could not unfrown itself” lines seven and eight saying that the mother could not stop crying.
In lines nine through twelve it talks about how the father is grasping the son’s wrist and that one of the father’s knuckles was battered. Also every time the father missed a step the son will pay by receiving a scratch on his ear by the father’s belt indirectly. In line thirteen it says “You beat time on my head” meaning that the father is always telling the son what time it is. Line fifteen and sixteen says “then waltzed me off to bed still clinging to your shirt meaning that the whole dance was meant for the son to go to sleep but he still wanted to dance.
Linda J Lando
Eng 1121/5465
Essay #1
September 18, 2012
When I read the title of the poem, “Infant Sorrow” I immediately assumed it was about loss. William Blake the author, wrote this poem in 1794. The title was surely misleading, this short poem describes childbirth. Each line of this piece chronicles the moments following birth. Its description is precise.
A mother cries in pain, giving birth. The father cries tears of joy because of the birth. The child is born, springing into an unknown world. The bare baby is defenseless but very vocal. The little one is protected by the parents. The baby squirms in his father’s arms and wrestles when being swaddled. This little darling is exhausted after being cleaned and wrapped in a blanket. The baby rests on a comfortable place, his mother’s breast.
In the first stanza, the cries of mother and father are our expressions of joy and sorrow. Pain or loss is expressed with tears but also there are tears of joy. The leap into the dangerous world is we are sprung into new situations daily and new experiences all the time. A situation may be scary or not, but we are always hoping for the best. It can be a appointment or a new position of employment. Perhaps it is a new relationship or a civic duty to fill. Helplessness would be without assistance or guidance from our family, friends or aquaintances. It’s a solo operation and maybe diving head first with just our nerve and wit. The hidden fiend is the quitter, afraid to finish the task. Or it may be the sneak, tiptoeing around, hoping no one will find out. It is being a coward or worse acting with malice. The fiend can be the addict, the bigot or the fanatic.
In the second stanza, struggling in my father’s hands is referring to the struggles life brings, whether it is a daily struggle to put food on the table or to stay sober. Making every effort to find and keep employment is tough today with so many people out of work. It is a battle to fight your own illness never mind your spouse or your child. Striving against my swaddling bands is striving with our own demons. They are the voices inside our heads saying, you can’t do that. The strive to stay focused, and to accomplish what you planned to do like to finish college. Strive for a better quality of life for you and your family. Bound and weary are limitations we impose on ourselves. They are the restraints of lack of knowledge or lack of education or the lack of experience. It is exhausting, making you work harder just to stay in tune. It is the obligations we have acquired. Our population is living longer and many older adults are taking care of their own parents. Sulk upon my mother’s breast is the comfortable place we can retreat. It is a place to rest and rejuvenate. We can also go there and pout. This place is home, and like someone once told me, “It’s the place to put your gun down.
In response:
1)like my essay there is no title.
2)Yes there is a clear interpretation of the poem
3) i do not find anything unnecessary in the essay
4) no the author does not use lines, but the author does use stanzas
5)Yes the author did draw a conclusion about the meaning of the poem
6)Yes the essay is clearly written and it flows. however they can include more paragraph separations
7)Yes the conclusion makes sense
8)i found the entire essay clearly written
9) Yes the author includes a citation reference.
10)yes
11)Add in come Paragraph separations
Melissa,
You offer useful, but very general, comments, here. Where could the author separate paragraphs? And how would that improve the essay? Where would it help for the author to discuss specific lines? Don’t be afraid to make specific suggestions.
1) No title for the essay
2) It was a clear interpretation
3) Don’t think anything is missing
4) Author describes the stanzas using the poem as reference
5) Yes, it does
6) The essay progresses in a clear and logical order
7) Yes it does
8) No.
9) Yes, the author used citations
10) Yes
11) No suggestions
Ana,
Here, too, you need to go beyond a one-word answers. If the essay progresses logically, what is the order of ideas? And do you really have no suggestions for improvement? Remember, you are helping by being critical.
The Man He Killed
1)“Had he and I but met (I f we had only met)
2)By some old ancient inn, (somewhere else, back in the old days)
3)We should have sat us down to wet (we would probably be drinking buddies)
4)Right many a nipperkin!” (maybe good friends)
5)
6)But ranged as infantry, (however we are in the army)
7)And staring face to face, (on opposite sides, as enemies)
8)I shot at him as he at me (we shot at each other)
9)And killed him in his place. (I killed him)
10)
11)“I shot him dead because— (why did I shoot him?)
12)Because he was my foe, (because he was my enemy?)
13)Just so: my foe of course he was; (yes, automatically)
14)That’s clear enough; although (He fighting for the other side)
15)
16)“He thought he’d ‘list, perhaps, (maybe he enlisted because…)
17)Off-hand — just as I —– (possibly for the same reasons I did)
18)Was out of work – had just sold his trap (He had no money, no job)
19)No other reason why (I didn’t have many options)
20)
21)Yes; quaint and curious war is! (war sucks)
22)You shoot a fellow down (you shoot a man down)
23)You’d treat if met here any bar is, (you’d probably buy him a drink in a bar)
24)Or help to half a crown (or help him if he needed it)
Stacey-Ann Yapp-Burke
Professor Guida
English Composition 1121
Due: 9/19/2012
Essay
Have you ever wondered what soldiers at war feel? How they could just go out there, and kill another individual just based on the ideals of a government? In the poem entitled “The Man He killed,” the speaker is a foot soldier in the British army. I came to the conclusion that he was British, due to his use of slangs like “nipperkin” (line 4), and “half a crown (line 24).” He is reflecting on a war he was in. This soldier was not happy about the fact that he had to kill another man, just because they were on opposite sides. As alluded to in the first stanza (line 3) “we should have sat down to wet,” wet meaning having a drink, and fifth stanza, (line 23) “You’d treat if met where any bar is,” and “Or help to half a crown” he has no personal grudge with this individual. In fact, if they had met under any other circumstance they would have probably been friends.
The speaker also expresses resentment towards the war, he actually sounds as if he regrets enlisting in the army. In stanza four (lines 16-18) he pointed out that he only enlisted due to a lack of options. Then in line twenty one, “Yes; quaint and curious war is!” with an exclamation sign at the end, evokes strong emotion. Based on the tone of the rest of the poem I don’t think it was a positive feeling. He doesn’t believe in the war and expresses compassion for his enemy. He even seems to identify or sense similarities between him and his opponent.
I also noticed a rhythm to this poem where every other line ended with a rhyme. I am not totally sure what this meant but it made the poem sound informal and light hearted; a bit odd for the gravity of the situation being described.
In response. The Man he Killed. 1) Like my essay, there is no title. 2)There is a very clear interpretation of the poem. 3)I do not find any parts of the analysis missing or unnecessary. 4)Yes, the author cites specific lines and makes comments. 5)Yes the essay draws conclusions about the meaning of the poem. 6) An organized essay that flows. 7)No, the conclusion does not tie in with the points made in the essay. 8)The entire piece is clearly written. 9)Yes, works cited are included. 10)The essay is in correct MLA format. 11)My suggestions would be to include an argument in the essay.
thought there isn’t a title for the essay, the author did give a clear interpretation of the chosen poem. it doesn’t seem like there are anything missing or unnecessary. she did cite specific lines and comment on them and clearly explains the points made. the conclusion doesn’t seem to be tied with the rest of the essay, however, it does give a good point about the poem. sentences are clearly written. the essay is a little short, otherwise nicely written.
Di,
In your critique, try to give an example of each element of the essay that you find strong or that you find needs work. How, for example, is the conclusion untied from the rest of the essay?
Only thing missing was the title for the essay. The Author gives clear interpretations and gives no unnecessary analysis. There are lines that were cited clear and explained clearly about what they meant. The organization is good. Part of the conclusion does give the an argument on how if it wasn’t for war, there would have been more people that could have been friends instead of enemies. Overall the essay good, and it shows correct MLA format
Peter,
In your criticisms, try to address all of the elements that the guide sheet covers, and try to be as specific in all your recommendations as you are about the conclusion of the essay.
Gloria Vaquiz
Professor Guida
English 1121
19 September 2012
Explication of Infant Sorrow by William Blake
Infant Sorrow is about the view of childbirth, but from the infant’s perspective. The title insinuates a sign of grief, which is later demonstrated throughout the poem. The poem is written in the past tense, and is also written in AABB form, meaning the ending of every 2 lines rhyme this creates a tone for the poem as it is read.
In the first line the mother is in pain while the father weeps. The second line allows you to understand the perspective of the infant who believe it is entering an unfamiliar and dangerous word. Line three and four creates imagery and sound. The infant feels naked and helpless as it enters this world. On line four the author uses a metaphor “like a fiend hid in a cloud”. By using the word fiend the author implies a negative comparison to the infant, which can indicate an evil spirit hiding amongst the clouds.
In the next stanza line five indicates a discomfort the infant is having being in his father’s hand, although this seems like a natural occurrence for the infant it is unfamiliar territory. Line 6 allows you to understand the infant’s restrictions with the description of the struggle it is having with the swaddling band, which in an ironic way is supposed to be comforting him but instead is causing him distress. Line seven and eight shows the infant is becoming both physically and emotionally exhausted and in line eight the infant finally chooses to give up and find comfort in what comes natural, his mother’s breast.
I noticed that the writer does have her interpretations of each line. The interpretation is organized, done in every line. However, only one line was cited and would like to know your own conclusion of the poem.
The mother groans from the process of childbirth, pushing and breathing. The father is amazed at the sight and cannot contain his emotions. Then out came baby screaming mad, he has been disturbed and jolted from his place of comfort, safety and warmth, into this cold world. A place unfamiliar, with hands, and cloth, and faces and noise. This baby was not happy; he needed to be back in the safety of mother’s womb. After being swaddled he is placed on his mother’s breast. Aaah there it is, that familiar felling of warmth, nurturing and comfort, that only a mother can provide.
1. Yes
2. Yes.
3. None.
4. Yes.
5. Yes
6. Organized well.
7. Yes
8. No
9. Not cited properly.
10. Yes
11. Maybe expand a little bit more if possible, perhaps at the end. The essay seems a little short.
1. yes
2. yes
3.
4. yes
5. yes
6. yes the organization is well done
7. yes
8. no
9.no
10.yes
11. its not an essay its a paragraph
Shantel,
When you’re helping a classmate with his or her work, you have to go beyond one-word answers. For each category on the guide sheet, try to point to at least one specific place in the draft that either meets the requirements or needs work to do that.
Usman,
The one-word answer (even the five-word answer) won’t help the author of the draft very much. You need to say something about specific parts of the essay that do or do not meet a certain requirement and thus could be used as a model or improved in some specific way. Your suggestions really are welcome.
1) Title makes the poem sound like something else. Even though through birth the child does experience a high level of stress.
2) It was a clear interpretation
3) Don’t think anything is missing
4) Author describes the stanzas using some of the poem lines as reference
5) Yes, it does
6) The essay progresses in a clear and logical order
7) Yes it does
8) No.
9) Yes, the author used citations. But are not in the proper format
10) Yes
11) No suggestions
Ana,
Try to go beyond one-word or even one-line answers. Making specific suggestions for the areas that need work, referring to actual parts of the draft, will really help the author make changes.
Johnny Yip
Prof. Guida
ENG 1121
Explication of “My Papa’s Waltz”
In the poem “My Pap’s Waltz” by Thedore Roethke, the speaker is talking about his father who comes home drunk and the situation going on. In the first stanza, the father comes home drunk and the speaker smells his father breathe and it “could make a small boy dizzy”, meaning that his father’s breathe had a very strong alcohol taste. The speaker then hung on to his father while he was trying to walk through the house which made “such waltzing was not easy”. In the second stanza, the speaker and father “romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf”, meaning that they were both being very playful in the kitchen. Then the mother heard all the ruckus, she was upset and “could not unfrown itself”. Moving on to the next stanza, the father is holding the speakers wrist very tight and “was battered on one knuckle” because he was probably in a fight before he came home. While holding the speakers wrist, every step the father missed, the speakers “right ear scraped a buckle” because the speaker was probably a young boy. The last stanza, the father hit the speaker over the head “with a palm caked hard by dirt” which means he fell or stumbled into dirty places before coming home. The father then took the speaker to bed while he was still holding on to his father’s shirt.
I feel that the speaker is trying to explain the situation at home when he usually comes home drunk. Also it explains the relationship between the speaker and the father and mother and father. The speaker loves the father very much while the father comes home drunk meaning the relationship between the father and mother isn’t that great. It also shows the emotion of each character like how the mother is upset that the father comes home drunk all the time, the speaker is always excited to see his father after he comes home drunk because he probably plays with the speaker for a bit and puts him to sleep and the father giving all his attention to the speaker and none to his wife.
1. The title of the essay does make it clear
2. Yes, the essay offers a clear interpretation of the chosen peom.
3-11 Everyone interprets a poem differently. Therefore it is hard to tell whether ones interpretations are wrong. The essay is organized from the beginning of the poem to the end and then a description of what he thinks the poem meant to him. The essay does cite specific lines from the poem and then gives an explanation. This work does not include a works cited nor is it in MLA format since it has been posted on open lab website. The description of “with a palm caked hard by dirt” can mean the explanations of the hands of a working man since back in the days it was typical for men to work hard jobs and women to stay at home.
Gloria,
Do you have any specific suggestions for improving the essay?
I think the speaker is the young boy. He was not drunk, but his father was. Their waltz was the struggle the boy underwent to assist his inebriated father, while his mother stood by annoyed. There are alot of statements repeated in your last paragraph. I think I have an idea what you are trying to say but its not clearly stated.
Yes the title is clear and and pertinent to the topic. The author breaks the poem down well regarding the obvious point that the father was drunk, the boy was helping him, and his mother was upset. He didn’t really highlight any alternate or deeper meaning to the poem. There were citations from the poem however, the explanations weren’t very clear. There were only two paragraphs. The conclusion wrapped up everything the author had to say throughout the essay, unfortunately there wasnt much to wrap up. This Essay was not done in proper MLA format and did not have a works cited page.
Stacey,
You’ve given Muhammed a lot of food for thought and tips for improvement. You could have been more specific, of course, about the need for him to discuss the deeper subject and to use paragraphs more effectively.
I menat to say you’ve given Johnny a lot of food for thought.
In response:
1)yes
2)Yes there is a clear interpretation of the poem
3) i do not find anything unnecessary in the essay
4) the author uses stanzas to describe the poem
5)Yes the author did draw a conclusion about the meaning of the poem
6)Yes the essay is clearly written and it flows. however they can include more paragraph separations
7)Yes the conclusion makes sense
8)i found the entire essay clearly written
9) no the author does not include a citation reference.
10)no
Melissa,
When you respond to specific elements of the draft, as you do here, you need to make sure that you offer comments on specific parts of the essay, and that you offer specific suggestions for improvement.
My Papa’s Waltz
Theodore Roethke was born in Saginaw, Michigan and grew up on the west side of the Saginaw River. Roethke spent most of his childhood time in greenhouse. His father died and also his uncle suicide when he was very young in early 1923. These deaths shaped Roethke’s psyche and creative life.
In this poem speaker is a small boy. Who’s is trying to explain the whole situation of his home when his father get drunk .In the first stanza speaker is saying that Father came home drunk and start dancing with the boy and the smell that coming from his mouth making a small boy dizzy. In second stanza Father start waltzing around in the home but that waltzing was not easy for the boy he was just hanging with his father’s shirt.in third stanza While waltzing in the kitchen pans start falling down and mother did not seem happy with this situation going on in the house. In forth stanza While father was drunk he miss every single step and boy’s ear get scraped with belt but father was holding boys wrist very strongly.In last stanza speaker is saying that Father being very rough with the boy through the whole dance, but boy was liking it. At the end father put the boy on bed to sleep but boy did not want to sleep yet.
Speaker is explaining the situation of his home when he was young and his father use to get drunk. It was not the story of just one night this happened a lot. With this poem speaker also trying to explain the relationship of his father with him and his mother. With this kind of situation speaker’s mother was not happy but she couldn’t do anything. Father loved his son but he was little careless. Speaker did not use any harsh word and it seems like that speaker was enjoying the waltzing with his father and don’t want to leave him. In the whole poem one person who was not happy was the mother and she was showing that with her face exprations. Speaker explain the whole situation in very dramatic way that shows the feeling of the speaker ,but on the other hand he also explaining that how the mother was feeling.
Wednesday Sept 19 Discussion.
Cabalda 1
Melody Cabalda
Professor Guida
English 1121
19 September 2012
The Uncovered Truth of Richard Cory
In the poem Richard Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson, the author talks about a man “Richard Cory” that everyone seems to admire. To the people looking at him he is everything or better yet has everything, which would make people “wish that we were in his place.” For the most part of the poem Robinson describes Richard Cory into great details, which helped me understand and imagine how the people see him. He is described as well educated “admirably schooled in every grace”, well dressed “always quietly arrayed” and wealthy “he was rich- yes, richer than a king.” To the people looking at him he is complete perfection and living a perfect life, but in truth they knew very little of him or his life.
To the end of the last stanza Robinson made a very shocking and unexpected turn “And Richard Cory, one calm summer night, went home and put a bullet through his head.” This was an ending that I did not expect. However, this line put meaning and purpose to the poem. The detailed description of Cory now finally made sense and the lesson of the poem is reveled.
I feel that the author wanted to give his audience a lesson about the saying “never judge a book by its cover.” That no matter how perfect a person appears you never really truly know what is going on in a person’s life. This poem just shows that even then when this was written back 1896, the problem of judgment and misconception was present and even now over 100 years later it is still happening. At the end Richard Cory was nothing close to what the people thought he was, no one really knew who he was. So my question to you my readers, how well do you really know the people around you?
The quote “never judge a book by its cover” does fit this poem. ” and he was always human when he talked” helps us as the readers understand that although he was rich he still acted as the rest and created a sense of comfort among the people of the town.
Gloria,
This is a valid comment on the poem, but it does not offer melody much help in revising her essay. Take a look at those workshop guidelines at the top of this forum.
Explication of a poem “The Raven”
1121- English Wed 1:00-2:15
Usman Rasool
Edgar Allan Poe was a poet who lived during the 1800s. He was a part of the American Romantic Movement. His written works were a part of the gothic genre. They were dark, dealing with death, mourning the reanimation of the dead etc… One of his works was “The Raven,” a poem which deals with the concept of death and loss.
The poem is a depressing, melancholy poem of loss and mourning. The narrator is shown mourning the loss of “Lenore,” which one can presume to be the narrator’s significant other. To exemplify the hopelessness the narrator must feel, Poe ends each stanza with the word “more” and then later: “nevermore.” The first two stanza’s are used to lay out the setting, one that is dark, depressing and frightening: A bleak December night where the narrator is shown reading an old book. When the narrator is almost about to fall asleep, he hears a tapping at his door. He writes it off as some visitor but the reader already knows that that can’t be true. Lenore is also introduced in the second stanza, as the narrator’s dead significant other.
In the third stanza, the mood now shifts. The narrator is now completely afraid of what could be beyond his door. Poe uses the repetition of the line “Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door,” to make the mood more frightening. In the next stanza the narrator finally opens the door, and only darkness is there to meet him. The darkness is used by Poe to signify the narrator’s fear and uncertainty of the unknown. The is further shown when the narrator calls for Lenore, he is shown to be so grief stricken he doesn’t know what to do.
When he finally returns to his room, the narrator again hears another noise at his window. When the narrator opens his window, a raven enters his house. A raven is a universal symbol for darkness or evil, so the reader can infer through the use of Poe’s symbolism that the poem is going to continue on its dark tone. The raven also perches “upon a bust of Pallas.” The “bust of Pallas” is a statue of Athena the goddess of wisdom. Both of these symbols used in conjunction show the raven’s “dark wisdom.”
In the 8th stanza, the narrator sees this grim picture, and finds it amusing. He asks the raven for its name “on the Night’s Plutonian shore.” This refers to the afterlife as Pluto was the god of the afterlife. The raven answered with the word “nevermore.” Every stanza after this one always ends with the word “nevermore.” This repetition stresses the mood of the poem further. The raven’s response at first has no meaning to the narrator, but when he says aloud that the bird will leave in the morning, the bird again repeats “nevermore.”
In the 11th stanza onward, the narrator then tries to rationalize what he just heard. Slowly the narrator is shown falling into insanity and despair when he puts the pieces together. He sees the raven as an evil prophet and demands it tell him if there is anything in the afterlife and if he will ever be able to see his beloved Lenore ever again. The raven of course responds to every question with the word “nevermore.” The narrator by the end of the poem slinks into the final bouts of depression, and feels as if his soul will never leave the shadow of the raven on the floor.
Poe uses many different techniques such as repetition and rhyme to create the mood and setting of the poem. The rhyme scheme is a combination of ABCBBB as well as internal rhyme. He also uses symbolism such as the raven itself, as well as the bust of Pallas to create a much darker mood. The theme of the poem is one of mourning and loss and we are taken by Poe into a journey of a man descending into his own personal hell.
This essay is very well written and very detailed. I feel that you dissected the poem appropriately and make good point and interested them well in your own words. However, the title was not as enticing as i’d hope.
Melody,
You should, if you can, comment on all of the elements discussed in the guide sheet. This is a good start, but offers only very general advice, without specific reference to the text.
Sept. 10th Discussion
Exercise #1: I chose the poem “I Heard a Fly buzz (465)” by Emily Dickinson.
I heard a fly buzz-when I died- {The speaker is recounting the moments before s/he died, namely the sound of a fly}
The Stillness in the Room {The speaker is alone in a quiet room}
Was like the Stillness in the Air- {As if time has paused in the last moments of his/her life}
Between the Heaven of Storm {The speaker’s death is causing a storm in the heavens, in the spiritual realm}
The Eyes around had wrung them dry- {The “Eyes” belong to Death, and had silenced sounds}
And Breaths were gathering firm {It’s getting harder for the speaker to breathe}
For that last Onset-when the King {The final attack on the speaker’s body}
Be witnessed in the Room {The speaker stands before God}
I willed my Keepsakes-Signed away {Worldly or spiritual possessions?}
What portion of me be {Possibly concerning the speaker’s soul}
Assignable -and then it was {The speaker prepares his/her case or life story when something interrupts}
There interposed a Fly {The sound of the fly interrupts the proceedings}
With Blue- uncertain stumbling Buzz- {The fly flies clumsily}
Between the light and me- {The speaker has now descended into darkness}
And then the Windows failed and then {The fly tries to leave but the windows are closed}
I could not see to see- {The speaker never sees the end of the fly’s journey, for s/he dies}
The poem is told from the speaker’s point of view, at the brink of death. The speaker is not trying to fight to hold on, but has accepted his or her fate. The struggle the speaker seems to have is on the fly, the fly that comes in the middle of the speaker’s ponderings on the afterlife and where he or she will end up. The poem starts with an innocuous statment that turns turns grim (I heard a fly buzz-when I died-), and sets the tone for the rest of the poem: the momentous point of death being witnessed by something as unremarkable as a fly. Dickinson wrote the poem in iambic trimeter (odd-numbered lines) and tetrameter (even-numbered lines), and frequently uses line braks rather than punctuation, making the statemnets bold and harsh.
My Papa’s Waltz
The whiskey on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy;
(speaker is talking about his father who is drunk and that breathing make a boy dizzy)
But I hung on like death: Such waltzing was not easy.
(father start dancing and the boy was hanging with his father’s shirt but the waltzing was not easy for the boy)
We romped until the pans Slid from the kitchen shelf;
(while waltzing around in the kitchen pans start sliding down from the shelfs)
My mother’s countenance Could not unfrown itself.
(and mother is unhappy with this situation)
The hand that held my wrist Was battered on one knuckle;
(father holding the boy’s wrist very strongly and its hurting)
At every step you missed My right ear scraped a buckle.
(at every step that father missed boy’s ear scraped against the buckle)
You beat time on my head With a palm caked hard by dirt,
(through the whole dance father being very rough)
Then waltzed me off to bed Still clinging to your shirt.
(at the end father put boy on bed to sleep but boy didn’t want to sleep yet)
Muhammed,
You offer a solid line-by-line translation of what happens in the poem, but what conclusions can you draw about what the poem may be trying to express about the father-son scene?
Kim,
You explain Dickinson’s method nicely. Think a little more about the final “Windows.” Its may have more than one meaning.
Assignment due on September 10th
Poem: My Papa’s Waltz
The whiskey on your breath
Could make a small boy dizzy;
(The parent is drunk and the smell of alcohol is very strong to the point that it bothers the boy)
But I hung on like death:
(the boy was very attached to the parent)
Such waltzing was not easy.
(the boy was holding on strong to the parent and the parent was trying to get the boy away from him)
We romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
(there was a small battle between the parent and the boy)
My mother’s countenance
Could not unfrown itself.
(the mother was upset at the situation)
The hand that held my wrist
Was battered on one knuckle;
(the father had gotten into a fight before coming home)
At every step you missed
My right ear scraped a buckle.
(the parent was drunk and stumbling, and was dragging the boy by the arm)
You beat time on my head
With a palm caked hard by dirt,
Then waltzed me off to bed
(the parent hit the boy and then sent him to bed)
Still clinging to your shirt.
What the author is trying to express is the dynamic of a home experiencing domestic violence and addictions. In my opinion the speaker is the boy who suffered the abuse from an alcoholic father who also abused physically the mother. There is a bit of resentment against the mother who stood by the side without doing anything while the father physically abused the boy. The boy was in fear and at the time he was confused, he loved his parents and could not understand the abuse.
Exactly how I felt about the poem as well. Good point of how the mother was also likely abused by the father, and the boy’s lack of understanding about the whole situation.
I also agree with your poem, the mother was probably too scared of the drunken father, therefore all she can do is stand back and just watch. The child is being abused by the father all the way to his bedroom.
Ana, et. al.,
The poem always provokes a discussion over whether or not the father in the poem is in fact abusive. I find your translation of the final “waltz” interesting. How can we associate such a dance with abuse?
I interpreted the dancing of the waltz as the violent movements caused by the physical agression. This “danced” was the one who made the pans slid, and provoked the mother’s upset reaction.
Answers to Sept. 10th Discussion Questions
im nobody by emily dickinson
it is about someone who thinks they are nobody important. the speaker meets with someone who feels the same as him. they don’t want other people to know how they feel. in the second stanza they say they don’t want to be anyone.
the speaker says he is nobody and talks to the reader. the speaker looks down on people who think they are somebody and thinks it is a waste.
Michael,
Your interpretation makes fundamental sense, but you need to work with the actual language more carefully, beginning with the line-by-line translation, to show others exactly how the poem expresses the sentiments about humility that you indicate it does.
Sept. 10th Discussion Questions.
1)The Whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy
The father has been drinking too much alcohol
But I hung on like death
Even if he wanted to he wouldn’t be able to let go
Such Waltzing was not easy
The father is so drunk that he seems to be dancing as he walks to his intoxication
We romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf
Things get out of control when the father has been drinking
My mother’s countenance could not unfrown itself
The mother does not like the situation and she shows it through her expression
The hand that held my wrist was battered on one knuckle
Someone has an injured hand. This person cares for the young boy
At every step you missed my right ear scraped a buckle
The young boy seems to be holding onto his father and as he walks unsteady he scraps against the young boys ear due to the height difference
You beat time on my head
Time seemed to pass by slowly to the young boy
With a palm caked hard by dirt
The young boy had very bad experiences
Then waltzed me off to bed still clinging to your shirt
The father put the young boy to sleep as he was unsteadily walking
2)I think this poem is about a father who has come home drunk and his young son is helping him walk into the house. As they walk into the house the father is too heavy for the boy, therefor they knock over pans as the walk past them. “Such waltzing was not so easy” means that the young boy struggled a lot as he helped his father walk through the house. The Mother shows that she is unhappy because she doesn’t approve that her husband has come home drunk and is now making the boy help him walk around. The father has a scraped knuckle because as they walked around the father bumped into many things. Also the young boys ear is scraped because as they walked his ear was scraping against his father’s body in attempt to keep him balanced. This walk was uncomfortable and seemed extremely long to the boy. At the end the father put the boy to sleep.
Melissa,
You translate most of the lines well, with the exception of one or two about which you draw conclusions that make a leap away from what’s actually on the page, such as this one:
With a palm caked hard by dirt
The young boy had very bad experiences
Your discussion of how the poem makes its point lapses a little into summary. Think about how the poem works as well as what it says.
Exercise #2
The poem that I have read was short, and takes place during the time when immigrants have just started moving from different places around the world to settle in America. Throughout the poem, there was a lot of figurative speaking that was used. They keep on talking about everything that Americans eat, play, and the way they speak. As I was reading it, the narrator changes at the end; it goes from people that are just standing on the side, to the parents speaking. One thing I have also noticed while reading the poem was, at the end American is spelled with a lower case a. Meaning the parents is definitely from another country, and wants to make sure that their children can grow up like American people. They are also scared that their children might not fit in with the others because they are not from America.
I agree with your interpretation of the poem. I also thought that the parents were afraid that children would not be fully accepted in america.
I agree with your interpretation. The parents want to raise their children in America and wants to be able to provide for them the best they can and they want their children to be accepted and really become Americans. However, they still have some fears that they might not be accepted.
Peter,
The poem does in fact include a direct voice and an indirectly quoted voice. This is how the poet achieves the effect of more than one person speaking. Good observation.
Answers to Sept. 10th Discussion Questions:
Exercise #1:
Poem: Immigrants
Line 1. wrap their babies in American flag,
(Taking their children and wrapping them in American flag.)
Line 2. feed them mashed hot dogs and apple pie,
(Eating American Food.)
Line 3. name them Bill and Daisy,
(Common American names.)
Line 4. buy them blonde dolls that blink
(Toys that children plays in America.)
Line 5. blue eyes or a football and tiny cleats
(Eye color of Americans, and the sports that is usually played in America.)
Line 6. before the baby can even walk,
(Really young infants.)
Line 7. speak to them in thick English,
(Speaking in English with no Accents.)
Line 8. hallo, babee, hallo.
(Greetings)
Line 9. Whisper in Spanish or Polish
(Speaking in a low tone, in their native language.)
Line 10. when the babies sleep, whisper
(The infants are sleeping, and they are speaking in a low tone.)
Line 11. in a dark parent bed, that dark
(As the the lights are out and the parents are in bed together.)
Line 12. parent fear, “Will they like
Line 13. our boy, our girl, our fine american
Line 14. boy, our fine american girl?”
(Line 12-14 is combined: The Parents are scared that when their children grows up, they won’t be able to fit in like a normal American childrens.
Sept. 10th Discussion Question Number Two
The father had a little too much whiskey and now he’s waltzing around the kitchen with his son. Their waltz is pretty clumsy that the pans are sliding from the shelf and mom’s not too happy about that. The father must be a guy who works with his hands, because his knuckles are rough, and he deals with a lot of dirt. This dance may not be all fun and games for the boy the keeps scraping his ear on his dad’s belt buckle. His dad is keeping time, perhaps not so gently, on the boy’s head. In the end, the father dances the boy off to bed.
When I read the story, it felt like the father was drunk and he was abusing the child. I think the father’s knuckle was battered from missing his swings when he tried to hit the child and hit somewhere else around the house.
When I read this poem I thought it was about a young boy helping his father walk around the house and at the end the father puts the young boy to sleep.
Taiwo,
What do you see as the boy’s (now man’s) attitude toward his father? How does Roethke express this attitude in the poem? What tools does he use?
Sept. 10th Discussion Question Number One
I have decided to “My Papa’s Walts” written by Theodore Roethke.
(Line 1) The whiskey on your breath
The father has been drinking a lot and the whiskey could be smelt off his breath
(Line 2) Could make a small boy dizzy
His breath could make a small boy dizzy
(Line 3) But I hung on like death
He was hanging on to the dizziness
(Line 4) Such waltzing was not easy.
The speaker holding onto his drunken father
(Line 5) We romped until the pans
Waltzing into the kitchen
(Line 6) Slid from the kitchen shelf;
Pans falling off the shelf
(Line 7) My mother’s countenance
His mother’s face
(Line 8) Could not unfrown itself.
She could not stop frowning
(Line 9) The hand that held my wrist
The father is grasping the son’s wrist
(Line 10) Was battered on one knuckle;
(Line 11) At every step you missed
Every time the father missed a step
(Line 12) My right ear scraped a buckle.
The son’s ear was scraped against the father’s belt
(Line 13) You beat time on my head
Father’s roughness
(Line 14) With a palm caked hard by dirt,
Very dirty palms
(Line 15) Then waltzed me off to bed
The whole dance was to make the boy go to bed
(Line 16) Still clinging to your shirt.
But the boy still did not want to go to bed
Taiwo Adegbamigbe
This poem is about a young boy’s first experience with racism. It was a pretty short poem, but it got straight to the point. The poet, quite obviously was impacted deeply by this occurence to have titled the poem “Incident”. Also with the implication that he had lived a long time and seen many things, in the last stanza, and that was his greatest memory said volumes. Maybe it was because it came from someone so young,or maybe Baltimore was a more progressive place, compared to other places at that time, where the racial divide was much more evident. The May until December thing is a big question for me as I have a feeling that it was not literal but figurative. If that line was meant literally then the reason for the impact would only change a bit. It would mean that the poet was from a place where racism was less prevalent, and on his visit to Baltimore he had that jarring experience which became the most memorable of all about Baltimore.
Stacey,
Your second conclusion about the speaker’s memory makes a lot of sense. Even in December his memory of May is this.
Sept. 10th Discussion Question:
I have decided to choose “The Bully” written by Martin Espada. To fully comprehend the poem I had to search for some background information regarding Theodore Roosevelt and the Spanish American War. Many say that the Spanish American War was a pointless war and Theodore Roosevelt’s involvement has created both positive and negative remarks. The title of the poem is bully which means an unfair fight one in which a much more powerful person overtakes a smaller or weaker person. Theodore Roosevelt is introduced in the second line of the poem; one may assume that Theodore is the bully in this case due to his position in the Spanish American war as well as his personal views. The poem goes on to describe a school in Boston named after Roosevelt. The location of the school is very significant, during the time the poem was written Boston was known for its racial disagreement. That school is now pronounced Hernandez due to the migration of the Puerto Rican culture. This is where the irony is formed. Theodore Roosevelt was well known for his ethnocentric beliefs as well as his opposition on immigration. However now Roosevelt has found himself invaded by “an army of Spanish- singing children”. These children who were once oppressed from their culture now freely demonstrate their Taino roots. “Roosevelt is surrounded by all the faces he ever shoved in eugenic spite”. Although Roosevelt has passed on the descriptions in the poem show how ironic the situation Is now that what Roosevelt fought for and believed in has clearly been overpowered by the cultures and heritage of the Puerto Rican culture.
The irony is palpable in Bully. As Roosevelt’s agenda of fighting to keep immigrants of hispanic background out of this country has come full circle. The same race or breed of people are the dominant attendees at a school named in his honor. What was not mentioned in Gloria’s summary was the significance of the last three lines from the children’s perspective. Was this just a random statue that they were going to graffiti? Or, did they understand the ironical history behind the statue?
Gloria,
This is a sharp interpretation of Roosevelt’s role in the poem. What about the line-by-line translation?
Monday, September 10, 2012 Discussion Questions
Incident
Exercise 1
(Line1) Once riding in old Baltimore
The speaker was riding in Baltimore a long time ago or before some kind of change occurred.
Line 2) Heart filled, head filled with glee,
He was happy and carefree. No worries, just happiness.
Line 3) I saw a Baltimorean
He saw a resident or native of Baltimore
Line 4) Keep looking straight at me
This person was staring directly at him
Line 5) Now I was eight and very small
The speaker was young and probably below the average size for a boy his age.
Line 6) And he was no whit bigger
Whit means small amount, so the Baltimorean he saw was about the same size and likely the same age or younger than he was because he a small eight.
Line 7) And so I smiled,but he poked out
The speaker was cordial and pleasant towards this person
Line 8) His tongue,and called me, “Nigger.”
In the way he knew how this little boy showed expressed hatred of an individual just based on the color of the speakers skin by calling him, “Nigger.”
Line 9) I saw the whole of Baltimore
The speaker had been all over Baltimore
Line 10) From May until December
This could mean he was visiting Baltimore during that period of a year, however I think it means he lived in Baltimore all his life from youth( May) to old age (December)
Line 11) Of all the things that happened there
The speaker had seen, done and experienced many things in Baltimore, or life in general.
Line 12) That’s all that I remember
That particulalar incident resonated with him and he never forgot it. It probably changed his life forever.
Great interpretation. Valid point on how the ugliness of racism in that moment remained with the speaker to change his life, especially since he can’t recall anything more of that trip but that moment.
Sept 10th Discussion Question:
In the poem Incident, the speaker, who is a little boy, is talking about his experience of racism in Baltimore. The poem expresses how such incident can make such big impact in someone’s life especially a young boy. Hence the line “of all the things that happened there, that’s all that I remember.” Which means that even with all that he had experienced in Baltimore from “May until December” his encounter with that young Baltimorean is what made a difference to him. It just shows how serious that encounter was to the boy and how much it had affected him.
I felt that the poet wanted to show that racism comes in every age, because the poet tells us that the boy is only eight years old and that Baltimorean “ was no whit bigger.” No matter how young or old someone is, the experience of racism is just the same.
The issue that is expressed in the poem Incident is racism. I agree that the author is showing us that racism comes from any age. But it also goes to show that it is created by your surroundings.
We should also remember that this was “old Baltimore” and things have changed alot since then. But for the speaker this eye opening moment would never be forgotten.
I agree that the author is showing us that racism comes from any age.
In the poem, “I ask my Mother to Sing” by Li-Young Lee the speaker describes how her mother and grandmother recount a familiar story. The word singing is used to describe their storytelling. The accordian play and the boat sway is the way her deceased dad would tell his version of the same story at the same time, although it seems that the father’s story would be more animated. The reference to the city Peking, tells us the story happened a long time ago, it is now called Beijing. The great stone boat refers to a safe place where the rain symbolizes some sort of disturbance or violence. The waterlilies are the mother and the grandmother. They are crying throughout their storytelling. At times the crying subsides but, it does manages to start up again and again.
This sounds like a powerful poem with a very loud message. It also appears to say how our experiences never leave us; they make us what we are today.
Linda,
Your summary is clear enough, but how do you reach the conclusions in your second message?
Melody,
You’re already moving toward an interpretation here, which is good, but begin with translating Cullen’s lines.
In the poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, the speaker is the boy in line two, who reflecting his happiness childhood experience involving his father coming back home drunk and happy and starts to dance the waltz with his son. In the first paragraph.
This poem is about love between the father and son, not of an abusive relationship as may people think event you may get the reaction of abuse because; the line, “whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy”, also lines, “hung on like death”, and “beat time on my head” might even lead the reader to think the father is abusive to his son.
But really if the child was getting beat his mother would have reacted more than just a frown, “my mother’s countenance could not unfrown itself” (Line 7-8) the mother was angry because her pots and pans were flying everywhere causing mess in the kitchen. And the young boy is breathless because of all the playing around with his father. In line 15, “still clinging to your shirt” the boy is holding onto his father’s shirt because he doesn’t want to go to bed and continue to play with his father.
As you can see the poem does not suggest an abusive environment, but is a strong bond of love and playfulness between father and son.
I don’t think that the father and son are literally dancing. It seems to me that the boy do love his father dearly but I don’t think the father is expressing the same or at least I don’t see it. I think the little boy is taking care of his father by walking him around the house while he’s drunk and trying to keep him balanced. I think that because the boy loves his father his translating this unpleasant experience as dancing “my papa’s waltz.”
I agree with Melody. The boy loved his father but at the same time the father rejected him with the use of violence. Since it was an issue of Domestic Violence the mother was afraid to intervene and only showed she was upset in her facial expressions.
Amadou,
You see the love in the poem, as well as the physical nature of the father’s behavior. In fact this poem may not be about abuse at all.
It was a physical struggle trying to lug a man probably twice his size. It was also an emotional struggle to see his father in that condition.
The speaker in this poem is a young boy. He is recalling a night when his father came home drunk. The boy describes the event from the eyes of a small child. The father and son begin to dance. As they dance, the son holds on tight to his dad’s shirt. Will the boy fall down if he does not hold on? Also present is the boy’s mother. Her facial expression is a frown why?
I think the poem is about a fond recollection the boy has of his father. Maybe the father always puts the boy to bed, but this night is different. Their bedtime ritual includes this dance. The mother is not pleased with seeing her husband in this state. Maybe she is worried her son will accidentally get hurt doing this dance with his dad. She can’t wait till it is over.
Linda,
What language signals his fondness for his father?
The use of the following- hanging on, clinging and waltzing me off to bed signal fondness. The poem also signals acceptance; the boy’s acceptance of his father’s drinking.
I don’t think this poem was literally about dancing the waltz. It was written from the perspective of a young boy, who had to deal with his drunk father. This was implied in the lines “The whiskey on your breath could make a young boy dizzy”. He took on the task of caring for his father and getting him through the house and into bed, all by himself as his mother stood by annoyed,as per the lines “My mother’s countenance could not unfrown itself”. This may have been a recurring event and she was frustrated with the father.The struggle, which took a toll on the boy’s small body included a scratched ear and a sore head.His father had scrathes on his knuckles also, maybe from a fight or falling. By the time he got his dad to bed he was still hanging on to his shirt.This resembled some kind of dance; he called it the waltz.
Stacey,
What sort of a struggle is this exactly? Especially for the boy at the time the action in the poem takes place? How does the speaker seem to feel about it?
This poem can be interpreted in many different forms. It can be possible that the father is somehow using the son for balance. His battered knuckles can be explained in both a positive note or a negative note. They can be explained as the hands of a hard working husband and father or of an abuser.
In My Papa’s Waltz, the speaker is reflecting on his childhood experience with his father when he was drunk. When he says “the whiskey on your breath”, I take that as a sign that his father would often times come home drunk. They would waltz or dance, if you will, in the kitchen to the point where all the pots and pans fell. In which the mom would be upset hence the frown because of all the mess that they made from dancing. The son will scratch his ear on his belt buckle every time he missed a step, implying that he was at his fathers waist. They would do this to pass the time until it was time for his son to go to sleep, and they would dance to the sons bedroom, and put him to sleep
What do you think the speaker feels upon reflecting on these experiences with his father?