Thursday, December 17, 2009
the end
I finished. That is right. I am done. I lived through my first semester of College. My mom says that I should start referring to it as a University, but my best friend Kiersta thinks that I should call it an insane asylum. Either way I lived. I have learned a lot: love for reading, Declaration of Independence, Spanish, and how to write a paper with a topic sentence in it. Those are the surface things that I learned. The real things I learned seem much deeper and complicated, but above all I learned how little I know. I have heard people say that the more you know the more you realize how little you know. Well I have got a lot to learn, because my first semester of College/University/Insane asylum taught me that there is a lot for me to learn. Oddly the more I come to accept that I know relatively nothing the more content I am with myself. What is the point in knowing everything? I feel more driven to learn about everything? I don’t want to learn about things like they are items. For example the Declaration of Independence (a hot topic in my history class) is not something that I want to pick up and examine as I would an apple off a tree. Instead the more I realize how little I know and understand the more I want to experience the few things that I do know. As I explored the Declaration of Independence more I realized how complicated it is, and how much I want to be apart of it. Yes, I don’t know much (who really does) but I want to know more, I want to experience more, and that curiosity is something that I never want to lose.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
what I learned in English
Joy Prior
Professor Harris
December 14, 2009
Response #11
Main Entry: ed·it
Pronunciation: \ˈe-dət\
Function: increase student’s heart rate
Etymology: Brigham Young University Honors English 150
Date: 2009
1 a: to watch one’s sentence be stretched out like saltwater taffy to better able everyone to fit around it, while each pulls out their magnifying glass and says their professional opinion b: to carry one’s laptop to each apartment door in one’s complex and ask whomever answers the door to read one’s paper. 2 a: to cut one’s first, second, and third drafts into paper snowflakes while attempting to convince oneself the fourth and fifth drafts will not become Christmas decorations b: to collapse over the Harold B. Lee Library printer as a hot copy of one’s “final draft” pops out with a spelling error in the title c: to paste the word one thinks is correct into the Google search engine to ensure it is the desired word. 3 a: to lie on the linoleum floor wondering if the approximate 150 tiles on one’s kitchen ceiling could support one’s thesis b: to rock back and forth on the linoleum floor wondering if the approximate 50,400 holes in one’s kitchen ceiling would be better support for one’s thesis. 4 a: WORTH IT.
Professor Harris
December 14, 2009
Response #11
Main Entry: ed·it
Pronunciation: \ˈe-dət\
Function: increase student’s heart rate
Etymology: Brigham Young University Honors English 150
Date: 2009
1 a: to watch one’s sentence be stretched out like saltwater taffy to better able everyone to fit around it, while each pulls out their magnifying glass and says their professional opinion b: to carry one’s laptop to each apartment door in one’s complex and ask whomever answers the door to read one’s paper. 2 a: to cut one’s first, second, and third drafts into paper snowflakes while attempting to convince oneself the fourth and fifth drafts will not become Christmas decorations b: to collapse over the Harold B. Lee Library printer as a hot copy of one’s “final draft” pops out with a spelling error in the title c: to paste the word one thinks is correct into the Google search engine to ensure it is the desired word. 3 a: to lie on the linoleum floor wondering if the approximate 150 tiles on one’s kitchen ceiling could support one’s thesis b: to rock back and forth on the linoleum floor wondering if the approximate 50,400 holes in one’s kitchen ceiling would be better support for one’s thesis. 4 a: WORTH IT.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Joy Marie Prior
Professor Harris
17 November 2009
“Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King, Jr.
When I hear civil rights, I imagine Martin Luther King, Jr. frozen in a black and white photo standing at a pulpit shouting “I have a dream,” into a big microphone. On the issue of segregation I cannot think of someone more quoted than Martin Luther King, Jr. In April 1963 King wrote, from Birmingham Jail on scraps of newspaper, a letter in response to the article “Call for Unity,” written by eight white Alabama clergymen. They wanted the people to stop protesting and allow the civil courts to handle to situation. He wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” during a period of high racial tension. His use of “you” throughout the paper and detailed descriptions paint an inspiring vision of the black community’s struggle against discrimination for the reader that touched me personal as my understanding of King developed.
Historical Context
In 1963, Birmingham, Alabama was at the cutting edge of racial tension. “Bull” Connor (head of police in Birmingham) encouraged officers to use high pressured hoses, dogs, beatings, and any effective form of violence that impaired King’s supporters. Against King’s wishes, his campaign invited teenage children to walk in their parades. Despite their age, they were shown no mercy by the police, and many of them were imprisoned. Eventually, Doctor King himself was charged for protesting without a permit and placed in solitary confinement where he wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”
Critical Analysis
Martin Luther King, Jr. invites the reader to experience racial discrimination before he builds himself up as an advocate for freedom. The first portion of King’s letter summarizes what inspired him, and has a basic introduction for his thesis. The conclusion section (and meat of the paper) defines Martin Luther King, Jr. and his cause as just. Bridging the two sections is a paragraph detailing the hardships of discrimination without taking a pleading tone. King paints an intimate image for the reader when he says, “you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park.” King uses “I feel” or “we feel” throughout the body of this paragraph sparingly, and “you” or “your” 25 times. As in the sentence above King does not tell the reader “my tongue is twisted,” but “your tongue is twisted.” He clearly wants the audience to experience discrimination and not simply recognize it. This paragraph is important to have prior to the remainder of the text because once the reader understands the physical, personal, and emotional pains that come from discrimination, he or she is more willing to sympathize with Martin Luther King, Jr. rather than justifying racist actions as logical, or even godly.
After describing his perspective of discrimination, King expresses the feeling that the reader should have a clear understanding of what it feels like to be victimized. The closing line reads, “I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience.” Notice how he does not end the last sentence with a question; it appears that Martin Luther is not asking the reader if they understand what it feels like to be discriminated against, but telling them. After he believes his readers understand his perspective he proceeds to build his argument.
Personal Reflection
What impacted me the most was the way in which Martin Luther King, Jr. addressed me. Although the letter is officially addressed to the clergymen it is clear through his text he is calling to a larger audience. The simple fact that he published it in the newspaper supports this claim. Truthfully, before reading “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” I did not understand much about Martin Luther King, Jr.: I knew there is a holiday for him and whenever anyone mentions his name there is some sort of reverence in the room, but I had never fully comprehended or appreciated who Martin Luther King, Jr. was.
Besides being in awe of King’s brilliance after reading “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” I am left wondering what it would feel like to go through the things that he experienced. I find myself continually wondering what it would be like to be a member of the black community, white sympathizers, or a member of the eight clergymen. As of yet I have not been able to imagine what it would be like to be Martin Luther King, Jr. My mind played with the image of me sitting in the jail cell with a pen in one hand and an unfolded newspaper in the other. That is as far as I get, though; I cannot imagine myself writing the letter. My own cry against racism would seem like a bicycle horn squeaking one constant weak beep compared to the sonic boom of King’s message. I love knowing that Martin Luther King, Jr. is addressing me specifically in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” because, as I understand what he experienced a little better, my cry against discrimination strengthens.
Work Cited
King, Martin Luther Jr. “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Reading for Intensive Writers. Ed. Susan Jorgensen.
Professor Harris
17 November 2009
“Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King, Jr.
When I hear civil rights, I imagine Martin Luther King, Jr. frozen in a black and white photo standing at a pulpit shouting “I have a dream,” into a big microphone. On the issue of segregation I cannot think of someone more quoted than Martin Luther King, Jr. In April 1963 King wrote, from Birmingham Jail on scraps of newspaper, a letter in response to the article “Call for Unity,” written by eight white Alabama clergymen. They wanted the people to stop protesting and allow the civil courts to handle to situation. He wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” during a period of high racial tension. His use of “you” throughout the paper and detailed descriptions paint an inspiring vision of the black community’s struggle against discrimination for the reader that touched me personal as my understanding of King developed.
Historical Context
In 1963, Birmingham, Alabama was at the cutting edge of racial tension. “Bull” Connor (head of police in Birmingham) encouraged officers to use high pressured hoses, dogs, beatings, and any effective form of violence that impaired King’s supporters. Against King’s wishes, his campaign invited teenage children to walk in their parades. Despite their age, they were shown no mercy by the police, and many of them were imprisoned. Eventually, Doctor King himself was charged for protesting without a permit and placed in solitary confinement where he wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”
Critical Analysis
Martin Luther King, Jr. invites the reader to experience racial discrimination before he builds himself up as an advocate for freedom. The first portion of King’s letter summarizes what inspired him, and has a basic introduction for his thesis. The conclusion section (and meat of the paper) defines Martin Luther King, Jr. and his cause as just. Bridging the two sections is a paragraph detailing the hardships of discrimination without taking a pleading tone. King paints an intimate image for the reader when he says, “you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park.” King uses “I feel” or “we feel” throughout the body of this paragraph sparingly, and “you” or “your” 25 times. As in the sentence above King does not tell the reader “my tongue is twisted,” but “your tongue is twisted.” He clearly wants the audience to experience discrimination and not simply recognize it. This paragraph is important to have prior to the remainder of the text because once the reader understands the physical, personal, and emotional pains that come from discrimination, he or she is more willing to sympathize with Martin Luther King, Jr. rather than justifying racist actions as logical, or even godly.
After describing his perspective of discrimination, King expresses the feeling that the reader should have a clear understanding of what it feels like to be victimized. The closing line reads, “I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience.” Notice how he does not end the last sentence with a question; it appears that Martin Luther is not asking the reader if they understand what it feels like to be discriminated against, but telling them. After he believes his readers understand his perspective he proceeds to build his argument.
Personal Reflection
What impacted me the most was the way in which Martin Luther King, Jr. addressed me. Although the letter is officially addressed to the clergymen it is clear through his text he is calling to a larger audience. The simple fact that he published it in the newspaper supports this claim. Truthfully, before reading “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” I did not understand much about Martin Luther King, Jr.: I knew there is a holiday for him and whenever anyone mentions his name there is some sort of reverence in the room, but I had never fully comprehended or appreciated who Martin Luther King, Jr. was.
Besides being in awe of King’s brilliance after reading “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” I am left wondering what it would feel like to go through the things that he experienced. I find myself continually wondering what it would be like to be a member of the black community, white sympathizers, or a member of the eight clergymen. As of yet I have not been able to imagine what it would be like to be Martin Luther King, Jr. My mind played with the image of me sitting in the jail cell with a pen in one hand and an unfolded newspaper in the other. That is as far as I get, though; I cannot imagine myself writing the letter. My own cry against racism would seem like a bicycle horn squeaking one constant weak beep compared to the sonic boom of King’s message. I love knowing that Martin Luther King, Jr. is addressing me specifically in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” because, as I understand what he experienced a little better, my cry against discrimination strengthens.
Work Cited
King, Martin Luther Jr. “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Reading for Intensive Writers. Ed. Susan Jorgensen.
Friday, December 4, 2009
pre civil war
The second Great Awaking was a time when men’s faith was lead, directed, and altered the American Heritage. It was a battle of words that ultimately lead to the Civil War by diverse interpretations of the Bible, authorities condemnation, and false fallacies.
There are many interpretations and seemingly contradictions in the Bible concerning slavery. In
Lev. 25: 44-46 the passage describes what type of slaves you can have, and that your family will have them forever. In Exodus 21:2-6 the Bible says that a slave can only be a slave for six years and his wife and children are under the rule of the master unless the male slave declares that he loves his master. Another passage in Exodus 21:7-11 describes when the master can have sex with his slaves. On the other side God helped the Hebrews escape the slavery of the Egyptians and their bondage. Many say that slavery in our modern day is based on race, and in biblical times it was based on social debts. There for God is against the racial slavery and discrimination. From text in the Bible there seem to be contradictions and both the North and the South used these text for both supporting and abolishing slavery.
Naturally men and women will respect authority. Many pastures and preachers had their own unique interpretation of the Bible and how it described and decaled with the issue of slavery. Because the pastures and preachers were an authority figure in the cities that they preached at they had an influence on what the people believed. An quote from the www.mrlincolnandfreedom.org website illustrates the authority preachers had in this quote, “At the camp-meeting, Dr. Peter Akers, like Peter Cartwright, a great Bible preacher of his day, then in the fulness of his powers, preached a sermon on 'The Dominion of Jesus Christ.' The object of the sermon was to show that the dominion of Christ could not come in America until American slavery was wiped out, and that the institution of slavery would at last be destroyed by civil war. For three hours the preacher enrolled his argument and even gave graphic pictures of the war that was to come. 'I am not a prophet nor the son of a prophet,' said he, 'but a student of the prophets. As I read prophecy, American slavery will come to an end in some near decade, I think in the sixties."
There were many false fallacies used to develop the civil war by using the bible and preaching methods. The one that I noticed while reading was that preachers would state you are either for slavery or against it. This left the people with the idea that only one choice was correct when in reality there are many dynamic and complex issues with slavery. For example is it supporting slavery to buy sugar made by slaves? Does slavery included child labor? Although someone might be getting paid is it possible for them to still be enslaved? The Missouri Compromise is an example of how the mindset was built that either you were for slavery or against it, but there was no specific definition of what constituted as slavery.
There are many interpretations and seemingly contradictions in the Bible concerning slavery. In
Lev. 25: 44-46 the passage describes what type of slaves you can have, and that your family will have them forever. In Exodus 21:2-6 the Bible says that a slave can only be a slave for six years and his wife and children are under the rule of the master unless the male slave declares that he loves his master. Another passage in Exodus 21:7-11 describes when the master can have sex with his slaves. On the other side God helped the Hebrews escape the slavery of the Egyptians and their bondage. Many say that slavery in our modern day is based on race, and in biblical times it was based on social debts. There for God is against the racial slavery and discrimination. From text in the Bible there seem to be contradictions and both the North and the South used these text for both supporting and abolishing slavery.
Naturally men and women will respect authority. Many pastures and preachers had their own unique interpretation of the Bible and how it described and decaled with the issue of slavery. Because the pastures and preachers were an authority figure in the cities that they preached at they had an influence on what the people believed. An quote from the www.mrlincolnandfreedom.org website illustrates the authority preachers had in this quote, “At the camp-meeting, Dr. Peter Akers, like Peter Cartwright, a great Bible preacher of his day, then in the fulness of his powers, preached a sermon on 'The Dominion of Jesus Christ.' The object of the sermon was to show that the dominion of Christ could not come in America until American slavery was wiped out, and that the institution of slavery would at last be destroyed by civil war. For three hours the preacher enrolled his argument and even gave graphic pictures of the war that was to come. 'I am not a prophet nor the son of a prophet,' said he, 'but a student of the prophets. As I read prophecy, American slavery will come to an end in some near decade, I think in the sixties."
There were many false fallacies used to develop the civil war by using the bible and preaching methods. The one that I noticed while reading was that preachers would state you are either for slavery or against it. This left the people with the idea that only one choice was correct when in reality there are many dynamic and complex issues with slavery. For example is it supporting slavery to buy sugar made by slaves? Does slavery included child labor? Although someone might be getting paid is it possible for them to still be enslaved? The Missouri Compromise is an example of how the mindset was built that either you were for slavery or against it, but there was no specific definition of what constituted as slavery.
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