Steve Epting
AP English
Daisy Miller Literary Response
In the novella, Daisy Miller: A Study, The main character was a woman named Daisy Miller. Daisy Miller is traveling abroad to another country. While being there, with her mother and brother, she got into a love affair with a guy named Giovanelli. She gets into a deep relationship with him, and she starts to blow off her family to be with him. From being out with him all night, one night, she got malaria and soon died. One main point that stuck out to me in this text was the sadness and the safety of an unlived life.
Before Miller got into the other country, she was just a wealthy young woman in America. She wasn’t really living her life to the fullest. She wasn’t being ambitious and going after her dreams, she was just quiet and timid. She was enclosed in a box and she couldn’t get out of it. She was trapped and it didn’t look good for her. When people don’t live there life to the fullest, they miss out on opportunities, fun, and new experiences. She was being to safe in her life. This shows you that just because some people are rich, it doesn’t mean that they have more opportunities than other people.
When they traveled to the other country, she met a guy that she really liked. He started to show her new things. She began to like him more and more and that’s when she began to change. She began to blow off her family to be with him and she began to do things that she wouldn’t normally do. It’s true that once people who have been trapped for a while, get freedom, they start to go a little crazy.
At the end of the novella, she dies from malaria. This story is a type of Social Realism. It relates to the issues of people.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
Jumping Frog Literary Response
Steve Epting
AP English
Jumping Frog Literary Response
In the reading, The Jumping Frog, the main character was Jim Smiley. It’s speaking of the times of him and his frog. This was written in the mid 1800s by Mark Twain, who is famous for many other pieces of literature such as Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer, and The Mysterious Stranger. Twain writes a short tale of a man and his frog.
This story is a type of regional realism. It has plenty of examples of being regionally realistic. Twain gets down to the realness of life. Describing the realness of this world is what made this story. This is a tale of the times of a man and his frog.
There is nothing missing from this tale. It is as complete as it can be. Twain is very descriptive throughout the entire writing. There isn’t anything missing that would cause the story to be ambiguous and also there is nothing missing that would cause the reading to be confusing. This was a good story by Mark Twain.
AP English
Jumping Frog Literary Response
In the reading, The Jumping Frog, the main character was Jim Smiley. It’s speaking of the times of him and his frog. This was written in the mid 1800s by Mark Twain, who is famous for many other pieces of literature such as Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer, and The Mysterious Stranger. Twain writes a short tale of a man and his frog.
This story is a type of regional realism. It has plenty of examples of being regionally realistic. Twain gets down to the realness of life. Describing the realness of this world is what made this story. This is a tale of the times of a man and his frog.
There is nothing missing from this tale. It is as complete as it can be. Twain is very descriptive throughout the entire writing. There isn’t anything missing that would cause the story to be ambiguous and also there is nothing missing that would cause the reading to be confusing. This was a good story by Mark Twain.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Custom-House Literary Response
Steve Epting
AP English
Custom-House Literary Response
In this review of the Custom-House, of the novel The Scarlet Letter, it gives deeper meaning of what Nathaniel Hawthorne is trying to say. Hawthorne tells a story of a woman that comes to find who she really is, when involved in chaos. The town mocks her and scandalizes her name. She starts to realize that she doesn’t need to impress anyone in the town. So she doesn’t care what the people say and she starts to take pride in herself.
One critic reviewed the novel and praised the “exquisiteness of Hawthorne’s genius” and the “affluence of imagination and bold and striking thought.” I agree with this critic because Hawthorne is an efficient author. He has great skill as a writer, even though I didn’t understand every ample word that was written. This novel was written in the 1800s; words used were benumbed, Salemite, and sire and grandsire. This novel was written out of spite and rage, and that’s where we get the hatred from in the book.
There’s an abundance of symbols in this book. There are things such as the roses near the threshold of the prison, the “relationship” between Pearl and Hester, and the symbol of romance between two people. This book holds a cluster of meaning and value.
AP English
Custom-House Literary Response
In this review of the Custom-House, of the novel The Scarlet Letter, it gives deeper meaning of what Nathaniel Hawthorne is trying to say. Hawthorne tells a story of a woman that comes to find who she really is, when involved in chaos. The town mocks her and scandalizes her name. She starts to realize that she doesn’t need to impress anyone in the town. So she doesn’t care what the people say and she starts to take pride in herself.
One critic reviewed the novel and praised the “exquisiteness of Hawthorne’s genius” and the “affluence of imagination and bold and striking thought.” I agree with this critic because Hawthorne is an efficient author. He has great skill as a writer, even though I didn’t understand every ample word that was written. This novel was written in the 1800s; words used were benumbed, Salemite, and sire and grandsire. This novel was written out of spite and rage, and that’s where we get the hatred from in the book.
There’s an abundance of symbols in this book. There are things such as the roses near the threshold of the prison, the “relationship” between Pearl and Hester, and the symbol of romance between two people. This book holds a cluster of meaning and value.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
The Minister's Black Veil Literary Response
Steve Epting
AP English
The Minister’s Black Veil Literary Response
In this story, The Minister’s Black Veil, a minister is preaching to his congregation. This minister, Parson Hooper, is not like any other minister that directly talks to his or her congregation. Hooper preaches with a black veil over his face. “….it seemed to consist of two folds of crape, which entirely concealed his features, except his mouth and chin, but probably did not intercept his sight, further than to give a darkened aspect to all living and intimate things.” This simple piece of fabric means so much throughout this story. My questions, while reading the passage, were what does the veil represent?; is the minister trying to hide something?; what does the congregation think about this?
There is no direct relationship between the minister and his congregation. The veil represents a brick wall blocking a relationship the minister could have with his congregation. The people in the congregation are not getting the direct contact that they need from a minister. The communication process is failed because of loss of eye contact. This black veil was a force, holding the congregation from getting more involved with different things.
The minister’s black veil also represents that the minister is may be trying to hide something. He may have a face defect, or he may have stage fright and the veil is helping him to be able to speak in front of a crowd. There also might be bad things that Hooper had done in the past and he doesn’t want the congregation to know that that is him. “Did he seek to hide it from the dread being whom he was addressing?” The black veil shields his personality, making the congregation view him as a mysterious character.
While listening to the minister speak, the congregation is longing to know who the minister is. “….that they longed for a breath of wind to blow aside the veil, almost believing that a stranger’s visage would be discovered, through the form, gesture, and voice were those of Mr. Hooper.” That line, form the story, means that the congregation was so desperate to know who the covered minister was that they would just want him to blow his breath, just to get a glimpse of the side of his face.
For the duration of the story, the simple piece of fabric meant so much. It had different meanings of how people portrayed the minister and how the congregation just wanted to see the minister’s face. “Yet the pale-faced congregation was almost as fearful a sight to the minister, as his black veil to them.
AP English
The Minister’s Black Veil Literary Response
In this story, The Minister’s Black Veil, a minister is preaching to his congregation. This minister, Parson Hooper, is not like any other minister that directly talks to his or her congregation. Hooper preaches with a black veil over his face. “….it seemed to consist of two folds of crape, which entirely concealed his features, except his mouth and chin, but probably did not intercept his sight, further than to give a darkened aspect to all living and intimate things.” This simple piece of fabric means so much throughout this story. My questions, while reading the passage, were what does the veil represent?; is the minister trying to hide something?; what does the congregation think about this?
There is no direct relationship between the minister and his congregation. The veil represents a brick wall blocking a relationship the minister could have with his congregation. The people in the congregation are not getting the direct contact that they need from a minister. The communication process is failed because of loss of eye contact. This black veil was a force, holding the congregation from getting more involved with different things.
The minister’s black veil also represents that the minister is may be trying to hide something. He may have a face defect, or he may have stage fright and the veil is helping him to be able to speak in front of a crowd. There also might be bad things that Hooper had done in the past and he doesn’t want the congregation to know that that is him. “Did he seek to hide it from the dread being whom he was addressing?” The black veil shields his personality, making the congregation view him as a mysterious character.
While listening to the minister speak, the congregation is longing to know who the minister is. “….that they longed for a breath of wind to blow aside the veil, almost believing that a stranger’s visage would be discovered, through the form, gesture, and voice were those of Mr. Hooper.” That line, form the story, means that the congregation was so desperate to know who the covered minister was that they would just want him to blow his breath, just to get a glimpse of the side of his face.
For the duration of the story, the simple piece of fabric meant so much. It had different meanings of how people portrayed the minister and how the congregation just wanted to see the minister’s face. “Yet the pale-faced congregation was almost as fearful a sight to the minister, as his black veil to them.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Young Goodman Brown Literary Response
Steve Epting
AP English
Young Goodman Brown Literary Response
In this passage, the author tells a story of a man named Goodman Brown. He was sent on a journey that would take him a day to fulfill. When Goodman got started, he was a little uneasy about the surroundings. He was uneasy about the sounds and he kept having ideas about what could be behind the tall, wide trees. In the story, I think the author is trying to say that you have to go through some scary and strange things to get through your journey.
“ It was all as lonely as could be; and there is this peculiarity in such a solitude, that the traveler knows not who may be concealed by the innumerable trunks and the thick boughs overhead; so that with lonely footsteps he may be passing through an unseen multitude.” This was how Goodman Brown was feeling during his journey. He had a very cryptic feeling during his “errand”, as Brown called it.
Even though Goodman had a companion on his journey, he still felt scared and he missed his wife Faith. His fifty year old traveling partner was unnamed throughout this passage. The two travelers hiked this long, distant, and aching journey with a staff to support their walking. It is later established that the traveling companion was a friend of Goodman Brown’s family.
In the passage, the traveling companion is not named and it is not stated where the journey is or why they are going on the journey. The author is speaking through the text and is saying, you can make it through the long journey ahead. Even though you are hurting, even though it seems like it will never end, and even though you are very tired and you want to quit, you can make it through. This is the main message throughout the story because Goodman Brown was going to give up. He was scared of what was around him in the woods, he was tired, and he also missed his wife very dearly. The main reason of the story was to inspire someone to never give up.
AP English
Young Goodman Brown Literary Response
In this passage, the author tells a story of a man named Goodman Brown. He was sent on a journey that would take him a day to fulfill. When Goodman got started, he was a little uneasy about the surroundings. He was uneasy about the sounds and he kept having ideas about what could be behind the tall, wide trees. In the story, I think the author is trying to say that you have to go through some scary and strange things to get through your journey.
“ It was all as lonely as could be; and there is this peculiarity in such a solitude, that the traveler knows not who may be concealed by the innumerable trunks and the thick boughs overhead; so that with lonely footsteps he may be passing through an unseen multitude.” This was how Goodman Brown was feeling during his journey. He had a very cryptic feeling during his “errand”, as Brown called it.
Even though Goodman had a companion on his journey, he still felt scared and he missed his wife Faith. His fifty year old traveling partner was unnamed throughout this passage. The two travelers hiked this long, distant, and aching journey with a staff to support their walking. It is later established that the traveling companion was a friend of Goodman Brown’s family.
In the passage, the traveling companion is not named and it is not stated where the journey is or why they are going on the journey. The author is speaking through the text and is saying, you can make it through the long journey ahead. Even though you are hurting, even though it seems like it will never end, and even though you are very tired and you want to quit, you can make it through. This is the main message throughout the story because Goodman Brown was going to give up. He was scared of what was around him in the woods, he was tired, and he also missed his wife very dearly. The main reason of the story was to inspire someone to never give up.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Literary Response
Steve Epting
AP English
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Literary Response
In the story, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, the author Harriet Jacobs shows that the slave girl’s family was very hard working. Her father was a skilled mechanic, her grandmother was a household slave that took care of her mistress and also did midnight baking to help fund her business, and her mother was a hard worker as well, even though she died when her daughter was six. Also, the author shows a contrast in the two slave houses that the slave girl is in. She shows that one slave house is better than the other.
When the story opens, the slave girl starts to talk about the different jobs that her family members did in order to earn pay. Both the grandmother and the father have the same idea while working. The idea is for them to earn and save enough money to buy their children back because they were all separated. “The business proved profitable; and each year she laid by a little, which saved for a fund to purchase her children.” It was often hard for them to save enough money because, their masters or mistresses asked for loans and the slaves trusted them enough to give them the money they asked for.
There was also a contrast in between the two homes that the slave girl was in. In her first home, her mistress loved her unconditionally. The slave girl did anything that her mistress asked her to do. The mistress treated her so well because she promised the slave girl’s mother that they would never suffer for anything. The mistress taught the slave girl how to read, spell, and she taught her the precepts of God’s Word. The mistress’s main teaching, to the slave girl, was “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” The slave girl was faithful to the mistress, but the story gave an opposing quote to that; “But alas! We all know that the memory of a faithful slave does not avail much to save her children from the auction block.”
After the mistress dies, the slave girl was sent to another house. This house was very different in terms of morals and how they operated with slaves. When the slave girl got to the new house, she says that the family gave her cold looks, cold words, and cold treatment. The slave girl was not used to this harsh treatment. She had bad news when she got to the new house as well. She finds out that her father has died. Also, the family has views that teaching a slave child to feel like they are a human being is blasphemous doctrine.
In conclusion, the author shows that the slave girl’s family is hard working and the author also shows the contrast between the two slave houses. This story is appealing to ethos, and the author is showing the feelings of the slave girl. “We shall have to stay here all our days; we shall never be free.”
AP English
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Literary Response
In the story, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, the author Harriet Jacobs shows that the slave girl’s family was very hard working. Her father was a skilled mechanic, her grandmother was a household slave that took care of her mistress and also did midnight baking to help fund her business, and her mother was a hard worker as well, even though she died when her daughter was six. Also, the author shows a contrast in the two slave houses that the slave girl is in. She shows that one slave house is better than the other.
When the story opens, the slave girl starts to talk about the different jobs that her family members did in order to earn pay. Both the grandmother and the father have the same idea while working. The idea is for them to earn and save enough money to buy their children back because they were all separated. “The business proved profitable; and each year she laid by a little, which saved for a fund to purchase her children.” It was often hard for them to save enough money because, their masters or mistresses asked for loans and the slaves trusted them enough to give them the money they asked for.
There was also a contrast in between the two homes that the slave girl was in. In her first home, her mistress loved her unconditionally. The slave girl did anything that her mistress asked her to do. The mistress treated her so well because she promised the slave girl’s mother that they would never suffer for anything. The mistress taught the slave girl how to read, spell, and she taught her the precepts of God’s Word. The mistress’s main teaching, to the slave girl, was “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” The slave girl was faithful to the mistress, but the story gave an opposing quote to that; “But alas! We all know that the memory of a faithful slave does not avail much to save her children from the auction block.”
After the mistress dies, the slave girl was sent to another house. This house was very different in terms of morals and how they operated with slaves. When the slave girl got to the new house, she says that the family gave her cold looks, cold words, and cold treatment. The slave girl was not used to this harsh treatment. She had bad news when she got to the new house as well. She finds out that her father has died. Also, the family has views that teaching a slave child to feel like they are a human being is blasphemous doctrine.
In conclusion, the author shows that the slave girl’s family is hard working and the author also shows the contrast between the two slave houses. This story is appealing to ethos, and the author is showing the feelings of the slave girl. “We shall have to stay here all our days; we shall never be free.”
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Frederick Douglass Literary Response
Steve Epting
AP English
Frederick Douglass Literary Response
We all know that Frederick Douglass was a famous slave abolitionist. But many people don’t know what he had to go through in his life. Frederick had gone though a lot of issues such as dealing with abuse and going through a phase where he was controlled to think that he didn’t deserve any of the best things in life. Douglass was “brainwashed” by his master to think that he did not deserve to have an education. This is one of the main things that cause Douglass to become one of the greatest slave heroes in history.
As a child, Frederick Douglass was treated as a regular human being, not as an animal. His mistress quickly turned from a kind woman to a cold hearted woman. He was starting to get beat for things that were simple and unimportant. The most frequent thing that he was beat for was being suspected of having a book. Then, the verbal abuse started to kick in. The master and the mistress started to express to him that he was only a slave and he didn’t deserve an education. Douglass had such a zeal for learning that he would sneak and read different books.
After a while Douglass started to think to himself that he did not deserve an education. The text says, “As I writhed under it, I would at times feel that learning to read had been a curse rather than a blessing.” His way of thinking got so bad that freedom didn’t sound good to him anymore. He started to wish he was dead; he had thoughts about killing himself, and regretting his own existence. Everything in his life began to be so bland and every aspect of life lost its specific color.
In conclusion, Douglass had to go through a lot of things mentally. He went through all of the abuse and pain and that made him a historian. Education was very important to Frederick Douglass and he wasn’t given one; so he did what he had to do to get one that he yearned so desperately for.
AP English
Frederick Douglass Literary Response
We all know that Frederick Douglass was a famous slave abolitionist. But many people don’t know what he had to go through in his life. Frederick had gone though a lot of issues such as dealing with abuse and going through a phase where he was controlled to think that he didn’t deserve any of the best things in life. Douglass was “brainwashed” by his master to think that he did not deserve to have an education. This is one of the main things that cause Douglass to become one of the greatest slave heroes in history.
As a child, Frederick Douglass was treated as a regular human being, not as an animal. His mistress quickly turned from a kind woman to a cold hearted woman. He was starting to get beat for things that were simple and unimportant. The most frequent thing that he was beat for was being suspected of having a book. Then, the verbal abuse started to kick in. The master and the mistress started to express to him that he was only a slave and he didn’t deserve an education. Douglass had such a zeal for learning that he would sneak and read different books.
After a while Douglass started to think to himself that he did not deserve an education. The text says, “As I writhed under it, I would at times feel that learning to read had been a curse rather than a blessing.” His way of thinking got so bad that freedom didn’t sound good to him anymore. He started to wish he was dead; he had thoughts about killing himself, and regretting his own existence. Everything in his life began to be so bland and every aspect of life lost its specific color.
In conclusion, Douglass had to go through a lot of things mentally. He went through all of the abuse and pain and that made him a historian. Education was very important to Frederick Douglass and he wasn’t given one; so he did what he had to do to get one that he yearned so desperately for.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Steve Epting
AP English
“The Story of an Hour” Literary Response
This short story, of a woman named Mrs. Mallard, expressed her true happiness of freedom. In this story, freedom is explained as her not having to care for her husband anymore. Her family thought that they needed to break it down to her gently that her husband had died; but she didn’t feel that bad about it. A burden had been lifted off of her.
After the news had been to her, she left and went in another room to be alone. She began to think about the situation more and more. The text says that, “she was sitting in a chair with a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky. It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought.” She was in profound thought. She felt something coming to her, and all of a sudden she realized that she was free. She kept mumbling the word free to herself. As she kept thinking about it she realized that she will have a bunch of time to herself.
The husband, Mr. Mallard, must have treated her wrong for her to react this way. All she could think about was the ample amount of time that she was going to have all to herself. “Into this (chair) she sank, pressed down by physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul. Mrs. Mallard had heart trouble and after a while, when she got the news she didn’t even consider her ailment. In this text, there were an abundance of descriptive adjectives that described her feelings. An example is when she was sitting in her room looking out the window and the smell of the rain was described as delicious breath.
In conclusion, the main character experienced freedom in this story. She is beginning to start having time for herself. When she whispered the words,”Free! Body and soul free!, she was breaking out of her devoted shell.
AP English
“The Story of an Hour” Literary Response
This short story, of a woman named Mrs. Mallard, expressed her true happiness of freedom. In this story, freedom is explained as her not having to care for her husband anymore. Her family thought that they needed to break it down to her gently that her husband had died; but she didn’t feel that bad about it. A burden had been lifted off of her.
After the news had been to her, she left and went in another room to be alone. She began to think about the situation more and more. The text says that, “she was sitting in a chair with a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky. It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought.” She was in profound thought. She felt something coming to her, and all of a sudden she realized that she was free. She kept mumbling the word free to herself. As she kept thinking about it she realized that she will have a bunch of time to herself.
The husband, Mr. Mallard, must have treated her wrong for her to react this way. All she could think about was the ample amount of time that she was going to have all to herself. “Into this (chair) she sank, pressed down by physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul. Mrs. Mallard had heart trouble and after a while, when she got the news she didn’t even consider her ailment. In this text, there were an abundance of descriptive adjectives that described her feelings. An example is when she was sitting in her room looking out the window and the smell of the rain was described as delicious breath.
In conclusion, the main character experienced freedom in this story. She is beginning to start having time for herself. When she whispered the words,”Free! Body and soul free!, she was breaking out of her devoted shell.
Sojourner Truth Literary Response
Steve Epting
AP English
Sojourner Truth Literary Response
When comparing the two documents that I have read about Sojourner Truth’s speeches, the most obvious point that she is trying to get across is equality. Truth wants equal rights for black people and she also wants equal rights for women. Truth believes down in her soul that all women deserve equal rights as men and she has convincing points that get her point across. By the end of Sojourner Truth’s speech there wasn’t a dry eye or an untouched heart in the place. Her words were so strong that they reached everyone that heard them.
In the document Aren’t I a Woman?, it wasn’t as raw and heartfelt. The words weren’t as appealing and it wasn’t as exciting. Even though the points and ideas were the same, the way they were given were not as strong as the other document. This document held back and did not give as many details of how a woman should be treated. The only reason that I could tell that the crowd was into it was because the reading said so. The word choice wasn’t as hard hitting. I received the message of her wanting equality for every person, but it just did not blow me away.
The document 1881 Account by Frances Gage (or is it by Sojourner Truth? The Debate Continues) is the direct speech that Sojourner Truth gave at a convention. This piece of literature hit home to say that all women need equal rights as men because we can do anything a man can do. She gave specific examples referring to how she plowed the fields and she showed how strong she was by holding up her muscle. Also, she said that she had thirteen children and she cried every time every one of them got sold into slavery. Her point there was, if she could withstand that trial, she could take on anything. This was a speech back in the 1800s so the grammar back then wouldn’t be correct if we spoke it today. She used such words as dey, dar, ‘twixt, and ’em mos’. This created a connection with the people in the audience because it opened their eyes to know that everyone needs equal rights.
In conclusion, the main point that Truth wanted to get across was equal rights for all women and black people. She said, “If my cup won’t hold but a pint, and yourn holds a quart, wouldn’t ye be mean not to let me have my little half-measure full?” She meant that if I only have limited rights now and you have more than me, wouldn’t you be mean to take my rights and not let me have any? Equal rights are the basis of Sojourner Truth’s entire mission.
AP English
Sojourner Truth Literary Response
When comparing the two documents that I have read about Sojourner Truth’s speeches, the most obvious point that she is trying to get across is equality. Truth wants equal rights for black people and she also wants equal rights for women. Truth believes down in her soul that all women deserve equal rights as men and she has convincing points that get her point across. By the end of Sojourner Truth’s speech there wasn’t a dry eye or an untouched heart in the place. Her words were so strong that they reached everyone that heard them.
In the document Aren’t I a Woman?, it wasn’t as raw and heartfelt. The words weren’t as appealing and it wasn’t as exciting. Even though the points and ideas were the same, the way they were given were not as strong as the other document. This document held back and did not give as many details of how a woman should be treated. The only reason that I could tell that the crowd was into it was because the reading said so. The word choice wasn’t as hard hitting. I received the message of her wanting equality for every person, but it just did not blow me away.
The document 1881 Account by Frances Gage (or is it by Sojourner Truth? The Debate Continues) is the direct speech that Sojourner Truth gave at a convention. This piece of literature hit home to say that all women need equal rights as men because we can do anything a man can do. She gave specific examples referring to how she plowed the fields and she showed how strong she was by holding up her muscle. Also, she said that she had thirteen children and she cried every time every one of them got sold into slavery. Her point there was, if she could withstand that trial, she could take on anything. This was a speech back in the 1800s so the grammar back then wouldn’t be correct if we spoke it today. She used such words as dey, dar, ‘twixt, and ’em mos’. This created a connection with the people in the audience because it opened their eyes to know that everyone needs equal rights.
In conclusion, the main point that Truth wanted to get across was equal rights for all women and black people. She said, “If my cup won’t hold but a pint, and yourn holds a quart, wouldn’t ye be mean not to let me have my little half-measure full?” She meant that if I only have limited rights now and you have more than me, wouldn’t you be mean to take my rights and not let me have any? Equal rights are the basis of Sojourner Truth’s entire mission.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
The Wiz essay
Steve Epting
AP English
The Wiz
The movie The Wiz is an all time classic. It is a very fun and entertaining movie to watch. The main character, Dorothy, shows a big transition in her attitude in being independent. At the very beginning, she is a very shy person that always keeps to herself. By the end, she is a young woman that is not afraid to be herself around anyone. She shows tremendous growth as the movie progresses.
When the movie starts, Dorothy keeps to herself and she lives with her aunt. She is very dependent on her aunt for things. She is always helping out around the house and doesn’t really have a life of her own. Dorothy also doesn’t have a love life; she pushes guys away because she doesn’t like to get too close. Her aunt challenges her to start a new life by getting her own apartment and also teaching older high school kids instead of kindergartners.
Dorothy realizes, after she was whisked to Oz, that in order for her to get home she had to depend on herself to make it happen. This was a whole new world for her because she’s never really had to do anything for herself. This predicament is challenging her to face her fears and be brave. She had to go to Emerald City to meet the Wiz so that she could get back home. Dorothy realizes that she can be brave for not only herself, but for other people as well.
The main character, Dorothy, meets some very peculiar characters during her journey to Emerald City. First, she comes across a scare crow in need of a brain. Next, she comes across a tin man that was in need of a heart. Finally, she meets a lion that is in desperate need of courage. She had company on her way to meet the Wiz and it helped her to not give up hope. Even though she had problems, she still wanted to help others.
In conclusion, Dorothy showed maturity growth and she was growing to be independent. She had to go through all of that just to learn how to be independent and take care of things on her own. By the end, she didn’t need anyone to take care of her. She has broken out of her own little box and she has started to really live her life.
AP English
The Wiz
The movie The Wiz is an all time classic. It is a very fun and entertaining movie to watch. The main character, Dorothy, shows a big transition in her attitude in being independent. At the very beginning, she is a very shy person that always keeps to herself. By the end, she is a young woman that is not afraid to be herself around anyone. She shows tremendous growth as the movie progresses.
When the movie starts, Dorothy keeps to herself and she lives with her aunt. She is very dependent on her aunt for things. She is always helping out around the house and doesn’t really have a life of her own. Dorothy also doesn’t have a love life; she pushes guys away because she doesn’t like to get too close. Her aunt challenges her to start a new life by getting her own apartment and also teaching older high school kids instead of kindergartners.
Dorothy realizes, after she was whisked to Oz, that in order for her to get home she had to depend on herself to make it happen. This was a whole new world for her because she’s never really had to do anything for herself. This predicament is challenging her to face her fears and be brave. She had to go to Emerald City to meet the Wiz so that she could get back home. Dorothy realizes that she can be brave for not only herself, but for other people as well.
The main character, Dorothy, meets some very peculiar characters during her journey to Emerald City. First, she comes across a scare crow in need of a brain. Next, she comes across a tin man that was in need of a heart. Finally, she meets a lion that is in desperate need of courage. She had company on her way to meet the Wiz and it helped her to not give up hope. Even though she had problems, she still wanted to help others.
In conclusion, Dorothy showed maturity growth and she was growing to be independent. She had to go through all of that just to learn how to be independent and take care of things on her own. By the end, she didn’t need anyone to take care of her. She has broken out of her own little box and she has started to really live her life.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Spontaneous Me Literary Response
Steve Epting
AP English
Spontaneous Me Literary Response
This poem is written by an author that has a strange way of relating things. This poem is an ode to nature. It has a lot of personification in it. The author describes different aspects of nature such as plants, animals, weather, vegetation and human being urges. I think that the author was on a camping trip with a close friend. The author is probably sharing experiences that were good and bad, in the poem, and the author was sharing things that were taking place when they were there. The writer has a peculiar way of explaining things because he or she is comparing like and unlike things together. The target audience is really unidentified. I think that the author is expressing his or her love toward nature in different ways to get their point across.
The diction was great because I got a vivid description in my head. “The hillside whiten’d with blossoms of the mountain ash, The same late in autumn, the hues of red, yellow, drab, purple, and light and dark green.” While reading that quote I got a description of a beautiful hillside, early in the morning, that had different colors in the air because of what season it was. “The hairy wild-bee that murmurs and hankers up and down, that gripes the full-frown lady-flower, curves upon her with amorous firm legs, takes his will of her, and holds himself tremulous and tight till he is satisfied.” That quote was comparing a bee receiving nectar from a flower to a human during sexual intercourse.
This poem appeals to pathos because it has very strong feelings in it such as happiness, excitement, and love. It has a lot of references to love because it says, “Love-thoughts, love-juice, love-odor, love yielding, love-climbers, and the climbing sap. I think the author is trying to get the point across that we should love in everything that we do, even though he used strange references like love-juice and love-odor. This is a whimsical poem because it was erratic and unpredictable.
AP English
Spontaneous Me Literary Response
This poem is written by an author that has a strange way of relating things. This poem is an ode to nature. It has a lot of personification in it. The author describes different aspects of nature such as plants, animals, weather, vegetation and human being urges. I think that the author was on a camping trip with a close friend. The author is probably sharing experiences that were good and bad, in the poem, and the author was sharing things that were taking place when they were there. The writer has a peculiar way of explaining things because he or she is comparing like and unlike things together. The target audience is really unidentified. I think that the author is expressing his or her love toward nature in different ways to get their point across.
The diction was great because I got a vivid description in my head. “The hillside whiten’d with blossoms of the mountain ash, The same late in autumn, the hues of red, yellow, drab, purple, and light and dark green.” While reading that quote I got a description of a beautiful hillside, early in the morning, that had different colors in the air because of what season it was. “The hairy wild-bee that murmurs and hankers up and down, that gripes the full-frown lady-flower, curves upon her with amorous firm legs, takes his will of her, and holds himself tremulous and tight till he is satisfied.” That quote was comparing a bee receiving nectar from a flower to a human during sexual intercourse.
This poem appeals to pathos because it has very strong feelings in it such as happiness, excitement, and love. It has a lot of references to love because it says, “Love-thoughts, love-juice, love-odor, love yielding, love-climbers, and the climbing sap. I think the author is trying to get the point across that we should love in everything that we do, even though he used strange references like love-juice and love-odor. This is a whimsical poem because it was erratic and unpredictable.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Phillis Wheatley Literary Response
Steve Epting
AP English
Phillis Wheatley Literary Response
This excerpt is about the poet Phillis Wheatley. She was an educated slave that had an advantage to travel the world, unlike other slaves. Wheatley was born in Africa and was brought to Boston in 1761. She had an advantage of education even though few white women were given an education. She was taught how to read and write and how to read Latin writers. Wheatley’s mother described her as a “frail and remarkably intelligent child.” She wrote poetry and she was inspired to write poetry from different poets such as Milton, Pope, and Gray. She traveled to London with her son to get started on her first book.
This passage is basically a biography telling the life of Phillis Wheatley. It is stating logical facts about her life so this passage is appealing to logos. The word choice was not complex at all. Everything was clear and I could understand it. Wheatley was very fortunate and she lived a life that many slaves only dreamed of. Throughout the text, the writer really doesn’t go into depth about anything. The author didn’t go into depth about her time being a slave, her family, or the time period when she was in London starting her book. They just told key points in her life, without detail.
Some of Phillis Wheatley’s poems were about slavery, and how badly they were treated. Her poems appeal to pathos because they are filled with great emotion such as tyranny, love, and pain. She set traditions for the black race because she was the first black to become a poet and she was also the first black woman to become a poet. This woman gained respect from white academic scholars such as Benjamin Franklin. She’s giving other people hope, even though this was done a long time ago.
AP English
Phillis Wheatley Literary Response
This excerpt is about the poet Phillis Wheatley. She was an educated slave that had an advantage to travel the world, unlike other slaves. Wheatley was born in Africa and was brought to Boston in 1761. She had an advantage of education even though few white women were given an education. She was taught how to read and write and how to read Latin writers. Wheatley’s mother described her as a “frail and remarkably intelligent child.” She wrote poetry and she was inspired to write poetry from different poets such as Milton, Pope, and Gray. She traveled to London with her son to get started on her first book.
This passage is basically a biography telling the life of Phillis Wheatley. It is stating logical facts about her life so this passage is appealing to logos. The word choice was not complex at all. Everything was clear and I could understand it. Wheatley was very fortunate and she lived a life that many slaves only dreamed of. Throughout the text, the writer really doesn’t go into depth about anything. The author didn’t go into depth about her time being a slave, her family, or the time period when she was in London starting her book. They just told key points in her life, without detail.
Some of Phillis Wheatley’s poems were about slavery, and how badly they were treated. Her poems appeal to pathos because they are filled with great emotion such as tyranny, love, and pain. She set traditions for the black race because she was the first black to become a poet and she was also the first black woman to become a poet. This woman gained respect from white academic scholars such as Benjamin Franklin. She’s giving other people hope, even though this was done a long time ago.
Thomas Jefferson Literary Response
Steve Epting
AP English
Thomas Jefferson Literary Response
This passage is from Thomas Jefferson’s autobiography. Thomas Jefferson wrote some of the Declaration of Independence. The American colonies were tired of the way that the king of Great Britain was treating them. They wanted to take a stand in separating themselves from British rule. The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776 and then was engrossed on parchment and signed again on August 2nd. The passage stated everything the king did that the colonies wanted to change. One of the complaints stated “He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.” That means that King George III has ignored the laws that keep the society in order.
Thomas Jefferson only wrote some of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson had a major influence as he was writing. His influence was a man named John Locke. Locke believed that all people have natural born rights and Jefferson basically got some of his political ideas from Locke. Jefferson stated, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The reason of this entire plea to the king is so that every citizen can have equal rights. Every human was born with natural rights to be an equal citizen.
The passage was not very hard to understand even though the Declaration of Independence was written a long time ago. The word usurpation was being used in the passage. When they use this word they are talking about the way the king is using his power. The passage appeals to ethos because Jefferson and the other writers were trying to strongly persuade the audience to feel how they were feeling. They wanted some changes to happen and they’re doing it very calmly. The writers wrote a lot of complaints. Basically all the citizens want is to be treated right.
AP English
Thomas Jefferson Literary Response
This passage is from Thomas Jefferson’s autobiography. Thomas Jefferson wrote some of the Declaration of Independence. The American colonies were tired of the way that the king of Great Britain was treating them. They wanted to take a stand in separating themselves from British rule. The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776 and then was engrossed on parchment and signed again on August 2nd. The passage stated everything the king did that the colonies wanted to change. One of the complaints stated “He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.” That means that King George III has ignored the laws that keep the society in order.
Thomas Jefferson only wrote some of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson had a major influence as he was writing. His influence was a man named John Locke. Locke believed that all people have natural born rights and Jefferson basically got some of his political ideas from Locke. Jefferson stated, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The reason of this entire plea to the king is so that every citizen can have equal rights. Every human was born with natural rights to be an equal citizen.
The passage was not very hard to understand even though the Declaration of Independence was written a long time ago. The word usurpation was being used in the passage. When they use this word they are talking about the way the king is using his power. The passage appeals to ethos because Jefferson and the other writers were trying to strongly persuade the audience to feel how they were feeling. They wanted some changes to happen and they’re doing it very calmly. The writers wrote a lot of complaints. Basically all the citizens want is to be treated right.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
"Huswifery" Literary Response
Steve Epting
AP English
“Huswifery” Literary Response
In this poem, Edward Taylor is expressing how he wants God to move through him and guide him. He wants God in every aspect of his life. Taylor wants God to guide him mentally and spiritually. Everything that Taylor does will be for the glory of God and no one else. He wants God to help him with his memory, conscience, judgement , affections, will, and understanding. He wants everything that he does to be pleasing unto God.
Taylor used metaphors to depict his hunger for God in his life. The most descriptive quote in this poem was the first line because it set the tone. “Make me, O Lord, thy Spinning Wheele compleat.” That basically means make me what you want me to be. Later in the poem, the author starts to compare letting the Lord use him to knitting on a spinning wheel. I think that is a wonderful example because it represents a skilled tailor designing his masterpiece into the greatest thing he ever made. Taylor wants God to speak through him so that he may talk respectfully. Also, when it says “Thy Holy Worde my Distaff make for mee” it means that he will follow God’s word.
This poem appeals greatly to pathos. I visualized a tailor knitting something that would be great. The word choice in this poem was amazing. Even though the style of writing was very old, I could still understand what it meant. This is a great poem because in every stanza, the author added more and more about how he needed God in every aspect of his life. In the first stanza it is comparing the knitting to being used by God. In the second, it starts to speak on how fine the thread is. The thread represents every personal quality that he has. Each piece of thread is a different color that represents him. In the third stanza, he talks about the inner traits that he has. The author sums up the entire poem by illustrating the entire masterpiece as a robe. All the traits and qualities that he had were intertwined to make a perfect robe portraying the way God wants him to look.
AP English
“Huswifery” Literary Response
In this poem, Edward Taylor is expressing how he wants God to move through him and guide him. He wants God in every aspect of his life. Taylor wants God to guide him mentally and spiritually. Everything that Taylor does will be for the glory of God and no one else. He wants God to help him with his memory, conscience, judgement , affections, will, and understanding. He wants everything that he does to be pleasing unto God.
Taylor used metaphors to depict his hunger for God in his life. The most descriptive quote in this poem was the first line because it set the tone. “Make me, O Lord, thy Spinning Wheele compleat.” That basically means make me what you want me to be. Later in the poem, the author starts to compare letting the Lord use him to knitting on a spinning wheel. I think that is a wonderful example because it represents a skilled tailor designing his masterpiece into the greatest thing he ever made. Taylor wants God to speak through him so that he may talk respectfully. Also, when it says “Thy Holy Worde my Distaff make for mee” it means that he will follow God’s word.
This poem appeals greatly to pathos. I visualized a tailor knitting something that would be great. The word choice in this poem was amazing. Even though the style of writing was very old, I could still understand what it meant. This is a great poem because in every stanza, the author added more and more about how he needed God in every aspect of his life. In the first stanza it is comparing the knitting to being used by God. In the second, it starts to speak on how fine the thread is. The thread represents every personal quality that he has. Each piece of thread is a different color that represents him. In the third stanza, he talks about the inner traits that he has. The author sums up the entire poem by illustrating the entire masterpiece as a robe. All the traits and qualities that he had were intertwined to make a perfect robe portraying the way God wants him to look.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Anne Bradsreet Literary Response
Steve Epting
AP English
Literary Response: Anne Bradstreet
In these two different poems, Anne Bradstreet has a unique style of writing. In the first poem "The Author to Her Book", I think that she speaks in a general sense because she is not direct in her statements. “Thou ill-formed offspring of my feeble brain, Who after birth didst by my side remain." She's having a thought. Throughout this poem, she talks about these different ideas and by the end she hates every idea that she came up with, so she throws the story away.
She appeals to pathos by just telling personal thoughts. She is having an intrapersonal conversation with herself. The tone of this poem is enigmatic, precocious, and frivolous. The tone was puzzling to grasp the main idea of the poem, it was prematurely developed because the ideas weren’t well thought out, and it was lacking in seriousness because she couldn’t pick one idea to stay on so she trashed the whole thing. I could tell these two poems were written a long time ago because of the word choice with words such as didst, nought, thou, run’st, thee, thy, and may’st.
In the second poem, "To My Dear and Loving Husband", it is very clear that she is showing her deep, heart-felt affection towards her husband. She is married and her audience is her spouse. She expresses her deep love toward him in a very nice quote that says, “My love is such that rivers cannot quench.” I think this is more like a ballad to say that her and her husband will be together forever.
The tone of this poem was euphoric, saccharine, and poignant. The tone structured the poem to be all these because she was very happy when she wrote this and it was cloyingly sweet. Anne Bradstreet appealed to ethos in this poem because she was expressing her feelings.
AP English
Literary Response: Anne Bradstreet
In these two different poems, Anne Bradstreet has a unique style of writing. In the first poem "The Author to Her Book", I think that she speaks in a general sense because she is not direct in her statements. “Thou ill-formed offspring of my feeble brain, Who after birth didst by my side remain." She's having a thought. Throughout this poem, she talks about these different ideas and by the end she hates every idea that she came up with, so she throws the story away.
She appeals to pathos by just telling personal thoughts. She is having an intrapersonal conversation with herself. The tone of this poem is enigmatic, precocious, and frivolous. The tone was puzzling to grasp the main idea of the poem, it was prematurely developed because the ideas weren’t well thought out, and it was lacking in seriousness because she couldn’t pick one idea to stay on so she trashed the whole thing. I could tell these two poems were written a long time ago because of the word choice with words such as didst, nought, thou, run’st, thee, thy, and may’st.
In the second poem, "To My Dear and Loving Husband", it is very clear that she is showing her deep, heart-felt affection towards her husband. She is married and her audience is her spouse. She expresses her deep love toward him in a very nice quote that says, “My love is such that rivers cannot quench.” I think this is more like a ballad to say that her and her husband will be together forever.
The tone of this poem was euphoric, saccharine, and poignant. The tone structured the poem to be all these because she was very happy when she wrote this and it was cloyingly sweet. Anne Bradstreet appealed to ethos in this poem because she was expressing her feelings.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Literary Response: Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
Steve Epting
AP English
Literary Response: Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
“Their foot shall slide in due time.” This quote is the basis of the whole passage. It sets the tone of the entire passage. Jonathan Edwards speaks very forcefully to get his message across. The quote basically means that while we are down on this earth we will sin and we will have to pay for it if we are not saved. The title actually speaks for itself because it’s saying that the people who are doing wrong are placed in God’s angry hands and His wrath can strike any time.
This passage was written a very long time ago. It was written in about 1712, and the reason I could tell that it was an old passage was because of the word choice. The author used words such as thou, didst, castedst, hitherto, shalt, whet, thither, and heretofore. I didn’t know what some of those words meant. The author used examples of similes such as, “They are as great heaps of light chaff before the whirlwind.” There were also examples of personification such as “ …..hell opens its mouth to receive them…..” and “ …the flames gather and flash about them, and would fain lay hold on them, and swallow them up.” The tone of this text is hostile and supercilious because it is angry and disdainful. The author appeals to pathos in this passage.
I don’t know who the audience is, but the author’s purpose was to tell people that the way they are acting now is going to send them to hell. The author depicted hell as the place that you never want to go. He explained it so well that I had a picture of it in my head. He was also trying to tell them that if they keep acting the way that they do, they will not see God, the sovereign. He based his text around a story from the bible when the Israelites were acting the same way the present day people were acting. They didn’t believe God and they didn’t care if they were going to heaven or hell. The author is taking the time out to warn the people about what is to come, so they won’t be condemned. The author talks about the people’s non-challant attitude towards heaven and hell and he said that their children will follow behind them and all of them will go to hell. The author is trying to save them from their wicked ways so that they can go to heaven.
AP English
Literary Response: Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
“Their foot shall slide in due time.” This quote is the basis of the whole passage. It sets the tone of the entire passage. Jonathan Edwards speaks very forcefully to get his message across. The quote basically means that while we are down on this earth we will sin and we will have to pay for it if we are not saved. The title actually speaks for itself because it’s saying that the people who are doing wrong are placed in God’s angry hands and His wrath can strike any time.
This passage was written a very long time ago. It was written in about 1712, and the reason I could tell that it was an old passage was because of the word choice. The author used words such as thou, didst, castedst, hitherto, shalt, whet, thither, and heretofore. I didn’t know what some of those words meant. The author used examples of similes such as, “They are as great heaps of light chaff before the whirlwind.” There were also examples of personification such as “ …..hell opens its mouth to receive them…..” and “ …the flames gather and flash about them, and would fain lay hold on them, and swallow them up.” The tone of this text is hostile and supercilious because it is angry and disdainful. The author appeals to pathos in this passage.
I don’t know who the audience is, but the author’s purpose was to tell people that the way they are acting now is going to send them to hell. The author depicted hell as the place that you never want to go. He explained it so well that I had a picture of it in my head. He was also trying to tell them that if they keep acting the way that they do, they will not see God, the sovereign. He based his text around a story from the bible when the Israelites were acting the same way the present day people were acting. They didn’t believe God and they didn’t care if they were going to heaven or hell. The author is taking the time out to warn the people about what is to come, so they won’t be condemned. The author talks about the people’s non-challant attitude towards heaven and hell and he said that their children will follow behind them and all of them will go to hell. The author is trying to save them from their wicked ways so that they can go to heaven.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Christopher Columbus Literary Response
Steve Epting
AP English
Literary Response: Christopher Columbus
This reading spoke about the voyager, Christopher Columbus. It spoke about his four voyages and everything that he went through such as being arrested and put in chains and every island or continent that he explored. The text portrayed him as a person that loved to travel and someone that was eager to find a new place to settle. In the letters, Columbus described the islands, which he found, so well that I had a vision of what the island looked like. The diction was perfect in this reading. Many descriptive adjectives and details were used. The only question I had was how did the letters that he wrote get back to whoever he wrote them to? I was wondering that when I read the article because there was no mailing system.
This reading was very interesting to me. The tone of this text was pithy and bittersweet. It was pithy and bittersweet because it was precisely meaningful and it wasn’t rambling on and on and, to me, it showed a mixture of pain and pleasure because it know he was frustrated and tired from all of that traveling across the big oceans. This reading appealed to ethos because it appealed to the right audience. The vocabulary wasn’t too hard to understand and it didn’t appeal to your emotions. My favorite line in the reading was, “It is well to give to God that which is His due and to Caesar that which belongs to him.” This line is actually in the Bible and it is teaching Christians that God wants you tithe and start a relationship with Him. But, the line was written to Ferdinand and Isabella on his fourth voyage. The line was placed there to his opinion toward his discoveries.
The author was trying to show us the true Christopher, based on his journal entries. He also states that he is not doing these voyages for the wealth and the fame; he’s doing this because he has a purpose on his life. These entries told us that he was excited about finding the new land and it also told us that he was a very good writer. Columbus shows us in the journal entries that the voyages weren’t easy, but he still made it to find the “promised land.”
In conclusion, the author told us about the voyages he took and what he went through. Christopher Columbus was a trailblazer that made a mark on this country.
AP English
Literary Response: Christopher Columbus
This reading spoke about the voyager, Christopher Columbus. It spoke about his four voyages and everything that he went through such as being arrested and put in chains and every island or continent that he explored. The text portrayed him as a person that loved to travel and someone that was eager to find a new place to settle. In the letters, Columbus described the islands, which he found, so well that I had a vision of what the island looked like. The diction was perfect in this reading. Many descriptive adjectives and details were used. The only question I had was how did the letters that he wrote get back to whoever he wrote them to? I was wondering that when I read the article because there was no mailing system.
This reading was very interesting to me. The tone of this text was pithy and bittersweet. It was pithy and bittersweet because it was precisely meaningful and it wasn’t rambling on and on and, to me, it showed a mixture of pain and pleasure because it know he was frustrated and tired from all of that traveling across the big oceans. This reading appealed to ethos because it appealed to the right audience. The vocabulary wasn’t too hard to understand and it didn’t appeal to your emotions. My favorite line in the reading was, “It is well to give to God that which is His due and to Caesar that which belongs to him.” This line is actually in the Bible and it is teaching Christians that God wants you tithe and start a relationship with Him. But, the line was written to Ferdinand and Isabella on his fourth voyage. The line was placed there to his opinion toward his discoveries.
The author was trying to show us the true Christopher, based on his journal entries. He also states that he is not doing these voyages for the wealth and the fame; he’s doing this because he has a purpose on his life. These entries told us that he was excited about finding the new land and it also told us that he was a very good writer. Columbus shows us in the journal entries that the voyages weren’t easy, but he still made it to find the “promised land.”
In conclusion, the author told us about the voyages he took and what he went through. Christopher Columbus was a trailblazer that made a mark on this country.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Iroquois creation Literary response
Steve Epting
AP English
Literary Response: The Iroquois creation story
In this article, the author spoke on how the Native American tribe, the Iroquois, started on this earth. There were twenty-five versions of Iroquois. It talked about the customs, the religions, and where they originated from. This text is very informational and it really doesn’t use any words or phrases to catch my attention. The four sections of the story tell the background on the tribe and it tells stories of creation. The tone of this article is prosaic and insipid. It lacked a flavor and a zest and it was dull and ordinary. Even though I felt that the tone was dull, I still understood the different stories of creation. I think that the author was trying to target an audience that was about high school level. The author targeted people doing research on this topic. The author’s purpose was to give information about the Iroquois.
When I first got this reading, I expected it to be a lot of information. I expected that because it sounds like an informational topic. If I could, I would cluster different paragraphs to make the background paragraph first, including different tribes and how they originated, and then I would make one long creation story with lots of details. In the reading, the author appeals to logos because a lot of facts were stated. To me, there wasn’t any good diction in the paragraphs. I think that maybe the writer derives from an Iroquois tribe and they did the research and they wanted to share this information with readers. There are inferences that I can make based on the reading. I can infer that the tribes of the Iroquois were made a long time ago and some still are around today.
There aren’t really that many short paragraphs so some of the openings of paragraphs did support the shape of the discourse. In the reading, there is nothing that the author failed to omit. I don’t think that the author used any good figurative language at all because as I stated earlier, the author did not use any word to grab my attention or the author didn’t use any words in an unusual context to make me think.
In conclusion, I think the author was just trying to educate more people to the different Iroquois tribes. There were enough facts in the reading to help me find out something new about them.
AP English
Literary Response: The Iroquois creation story
In this article, the author spoke on how the Native American tribe, the Iroquois, started on this earth. There were twenty-five versions of Iroquois. It talked about the customs, the religions, and where they originated from. This text is very informational and it really doesn’t use any words or phrases to catch my attention. The four sections of the story tell the background on the tribe and it tells stories of creation. The tone of this article is prosaic and insipid. It lacked a flavor and a zest and it was dull and ordinary. Even though I felt that the tone was dull, I still understood the different stories of creation. I think that the author was trying to target an audience that was about high school level. The author targeted people doing research on this topic. The author’s purpose was to give information about the Iroquois.
When I first got this reading, I expected it to be a lot of information. I expected that because it sounds like an informational topic. If I could, I would cluster different paragraphs to make the background paragraph first, including different tribes and how they originated, and then I would make one long creation story with lots of details. In the reading, the author appeals to logos because a lot of facts were stated. To me, there wasn’t any good diction in the paragraphs. I think that maybe the writer derives from an Iroquois tribe and they did the research and they wanted to share this information with readers. There are inferences that I can make based on the reading. I can infer that the tribes of the Iroquois were made a long time ago and some still are around today.
There aren’t really that many short paragraphs so some of the openings of paragraphs did support the shape of the discourse. In the reading, there is nothing that the author failed to omit. I don’t think that the author used any good figurative language at all because as I stated earlier, the author did not use any word to grab my attention or the author didn’t use any words in an unusual context to make me think.
In conclusion, I think the author was just trying to educate more people to the different Iroquois tribes. There were enough facts in the reading to help me find out something new about them.
Is google making us stupid Literary Response
Steve Epting
AP English
Is Google Making Us Stupid? Literary Response
In this article, Is Google Making Us Stupid? it is basically hitting the issue right on the head. We, as Americans, are not thinking like we used to. Now, computers are doing all of the work for us. What used to take people a long amount of time to do research, now only takes a couple of minutes. The internet is “controlling” our brains to not take the time to actually read a book. We are becoming lazy as Americans. We have not been using our brains and we now depend on computers and other resources to do it for us.
When I first heard the title, it really caught my attention. The instant I heard the title, I immediately started to think to myself “Am I lazy?”; “Do I do enough research on class assignments?” This article was a great appeal to pathos because, to me, it caused me to think about what the article was saying. The reason why it was a great appeal to pathos was because of the diction. The way the words were structured explained the whole article well. An example is at the beginning when the writer used the computer as a tool to show us that we are not the only ones being hurt by not doing well- rounded research. That was a great form of writing, because it caught my attention. The overall tone of the article was poignant and pithy. It was precisely meaningful and it strongly affected emotions strongly.
“The variations extend across many regions of the brain, including those that govern such essential cognitive functions as memory and the interpretation of visual and auditory stimuli.” This quote, from the article, is how the brain receives information. People learn different ways but most people learn visually and with auditory. With the internet, we are not getting the full learning compared to if we were learning in school or studying out of a book. The Internet is shaping our thought process, not in a physical sense. When we use the internet as a source co much, we tend to think that is the only way to find research. There are different forms of media such as newspaper, magazine, and television that do the same thing to our thinking but, the internet is the most common. “Midvale steel plant went to work on various metalworking machines, and recorded and timed their every movement as well as the operations of the machines. By breaking down every job into a sequence of small, discrete steps and then testing different ways of performing each one, Taylor created a set of precise instructions.” This describes what happens when we use the internet for our research.
Although there are other forms of media like television that use different programs to share information, the internet is still the worst and it is the most common. Google is not the only search engine that answers questions; there is ask, Google, yahoo, dog pile, and many more. The Internet is a machine designed for the efficient and automated collection, transmission, and manipulation of information, and its legions of programmers are intent on finding the “one best method.” I think that is the best definition of what the internet is. We often search through a lot of different websites trying to find the best answer to our question. The internet is sometimes not a reliable source because sometimes we just type in a question and take the first answer that we think is correct. In earlier years, people did deep reading and research to find answers to different questions. But now, we want everything to be fast and we want it to be efficient.
In conclusion, I think that we should be able to do deep research for our questions to different things. That is the only way we are going to get the answers to our questions, and we can get the background to our research so that we can know more about it. The internet is a great resource, but we shouldn’t rely on it for every question or concern that we have.
AP English
Is Google Making Us Stupid? Literary Response
In this article, Is Google Making Us Stupid? it is basically hitting the issue right on the head. We, as Americans, are not thinking like we used to. Now, computers are doing all of the work for us. What used to take people a long amount of time to do research, now only takes a couple of minutes. The internet is “controlling” our brains to not take the time to actually read a book. We are becoming lazy as Americans. We have not been using our brains and we now depend on computers and other resources to do it for us.
When I first heard the title, it really caught my attention. The instant I heard the title, I immediately started to think to myself “Am I lazy?”; “Do I do enough research on class assignments?” This article was a great appeal to pathos because, to me, it caused me to think about what the article was saying. The reason why it was a great appeal to pathos was because of the diction. The way the words were structured explained the whole article well. An example is at the beginning when the writer used the computer as a tool to show us that we are not the only ones being hurt by not doing well- rounded research. That was a great form of writing, because it caught my attention. The overall tone of the article was poignant and pithy. It was precisely meaningful and it strongly affected emotions strongly.
“The variations extend across many regions of the brain, including those that govern such essential cognitive functions as memory and the interpretation of visual and auditory stimuli.” This quote, from the article, is how the brain receives information. People learn different ways but most people learn visually and with auditory. With the internet, we are not getting the full learning compared to if we were learning in school or studying out of a book. The Internet is shaping our thought process, not in a physical sense. When we use the internet as a source co much, we tend to think that is the only way to find research. There are different forms of media such as newspaper, magazine, and television that do the same thing to our thinking but, the internet is the most common. “Midvale steel plant went to work on various metalworking machines, and recorded and timed their every movement as well as the operations of the machines. By breaking down every job into a sequence of small, discrete steps and then testing different ways of performing each one, Taylor created a set of precise instructions.” This describes what happens when we use the internet for our research.
Although there are other forms of media like television that use different programs to share information, the internet is still the worst and it is the most common. Google is not the only search engine that answers questions; there is ask, Google, yahoo, dog pile, and many more. The Internet is a machine designed for the efficient and automated collection, transmission, and manipulation of information, and its legions of programmers are intent on finding the “one best method.” I think that is the best definition of what the internet is. We often search through a lot of different websites trying to find the best answer to our question. The internet is sometimes not a reliable source because sometimes we just type in a question and take the first answer that we think is correct. In earlier years, people did deep reading and research to find answers to different questions. But now, we want everything to be fast and we want it to be efficient.
In conclusion, I think that we should be able to do deep research for our questions to different things. That is the only way we are going to get the answers to our questions, and we can get the background to our research so that we can know more about it. The internet is a great resource, but we shouldn’t rely on it for every question or concern that we have.
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