Article Sentences

DETROIT — A day before the three Detroit automakers return to Washington to again ask for a federal bailout, the United Automobile Workers union took its turn in promising cuts and concessions as part of a concerted effort to win the support of lawmakers.42
The U.A.W. president, Ron Gettelfinger, said the union would suspend its jobs bank, which requires carmakers to keep paying laid-off employees, and would consider changes to its labor contracts.29 The union has also agreed, Mr. Gettelfinger said, to delay the payments that the automakers must make to a new retiree health care fund called a Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association, or VEBA.32
The announcements came as the Detroit chief executives prepared to make a second plea for federal assistance at a House hearing on Thursday.23 The Senate holds a hearing on Friday.7 On Tuesday, the car companies submitted plans detailing why they needed government-backed loans and how they would use the money. 20
Together, the three Detroit companies are asking for $34 billion in aid, a significant increase from the $25 billion request the automakers made to Congress two weeks ago.28 The increase is based, Ford’s chief executive, Alan R. Mulally said, on the fact that Democratic leaders told the companies to base their revised loan requests on economic conditions.29
Those conditions are getting steadily worse.6 On Tuesday, the industry reported that overall sales sank nearly 37 percent in November from the same period a year earlier.21
“Part of the reason the money went up is that we gave them a range of what might happen with the economy and also with the industry,” Mr. Mulally said.30 “It shows that we’re not focused on just one base line plan, but also what if it did get worse.”20
G.M. said it needed $4 billion this month merely to survive into 2009 and another $14 billion after that.19 The company plan calls for more plant closures and job cuts, along with the sale or elimination of four brands.20 Chrysler, which is requesting $7 billion, also said it could collapse soon without aid.14 Ford asked for a $9 billion line of credit but said it did not expect to access that money unless the economy worsens or a rivals fails.27
At a news conference, Mr. Gettelfinger said that the U.A.W. would be open to modifying the four-year contracts that it signed in 2007 but not to completely restarting negotiations.29 Changes could include cuts to wages, health care or other benefits, though he did not give details, and would require approval from union members, but the jobs bank suspension does not.31
About 3,600 workers currently receive benefits under the jobs bank program, which the automakers created in the 1980s to win union approval for productivity improvements.25 The automakers have played down the need to eliminate it, but industry critics often cite it as a symbol of inefficiency for Detroit.23
“The jobs bank has become a sound bite that people use to beat us up,” Mr. Gettelfinger said, who will join the auto executives at Congressional hearings starting Thursday.29 “It’s become a lightning rod that takes away the focus from what the real issue is, and the real issue is the backbone of America.” 25
Mr. Mulally warned in an interview that a failure of G.M. or Chrysler could also drag down Ford and countless dealers and suppliers.23 But he said that he was under no illusion that Ford could survive a bankruptcy filing by either of its cross-town Detroit rivals. 23
“If one of the major automobile companies should seek bankruptcy protection,” he said, “it could easily drag the entire industry into bankruptcy, which we think would be terrible for the U.S. economy as well as for the industry.”38
Mr. Mulally said Ford needed a line of credit in case the automotive market — already the worst in 15 years — continues to deteriorate.23
“If despite everything that we’re doing as a country to arrest this recession, that things still get worse, we at Ford might need a bridge loan,” he said.28
Congressional leaders are reviewing the plans ahead of hearings on Thursday and Friday. 13
“I think it is plain that Chrysler and General Motors cannot survive without government help,” Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said in an interview on Fox.33 “The need now is to take a detailed look at their plan to see if they have a realistic opportunity to survive.”22
Democratic leaders, who have been supportive of a bailout from the start, signaled their support of the new plans after they were filed, though many other lawmakers were waiting until the hearings before making a decision.36
A big question before Congress is where the money will come from to finance the loans.16
The Bush administration has declined to provide financing from the $700-billion financial rescue plan set up to help banks and other Wall Street institutions. 24 The administration has suggested that aid for the automakers come from a $25 billion loan program for fuel-efficient vehicles already approved by Congress.23
However, Democratic lawmakers have balked at using that loan program for anything other than to encourage the development of cleaner cars and trucks.23
Mr. Mulally said that the automakers were not taking sides on where the money originates, only that it is approved before G.M. or Chrysler run out of operating cash.29
President-elect Barack Obama praised the three companies for producing “a more serious set of plans” to save the industry, but withheld judgment about how he thinks the federal government should help at this point.34
At a news conference announcing his commerce secretary, Mr. Obama said he had not seen the plans but pronounced himself pleased that the manufacturers were being more responsive to the concerns that he and lawmakers have expressed. 37
“When the Big Three automakers came before them a couple of weeks ago,” he said, referring to Congressional testimony by auto executives, “they were not offering a clear plan for viability over the long term. 35 And I think Congress was right to say that the taxpayers expect and deserve better than that before they are stepping up to the plate for any kind of bailout.”30
Now, he said, the latest plans indicate a seriousness by the auto executives. 13
“But we should also make sure,” he said, “that any government assistance that’s provided is designed for a — is based on realistic assessments of what the auto market is going to be and a realistic plan for how we’re going to make these companies viable over the long term.”49
Mr. Obama said he still wanted to listen to more discussion before deciding what he thinks the government should do next. 21“It’s premature to get into that issue,” he said.9
At the U.A.W. meeting in Detroit, union officials described their members as extremely anxious about the prospect of more concessions but at the same time afraid of what would happen if the union did not aid the automakers.38
“We’ve helped them before, but it seems like they always come back to us,” said Shane Colvard, chairman of Local 2164 in Bowling Green, Ky., where G.M. builds the Chevrolet Corvette sports car.33
But a G.M. retiree, Frank Hammer, said looking to the union for givebacks does not resolve the automakers’ problems and compounds the bad economy.24
“More concessions mean more foreclosures,” said Mr. Hammer, 65, who worked at G.M.’s transmission plant in Warren, Mich. “Concessions are not a solution.”23
“We’re all getting smeared with this brush that we’re somehow greedy,” Mr. Hammer said.14 But if pay and benefits are cut, he told a group of reporters gathered outside the meeting, “what autoworker is going to be able to buy their product?”28



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Souls of Black Folk Ch. 3 Response

The third chapter of the book “Souls of Black Folk” by W.E.B. Du Bois is primarily talking about views on the endurance of African Americans of the hardships of mistreatment and disrespect. Du Bois struggled for equality and consideration of African Americans during the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries. W.E.B. Du Bois incorporates many rhetorical devices into the third chapter of his book. Through detail and tone, Du Bois gives a structural view on the morals of freeing black people from the slavery of discrimination.
The tone of Du Bois’ third chapter is that of constructive criticism. He is criticizing Booker T. Washington on his ideas and suggestions for the betterment of the United States as a whole. Du Bois, at some points, disagrees with the viewpoints of Washington, but does not talk badly about his views. Instead, he states where Washington’s viewpoints vary from his own, then he tells why he feels that these ideas of Washington were, to him, incorrect. He does so, however, in quite a respectful manner, and does not once try to cut Washington down.
The tone changes from to resentment towards the end of the chapter where the Declaration of Independence is discussed. “All men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…” (p. 59). This somewhat clichéd saying is present to show the negativity felt towards discriminatory whites by W.E.B. Du Bois. This clause of the Declaration of Independence was the backbone of our country when we had nothing else; it had survived through the Civil War and many others and has been the standpoint of nationalism everywhere, but it is ripped apart like the 300 year old paper it is written on when it comes to skin color.
W.E.B. Du Bois uses great detail in writing this particular chapter. Many instances occur where he uses many different examples of an occurrence. “Thus, Forten and Purvis of Philadelphia, Shad of Wilmington, Du Bois of New Haven, Barbadoes of Boston, and others, strove singly and together as men, they said, not as slaves; as ‘people of color,’ not as “Negroes” (p. 49). Du Bois refers to all these people in order to give his readers more of a background on the topic about which he is writing. This makes the audience better understand the topic and causes them to be more inclined to listen to what Du Bois is saying in this chapter.

"Of Our Spiritual Strivings" Response

The first chapter of “The Souls of Black Folk”, by W.E.B. DuBois, lets the readers know that he is not ashamed to be an African American. He is quite the contrary, however, with an air of pride shown through his writing. He does not consider his race to be a curse, but a blessing. He alludes to the fact that he does not want to be pitied for not being “privileged” enough to be accepted amid the whites in his society. “I had thereafter no desire to tear down that veil, to creep through” (pg. 44). Within this quote, DuBois shows that he was not ignorant to the fact that he was looked upon differently than the whites in his society. He lets the reader know that he understands the fact that he is will not be treated like a true member of society, but he shows maturity in accepting it. By that point, he did not respond negatively to the fact that he was treated like an outcast in his own society. DuBois metaphorically speaks of the blindfold that whites have put over African American eyes that forbids them from seeing the joy that they could have if they were not of African American race. The shield, in a sense, blockades blacks from society and from being content with their life. Contrarily, DuBois lets the audience know that he was content with the fact that he was different from his white counterparts in society. “The sky was bluest when I could beat my mates at examination time” (pg. 44). Basically, DuBois enjoyed making whites think twice about him not being adequate. He got happiness from proving them wrong in showing that the judgments that they have for African Americans without knowing them is incorrect.

The Yellow Wallpaper 2 Pg Lit Response

APA Annotated Bibliographies

Swiech, P. (2008, March 15). Doctor's book answers patients questions about anesthesia. Pantagraph, The (Bloomington, IL), Retrieved November 16, 2008, from Newspaper Source database.

Anesthesia is “a temporary loss of feeling or awareness induced by medications”, and Anesthesiologists are doctors who give patients these medications and monitor them. This article is written by Paul Swiech and it focuses on the writings of a particular anesthesiologist, Dr. Ben Taimoorazy. Dr. Taimoorazy has been an anesthesiologist for 14 years, and is the author of the book titled “Before You Go Under.” According to the article, this is a book containing sixty- three questions frequently asked by various individuals pending an anesthetic procedure. The author of this article stresses that a person should be not only physically prepared, but that they should also be mentally ready for the procedure before being put under anesthetics. According to Swiech, Dr. Taimoorazy makes it abundantly clear that the safety and wellbeing of the patient should be an anesthesiologist’s number one priority. The argument that Swiech is trying to make in this article is presented rhetorically in many ways. One rhetorical element that Swiech’s article conveyed was ethos. Swiech begins to attempt to gain the audience’s credibility through Dr. Taimoorazy. By making his subject seem more credible, he is, in a sense, adding credibility to his entire argument. “Taimoorazy said none of his patients has experienced anesthesia awareness.” Swiech was trying to portray Dr. Taimoorazy as a competent doctor who makes few errors in his work, therefore making him seem like a more credible source. “One doctor who agrees is Dr. Ann Stroink of Central Illinois Neuro Health Science in Bloomington.” Here is another instance where Swiech is using ethos as a rhetorical device. He uses the name of another doctor to help make his argument sound more convincing, because, with her being a doctor, she should be a credible source. A mistake was made in this article. Swiech focused too much on how Taimoorazy wrote the book and the steps he took to write it. This partially takes away from the main point, which was to tell about the questions asked and the answers given by the author. If a change could be made, it should be that Swiech cut out much of the talk about the author of the book, and get immediately onto the main point of the book.
This article helped me determine that I do still want to pursue this career, because to be an anesthesiologist, you should have a passion for helping people, like Dr. Taimoorazy does.

Avril, T. (2008, March 12). Experts study patients who wake up during surgery. Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA), Retrieved November 17, 2008, from Newspaper Source database.

Anesthesia awareness can be described as “regaining some level of consciousness during surgery.” The main point of this article is to argue that, although not a large number of patients who undergo an anesthetic operation go through anesthetic awareness, it is a traumatic experience for those it happens to. The author wants to get the point across that anesthetic awareness is no small matter and that everything possible should be done to see to it that it occurs no more. The author of this article, Tom Avril, uses rhetorical tropes to argue his point. First, the author uses ethos. He presents various quotes from many patients that underwent anesthetic awareness. “One patient heard a crunching noise when the surgeon cut through his bones. Another felt ‘white-hot fire pain’ as a physician probed his insides, but he was unable to speak.” The feelings that these patients went through were tragic, and by using these in his article, the author makes the audience feel bad and sorry for the poor souls who had to go through that. Another rhetorical device that is used by the author is ethos. Avril gives statistics, which boosts his credibility and makes it seems as though he knows what he is talking about. Avril uses diction in his article. He uses descriptive words to get his point across. Avril also uses imagery to give more life to his article. The quotes that he uses from the patients who underwent anesthetic awareness are very gruesome and descriptive. He describes “bones crunching” and “scissors cutting into [someone’s] chest.” These vivid descriptions appeal to the sense of vision. The reader can almost see what is being described in the text. A flaw of this article was that the author only wrote about one test that was done to figure out if the statistics about the number of cases of anesthetic awareness were accurate. The argument would have been stronger if Tom Avril would have included more examples of how the experts are trying to figure out if the counts of the cases were accurate. This article helped me to determine whether or not I really want to pursue this career because it points out that anesthesiologists do make mistakes, and those mistakes could be quite costly for my patient or even for myself.

Cohen, H. (2007, November 13). Med students learn how to prevent errors that cost lives and money. Miami Herald, The (FL), Retrieved November 17, 2008, from Newspaper Source database.

“Medical errors impact 1.5 million Americans each year, according to a 2006 Institute of Medicine study. These include mistakes in procuring, prescribing, and dispensing drugs.” It is imperative for doctors to communicate well. It is also very important for them to be well trained in preventing mistakes, fixing mistakes, and reacting well to unexpected emergencies. The University of Miami/ Jackson Memorial Hospital Center for Patient Safety is a wonderful program that teaches students how to react to numerous unexpected emergencies that may occur. This program teaches the students communication and how to reduce medical errors. The program uses a technique of videotaping the students as they work on various unexpected medical emergencies, and then letting the student watch the video. This way, the student can point out where he or she went wrong. This helps them to learn from their mistake and the student has less of a chance of making the same mistake again. The author of this article, Howard Cohen, uses many rhetorical devices to better tell his story. Cohen establishes ethos by incorporating statistics into his argument. He also uses a quote from Linda Cronenwett, who “co-chaired the Committee for Identifying Medical Errors”. This establishes Cohen’s credibility because he is quoting someone that the audience can see is educated in the field of the topic and clearly knows what she is talking about. Cohen uses logos as a rhetorical device by including numbers in his article. This leads the audience to believe that what the author is saying makes sense, because there is a number added in there. A flaw of Howard Cohen’s article is that he adds in too many outside sources. The author is constantly writing about someone else’s point of view and isn’t adding enough information from his own mind. This would be a better article if Howard Cohen would add more input from himself and what he thinks instead of continually using other people’s ideas. This article helps me determine whether or not I really want to pursue this career because it lets me see that with enough practice I can become quite skilled and effective at anesthesiology, as long as I get the tools I need to enact that, which would be a spot in the classroom a program such as the one talked about in this article.

Hawkes, N. (n.d.). Pain relief of a different kind. Times, The (United Kingdom), Retrieved November 17, 2008, from Newspaper Source database.

Apparently, the use of anesthesia on patients for medical operations is a widely debated topic. The author of this article, Stephanie J. Snow has her mind made up that the use of anesthesia is a good way to protect medical patients from pain during their surgeries. Snow disagrees with the set of values portrayed by so many Victorians. Many doctors, theologians, and even surgeons agree that protecting patients from pain by the use of anesthesia is not a good idea and is more trouble than it is worth. Opposers to the author’s statement believe that “pain [is] a necessary prologue to recovery.” It was passed off as “the way in which the body dealt with overcoming the shock of and operation.” Snow argues that anesthetics are helpful. She believes that those who undergo surgery without taking them run a high risk of dying because of excruciating pain. Stephanie Snow uses ethos as a rhetorical device to get her point that anesthetics are a positive aspect of the medical world across to the audience. Within the article, Snow refers to King Edward VII. She writes about a surgery that he had with the use of anesthetics, and she argues the point that if he would not have been under anesthesia he most likely would not have survived his operation. By using King Edward VII as an example, the author of the article gains credibility, because a king is quite a high power, and writing of one grabs the readers’ focus and makes them pay attention. The audience is not expecting for a king to be discussed within the article pertaining to anesthetics, so the author also uses the element of surprise. A flaw that lies within this article is that the author tends to briefly discuss many different, unrelated topics in each paragraph. The argument would be presented more strongly if each paragraph in the article stayed on topic. Every paragraph should have one main idea and sentences that talk about it. This article helps me to determine whether or not I really want to pursue the profession of an anesthesiologist. It makes me believe that anesthesiology is a positive thing that helps many people, and my goal in life is to have a profession that helps many people.

Sapatkin, D. (2008, July 16). Surgeon sued for giving anesthetized patient temporary tattoo. Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA), Retrieved November 17, 2008, from Newspaper Source database.

While medical patients are anesthetized, they are virtually dead to the world. If the anesthesia works correctly, the patient can not speak, feel, or hear what is going on within the operation room during his or her surgery. This is probably why a woman noticed a surprising and disturbing temporary tattoo on her abdomen shortly after an operation during which she was anesthetized. Shortly thereafter, the woman concluded that it was given to her by her doctor, Steven Kirshner, and she immediately took steps to her the surgeon sued. From the doctor’s point of view, it was hardly a malicious act against the woman. He gives tattoos to many of his patients, and they have never been taken so harshly. The tattoos were simply a harmless way of making his patient feel better after his or her operation. Although it is made clear by his lawyer that Kirshner meant no harm in giving these temporary tattoos, he will still most likely be found guilty of the charge against him. It is illegal to tamper with a patient outside of performing an operation while the patient is under anesthesia. A rhetorical device that the author uses within the article is that of ethos. He uses instances of other patients who had marks left on them by doctors. To Kirshner, these are not comparable, because in his eyes he did nothing malicious or inappropriate, but to the woman, he had committed a heinous crime. A flaw that is present within the text is that the author of the article fails to include the name of the woman to whom the temporary tattoo was given. This makes the audience of the article feel more distant to her. A way that the argument could be made stronger would be for the author of the text to include some of his own input. The two sides of the argument are made clear by everyone except for the author of the article. The article would be stronger if he let the audience see his point of view about the case. This article helps me to determine whether or not I really want to pursue this profession. The article has taught me something that I may use to my advantage as I go through my career as an anesthesiologist.

APA Annotated Bibliographies (2)

Researchers Explore Anesthesia-Related Maternal Mortality; University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine Professor Leads Study.. (2008, October 20). Ascribe Newswire: Health, Retrieved November 17, 2008, from Health Source - Consumer Edition database.

Anesthetics are drugs that are given to a patient pending a medical operation that cause the patient to be unable to see, hear, or feel anything during surgery. They basically put the patient to sleep. Anesthetics are a blessing to some and a bane to others. They can do anything between stopping a patient’s pain completely and killing him or her. Researchers have conducted a study that will allow them to see how many anesthetic deaths occur in comparison to the amount of live births. They also find out which type of anesthesia is more risky to the expectant women. The researchers found that “about 1.1 deaths occur per million live births.” It had been previously proven to be more dangerous for women during childbirth to use general anesthetics than regional anesthetics. The recent study has proven that the fatality rates for general anesthetics dropped, but the fatality rate for regional anesthetics has risen over the last eighteen years. The author of this article uses rhetorical elements to present his argument. The most frequently used rhetorical element is ethos. The author constantly attempts to gain credibility by including the ideas of individuals who are well trained in the medical field. Using these particular people’s ideas conveys the sense that the author had reliable sources. Another attempt at credibility took place within the text when the author used a statistic to help get his point across. Statistics are numbers and they show that the author spent some time researching his topic and didn’t just start writing based on what he thought he knew. The audience would see the statistic and come to the conclusion that the author is a credible source, because numbers don’t lie. A flaw that is present in this article is the fact that the author did not write about the follow-up of the medical study, so the reader does not really know what this study helped. The argument of the article would be stronger and more convincing if the author discussed how the study helped future patients. This article helps me determine whether or not I really want to pursue this career. The few amount of maternal deaths due to anesthesia is quite reassuring.

Secondhand Exposure to Drugs May Be an Occupational Hazardfor Anesthesiologists.. (2004, October 25). Ascribe Newswire: Health, Retrieved November 17, 2008, from Health Source - Consumer Edition database.

Anesthesiologists have the job of administering medicines to patients so that they are unconscious and feel nothing during surgery. The drugs that they administer to the patients, however, may be exhaled from the patient, and then inhaled by the anesthesiologist. The drugs that the anesthesiologists inhale could be detrimental to the heath of the anesthesiologist. These drugs can cause dependency and other ill effects. Dr. Mark Gold, a distinguished professor with UF’s McKnight Brain Institute, theorized that reasons other than access to drugs caused anesthesiologists to be overrepresented among addicted physicians, and that the presence of anesthetic agents in the air might be one of them. “This factor may lead some anesthesiologists to abuse drugs”, a theory that University of Florida presents Saturday at the 34th annual Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego, California. The author of this article uses different rhetorical tropes to argue his point. The author often uses ethos as a rhetorical device. He lets the audience know that he uses ideas from “a distinguished professor” to gain credibility with his audience. Another way that the author uses ethos is by using statistics. The use of statistics lets the audience know that the author researched his topic and has a good understanding of it. The second rhetorical device that is used in this article by the author is that of a simile. He uses the word “as” to compare the way that exhaled drugs have an affect on an anesthesiologist to the way that cigarette smoke affects second- hand smokers. A flaw that is present in this article is that the definition and job description was not fully explained. A person who is reading the article and does not know what an anesthesiologist was would have a difficult time figuring it out because little information is present in the text. A good way to make the presented argument stronger would be to add in more information about anesthesia and the job description of an anesthesiologist. This article made me rethink becoming an anesthesiologist, because I do not want to unknowingly become exposed and/ or addicted to drugs while doing my work.

Anesthesiologists' Substance Abuse Constant Despite Efforts.. (2002, September 26). Ascribe Newswire: Health, Retrieved November 17, 2008, from Health Source - Consumer Edition database.

During operations, anesthesiologists are exposed to many forms of sedative drugs. Exposure to these drugs, in many cases, causes addiction by the anesthesiologist to the drug. Although there has been increased education and improved control of operating room medications, the rate of substance abuse among anesthesiologists remains unchanged. Substance abuse often times proves deadly for abusers. Surveys have shown that eighteen percent of substances abusers were identified solely by an overdose causing death. “It is clear that new and more effective means of prevention are required if substance abuse among anesthesiologists is to be reduced.” The author of this article incorporates many rhetorical elements into his article. An example of a rhetorical element that he uses is ethos. The author uses quite a large number of statistics. The use of statistics in an article shows that the author did research on his topic and should know what he is talking about. Ethos should make the author seem like a credible source because he is not simply writing based on what he thinks he knows, but what he has seen proven to be true. A positive aspect of the article is that the author included many statistics, but the negative part behind that is that he did not thoroughly explain the statistics. He, in a sense, states the statistic and leaves it as it is. In order to make the argument of the article presented more strongly, the author of the text should have made it a point to go into detail about the outside information he provided. Instaead of simply stating facts, he should have also added in his feelings on the information that he provided to the audience. This article helped me determine whether or not I really want to pursue the career of an anesthesiologist. Initially, the article surprised me, because it did not occur to me that anesthesiologists were at risks to “second- hand drug intake” on account of patients exhaling the anesthetic drugs into the air. It does frighten me because my health is my main concern, and if I will possibly be harmed at my own job, I do not know if this is the right job for me. I definitely do not want to become addicted to a drug, so I will have to rethink this occupation.

Mishra, R. (n.d.). HMOs, Specialty's Image Cited in Lack of Anesthesiologists in Massachusetts. Boston Globe (1997 to 2005), Retrieved November 17, 2008, from Newspaper Source database.

The profession of anesthesiology is one that has had declining interests in the state of Massachusetts over the past few years. This shortage forces many operating rooms to shut down, delaying surgeries, and ending several pain treatment programs. The root of this shortage is the lack of interest among medical students. It is obvious that many medical professionals are moving out of Massachusetts after they get a raise in their jobs. This is most likely because the doctors in Massachusetts do not get paid enough. They are either able to do the same job for more pay, or they are able to do less and get paid the same amount that they were previously receiving. The author of this article uses rhetorical elements to get his point across to his audience. An example of a rhetorical trope that is used is that of ethos. The author uses statistics to prove his point. The use of statistics convinces the audience that the author is a credible source because it shows that he took time out to research his topic. The audience now knows that the author is not simply writing based on what he thinks he knows, but what he has done research on. At one point in the article the author states that “no reliable statistics” were available for a specific subject that he wanted to include in his article. This gives great credibility because it shows the reader that the author would not simply take the easy way out and try to make his argument sound better. If the information was not accurate, he was not going to present it to his audience. An example of a flaw that was present in the article was the lack of explanation of the acronym “HMO”. A reader who is not skilled with medical jargon would have no clue as to what this phrase means. The argument could be presented more strongly by some of the technical language present being better explained. This article has helped me to determine whether or not I really want to pursue this profession. It lets me know that I know for a fact that I want to pursue it, because it has a good salary. It also lets me know never to look for an anesthesiology career in Massachusetts.

Edgar Allen Poe: The Pit and the Pendulum

Edgar Allen Poe was a sensational author during his time. He wrote numerous bone-chilling short stories. Of which, the "Tell-Tale Heart", "The Raven", and "The Pit and the Pendulum" were among his most famous and acclaimed works.

Kate Chopin Comparison

Often times, writers tie aspects of their lives into their works. Examples range from where they were born to the number of children they have. Any monumental instance in an author’s life could affect what the author decides to include in the piece of literature. Kate Chopin, a nineteenth century author, included many facets of her life in “The Story of an Hour”.
“Her father was killed two months later when a train on which he was riding crossed a bridge that collapsed” (Wyatt). Chopin’s character Mr. Mallard was said to have died in a train accident, leaving his wife a widow. Both instances include a train causing death to a beloved family member. In the story, Mrs. Mallard’s husband is brought back to her and his alleged death is passed off as a misunderstanding. Although Mrs. Mallard is displeased that her husband is brought back to her, Kate Chopin probably included him coming back to her for a reason. Deep down, she probably wishes her father would have nonchalantly strolled through her door after being accused of being dead; she just wanted her father back.
“By all accounts he loved his wife, admired her independence, and intelligence, and “allowed” her unheard of freedom” (Wyatt). This description of Oscar Chopin’s love for his wife goes hand in hand with the love that Mr. Mallard was said to have for Mrs. Mallard. No matter how much love is present, Chopin and Mrs. Mallard were literally owned by their husbands. Not to say that this means that their husbands loved them any less, but neither woman had a real voice in any decisions that were to be made.
“Her sisters died in infancy and her brothers in their early twenties”, “her father was killed”, “Kate’s grandmother died”, and “Oscar died” (Wyatt). Kate Chopin had been faced with death ever since she was born. This ties into her story because there is a “death” which takes place, that of Mr. Mallard. With her having to deal with so many deaths, it is safe to assume that she wanted at least some, if not all, of the people who were gone to come back. Again, Chopin ties her hidden desires into her work. When she made Mr. Mallard come back from the dead, she wished she could switch places with all who knew him.
Chopin, like many other artists, included instances from her actual life in one of her works. By doing this, she lets the reader get a more personal look at her life.

Disturbia Character

Ashley, the new next-door neighbor of Kale, was a sweet and fun loving girl. Some of the things she did made her an unauthentic character. For starters, she was well aware that Kale was spying on her, but she doesn’t do anything about it. This is unrealistic, because in real life a person would have feared for their safety if someone was secretly watching them. They would not necessarily do something about it, but they would most likely not carry on their activity as if nothing was happening. It was also unrealistic when she went to Kale’s house and rang his doorbell, asking to come inside. First of all, she knew that he had some problems with the law. Secondly, she was aware that he was spying on her with binoculars, and that could easily mean that someone was psycho. All in all, from what was seen so far, Ashley did not play a very believable role.

Go Watch My "Audio Clip"!!!

WARNING: It is an absolute NECESSITY to follow the link posted on my profile. It is located directly underneath my astrological sign; you can't miss it. Failure to comply with this resquest may result in a dull life...disobey with caution. No, but seriously, everyone please just take a few minutes and go look at it (you, too, Ms. Brown). You should skip the first 2 min. and 20 seconds.

Sojourner Truth Ain't I a Woman Comparison

The 50 Essays book drastically changed Sojourner Truth's Ain't I a Woman speech. In the original text, Truth spoke strongly and shamelessly about what she felt was quite an issue. Although she was noticeably uneducated, it didn't take away from the fact that it was an extraordinarily powerful speech. It in fact strengthened her speech and gave it validity. Sojourner Truth was an African-American woman who didn’t get the privileges she felt that she deserved. The audience of the original text could discover much about her simply by listening to or reading the speech. The changes that the 50 Essays book made changed a lot about the speech. It took away from the strength and validity, because she was speaking from the heart and the only way she knew how. The audience of the edited speech must listen (or read) intently to even discern her ethnicity, where in the original text it was obvious. The book almost seems ashamed of her heritage in that they did not want to include her original speech.

Frederick Douglass Response

Kymber Rias
10-23-08
AP English III
Period 11

Frederick Douglass was a slave born in Maryland in 1818. He later went on to New York and became a leader in the abolitionist movement. He learned to read and write on his own for the most part. Being a slave, he was not allowed to read or write for fear that this would give slaves the knowledge that would make them more apt to get up and revolt. Despite his obstacles, Frederick Douglass was persistent in his quest to learn to read and write, and eventually he accomplished his goals because of his commitment. “Learning to Read and Write” is taken from Douglass’s autobiography, Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglas. In this essay, Douglass uses many forms of rhetoric in his essay to appeal to the reader.
Douglass uses pathos very often in “Learning to Read and Write”. “I wished I could be as free as they would be when they got to be men” (Douglass, p.102). This quote appeals to the emotion of the reader because Douglass is comparing himself to a white person who doesn’t have the burden of being a slave for all of their life. It points out to the reader that not only did he have to deal with the agonies of his life as a slave, but he had to look at other children frolic around without a care in the world. His life and the life of the free Caucasian children contrast quite greatly. Douglass included this sentence in his essay to let the reader witness this contrast. “In moments of agony, I envied my fellow-slaves for their stupidity” (Douglass, p. 103). Even though Douglass is being relieved of the difficulty of not being able to read at all, he is faced with another, almost equal difficulty: getting a better look at the mistreatment of him and his people. He admitted that often times he would have rather been another of his fellow slaves, one who could not read. He then would not have such an up-close look at how badly African Americans were treated. The notion of his race being mistreated upsets Douglass, so he sometimes feels that he would rather not know at all. Douglass uses the word “agony” to describe to the reader how horrible his feeling was. This was very painful for him, because he felt as though if he has one thing, he can not have the other. If he has knowledge, he can not have peace of mind about his life, and vice-versa.

Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglass Essay

From the narratives written by Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglass, it can be concluded that the two of them had much in common. Both Jacobs and Douglass were slaves at one time who wished and dreamed for a better life. They were not ignorant to the fact that they were mistreated as humans, and it posed a serious issue to both of their lives. Both of their narratives use pathos as a rhetorical device to attempt to get the reader to understand his/her point of view.
“Why does the slave ever love?” (Chapter 7, Jacobs). The first sentence from Harriet Jacobs’ narrative is a rhetorical question that grabs the reader’s attention. Jacobs tries to achieve pathos by making the reader feel sorry for her situation. Love, something that may come quite easily to someone who is free, is not so easy to deal with when you’re a slave. Something that many people take for granted is not promised to this woman, simply because she is a slave. She wants the reader to sympathize with her and consider what she was forced to go through. “The white children could tell their ages. I could not tell why I ought to be deprived of the same privilege” (Chapter 1, Douglass). Frederick Douglass, too, is attempting to touch the reader’s emotions. A privilege for all whites isn’t a privilege for him, just because he is black. He thinks that this is an injustice and makes it a point to let the reader know his feelings. This is establishing pathos because it makes the reader feel sorry for him because he was mistreated in that particular instance.
Caucasian authors vouched for these African American slave writers. L. Maria Child has an introduction to Harriet Jacobs’ narrative, and Wendell Phillips and William Lloyd Garrison have prefaces in Frederick Douglass’ narrative. This is most likely because they wanted to prove that what the two slave writers were saying was actually correct and that you didn’t have to be African American to have a sense of what’s moral. This establishes the ethos of the text because an outsider’s opinion is coming from well known people, and these people are very strongly supporting the accuracy of the slave writers. The authors’ primary audience, then, is the general public. By having someone from another race vouch for them, they are letting the reader know that not only African Americans believe in what he does, and if someone from the offending race is agreeing, so should everyone else. They are writing to the public so that they will have the knowledge and so that history doesn’t repeat itself.

Poet's Corner

Look over yonder, what do you see?
God's a-going to trouble the water
The Holy Ghost a-coming on me
God's a-going to trouble the water

CHANGES TO

Look that way, and what is visible?
God will put many blessings in the water.
The spirit of the Lord is taking hold of me.
God will put many blessings in the water.

This improvisation changes the effect of the song because this makes it more blunt and not so secretive. Being secretive was the purpose of the negro spirituals, so that the slave masters would not find out about the slaves' plans for escape.

Notes on Romanticism, Realism, Gothic, and Lit's Transition

http://www.answers.com/topic/romanticism
http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/realism.htm
http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/novel.htm

The Gettysburg Address

1) Lincoln should have mentioned some ways of how the people should honor those who fought for everyone's freedom. He did not clearly specify who was fighting who. He did not state where or when these people were fighting. 2) Lincoln states how he believes that being the citizens of the nation, which people fought for, the society should give respect towards the deceased by continuing to fight for colonial freedom as they did. Since Lincoln's main point was to convince his society to continue to fight for freedom for all, this sentence used pathos to grab the audience's hearts and strongly express to them how important it was to not allow the deceased to have died for nothing. This sentence allows Lincoln to try to convince the audience through their emotions. The function that it performs is implementing pathos in his address to the audience. I think it reached the audience's appeal to sorrow for those who died for freedom. My sentence would go like this: Why shall we allow our deceased- those who died for our freedom, justice, and overall equality- to have given up their lives for nothing.3) Both were written to convince the colonials to fight for freedom, from the British government and both described how their ideas were best for the people. The address was created to describe to the colonials how they should continue fighting for their freedom, so those who died did not for nothing. The Declaration of Independence was made to attack the King's quality of ruling and to list all the injustices the king committed. The Declaration of Independence had a harsher tone which was used to attack the king. The address had a more persuasive tone which was used to try to persuade colonials to continue fighting for freedom.4) During my speech class, I heard many persuasive speeches and informational speeches. The address, Declaration of Independence, and other speeches I have heard all use techniques of persuasion and facts to support their beliefs and main ideas.

Here ya go, Kat {Peer Editing}

One warm night in the middle of June 2002, I was sitting outside on the porch in front of my house in Dolton, IL with my mother. It was quite nice outside, many stars visible, although the street lights inhibited the visibility of some of them. It was quite, calm, and peaceful. The neighborhood in which I lived was partially small, therefore everyone knew everyone else. All my neighbors were quite friendly, especially those who lived next door. My neighbors to the right had a dog named Diamond, with whom I remember playing very often. The neighborhood was all one big family in which I felt safe and content.

My mother and I were simply looking up at the stars when she broke the silence with something that broke my heart; we were moving to some place called "South Holland"! My world crumbled at that very moment. I was worried about leaving the world I knew and loved. I was never good at adjusting to changes, and I just knew that this would be a change for the worse. I began to cry and plead with my mother for us to stay where we were. I was happy there and already had all my friends and neighbors, and I absolutely refused to leave them. But it ultimately was not my decision. We had to move because my mother re-married and her husband had 3 other kids; our house would not accommodate them all. I was crushed. We spent some time looking for a house, each of which I told my mother I hated. So she decided to choose one without it fitting my approval.

About a month later, three trucks pulled up into my driveway to take our things to the storage. I had accepted the fact that I was moving by this point, so they had few complaints out of me past that time. We moved in, and honestly I had begun to like the house; I was getting used to it. The rest of the summer passed quickly, but I kept in touch with all my old friends from my old school and neighborhood. In August it was time for school; I was a nervous wreck. The name of the school was McKinley Elementary School. I was afraid to attend because I had no clue how the students would like me. Everyone probably already had their group of friends and didn't have room for a new addition. I feared that I would be lonely, with no one to talk to.

Well I finally got to the school, and it was not at all what I had expected. The teachers and students alike were exceptionally friendly and helpful with getting me acquainted with the school and making me feel welcome. I quickly made many friends and had a great school year. I also made many friends in my neighborhood. The change was for the better.

Desiree's Baby Link

http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/DesiBaby.shtml

The Scarlet Letter Study Guide Ques.

1. By definition, an introduction is a preliminary part, as of a book, musical composition, or the like, leading up to the main part (dictionary.com). Within most novels, an introduction, or preface, is provided. An introduction is the foundation of the novel, and the rest of the novel builds upon it. It gives the reader history on the novel and prevents the reader from blindly walking into a story. Introductions give descriptions on the story that follows. They also allow the reader to gauge the difficulty level of the book and to get to know the author of the novel. Nathaniel Hawthorne's purpose is to give background information on the important events that will occur in the story.


2. Hawthorne admits to changing the story contained in the diary. He adds his own fictional elements to the story in order to make the novel more interesting. In his opinion, the fiction in the story will keep the reader's attention better than stated facts, which is what the novel would have been without his changes. He also believes that the changes he made would better his writing career, because the novel would attract more attention. Although he makes changes to the original document, he makes sure that he gives credit where credit is due. "The main facts of the story are authorized and authenticated by the document of Mr. Surveyor Pue" (Hawthorne, 32). He wants his readers to know that, even though he added a lot to the original story, that it was not only him who contributed to it, and that the credit for the original story should go to Mr. Surveyor Pue.


3. The change that is made will accomplish Hawthorne's goal of making the story more interesting to his readers. With the original documents simply being facts, there was a good chance that the book wouldn't have caught the attention of its present audience. Adding his own words to the novel helped to widen the range of readers, thus giving the book more publicity. Nathaniel Hawthorne, in a sense, brought the story of Ms. Hester Prynne to life.

Scarlet Letter Vocabulary (Crossword Puzzle)

Across
3. botomless hole, a vast expanse or depth
4. to move upward, to rise from a lower station
5. sharpness of perception
7. one who leads a life of self-denial and contemplation; absent of luxury
10. a dislike, distaste, or enmity
13. to add in a supplementary manner
14. capable of floating; cheerful
15. a likeness, a natural relationship, a kinship
17. strict; stern; unadorned, ascetic
18. to degrade, to humiliate
19. to reduce in intensity or amount
Down
1. very difficult to accomplish or to achieve, very demanding (task)
2. excessive boldness, rashness, daring
3. a substance that is a mixture of metals
5. favorable
6. open to or willing to follow advice or suggestion, tractable, malleable
7. one who practices medieval chemistry or tries to change metals into gold
8. not causing harm, of gentle disposition, beneficial
9. destroyed or caused by decline or decay
11. prompt and cheerful response
12. a soothing substance or one that gives relief
14. to give a sign of
15. an omen or prophecy
16. kindness, generosity, charity
17. difficult to understand, recondite, concealed

Anne Bradstreet Poem Response

Anne Bradstreet was a 17th century poet who published many works during that time period. She was an amazing writer and related many of her works to her own personal life. “The Author to Her Book”, for example, spoke figuratively of her poems that were published into a book, which are symbolized as her child. “To My Dear and Loving Husband” also relates to her life. In this poem she was describing how she felt towards her husband. Bradstreet uses many rhetorical devices in her poetry.

“The Author to Her Book” contains a rhetorical trope within the title itself. The title is ironic, because one would expect for the author to her book to be herself. This, however, is not the case. Her poems were taken from her without her permission, and then published in a book for all to see. Thus in fact, the author of Anne Bradstreet’s book was someone other than herself. The poem also contains very many metaphors. “Thou ill-formed offspring of my feeble brain,” (line 1) compares her roughly drafted poems to a child who is not properly formed. Bradstreet relates the poem to her life by using the metaphor of a child, for she had 8 children of her own.

“Made thee in rags,” (line 5) was another metaphor that Bradstreet used in “The Author to Her Book”. This metaphor compared the words of her poems to rags, because to her, neither is good enough. It wouldn’t be acceptable for her child to be seen in rags, nor is it acceptable for her poems to be seen written the way they are. It can be inferred that when she saw all the faults within her poems that had been shown to everyone, she immediately became embarrassed: “At thy return my blushing was not small” (line 7). “I washed thy face, but more defects I saw,” (line 13) gives another example of Bradstreet referring to her poems as her child. She said she “washed her poems’ face” the way a mother would wash the face of her dirty child. She saw even more blemishes after she got finished cleaning up the poems, because Anne Bradstreet was being quite critical of herself. She wanted each poem to be absolutely perfect, and if it wasn’t she wasn’t satisfied with it.

“I stretched thy joints to make thee even feet, yet still thou run’st more hobbling than meet” (lines 15 and 16). Bradstreet continues to give her poems human-like characteristics. She did all she could to try and fix the poems, but there are still flaws in them. She is very unsatisfied with the job she is doing in perfecting the imperfections of her poems. “In better dress to trim thee was my mind, but nought save homespun cloth i’ th’ house I find” (lines 17 and 18). Anne Bradstreet wanted to dress her child, or poem, in better clothes than she did. It would be her aim for her child to look nice, much like it was her aim for her poems to look nice. This is a metaphor because Bradstreet compares the unsatisfying words used within her poems to homespun cloth. It was all she could find, although she wanted to make the words better. Another rhetorical element Bradstreet used was similes. “I cast thee by as one unfit for light,” (line 9) Bradstreet used “as” to compare her published poems to something so terrible that it isn’t fit to be seen in the light. This means that Bradstreet didn’t want the poems to be seen by anyone.

Rhetorical tropes are also used in another one of Anne Bradstreet’s poems, “To My Dear and Loving Husband”. “I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold or all the riches that the East doth hold” (lines 5 and 6) is a metaphor. Bradstreet compares her husband’s love to gold and riches. In comparing his love to these things, Bradstreet gives the idea that his love is worth very much to her, like gold and riches are worth a lot to other people.

All in all, Anne Bradstreet portrays many rhetorical elements in her poetry. In her poems “The Author to Her Book” and “To My Dear and Loving Husband”, she mainly shows forms of comparisons of one thing to another.

Anne Bradstreet Biography Link

http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/Bradstreet/bradbio.htm

Anne Bradstreet's Biography Summerization

Biography by Ann Woodlief, Illustrations by Ladonna Gulley Warrick

Anne Bradstreet was born to a nonconformist former soldier of Queen Elizabeth, Thomas Dudley. He traveled in 1630 for America with the Massachusetts Bay Company, his family and son-in-law, Simon Bradstreet. When he married Anne Dudley, his childhood sweetheart, he was 25 years old and she was 16. The voyage to America was difficult and many people died from the experience. Life on the journey differed greatly from the beautiful estate that Anne Bradstreet was used to, because it was rough and cold. Anne told her children in her memoirs that "I found a new world and new manners at which my heart rose [up in protest.]" Anne did, however, decide to join the church at Boston. White writes that "instead of looking outward and writing her observations on this unfamiliar scene with its rough and fearsome aspects, she let her homesick imagination turn inward, marshalled the images from her store of learning and dressed them in careful homespun garments."

Historically, Anne's identity is mainly linked to her prominent father and husband. They both were governors of Massachusetts who left portraits and many records. She appreciated their love and protection, but "any woman who sought to use her wit, charm, or intelligence in the community at large found herself ridiculed, banished, or executed by the Colony's powerful group of male leaders." The role she was expected to play was in the home. She was expected to be separated from the affairs of church and stat, even "deriving her ideas of God deom the contemplations of her husband's excellencies," according to one document.

The situation she was in was made clear to her through the fate of her good friend, Anne Hutchinson, who was also intelligent, educated, of a prosperous family and extremely pious. Hutchinson was a mother of 14 and an incredible speaker, and she held prayer meetings in which women discussed and debated religious and ethical ideas. She believed that the Holy Spirit lived within justified people, therefore good works were not necessary for admission to the church. This belief, however, was considered heretical; she was then labeled a Jezebel and banished, eventually slain in an Indian attack in New York. This explains why Bradstreet was not so anxious to publish her poetry and liked to keep her more personal works private. Bradstreet wrote epitaphs for both of her parents. These not only showed her love for them, but they showed them as models of how Puritans should behave.

There is not much evidence of Anne's life in Massachusetts besides that given in her poetry: no portrait or grave-maker, although there is a house in Ipswich, MA. She moved many times with her family, always to areas in which Simon could get more property and political power. There, they would have been very vulnerable to Indian attack; families of powerful Puritans were often kidnapped and ransomed. Through her poems, we can see that she deeply loved her husband and greatly missed him when he left frequently on colony business to England and other settlements. On the contrary, though, her feelings towards him, as well as her Purtian faith and position as a woman in the Puritan community, seemed a bit mixed. Within about 10 years, she and her husband had 8 children, all of whom survived childhood. She was often sick and expected to die, especially during childbirth, but she lived to the age of 60.

The poetry Anne Bradstreet wrote seemed to be mainly for herself, her family, and her friends, many of whom were well educated. Her early poetry, taken to England by her brother-in-law (possibly without her permission), appeared as The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America in 1650 when she was 38 and it sold well in England. Her later works were more private, personal, and original than those in The Tenth Muse. These were not published while she was alive, but she shared this poetry with her family and friends.

Anne Bradstreet apparently took herself very seriously as a poet and an intellectual. She was well-read in history, science, and literature, studying her craft and developing a confident poetic voice. She "apologized" to Puritans who believed women should be silent, modest, and living in the private rather than the public sphere. Her apologies were quite likely mroe ironic than sincere.

Although she often questioned the power of the male hierarchy and God (or the harsh Puritan concept of a judgemental God), she was a Puritan. Creative conflict often arose in her poetry because of her love of the natural and the physical world, as well as the spiritual. She finds hope in the future promises of religion, and great pleasures in the reality of the present. According to the Puritan perspective, she realized that she perhaps should not indulge in the pleasures of the present. Anne Bradstreet's poetry was generally ignored until "rediscovered" by 20th century feminists. The critics found many artistic qualities in her work.

Cabeza de Vaca Picture Analysis

Two blind man are relying upon the guidance of a third blind man. What's wrong with this picture? This photo clearly depicts the blind leading the blind. Panfilo de Narváez led a Florida expedition in 1527. Those who accompanied him on the trip weren't completely sure of what they were getting themselves into, much like the second two men in the picture. They were relying on the knowledge and leadership skills of Narváez. Panfilo de Narváez was much like the man standing in front to the others in the picture. It was up to him to lead his follwers down the right path, but he, too, was blind. He was not a good leader and made bad decisions. "Against Cabeza de Vaca's advice, Narváez sent the ships farther along the shores in search of a rumored port where his army might rejoin them, but the ships were never seen again" ( Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca c. 1490-1558). This bad decision cost many lives. Narváez didn't know what he was doing and couldn't successfully lead a group of people, much like the leading blind man doesn't know how to successfully lead his followers.

Columbus Picture Analysis

This picture is a comical depiction of how Columbus pretty much demanded that the Indians give up their land. The caption is a witty phrase that lets the person who sees it know that the Indians didn't have a say in what is done with their land. The picture shows Columbus walking up to the Indians like he was on a mission, much like a persistant salesman. The caption shows that he would decide what would be done with the land. Columbus wouldn't have taken "no" for an answer. This relates to my essay because in the text that I read there was a part that talked about how Columbus went to the New World, demanded land, and had no opposition from the Indians from whom he took it.

Willow Tree

The weeping willow tree was like a papered building.