This paper was a lot different form the last two especially because I feel like I had more knowledge on writing and a lot to think about when revising my paper, such as was it concise and did I have good sentence variation.
When revising my paper I really tried to make it concise but had trouble deciding what to get rid of. I also felt that since my final draft was longer than my first draft that it wasn't as concise, but I think this is because I added more to my paper before editing it for concision. Also I felt my paper was lacking in some detail in the first draft.
I think adding the outside sources that I did will help the audience to be able to relate and understand my paper a little bit better because not everyone has a background on some of the things I mentioned. I thought it was important to sort of fill in the gaps for reader who would not share the same knowledge I had growing up as a child.
I also tried to show more instead of tell. I added some more imagery and tried to appeal to the senses in my final draft. I really struggled with this part and I'm not sure I did too well with it. I think it is also difficult going from reading amazing essays by writers such as Tan, Douglas, and Welty and then read my essay in comparison. In my future writing I think I will have to work on showing the reader instead of just telling them.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Sports Extravaganza: Final Draft
As a child I spent more time outside playing than I did inside. When I was outside I was always playing some kind of sport with my brothers and neighbors. As the youngest of three children, and the only girl, I always felt like I needed to prove myself to my brothers. I’m sure they didn’t really care if I was good at sports or not, but I always felt since they were bigger, stronger, and older if I could beat them it would really be saying something about me. It would also provide me with a lot of bragging rights.
In the household I grew up in, we were always encouraged to get out and play as many sports as we could as often as possible. My father was really into sports because he had been brought up playing them and he invited us to share in his passion as well. If we ever showed any interest in a sport he would buy us whatever we needed or wanted without hesitation. We had equipment for nearly every sport whether we played it leisurely or competitively. I can remember going to out to the garage and seeing nothing but a sea of sports equipment; it looked like we had our own used sporting goods store right in our garage.
Living in a neighborhood filled with kids around my age who also loved to play sports was perfect for me. Early in the summer mornings all the kids in the neighborhood would wake up and come outside. On an ideal day the air would be warm and the sky would be cloudless, but regardless of the weather, we would still be outside playing. The only time we ever stopped to take a break was to eat lunch or when our mothers would call us in for dinner. If the sun didn’t have to go to bed every night, I’m not sure we would have either. As children living in Pittsburgh, we normally played sports like baseball, hockey, and football that were big in the area because there were pro sports teams for them in the city.
Different days meant different sports for us to indulge in. The neighbors who lived behind my family had an enormous backyard that was perfect for baseball. We spent countless summer days in what felt like our own little PNC Park. As the littlest one that played baseball, I was sure to be picked last. The only way I ever got picked sooner was if one of my older brothers was captain and they wanted to make me feel good. Once everyone divided up into two teams it was time to “play ball”. While playing, I often found myself with the taste of dirt in my mouth and my clothes sticking to me from my sweat. My left hand was always pruned after taking it out of my mitt between innings, and it always smelt like leather and sweat. Most people would not think of running in circles around bases for hours upon hours as fun, but it never failed to entertain us.
Some other days we spent playing street hockey. We had our skates strapped tight on our feet and in our hands were smooth wooden sticks with tape at the top for grip. The sticks smelt like a mix of sweat and mildew from us using them so much and from our hand sweat getting on them. We had two red raggedy, plastic goals that were worn down from being shot on so much, and the nets on them were once white but had turned a sort of brown from getting so dirty. We frequently found ourselves having to move the goals every so often so that a car could pass through what we claimed as our hockey arena. It probably wasn’t the safest idea playing in the middle of the road, but it’s the only place that was big enough for all of us to rollerblade on.
Hockey was always my favorite sport to play because it was the one I was best at and the games got quite competitive. We were constantly checking into each other and knocking each other onto the ground. We played every game like it was game seven of the Stanley Cup final where you either win it all or go home with nothing. My brother often found himself pretending to be goaltender Patrick Roy, his favorite player from the Colorado Avalanche; while I always wanted to be like Mario Lemieux, the star forward for the Pittsburgh Penguins. According to The Encyclopedia of World Biography on Patrick Roy, when Roy left the NHL he was the all-time career leader in victories and games played as a goaltender (Gale, par. 1). This would explain why my brother wanted to be just like him.
If we weren’t playing baseball or hockey, it’s likely that we were playing football. Steeler football was very big in Pittsburgh and still is. During the time I was living in Pittsburgh they already had four Super Bowl wins, which, according to the NFL’s official website, was only one shy of the San Francisco 49ers and tied with the Dallas Cowboys at the time (NFL Super Bowl History 1). This shows that the Steelers have a big football franchise and explains why people are such dedicated fans. We always started out playing two hand touch in the backyard, but it always seemed to turn into tackle by the end of the game. Since I was the littlest out of everyone, I frequently found myself being tossed about the backyard like a little rag doll getting grass stains on my clothes and scrapes and bruises all over my body. The only way for me to escape being flung like this was to outrun the competition. The only problem with that was that their legs were much longer and stronger than mine. Once I got the ball I was pretty much doomed to being knocked down, but this still did not keep me from trying my best in the game. No matter how much I got thrown around I would not stop playing because I could not allow myself to be called a quitter.
Although my experience does not seem exactly like Welty’s, it is actually quite similar. Welty talks about her parents not being able to afford books as children. She says “”my father was all the while carefully selecting and ordering away for what he and Mother thought we children should grow up with.” (Kelly 362). Just as Welty’s parents valued books when they were younger, my parents valued playing sports; therefore, they found it important to spend money on providing us with equipment to play whatever sports we chose.
Also, just like Welty uses the skills she learned while reading in her everyday life, I also use what I learned as a child playing sports in my everyday life especially when I started playing sports in high school. Always pushing myself to be my best when I was little formed good habits for when I was older. Once I got to high school, I refused to give up and I always pushed myself to test my limits not only in games but also in practices. It is probably because of the drive I had when I was little that I was able to be captain in two of the sports I played in high school. I also still use this drive when I workout while at school to keep myself healthy.
The work ethic I learned while playing sports also relates to my schoolwork as well because it taught me to never give up and to push myself to do my best. I also has made me competitive and showed me not to settle for mediocre work. When I do an assignment I make sure it is done to the best of my ability. I would be lost in life if I did not have sports because they have played such a big role in helping me become who I am today.
Work Cited
Gale, Thompson. “Encyclopedia of World Biography on Patrick Roy”. Bookrags. Web. 23 July 2009.
“History”. NFL.com. 2009. National Football League. Web. 23 July 2009.
Kelly, Joseph. The Seagull Reader Essays New York: W. W Norton, 2007. Print.
In the household I grew up in, we were always encouraged to get out and play as many sports as we could as often as possible. My father was really into sports because he had been brought up playing them and he invited us to share in his passion as well. If we ever showed any interest in a sport he would buy us whatever we needed or wanted without hesitation. We had equipment for nearly every sport whether we played it leisurely or competitively. I can remember going to out to the garage and seeing nothing but a sea of sports equipment; it looked like we had our own used sporting goods store right in our garage.
Living in a neighborhood filled with kids around my age who also loved to play sports was perfect for me. Early in the summer mornings all the kids in the neighborhood would wake up and come outside. On an ideal day the air would be warm and the sky would be cloudless, but regardless of the weather, we would still be outside playing. The only time we ever stopped to take a break was to eat lunch or when our mothers would call us in for dinner. If the sun didn’t have to go to bed every night, I’m not sure we would have either. As children living in Pittsburgh, we normally played sports like baseball, hockey, and football that were big in the area because there were pro sports teams for them in the city.
Different days meant different sports for us to indulge in. The neighbors who lived behind my family had an enormous backyard that was perfect for baseball. We spent countless summer days in what felt like our own little PNC Park. As the littlest one that played baseball, I was sure to be picked last. The only way I ever got picked sooner was if one of my older brothers was captain and they wanted to make me feel good. Once everyone divided up into two teams it was time to “play ball”. While playing, I often found myself with the taste of dirt in my mouth and my clothes sticking to me from my sweat. My left hand was always pruned after taking it out of my mitt between innings, and it always smelt like leather and sweat. Most people would not think of running in circles around bases for hours upon hours as fun, but it never failed to entertain us.
Some other days we spent playing street hockey. We had our skates strapped tight on our feet and in our hands were smooth wooden sticks with tape at the top for grip. The sticks smelt like a mix of sweat and mildew from us using them so much and from our hand sweat getting on them. We had two red raggedy, plastic goals that were worn down from being shot on so much, and the nets on them were once white but had turned a sort of brown from getting so dirty. We frequently found ourselves having to move the goals every so often so that a car could pass through what we claimed as our hockey arena. It probably wasn’t the safest idea playing in the middle of the road, but it’s the only place that was big enough for all of us to rollerblade on.
Hockey was always my favorite sport to play because it was the one I was best at and the games got quite competitive. We were constantly checking into each other and knocking each other onto the ground. We played every game like it was game seven of the Stanley Cup final where you either win it all or go home with nothing. My brother often found himself pretending to be goaltender Patrick Roy, his favorite player from the Colorado Avalanche; while I always wanted to be like Mario Lemieux, the star forward for the Pittsburgh Penguins. According to The Encyclopedia of World Biography on Patrick Roy, when Roy left the NHL he was the all-time career leader in victories and games played as a goaltender (Gale, par. 1). This would explain why my brother wanted to be just like him.
If we weren’t playing baseball or hockey, it’s likely that we were playing football. Steeler football was very big in Pittsburgh and still is. During the time I was living in Pittsburgh they already had four Super Bowl wins, which, according to the NFL’s official website, was only one shy of the San Francisco 49ers and tied with the Dallas Cowboys at the time (NFL Super Bowl History 1). This shows that the Steelers have a big football franchise and explains why people are such dedicated fans. We always started out playing two hand touch in the backyard, but it always seemed to turn into tackle by the end of the game. Since I was the littlest out of everyone, I frequently found myself being tossed about the backyard like a little rag doll getting grass stains on my clothes and scrapes and bruises all over my body. The only way for me to escape being flung like this was to outrun the competition. The only problem with that was that their legs were much longer and stronger than mine. Once I got the ball I was pretty much doomed to being knocked down, but this still did not keep me from trying my best in the game. No matter how much I got thrown around I would not stop playing because I could not allow myself to be called a quitter.
Although my experience does not seem exactly like Welty’s, it is actually quite similar. Welty talks about her parents not being able to afford books as children. She says “”my father was all the while carefully selecting and ordering away for what he and Mother thought we children should grow up with.” (Kelly 362). Just as Welty’s parents valued books when they were younger, my parents valued playing sports; therefore, they found it important to spend money on providing us with equipment to play whatever sports we chose.
Also, just like Welty uses the skills she learned while reading in her everyday life, I also use what I learned as a child playing sports in my everyday life especially when I started playing sports in high school. Always pushing myself to be my best when I was little formed good habits for when I was older. Once I got to high school, I refused to give up and I always pushed myself to test my limits not only in games but also in practices. It is probably because of the drive I had when I was little that I was able to be captain in two of the sports I played in high school. I also still use this drive when I workout while at school to keep myself healthy.
The work ethic I learned while playing sports also relates to my schoolwork as well because it taught me to never give up and to push myself to do my best. I also has made me competitive and showed me not to settle for mediocre work. When I do an assignment I make sure it is done to the best of my ability. I would be lost in life if I did not have sports because they have played such a big role in helping me become who I am today.
Work Cited
Gale, Thompson. “Encyclopedia of World Biography on Patrick Roy”. Bookrags. Web. 23 July 2009.
“History”. NFL.com. 2009. National Football League. Web. 23 July 2009.
Kelly, Joseph. The Seagull Reader Essays New York: W. W Norton, 2007. Print.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Writing Log 8
The feedback I received was very useful. It gave me a lot of great ideas for how to improve my essay. I agree with them that I did more of telling than showing, but I think their suggestions will help me with how to show instead when I do my final draft.
I also think I need to add more pathos and figure out how to incorporate all of the senses for the reader to experience.
I also have good ideas how to add outside information into my essay. This will allow my audience to better relate to my essay. However, I think I'm going to have to play with it a little bit and see which ideas will work best.
I also think I need to add more pathos and figure out how to incorporate all of the senses for the reader to experience.
I also have good ideas how to add outside information into my essay. This will allow my audience to better relate to my essay. However, I think I'm going to have to play with it a little bit and see which ideas will work best.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Sports Extravaganza
As a child I spent more time outside playing than I did inside. Living in a neighborhood full of other kids around my age was ideal. As the youngest of three children, and the only girl, I always felt like I needed to prove myself to my brothers. I’m sure they didn’t really care if I was good at sports or not, but I always felt since they were bigger, stronger, and older if I could beat them it would really be saying something about me. It would also provide me with a lot of bragging rights.
In the household I grew up in, we were always encouraged to get out and play as many sports as we could as often as possible. My father was really into sports and invited us to share in that passion as well. If we ever showed any interest in a sport he would buy us whatever we needed or wanted, without hesitation, so that we were able to play that sport. We had equipment for nearly every sport whether we played it leisurely or competitively. I can remember going to out to the garage and seeing nothing but a sea of sports equipment. I’m pretty sure we could have opened our own used sporting goods store with all the equipment in our garage.
Living in a neighborhood filled with kids around my age who also loved to play sports was perfect for me. Early in the summer mornings all the kids in the neighborhood would wake up and come outside. On an ideal day the air would be warm and the sky would be cloudless, but regardless of the weather, we would still be outside playing. The only time we ever stopped to take a break was to eat lunch or when our mothers would call us in for dinner, and most of the time we would bring out big jugs of lemonade or water to quench our thirst so we did not have to go inside. If the sun didn’t have to go to bed every night, I’m not sure we would have either. There was always a game to be played, and everyone was always ready to play. As children living in Pittsburgh, we normally played sports that were big in that area. These included baseball, hockey, and football.
Different days meant different sports for us to indulge in. The neighbors who lived behind my family had a massive backyard that was perfect for baseball. We spent countless summer days in what felt like our own little PNC Park. As the littlest one that played baseball, I was sure to be picked last. The only way I ever got picked sooner was if one of my older brothers was captain and they wanted to make me feel good. If I didn’t get picked last I was feeling like a million bucks because at the time I did not realize they were just doing it to make me feel good about myself. Once everyone divided up into two teams it was time to “play ball”. We had benches set up like our own little dugout and often spent hours upon hours going into extra innings that weren’t even necessary, but were nonetheless enjoyable. Most people would not think of running in circles around bases for hours upon hours as fun, but it never failed to entertain us.
Some other days we spent playing street hockey. This was always my favorite sport to play and the games often got quite competitive. We played every game like it was game seven of the Stanley Cup final where you either win it all or go home with nothing. My brother often found himself pretending to be goaltender Patrick Roy, his favorite player from the Colorado Avalanche; while I always wanted to be like Mario Lemieux, the star forward for the Pittsburgh Penguins. We had two red raggedy, plastic goals that were worn down from being shot on so much. The nets on them were once white but had turned a sort of brown from getting so dirty. We frequently found ourselves having to move the goals every so often so that a car could pass through the road. It probably wasn’t the safest idea playing in the middle of the road, but it’s the only place that was big enough for all of us to rollerblade on. Countless hours were spent skating back and forth on that hot pavement trying to put the ball in the goal. I think this was my favorite sport because it was one where I could help make plays and did not need to be very strong.
If we weren’t playing baseball or hockey, it’s likely that we were playing football. We always started out playing two hand touch in our big, grassy backyard. After we had been playing the game for a while, and emotions got brought into play, it always seemed to get a little bit more aggressive and turn into tackle. Since I was the littlest one out of everyone, I frequently found myself being tossed about the backyard like a little rag doll. The only way for me to escape being flung like this was to outrun the competition. The only problem with that was that their legs were much longer and stronger than mine. Once I got the ball I was pretty much doomed to being knocked down, but this still did not keep me from trying my best in the game. No matter how much I got thrown around I would not stop playing, mostly because my brothers would make fun of me and call me a “baby” or a “chicken”. Even though it sounds like torture, it was still entertaining and fun to me.
Although my experience does not seem exactly like Welty’s, it is actually quite similar. Welty talks about her parents not being able to afford books as children. She says “”my father was all the while carefully selecting and ordering away for what he and Mother thought we children should grow up with.” (362).Just as Welty’s parents valued books when they were younger, my parents valued playing sports so they found it important to spend money on providing us with equipment to play whatever sports we chose.
Also, just like Welty uses the skills she learned while reading in her everyday life, I also use what I learned as a child playing sports in my everyday life. It all came in very handy when I started playing sports in high school. Always pushing myself to be my best when I was little formed good habits for when I was older. Once I got to high school, I refused to give up and I always pushed myself to test my limits not only in games but also in practices. It is probably because of the drive I had when I was little that I was able to be captain in two of the sports I played in high school. I still use this drive when I workout while at school to keep myself healthy.
The work ethic I learned while playing sports also relates to my schoolwork as well because it taught me to never give up and to push myself to do my best. I also has made me competitive and showed me not to settle for mediocre work. When I do an assignment I make sure it is done to the best of my ability.
*I know I still need to add outside sources I was just struggling with how to put those in. I also wasn't quite sure on how to conclude my paper.
In the household I grew up in, we were always encouraged to get out and play as many sports as we could as often as possible. My father was really into sports and invited us to share in that passion as well. If we ever showed any interest in a sport he would buy us whatever we needed or wanted, without hesitation, so that we were able to play that sport. We had equipment for nearly every sport whether we played it leisurely or competitively. I can remember going to out to the garage and seeing nothing but a sea of sports equipment. I’m pretty sure we could have opened our own used sporting goods store with all the equipment in our garage.
Living in a neighborhood filled with kids around my age who also loved to play sports was perfect for me. Early in the summer mornings all the kids in the neighborhood would wake up and come outside. On an ideal day the air would be warm and the sky would be cloudless, but regardless of the weather, we would still be outside playing. The only time we ever stopped to take a break was to eat lunch or when our mothers would call us in for dinner, and most of the time we would bring out big jugs of lemonade or water to quench our thirst so we did not have to go inside. If the sun didn’t have to go to bed every night, I’m not sure we would have either. There was always a game to be played, and everyone was always ready to play. As children living in Pittsburgh, we normally played sports that were big in that area. These included baseball, hockey, and football.
Different days meant different sports for us to indulge in. The neighbors who lived behind my family had a massive backyard that was perfect for baseball. We spent countless summer days in what felt like our own little PNC Park. As the littlest one that played baseball, I was sure to be picked last. The only way I ever got picked sooner was if one of my older brothers was captain and they wanted to make me feel good. If I didn’t get picked last I was feeling like a million bucks because at the time I did not realize they were just doing it to make me feel good about myself. Once everyone divided up into two teams it was time to “play ball”. We had benches set up like our own little dugout and often spent hours upon hours going into extra innings that weren’t even necessary, but were nonetheless enjoyable. Most people would not think of running in circles around bases for hours upon hours as fun, but it never failed to entertain us.
Some other days we spent playing street hockey. This was always my favorite sport to play and the games often got quite competitive. We played every game like it was game seven of the Stanley Cup final where you either win it all or go home with nothing. My brother often found himself pretending to be goaltender Patrick Roy, his favorite player from the Colorado Avalanche; while I always wanted to be like Mario Lemieux, the star forward for the Pittsburgh Penguins. We had two red raggedy, plastic goals that were worn down from being shot on so much. The nets on them were once white but had turned a sort of brown from getting so dirty. We frequently found ourselves having to move the goals every so often so that a car could pass through the road. It probably wasn’t the safest idea playing in the middle of the road, but it’s the only place that was big enough for all of us to rollerblade on. Countless hours were spent skating back and forth on that hot pavement trying to put the ball in the goal. I think this was my favorite sport because it was one where I could help make plays and did not need to be very strong.
If we weren’t playing baseball or hockey, it’s likely that we were playing football. We always started out playing two hand touch in our big, grassy backyard. After we had been playing the game for a while, and emotions got brought into play, it always seemed to get a little bit more aggressive and turn into tackle. Since I was the littlest one out of everyone, I frequently found myself being tossed about the backyard like a little rag doll. The only way for me to escape being flung like this was to outrun the competition. The only problem with that was that their legs were much longer and stronger than mine. Once I got the ball I was pretty much doomed to being knocked down, but this still did not keep me from trying my best in the game. No matter how much I got thrown around I would not stop playing, mostly because my brothers would make fun of me and call me a “baby” or a “chicken”. Even though it sounds like torture, it was still entertaining and fun to me.
Although my experience does not seem exactly like Welty’s, it is actually quite similar. Welty talks about her parents not being able to afford books as children. She says “”my father was all the while carefully selecting and ordering away for what he and Mother thought we children should grow up with.” (362).Just as Welty’s parents valued books when they were younger, my parents valued playing sports so they found it important to spend money on providing us with equipment to play whatever sports we chose.
Also, just like Welty uses the skills she learned while reading in her everyday life, I also use what I learned as a child playing sports in my everyday life. It all came in very handy when I started playing sports in high school. Always pushing myself to be my best when I was little formed good habits for when I was older. Once I got to high school, I refused to give up and I always pushed myself to test my limits not only in games but also in practices. It is probably because of the drive I had when I was little that I was able to be captain in two of the sports I played in high school. I still use this drive when I workout while at school to keep myself healthy.
The work ethic I learned while playing sports also relates to my schoolwork as well because it taught me to never give up and to push myself to do my best. I also has made me competitive and showed me not to settle for mediocre work. When I do an assignment I make sure it is done to the best of my ability.
*I know I still need to add outside sources I was just struggling with how to put those in. I also wasn't quite sure on how to conclude my paper.
Writing Log 7
I thought this paper was the hardest to get started on out of all three. When I was reading the topics none of them really set off a lighbulb in my head as something I would be able to relate to at first. It took quite a lot of brainstorming just to come up with what I wanted to write about, and I would say that was the biggest stage of my prewriting process.
After deciding what I was going to write about, I set up a very basic outiline. It looked similar to this:
~Intro
~Three different sports
>baseball
>hockey
>soccer
~Relate my text to Welty's
~Conclusion
From here I started my writing phase.
After deciding what I was going to write about, I set up a very basic outiline. It looked similar to this:
~Intro
~Three different sports
>baseball
>hockey
>soccer
~Relate my text to Welty's
~Conclusion
From here I started my writing phase.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Lecture 14 Quiz
The room I hung out in most as a child was my bedroom. The design was similar to an African safari. The bed, lamp, and wallpaper were all animal print, and the curtains were black; there were even fake trees to give it a more realistic feel. However, it always had an ominous ambiance most likely because of the black curtains.Although it was my bedroom, after my grandmother, dying of cancer moved in, I would never call it my room again. I gave my room to her and moved into my brother’s.
In a corner was a small Mickey Mouse play kitchen set which looked very out of place in the African safari. Although this was my favorite toy, it was not often that I played with it after my grandmother moved in. I would only go in and play with it when she was out of the house because I did not want to disturb her.
Once my grandmother passed, I rarely set foot in that room. It had even more of an eerie feeling, because of the memories that lingered. My parents tried to get me to go back to my room, giving me my own space once again, but I would always reply, "That's not my room anymore. It's Grandma's." I was content sleeping on the top bunk of my brother’s bunk beds. It was not until we moved into a different house that I would consider moving into my own bedroom.
(361 to 246, about 32%)
In a corner was a small Mickey Mouse play kitchen set which looked very out of place in the African safari. Although this was my favorite toy, it was not often that I played with it after my grandmother moved in. I would only go in and play with it when she was out of the house because I did not want to disturb her.
Once my grandmother passed, I rarely set foot in that room. It had even more of an eerie feeling, because of the memories that lingered. My parents tried to get me to go back to my room, giving me my own space once again, but I would always reply, "That's not my room anymore. It's Grandma's." I was content sleeping on the top bunk of my brother’s bunk beds. It was not until we moved into a different house that I would consider moving into my own bedroom.
(361 to 246, about 32%)
Friday, July 17, 2009
Reading Log 9
In Me Talk Pretty One Day, I thought there was a really good use of dialogue. Sedaris used this to directly show how his teacher spoke to him. It allowed her harshness to be seen in full instead of being sugar coated by paraphrasing. Another thing that I thought was very genius was his use of the French words in his professor’s dialogue. This allowed the reader to feel just as lost as he was in this class. I know while I was reading it I was forced to just skip over those words because I had no chance at all of knowing what they meant, which I think was the author’s intended effect.
Sedaris also did a good job of showing how he was feeling. Toward the end when he said, “I knew my fear was getting the best of me when I started wondering why they don’t sell cuts of meat in vending machines.” (289). I thought this really showed the reader the fear the author was experiencing. It made me reflect on how desperate one would have to be to have a thought like that. This gave more insight than just simply saying he was frightened to talk to anyone.
He also characterized his teacher very well. He made her seem like Hitler’s sister or something along those lines. Again, as the reader, I felt that I would not want to be in a classroom with a teacher like this, and that I would drop that class after the very first day. The first thing that really caught my attention about this teacher being ruthless is when Sedaris said, “She hadn’t yet punched anyone, but it seemed wise to protect ourselves against the inevitable.” (288). That should be enough to invoke fear in any reader.
The author also did a good job of not adding a lot of ineffectual information. All of it seemed to have a purpose and reinforced his image of this evil teacher and the terrible time he had in French class.
Sedaris also did a good job of showing how he was feeling. Toward the end when he said, “I knew my fear was getting the best of me when I started wondering why they don’t sell cuts of meat in vending machines.” (289). I thought this really showed the reader the fear the author was experiencing. It made me reflect on how desperate one would have to be to have a thought like that. This gave more insight than just simply saying he was frightened to talk to anyone.
He also characterized his teacher very well. He made her seem like Hitler’s sister or something along those lines. Again, as the reader, I felt that I would not want to be in a classroom with a teacher like this, and that I would drop that class after the very first day. The first thing that really caught my attention about this teacher being ruthless is when Sedaris said, “She hadn’t yet punched anyone, but it seemed wise to protect ourselves against the inevitable.” (288). That should be enough to invoke fear in any reader.
The author also did a good job of not adding a lot of ineffectual information. All of it seemed to have a purpose and reinforced his image of this evil teacher and the terrible time he had in French class.
Lecture 13 Quiz
There was always that one room that I resided in most days while my mother would clean downstairs, cook, or do other house hold chorus. That room was my bedroom. The design was similar to one that anyone would think of when they think of the African safari. The bed, lamp, and wallpaper were all animal print, and the curtains were black. There were even fake trees to give it a more realistic feel. However, it always had a sort of dark feel to it, I think mostly because of the black curtains.
Although it was my bedroom, after sometime I would never call it my room again. When I was young my grandmother became very ill with cancer. After sometime she moved in with us so that it would be easier for my mother to take care of her, which meant me giving up my room and moving into my brother's.
In a corner, very much out of place, was a small Mickey Mouse play kitchen set. It seems kind of funny looking back on it now; a Mickey Mouse play kitchen set in the middle of the safari. Although this was my favorite toy, it was not often that I played with it after my grandmother moved in. Only on occasion, when she was out of the house would I go into my room and play with it. This was mostly because I did not want to disturb my her while she was not feeling well.
Once my grandmother passed, I rarely set foot in that room. It had even more of an eerie feeling, not just because it was dark, but because of the memories that were still there. I considered it her room, as if her soul still lingered there. My parents tried to get me to go back to my room, giving me my own space once again, but I would always reply, "That's not my room anymore. It's Grandma's." I was content living in my brother's room, sleeping on the top bunk of his bunk beds. It was not until we moved into a different house that I would consider moving into my own bedroom.
*As a sidenote, this paper took a lot of consideration seeing as the first 15 years of my life I lived in nine different houses which gave me a lot of rooms to consider and I did not ever really have one room that I have a lot of memories in. They sort of all blend together for me, and some of the houses I can barely remember.
Although it was my bedroom, after sometime I would never call it my room again. When I was young my grandmother became very ill with cancer. After sometime she moved in with us so that it would be easier for my mother to take care of her, which meant me giving up my room and moving into my brother's.
In a corner, very much out of place, was a small Mickey Mouse play kitchen set. It seems kind of funny looking back on it now; a Mickey Mouse play kitchen set in the middle of the safari. Although this was my favorite toy, it was not often that I played with it after my grandmother moved in. Only on occasion, when she was out of the house would I go into my room and play with it. This was mostly because I did not want to disturb my her while she was not feeling well.
Once my grandmother passed, I rarely set foot in that room. It had even more of an eerie feeling, not just because it was dark, but because of the memories that were still there. I considered it her room, as if her soul still lingered there. My parents tried to get me to go back to my room, giving me my own space once again, but I would always reply, "That's not my room anymore. It's Grandma's." I was content living in my brother's room, sleeping on the top bunk of his bunk beds. It was not until we moved into a different house that I would consider moving into my own bedroom.
*As a sidenote, this paper took a lot of consideration seeing as the first 15 years of my life I lived in nine different houses which gave me a lot of rooms to consider and I did not ever really have one room that I have a lot of memories in. They sort of all blend together for me, and some of the houses I can barely remember.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Reading Log 8
In Didion's essay, I think her idea of keeping a notebook is analogous to someone who keeps a scrap book. Although it may be shown to someone else, the real reason for keeping it is to remind yourself of the fun times you've had in life and to be able to reminisce about the past.
Although it may appear at first that Didion is not writing for a particular purpose, I think it can be argued that she is trying to persuade readers to keep a their own personal notebooks. Almost the entire essay is spent giving reasons why keeping a notebook is a good idea and what it has meant to her. Another reason I say this is persuasive is because she brings in outside opinions and argues against them. For example she says, “We are brought up in the ethic that others, any others, are by definition more interesting than ourselves; taught to be diffident, just this side of self-effacing.”(78). However, Didion does not want to remember to happened to others, she wants to remember what she experienced. She also argues that keeping a notebook is an easy way to keep track of what happened in your life, and also gives you something to do to keep yourself from being bored.
She does have a good point when she talks about people remembering what their experience of life was like. At the present time you might think something is important, but what is really going to matter in the end is that you had a good time and enjoyed whatever it was that you were doing.
In Welty’s essay, I think she does exactly what Didion is trying to encourage her readers to do, write about meaningful things in one’s life. I would say that Welty does not show much concern for her audience. She is mostly talking about memories that would only seem interesting to her or her family. I say this because there is no conflict or problem in her essay, she is simply telling about what she liked to read growing up. If this essay had any purpose at all to a broad audience I would say that it is to encourage them to read and also give suggestions of books the author found entertaining.
I personally have never kept a notebook, but this is probably because I do not see myself as a writer or someone who is gifted in the area of English and writing. It is also hard for me to narrow down and organize my thoughts when I am thinking about such broad topics such as what happened in my day. I would much rather do something like make a scrapbook to keep track of my memories. I think everyone has different ways to reminisce about the past and writing may not be the best way for everyone.
I do not have the same opinion as Welty when it comes to voice. I do not read and write in the same voice. When I read a piece of literature, especially if it is written well, I will hear it in what I imagine the author’s voice to sound like. I know language is important, but I do not feel like everything needs to be written down in words to be valued as important. If someone is not as gifted in composing literature, there are other ways for them to get their thoughts across to others.
Although it may appear at first that Didion is not writing for a particular purpose, I think it can be argued that she is trying to persuade readers to keep a their own personal notebooks. Almost the entire essay is spent giving reasons why keeping a notebook is a good idea and what it has meant to her. Another reason I say this is persuasive is because she brings in outside opinions and argues against them. For example she says, “We are brought up in the ethic that others, any others, are by definition more interesting than ourselves; taught to be diffident, just this side of self-effacing.”(78). However, Didion does not want to remember to happened to others, she wants to remember what she experienced. She also argues that keeping a notebook is an easy way to keep track of what happened in your life, and also gives you something to do to keep yourself from being bored.
She does have a good point when she talks about people remembering what their experience of life was like. At the present time you might think something is important, but what is really going to matter in the end is that you had a good time and enjoyed whatever it was that you were doing.
In Welty’s essay, I think she does exactly what Didion is trying to encourage her readers to do, write about meaningful things in one’s life. I would say that Welty does not show much concern for her audience. She is mostly talking about memories that would only seem interesting to her or her family. I say this because there is no conflict or problem in her essay, she is simply telling about what she liked to read growing up. If this essay had any purpose at all to a broad audience I would say that it is to encourage them to read and also give suggestions of books the author found entertaining.
I personally have never kept a notebook, but this is probably because I do not see myself as a writer or someone who is gifted in the area of English and writing. It is also hard for me to narrow down and organize my thoughts when I am thinking about such broad topics such as what happened in my day. I would much rather do something like make a scrapbook to keep track of my memories. I think everyone has different ways to reminisce about the past and writing may not be the best way for everyone.
I do not have the same opinion as Welty when it comes to voice. I do not read and write in the same voice. When I read a piece of literature, especially if it is written well, I will hear it in what I imagine the author’s voice to sound like. I know language is important, but I do not feel like everything needs to be written down in words to be valued as important. If someone is not as gifted in composing literature, there are other ways for them to get their thoughts across to others.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Lecture 12 Quiz
In Sarah Palin's video, the entire thing is a timeline of her life. It tells a story of how she grew up and highlights her accomplishments. I think one thing that is very obvious in this video was the use of ethos and evidence. They both go hand in hand as the narrator tries to explain why Palin would make a good vice president while giving support by talking about her achievements as mayor, governor, and managing a household. The narrator also uses a bit of pathos by trying to make Palin seem like the girl next door when he tells of her experiences of moose hunting and being a hockey mom. This builds a relationship with the audience that allows them to connect to her, and I think this really helped McCain in getting votes during the election.
In the Joe Biden video, I think he uses pathos to his advantage the most. Talking about losing members of his family and dealing with that hardship really allowed him to draw the audience in. He also made good use of ethos by talking about past accomplishments. It was also effective that he made references to working with former president Bill Clinton. Another rhetoric device that was very useful for Biden was acknowledgement and response. The fact that he talked in the video himself instead of having someone else narrate it made me feel like he cared more about the situation and was actually involved more in the process instead of just having someone else throw together a segment for him.
In the Joe Biden video, I think he uses pathos to his advantage the most. Talking about losing members of his family and dealing with that hardship really allowed him to draw the audience in. He also made good use of ethos by talking about past accomplishments. It was also effective that he made references to working with former president Bill Clinton. Another rhetoric device that was very useful for Biden was acknowledgement and response. The fact that he talked in the video himself instead of having someone else narrate it made me feel like he cared more about the situation and was actually involved more in the process instead of just having someone else throw together a segment for him.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Extra Thoughts on Tan's Essay
I thought it was very interesting how Tan pointed out that people would treat her mother badly because she did not speak English very well. At first I thought to myself that seems absurd. However, after contemplating it a little bit longer I thought that she actually had a point.
I don't think people who speak clear English deliberately treat people who speak broken English poorly, but rather the do this unconsciously. I started thinking back to work where people come in sometimes and do not speak English. It is very hard for me to relay information to them and it also becomes quite frustrating not knowing how to explain things to them. As with the doctor in the hospital in Tan's essay, it is easier to speak to someone who can communicate effectively, which would explain why they were able to help her mother out after speaking to Tan.
From my experience I have a very good example of this. Say someone comes into my work by themselves and does not speak a word of English. It is very hard for me to ask them questions or to inform them of a problem. However, it is much easier if they have a child with them that speaks both English and the same language as their parent because they can make sure the information is received properly on both ends with a lot less confusion and frustration.
In conclusion, I feel like people were not trying to be demeaning to Tan's mother, rather there was just a communication error. Also, as this class centers around communicating ideas effectively, I think it is obvious that the more clearly and idea is presented, the better it is understood and received. This essay also demonstrates how important communication really is.
I don't think people who speak clear English deliberately treat people who speak broken English poorly, but rather the do this unconsciously. I started thinking back to work where people come in sometimes and do not speak English. It is very hard for me to relay information to them and it also becomes quite frustrating not knowing how to explain things to them. As with the doctor in the hospital in Tan's essay, it is easier to speak to someone who can communicate effectively, which would explain why they were able to help her mother out after speaking to Tan.
From my experience I have a very good example of this. Say someone comes into my work by themselves and does not speak a word of English. It is very hard for me to ask them questions or to inform them of a problem. However, it is much easier if they have a child with them that speaks both English and the same language as their parent because they can make sure the information is received properly on both ends with a lot less confusion and frustration.
In conclusion, I feel like people were not trying to be demeaning to Tan's mother, rather there was just a communication error. Also, as this class centers around communicating ideas effectively, I think it is obvious that the more clearly and idea is presented, the better it is understood and received. This essay also demonstrates how important communication really is.
Reading Log 7
In Amy Tan’s essay, My Mother’s Tongue, she takes on a very calm and informative tone. Throughout the essay she is trying to explain her background to the audience. She tells that she was frustrated but through her tone the reader can tell she is accepting of the situation and happy to be who she is.
It seems that for Tan, speaking, writing, and reading are not related to thinking as much as they are to each other. She talks about thinking to herself about speaking, writing, and reading, but mostly how she speaks. She notices the differences in how she speaks to one person, her mother, and other people in her life like her husband and big groups of people. She points out that she speaks differently to her mother than to other people because her mother does not speak as well as the others.
One reason I say that speaking, writing, and reading are fairly closely related in the mind of Tan is due to the end of her essay where she talks about her mother reading her book and says that it is easy to read (314). This shows that when things are written simply and can be read easily, even people who cannot speak too well can still understand it. I think Tan’s purpose in writing is for everyone to be able to enjoy her reading, not just people who are very well informed in the subject of English.
On the other hand, in Frederick Douglas’ essay, I felt like all of these elements are separate from one another. He can speak and think fairly well when he is little, but he still cannot read or write. He faces quite a challenge when learning to read because it is forbidden that anyone teach him. Then, even after he learns how to read, he still cannot write. He must work in the lumber yard to gain some knowledge. Then, he uses it to trick people into teaching him how to write. He has to take everything in steps to be able to do all of them which really illustrates how they do not all come together at one time and must be learned separately.
However, it is critical that Douglas is able to do all of these things perfectly to relate to his audience. If he could not read, write, speak, or think clearly, his audience would view him as ignorant and he would lose a lot of his credibility. However, he does it so well people think he must be an imposture (96).
He also uses a very sincere and optimistic tone in his essay. His sincerity shows that he wants to accomplish his goal of getting the audience to see that he is a well educated African-American who can write just as well as any White. Likewise, his optimism shows that he is determined and can do anything he sets his mind to.
It seems that for Tan, speaking, writing, and reading are not related to thinking as much as they are to each other. She talks about thinking to herself about speaking, writing, and reading, but mostly how she speaks. She notices the differences in how she speaks to one person, her mother, and other people in her life like her husband and big groups of people. She points out that she speaks differently to her mother than to other people because her mother does not speak as well as the others.
One reason I say that speaking, writing, and reading are fairly closely related in the mind of Tan is due to the end of her essay where she talks about her mother reading her book and says that it is easy to read (314). This shows that when things are written simply and can be read easily, even people who cannot speak too well can still understand it. I think Tan’s purpose in writing is for everyone to be able to enjoy her reading, not just people who are very well informed in the subject of English.
On the other hand, in Frederick Douglas’ essay, I felt like all of these elements are separate from one another. He can speak and think fairly well when he is little, but he still cannot read or write. He faces quite a challenge when learning to read because it is forbidden that anyone teach him. Then, even after he learns how to read, he still cannot write. He must work in the lumber yard to gain some knowledge. Then, he uses it to trick people into teaching him how to write. He has to take everything in steps to be able to do all of them which really illustrates how they do not all come together at one time and must be learned separately.
However, it is critical that Douglas is able to do all of these things perfectly to relate to his audience. If he could not read, write, speak, or think clearly, his audience would view him as ignorant and he would lose a lot of his credibility. However, he does it so well people think he must be an imposture (96).
He also uses a very sincere and optimistic tone in his essay. His sincerity shows that he wants to accomplish his goal of getting the audience to see that he is a well educated African-American who can write just as well as any White. Likewise, his optimism shows that he is determined and can do anything he sets his mind to.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Writing Log 6
For me, this essay was a completely different challenge from the last paper. It involved more creativity and thinking. It wasn't just analyzing something. It was bringing my own experience and emotions into the paper.
I thought this paper was more difficult to get started on because it did involve so much creative thinking. However, I thought I was able to have a lot stronger of a voice and I also incorporated pathos a lot more effectively.
My paper changed so much from my first draft to my final draft. I was really unhappy with my first draft and decided to start over completely, just keeping the research that I had already done and my introduction. I feel that the final draft satisfies the prompt much better than my first draft. I also feel that it is just better all around, especially in the strength of the voice and adding my emotions to it.
One thing I was a little hesitant on was going and changing my paper completely. I just opened a new Word document and rewrote everything. I wasn't sure if this was a good idea, but in the end I felt it was better than what I originally had. The first draft kind of allowed me to just get some basic ideas down, while the final draft had more detail and specificity to it.
I was also unsure about keeping my introduction. I really liked it and even incorporated it back into my paper at the end, but I'm not sure if I would have been better off just starting with my second paragraph.
Next time, I think should really try to find what I want to say and then support it with information instead of finding information and supporting it with my thoughts like I did in my first draft.
I thought this paper was more difficult to get started on because it did involve so much creative thinking. However, I thought I was able to have a lot stronger of a voice and I also incorporated pathos a lot more effectively.
My paper changed so much from my first draft to my final draft. I was really unhappy with my first draft and decided to start over completely, just keeping the research that I had already done and my introduction. I feel that the final draft satisfies the prompt much better than my first draft. I also feel that it is just better all around, especially in the strength of the voice and adding my emotions to it.
One thing I was a little hesitant on was going and changing my paper completely. I just opened a new Word document and rewrote everything. I wasn't sure if this was a good idea, but in the end I felt it was better than what I originally had. The first draft kind of allowed me to just get some basic ideas down, while the final draft had more detail and specificity to it.
I was also unsure about keeping my introduction. I really liked it and even incorporated it back into my paper at the end, but I'm not sure if I would have been better off just starting with my second paragraph.
Next time, I think should really try to find what I want to say and then support it with information instead of finding information and supporting it with my thoughts like I did in my first draft.
Colorblind Love
Like dissolves like is a term commonly used in Chemistry to describe how solutes are dissolved in a solvent. Although this term was not intended to describe society, I think it does a pretty good job; for the most part, people of one race are generally surrounded by people of the same race. This also holds true for dating. Even if interracial couples are becoming more and more common, it is still not as common to see an interracial couple as it is to see a couple of the same race. In fact, until recently, this was unheard of and looked down upon, and it is still viewed as taboo by some people today.
Growing up I was taught to love my family no matter what and to stick with them through anything. Being a family that moved as much as we did, I quickly learned that people in your life will come and go but your family will always be there for you. Since I have such a close relationship with my family it is important for me to choose boyfriends that I think will fit in well with my family and that my parents will approve of. In the past I dated a boy that did not particularly like my family, especially my brothers, so as you can imagine we did not last for much longer after I found this out.
About two years ago, soon after this relationship was over, I met a boy at school. My school was about fifty percent White and fifty percent Black, what most people would consider to be well integrated. Everyone hung out with everyone; race was not something that was even questioned when making friends. With a school so well mixed, it was nothing out of the ordinary to see interracial couples around school, in fact this was something seen as quite normal. Therefore, it was not surprising that the boy I met at school was Black. Somehow our schedules were exactly the same, so after spending all day of every school day with this boy we became pretty good friends, and there was some physical attraction between the two of us. He was the star football player and I was a cheerleader, so even after school we saw each other and hung out before and after practices. One thing led to another and before I knew it we were going out on our first date. After a while I asked him to come over to my house to watch a movie one weekend, but him coming to my house also meant him meeting my parents.
For the most part my parents are very easy to get along with and are rather friendly. When they met this boy they were very fond of him. He was a well kept boy, very respectful and outgoing, and also an honor roll student who was taking the same honors and AP classes as I was, along with being our school’s most talented athlete. To most parents he would sound like a very good match for their daughter; some parents might even think of him as be too good to be true. However, once I told my parents we were thinking about dating, things became a little bit complicated. My mother had no problem with this. She knew he was a good boy and just wanted me to be with someone who would treat me well, especially after the last boy I had been with.
My dad, on the other hand, had a different opinion on things. He felt that I should not be dating a Black guy. His main reason for objecting was because he thought society would view this as taboo. In a study done by the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University, Professor Hongyu Wang said “To make their relationship successful, individuals involved in interracial relationships must learn how to manage public harassment such as evaluative, hostile, and discriminatory actions from strangers in the public” (Joyner, Kao, Wang 440 ). Although some people in society do view interracial couples as something that should not exist, this is becoming less and less common.
I had to argue with my dad that the society I was mostly exposed to, the one at school, had no objections to my dating choice and that there were plenty of other people involved in interracial relationships. In fact, in a journal article called Research on International and Interracial Marriages by Larry D. Barnett, he said, “The intermingling of young adults of different nationalities and races at the high school and college level is widely expected to be reflected over the long run in an increased rate of interracial marriage” (Barnett, par 3). It was ideas like this that were crossing through my mind while I was trying to explain things to my dad.
The hardest part for me throughout this whole thing was thinking to myself, “am I doing something wrong or is my dad in the wrong?” I was also faced with feeling like my dad was unhappy with me. Not only that, but wondering if something that felt so right could be wrong. Then, after telling the boy I liked what was happening at home, he was put in an awkward situation. He did not want to be involved in a family that was not accepting of him and I could not argue with him on that. We still saw each other at school and hung out, but not outside of school and he did not come back to my house for quite some time. It was extremely difficult for me to have to deal with all of these emotions. I wanted to be able to date who I wanted and have my family approve. However, it is difficult to have a healthy relationship with such conflict. “We hypothesize that adolescents in an interracial relationship perceive less support from their families than adolescents in intraracial relationships, therefore, they are more likely to experience relationship dissolution” (Joyner, Kao, Wang 439). Not having my dad’s approval did make it harder for me to continue with the relationship I had started, but I could not help but think about how so many people in history had been persecuted for doing what they felt was right, but society viewed as wrong. A perfect example of this is Martin Luther King Jr. in his essay A Letter from Birmingham Jail. In this letter, he included many cases where people were told they were wrong when they were not.
As time went on I felt it was necessary to really sit down and talk to my dad about the situation. I started out by asking him what he thought of the boy I had grown so fond of. He replied telling me that he really liked him as a person, and thought he had a bright future, just not with his daughter. I asked him why he would not want me to be with someone who is a good person with a bright future that treats me well, and he replied, “I don’t want people to look at you and call you names or think badly of you.” After thinking about it for a while, this response made more sense to me. When he was growing up interracial marriage was looked down upon, and for the first ten years of his life it was actually illegal. It was not until 1967 in the Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia that an interracial couple from Virginia overturned the previous laws that prohibited marriage between Blacks and Whites (Staples, par. 2).To me interracial marriage being illegal seems unfathomable, especially after I have seen so many younger couples all around me that are composed of multiple races.
During this talk I explained to my father that people in society do not look down upon interracial dating like they used to, especially the people of my generation. “Americans born in the 21st century will shake their heads in disbelief on learning that 40 states once had laws prohibiting interracial marriage (Staples p 1).” After getting him to see this and explaining that I felt torn between my family and a relationship with someone I really cared about, he began to understand where I was coming from. He also realized that I should be with someone who makes me happy no matter their skin color. Although both of my parents approve, if I ever decided to marry a Black man I will have to get my extended family to see things from my perspective also. I am hoping that one day society will stop living by the Chemistry rule of like dissolving like and accept everyone for who they are, no matter what race. Then, hopefully, they will not think anything of it for one race to date another.
Work Cited
Barnett, Larry D.. “Research on International and Interracial Marriages.” Marriage and Family Living 25. 01 (1963): pars. 3. Web. 10 July 2009.
Becker, Eddie. “Chronology on the History of Slavery: 1619-1789.” Holt House. Web. 6 July 2009.
Joyner, Kara; Kao, Grace; Wang, Hingyu. “Stability of Interracial and Intraracial Romantic Relationships Among Adolescents.” 7 December 2004. Cornell University and University of Pennsylvania. Web. 6 July 2009.
Staples, Brent. “Loving v. Virginia and the Secret History of Race.” The New York Times.
14 May 2008. Print.
Growing up I was taught to love my family no matter what and to stick with them through anything. Being a family that moved as much as we did, I quickly learned that people in your life will come and go but your family will always be there for you. Since I have such a close relationship with my family it is important for me to choose boyfriends that I think will fit in well with my family and that my parents will approve of. In the past I dated a boy that did not particularly like my family, especially my brothers, so as you can imagine we did not last for much longer after I found this out.
About two years ago, soon after this relationship was over, I met a boy at school. My school was about fifty percent White and fifty percent Black, what most people would consider to be well integrated. Everyone hung out with everyone; race was not something that was even questioned when making friends. With a school so well mixed, it was nothing out of the ordinary to see interracial couples around school, in fact this was something seen as quite normal. Therefore, it was not surprising that the boy I met at school was Black. Somehow our schedules were exactly the same, so after spending all day of every school day with this boy we became pretty good friends, and there was some physical attraction between the two of us. He was the star football player and I was a cheerleader, so even after school we saw each other and hung out before and after practices. One thing led to another and before I knew it we were going out on our first date. After a while I asked him to come over to my house to watch a movie one weekend, but him coming to my house also meant him meeting my parents.
For the most part my parents are very easy to get along with and are rather friendly. When they met this boy they were very fond of him. He was a well kept boy, very respectful and outgoing, and also an honor roll student who was taking the same honors and AP classes as I was, along with being our school’s most talented athlete. To most parents he would sound like a very good match for their daughter; some parents might even think of him as be too good to be true. However, once I told my parents we were thinking about dating, things became a little bit complicated. My mother had no problem with this. She knew he was a good boy and just wanted me to be with someone who would treat me well, especially after the last boy I had been with.
My dad, on the other hand, had a different opinion on things. He felt that I should not be dating a Black guy. His main reason for objecting was because he thought society would view this as taboo. In a study done by the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University, Professor Hongyu Wang said “To make their relationship successful, individuals involved in interracial relationships must learn how to manage public harassment such as evaluative, hostile, and discriminatory actions from strangers in the public” (Joyner, Kao, Wang 440 ). Although some people in society do view interracial couples as something that should not exist, this is becoming less and less common.
I had to argue with my dad that the society I was mostly exposed to, the one at school, had no objections to my dating choice and that there were plenty of other people involved in interracial relationships. In fact, in a journal article called Research on International and Interracial Marriages by Larry D. Barnett, he said, “The intermingling of young adults of different nationalities and races at the high school and college level is widely expected to be reflected over the long run in an increased rate of interracial marriage” (Barnett, par 3). It was ideas like this that were crossing through my mind while I was trying to explain things to my dad.
The hardest part for me throughout this whole thing was thinking to myself, “am I doing something wrong or is my dad in the wrong?” I was also faced with feeling like my dad was unhappy with me. Not only that, but wondering if something that felt so right could be wrong. Then, after telling the boy I liked what was happening at home, he was put in an awkward situation. He did not want to be involved in a family that was not accepting of him and I could not argue with him on that. We still saw each other at school and hung out, but not outside of school and he did not come back to my house for quite some time. It was extremely difficult for me to have to deal with all of these emotions. I wanted to be able to date who I wanted and have my family approve. However, it is difficult to have a healthy relationship with such conflict. “We hypothesize that adolescents in an interracial relationship perceive less support from their families than adolescents in intraracial relationships, therefore, they are more likely to experience relationship dissolution” (Joyner, Kao, Wang 439). Not having my dad’s approval did make it harder for me to continue with the relationship I had started, but I could not help but think about how so many people in history had been persecuted for doing what they felt was right, but society viewed as wrong. A perfect example of this is Martin Luther King Jr. in his essay A Letter from Birmingham Jail. In this letter, he included many cases where people were told they were wrong when they were not.
As time went on I felt it was necessary to really sit down and talk to my dad about the situation. I started out by asking him what he thought of the boy I had grown so fond of. He replied telling me that he really liked him as a person, and thought he had a bright future, just not with his daughter. I asked him why he would not want me to be with someone who is a good person with a bright future that treats me well, and he replied, “I don’t want people to look at you and call you names or think badly of you.” After thinking about it for a while, this response made more sense to me. When he was growing up interracial marriage was looked down upon, and for the first ten years of his life it was actually illegal. It was not until 1967 in the Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia that an interracial couple from Virginia overturned the previous laws that prohibited marriage between Blacks and Whites (Staples, par. 2).To me interracial marriage being illegal seems unfathomable, especially after I have seen so many younger couples all around me that are composed of multiple races.
During this talk I explained to my father that people in society do not look down upon interracial dating like they used to, especially the people of my generation. “Americans born in the 21st century will shake their heads in disbelief on learning that 40 states once had laws prohibiting interracial marriage (Staples p 1).” After getting him to see this and explaining that I felt torn between my family and a relationship with someone I really cared about, he began to understand where I was coming from. He also realized that I should be with someone who makes me happy no matter their skin color. Although both of my parents approve, if I ever decided to marry a Black man I will have to get my extended family to see things from my perspective also. I am hoping that one day society will stop living by the Chemistry rule of like dissolving like and accept everyone for who they are, no matter what race. Then, hopefully, they will not think anything of it for one race to date another.
Work Cited
Barnett, Larry D.. “Research on International and Interracial Marriages.” Marriage and Family Living 25. 01 (1963): pars. 3. Web. 10 July 2009.
Becker, Eddie. “Chronology on the History of Slavery: 1619-1789.” Holt House. Web. 6 July 2009.
Joyner, Kara; Kao, Grace; Wang, Hingyu. “Stability of Interracial and Intraracial Romantic Relationships Among Adolescents.” 7 December 2004. Cornell University and University of Pennsylvania. Web. 6 July 2009.
Staples, Brent. “Loving v. Virginia and the Secret History of Race.” The New York Times.
14 May 2008. Print.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Writing Log 5
Just as I did in my last paper I left a lot of my opinion out. After Dean and Deleney pointed this out I realized that the best way to improve my paper would be to actually have more personal insight. I feel like I sort of rambled about more of what other people thought and facts about the history of interracial dating. I think in my final draft I am going to make a lot of changes and maybe switch up the order how I have things and open with a more personal veiw on the issue rather than factual statements. I also feel like my paper was unorganized but this could be because my thoughts were unorganized. I might try writing things down and sorting them out just to get a better idea of how to lay things out. My first draft will serve as a guide for me to do this. I also need to find a source that will qualify for the scholarly journal or acedemic book.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Lecture 9 Quiz
Although this essay seems to be about an old junky minivan, I think it has a deeper meaning. Patteson not only describes his passion for his minivan but he also talks about how thick headed he is and uses his story to make this point while entertaining to the reader. He also makes the point that he loves cars. If we were looking for a group to identify Patteson we could certainly put him in the old car lover category; therefore, I think this could definitely be considered an identity essay.
Patteson also does do a good job of incorporating his sources. They flow together well with the paper, have a good introduction and follow up, and are also relevant. However, he does not introduce them as well or build ethos well with them. He fails to give any additional information about his sources besides for the author and page number for most sources. He also introduces things inverted when he talks about the Federal Highway Act of 1965. He states the fact, then the title of the article, then the source where it came from. I also noticed that he used Langer a few times but never took the time to properly introduce that source.
Patteson also does do a good job of incorporating his sources. They flow together well with the paper, have a good introduction and follow up, and are also relevant. However, he does not introduce them as well or build ethos well with them. He fails to give any additional information about his sources besides for the author and page number for most sources. He also introduces things inverted when he talks about the Federal Highway Act of 1965. He states the fact, then the title of the article, then the source where it came from. I also noticed that he used Langer a few times but never took the time to properly introduce that source.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Color Blind Love
Like dissolves like is a term commonly used in Chemistry to describe how solutes are dissolved in a solvent. Although this term was not intended to describe society, I think it does a pretty good job; for the most part, people of one race are generally surrounded by people of the same race. This also hold true for dating. Even if interracial couples are becoming more and more common, it is still not as common to see an interracial couple as it is to see a couple of the same race. In fact, until recently, this was unheard of and looked down upon, and it is still viewed as taboo by some people today.
Nowadays people in my generation do not think of interracial marriage as being illegal, especially since the spotlight has switched to gay marriage rights. However, until fairly recently, this issue was highly debatable. In fact, in a piece recently written by Brent Staples, writer for the New York Times and author of Just Walk on By, an essay recently studied in class, he said, “Americans born in the 21st century will shake their heads in disbelief on learning that 40 states once had laws prohibiting interracial marriage (Staples, par 1).” As Staples points out, to some people the idea of interracial marriage being illegal may seem unreal, and to me it seems a little bit unfathomable. Being brought up without these laws and restrictions makes me question why they were even in affect in the first place.
The root of this law goes back to the mid 1600’s shortly after the founding of America and the beginning of the slave trade. According to a historian for the Smithsonian, Eddie Becker, Maryland was the first state to make marriage between a white female and a black male illegal in 1664 (Becker, par 44). This law stayed active for over 300 years until 1967. The court case that overturned this law was Loving v. Virginia (Staples, par. 2). There was a man and a woman by the names of Richard and Mildred Loving who were from a place called Caroline County in Virginia, which is actually the county that neighbors the one I currently live in. This means that it has only been forty years since this law was lifted. It goes to show the amount of progress that has been made by the U.S. since then, and is comparable to Rodriguez’s essay that discusses a mixing of races.
Being involved with interracial dating is not as easy as it may seem. Just because something is legal, does not make it accepted by everyone. The thing that makes interracial dating most challenging is that the view point of it is split so widely especially between two generations. There is the generation of our parents, who grew up learning the idea was considered wrong, illegal, and unacceptable; then, there is our generation where it is more widely accepted but still not accepted by all. There are also many special cases where people have mixed feelings. An example of this I have personally experienced is a lot of White males will not think much of it for a white girl to date an Asian or a Hispanic, yet they will be repulsed to see a White girl with a Black male. Another example of people with mixed feelings on this topic is when a White male will date a Black female, yet look down on a White girl with a Black male.
However, the thing I find most challenging about this dilemma is the issue of family. Sometimes the parents approve of interracial dating with no problem or rejections, while other parents find it unacceptable. In a study done by the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University, Hongyu Wang said, “We hypothesize that adolescents in an interracial relationship perceive less support from their families than adolescents in intraracial relationships, therefore, they are more likely to experience relationship dissolution” (Joyner, Kao, Wang 439). I can definitely relate to this through my own experiences. It does strain a relationship knowing that it is not supported by your family. It can put your significant other in an uncomfortable situation especially when they are around your family and also make you feel uneasy when you are by yourself with your family.
When I went through this problem myself all I wanted was for my family to accept that fact that I was happy with the person I was dating and that there should be no reason why I would not be allowed to date him. Although he was Black, he was still a good person and was also a star athlete and on the Honor Roll. The thing that bothered me most on this issue was the fact that I knew if he were White my parents would think he was a great catch, but instead they chose to fall into the ways of society.
The reason my parents were so hesitant to let me date anyone of another race was because they were brought up in families that would prohibit such behavior. For example, my father was not allowed to have his best friend, a Black male, as his best man because my mother’s parents were not in favor of this type of integration. Instead he was forced to choose another man, and they insisted he was White.
Another reason for their reluctance was that they were afraid of how society would view me. Everyday people in interracial relationships face a society where complete strangers will make comments, talk behind their backs, or simply glare at them because they are with someone else of a different race. Wang also said “To make their relationship successful, individuals involved in interracial relationships must learn how to manage public harassment such as evaluative, hostile, and discriminatory actions from strangers in the public” (Joyner, Kao, Wang 440 ). To me this is shocking how complete strangers will judge a situation where they have no insight at all. This is the type of society my parents grew up in, where this behavior was considered intolerable. Although this still happens a lot today it is usually more by older generations.
One thing that really helped my family to be more accepting of interracial dating can be related to Hurston’s brown bag idea. Once they stopped thinking like society and actually got to know any of the boys I had chosen to date, they realized there is no difference between a White male and a Black male except for the color of their skin and the stereotypes that society gives them. Now they do not acknowledge anyone I date as having a race, rather they are a person just like everyone else.
Something that has made interracial dating more acceptable in society is the fact that there are so many people who are products of interracial marriages. If someone is a mix of two races, it is difficult for them to be against this idea. Mixed race people have become very successful in society today. Some celebrities that are of mixed race include Mariah Carey, Vin Diesel, The Rock, Derek Jeter, and Barack Obama.
With society making such huge advances in becoming more integrated I do not think it will be much longer until interracial relationships are accepted by everyone in the U.S., especially judging by the progress that can be seen by examining Lincon, King, Hurston, and Rodriguez’s essays.
Work Cited
Becker, Eddie. “Chronology on the History of Slavery: 1619-1789.” Holt House. Web. 6 July
2009.
Staples, Brent. “Loving v. Virginia and the Secret History of Race.” The New York Times.
14 May 2008. Print.
Joyner, Kara; Kao, Grace; Wang, Hingyu. “Stability of Interracial and Intraracial Romantic
Relationships Among Adolescents.” 7 December 2004. Cornell University and University of
Pennsylvania. Web. 6 July 2009.
Nowadays people in my generation do not think of interracial marriage as being illegal, especially since the spotlight has switched to gay marriage rights. However, until fairly recently, this issue was highly debatable. In fact, in a piece recently written by Brent Staples, writer for the New York Times and author of Just Walk on By, an essay recently studied in class, he said, “Americans born in the 21st century will shake their heads in disbelief on learning that 40 states once had laws prohibiting interracial marriage (Staples, par 1).” As Staples points out, to some people the idea of interracial marriage being illegal may seem unreal, and to me it seems a little bit unfathomable. Being brought up without these laws and restrictions makes me question why they were even in affect in the first place.
The root of this law goes back to the mid 1600’s shortly after the founding of America and the beginning of the slave trade. According to a historian for the Smithsonian, Eddie Becker, Maryland was the first state to make marriage between a white female and a black male illegal in 1664 (Becker, par 44). This law stayed active for over 300 years until 1967. The court case that overturned this law was Loving v. Virginia (Staples, par. 2). There was a man and a woman by the names of Richard and Mildred Loving who were from a place called Caroline County in Virginia, which is actually the county that neighbors the one I currently live in. This means that it has only been forty years since this law was lifted. It goes to show the amount of progress that has been made by the U.S. since then, and is comparable to Rodriguez’s essay that discusses a mixing of races.
Being involved with interracial dating is not as easy as it may seem. Just because something is legal, does not make it accepted by everyone. The thing that makes interracial dating most challenging is that the view point of it is split so widely especially between two generations. There is the generation of our parents, who grew up learning the idea was considered wrong, illegal, and unacceptable; then, there is our generation where it is more widely accepted but still not accepted by all. There are also many special cases where people have mixed feelings. An example of this I have personally experienced is a lot of White males will not think much of it for a white girl to date an Asian or a Hispanic, yet they will be repulsed to see a White girl with a Black male. Another example of people with mixed feelings on this topic is when a White male will date a Black female, yet look down on a White girl with a Black male.
However, the thing I find most challenging about this dilemma is the issue of family. Sometimes the parents approve of interracial dating with no problem or rejections, while other parents find it unacceptable. In a study done by the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University, Hongyu Wang said, “We hypothesize that adolescents in an interracial relationship perceive less support from their families than adolescents in intraracial relationships, therefore, they are more likely to experience relationship dissolution” (Joyner, Kao, Wang 439). I can definitely relate to this through my own experiences. It does strain a relationship knowing that it is not supported by your family. It can put your significant other in an uncomfortable situation especially when they are around your family and also make you feel uneasy when you are by yourself with your family.
When I went through this problem myself all I wanted was for my family to accept that fact that I was happy with the person I was dating and that there should be no reason why I would not be allowed to date him. Although he was Black, he was still a good person and was also a star athlete and on the Honor Roll. The thing that bothered me most on this issue was the fact that I knew if he were White my parents would think he was a great catch, but instead they chose to fall into the ways of society.
The reason my parents were so hesitant to let me date anyone of another race was because they were brought up in families that would prohibit such behavior. For example, my father was not allowed to have his best friend, a Black male, as his best man because my mother’s parents were not in favor of this type of integration. Instead he was forced to choose another man, and they insisted he was White.
Another reason for their reluctance was that they were afraid of how society would view me. Everyday people in interracial relationships face a society where complete strangers will make comments, talk behind their backs, or simply glare at them because they are with someone else of a different race. Wang also said “To make their relationship successful, individuals involved in interracial relationships must learn how to manage public harassment such as evaluative, hostile, and discriminatory actions from strangers in the public” (Joyner, Kao, Wang 440 ). To me this is shocking how complete strangers will judge a situation where they have no insight at all. This is the type of society my parents grew up in, where this behavior was considered intolerable. Although this still happens a lot today it is usually more by older generations.
One thing that really helped my family to be more accepting of interracial dating can be related to Hurston’s brown bag idea. Once they stopped thinking like society and actually got to know any of the boys I had chosen to date, they realized there is no difference between a White male and a Black male except for the color of their skin and the stereotypes that society gives them. Now they do not acknowledge anyone I date as having a race, rather they are a person just like everyone else.
Something that has made interracial dating more acceptable in society is the fact that there are so many people who are products of interracial marriages. If someone is a mix of two races, it is difficult for them to be against this idea. Mixed race people have become very successful in society today. Some celebrities that are of mixed race include Mariah Carey, Vin Diesel, The Rock, Derek Jeter, and Barack Obama.
With society making such huge advances in becoming more integrated I do not think it will be much longer until interracial relationships are accepted by everyone in the U.S., especially judging by the progress that can be seen by examining Lincon, King, Hurston, and Rodriguez’s essays.
Work Cited
Becker, Eddie. “Chronology on the History of Slavery: 1619-1789.” Holt House. Web. 6 July
2009.
Staples, Brent. “Loving v. Virginia and the Secret History of Race.” The New York Times.
14 May 2008. Print.
Joyner, Kara; Kao, Grace; Wang, Hingyu. “Stability of Interracial and Intraracial Romantic
Relationships Among Adolescents.” 7 December 2004. Cornell University and University of
Pennsylvania. Web. 6 July 2009.
Writing Log 4
This essay I took a little bit of a different approach since the assignment was so different. I did not really go by an outline, rather I did research first and then picked out what I wanted to include. From there I centered my essay around my research. I feel like this may not have been the best approach because it was difficult for me to write my essay around it.
I thought this essay was going to be easier because it was more personal but I found it to be more difficult. The hardest part for me was thinking of something I would identify myself as and that I would be able to find research on at the same time.
One thing I did do while writing this was keeping my audience in mind. I did not have to go into detail about the authors I discussed because the class already knew what I was talking about. This made it easy for me to incorporate that into my essay.
I do not have an outline written down for this essay because I sort of wrote things out on the computer in different Word documents then copied and pasted them in a way that made the essay flow together. This makes it hard for anyone to see my progress but I felt this was the best way for me to write. This made me a little bit disorganized when writing but I think after revising it, it will flow together a little bit better
I thought this essay was going to be easier because it was more personal but I found it to be more difficult. The hardest part for me was thinking of something I would identify myself as and that I would be able to find research on at the same time.
One thing I did do while writing this was keeping my audience in mind. I did not have to go into detail about the authors I discussed because the class already knew what I was talking about. This made it easy for me to incorporate that into my essay.
I do not have an outline written down for this essay because I sort of wrote things out on the computer in different Word documents then copied and pasted them in a way that made the essay flow together. This makes it hard for anyone to see my progress but I felt this was the best way for me to write. This made me a little bit disorganized when writing but I think after revising it, it will flow together a little bit better
Friday, July 3, 2009
Reading Log 6
Although these essays are considered “identity” essays, I feel like the authors are fighting for the opposite. They do not want to make themselves stand out in society as one being better than the other, rather they want to be considered no different from anyone else. Baldwin and Staples both want to have people stop pointing out their differences and just blend in with everyone else instead of sticking out like a sore thumb. Likewise, Woolf wants women to be able to compose literary works and not have any bias held against them because they are women. Hurston also wants to be viewed as being the same as everyone else. She views herself as actually not having any race at all. This is what Rodriguez talks about when he says when younger people today are asked what they are, they do not say white or black and they often have too many cultures to name because their blood has been mixed so many times (275).
I think Rodriguez brought up a very unconventional way of thinking about identity. He talks about people being identified as one of five main categories which is something I think we use in America not as something to degrade one another, but as a simple, basic way to identify oneself. However, Rodriguez finds this system to be very erroneous, largely because Americans are from so many different cultures. If we were to go back and look at Lincon’s essay, then King’s, Hurston’s, Baldwin’s, and Rodriguez’s respectively, I think we would see a timeline of America’s progress toward integration. Each one of these people were fighting for America to accept all people equally and Rodriguez’s essay shows the final product of how all races here have been mixed together so much that they cannot even be categorized within five basic categories anymore.
Rodriguez suggests that we identify ourselves as what type of culture we were brought up in rather than what our ancestry is. He states that he is Chinese because he was raised in a Chinese city and has grown accustomed to their culture, so much so that when he sees pictures of China he thinks of it as home (274). Even though this does make sense, I think it would be hard for everyone to identify themselves as one thing or another and it would be best to just not categorize at all. However, this idea also reminds me of Hurston’s essay with the brown bag thought. For anyone to be able to recognize someone as a certain race they really have to get to know them, they cannot just look at the outside. It would be very hard for someone to look at Rodriguez and know that he considers himself Chinese just by the way he looks.
I think that Rodriguez’s essay demonstrates that one must really consider logos and ethos in any identity essay. I feel that most of his essay was logos which forced the audience to connect his ideas and think about how they make sense. His ideas all make logical sense so the audience then must question what makes their ideas on the subject any better than his. Rodriguez’s essay has showed me that I do not need to think conventionally when writing my essay, and that it may actually help to think against the ways of society.
I think Rodriguez brought up a very unconventional way of thinking about identity. He talks about people being identified as one of five main categories which is something I think we use in America not as something to degrade one another, but as a simple, basic way to identify oneself. However, Rodriguez finds this system to be very erroneous, largely because Americans are from so many different cultures. If we were to go back and look at Lincon’s essay, then King’s, Hurston’s, Baldwin’s, and Rodriguez’s respectively, I think we would see a timeline of America’s progress toward integration. Each one of these people were fighting for America to accept all people equally and Rodriguez’s essay shows the final product of how all races here have been mixed together so much that they cannot even be categorized within five basic categories anymore.
Rodriguez suggests that we identify ourselves as what type of culture we were brought up in rather than what our ancestry is. He states that he is Chinese because he was raised in a Chinese city and has grown accustomed to their culture, so much so that when he sees pictures of China he thinks of it as home (274). Even though this does make sense, I think it would be hard for everyone to identify themselves as one thing or another and it would be best to just not categorize at all. However, this idea also reminds me of Hurston’s essay with the brown bag thought. For anyone to be able to recognize someone as a certain race they really have to get to know them, they cannot just look at the outside. It would be very hard for someone to look at Rodriguez and know that he considers himself Chinese just by the way he looks.
I think that Rodriguez’s essay demonstrates that one must really consider logos and ethos in any identity essay. I feel that most of his essay was logos which forced the audience to connect his ideas and think about how they make sense. His ideas all make logical sense so the audience then must question what makes their ideas on the subject any better than his. Rodriguez’s essay has showed me that I do not need to think conventionally when writing my essay, and that it may actually help to think against the ways of society.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Reading Log 5
I would have to say as a reader, the first thing I noticed about these two essays was their difference in tone. Baldwin’s essay seemed to have a tone of remorse or anger for the way the people treated him while Staples’s essay had a more calm and innocent tone as if her were trying to explain himself.
I think Staples mainly uses ethos and some logos in his essay as a way for the audience to understand him. He points out that he has seen people like his brother, cousin, and friend killed; this shows that he has experienced the things that the people he passes fear and that he would not do them to anyone else because he knows the hurt it has caused him (296). He also points out that he would not even take a knife to a raw chicken (295). This shows that he is a gentle giant and would not hurt anyone. Next Staples uses some logos to provide reasoning to support the opposing side of his argument; he did grow up in a rough area with a lot of violence and know that white women are often the victims of black males (295-296). Staples’s supporting the other side of the argument demonstrates he is not trying to defend every black male but rather pointing out that everyone is not bad either.
On the other hand, Baldwin primarily uses logos. He tries to show that he is equal to these white Swiss people because in America black men are not that different from the white man and that they actually interact on a daily basis. He also points out that these people do not even know much about the outside world and history between blacks and whites in America. One particular example is when he talks about how these people who are so uneducated and “primitive” than him are still considered superior to him just because of their skin color when, in fact, they are actually inferior in a sense (45).
I thought these essays both had very good points. Staples pointed out how black men are stereotyped and I feel like this is completely true. One of my favorite examples of this is a portion of Dave Chapelle’s stand up where he talks about staying in after hearing on the radio that the police are looking for a black male between the height of 4’ 11” and 6’10”. Much like Staples, Chapelle makes a joke out of it to sort of downplay the reality of it. This is an effective way to get people to see not everyone belonging to one stereotype is going to be the same. However, despite their innocence I think that any girl walking alone in a rough area that sees a man who is dressed down is going to be scared whether they are white or black.
While Staples’s essay reinforced the ideas I already knew about stereotyping in America, Baldwin’s essay made me realize that what happens in one part of the world does not just affect that one part. The section I talked about earlier, where Baldwin mentions how he is seen as inferior really got my attention. I think it is terrible how someone can be as educated and productive in American society but at the same time seen as lesser to people who cannot read and write just because of their skin color. It also blows my mind how people around the world do not know that there are blacks in America that are equal to the white men. I read an essay in a religion class at JMU that talked about these islanders who could not seem to wrap their mind around the fact that there were such things as black U.S. soldier. However, I think this does show that America has at least taken sufficient steps toward becoming integrated, and we are way ahead of other parts of the country in this aspect especially since we have a black man as our president now.
I think that both authors did a sufficient job at achieving their desired effect which was essentially to make people aware of the stereotypes and how they affect the people who are subject to them. These essays should have opened the eyes to anyone reading them to make them think twice about how they judge people.
I think Staples mainly uses ethos and some logos in his essay as a way for the audience to understand him. He points out that he has seen people like his brother, cousin, and friend killed; this shows that he has experienced the things that the people he passes fear and that he would not do them to anyone else because he knows the hurt it has caused him (296). He also points out that he would not even take a knife to a raw chicken (295). This shows that he is a gentle giant and would not hurt anyone. Next Staples uses some logos to provide reasoning to support the opposing side of his argument; he did grow up in a rough area with a lot of violence and know that white women are often the victims of black males (295-296). Staples’s supporting the other side of the argument demonstrates he is not trying to defend every black male but rather pointing out that everyone is not bad either.
On the other hand, Baldwin primarily uses logos. He tries to show that he is equal to these white Swiss people because in America black men are not that different from the white man and that they actually interact on a daily basis. He also points out that these people do not even know much about the outside world and history between blacks and whites in America. One particular example is when he talks about how these people who are so uneducated and “primitive” than him are still considered superior to him just because of their skin color when, in fact, they are actually inferior in a sense (45).
I thought these essays both had very good points. Staples pointed out how black men are stereotyped and I feel like this is completely true. One of my favorite examples of this is a portion of Dave Chapelle’s stand up where he talks about staying in after hearing on the radio that the police are looking for a black male between the height of 4’ 11” and 6’10”. Much like Staples, Chapelle makes a joke out of it to sort of downplay the reality of it. This is an effective way to get people to see not everyone belonging to one stereotype is going to be the same. However, despite their innocence I think that any girl walking alone in a rough area that sees a man who is dressed down is going to be scared whether they are white or black.
While Staples’s essay reinforced the ideas I already knew about stereotyping in America, Baldwin’s essay made me realize that what happens in one part of the world does not just affect that one part. The section I talked about earlier, where Baldwin mentions how he is seen as inferior really got my attention. I think it is terrible how someone can be as educated and productive in American society but at the same time seen as lesser to people who cannot read and write just because of their skin color. It also blows my mind how people around the world do not know that there are blacks in America that are equal to the white men. I read an essay in a religion class at JMU that talked about these islanders who could not seem to wrap their mind around the fact that there were such things as black U.S. soldier. However, I think this does show that America has at least taken sufficient steps toward becoming integrated, and we are way ahead of other parts of the country in this aspect especially since we have a black man as our president now.
I think that both authors did a sufficient job at achieving their desired effect which was essentially to make people aware of the stereotypes and how they affect the people who are subject to them. These essays should have opened the eyes to anyone reading them to make them think twice about how they judge people.
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