Forever

He'd been patiently searching for someone just like her forever.

They were perfectly in sync, and they would leave each other never.

Everyone thought that they'd be together forever,

Until one day, she fell for another, whom she had known forever.

He was her best friend, or so everyone thought, and nothing was there between.

But they were hiding something special: something that no one else had seen.

Her admirer weepingly said to her, "You promised me forever!"

She shook her head and quietly replied, "Nothing lasts forever..."

Eyes Project Quote

“Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men. Now, women forget all those things they don't want to remember, and remember everything they don't want to forget. The dream is the truth.” (Hurston, p. )
This quote, which marks the beginning of the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God immediately points out the fact there is a difference between men and women, which goes against the policy of “gender equality”. Basically, Zora Neale Hurston is stating that there is a chance that some men will get their wishes, and there is an equal chance that they will not: It all depends upon what happens over the course of time. They can not control whether or not what they are longing for will come to them. This is why they are compared to a ship at a distance. There is no way for a bystander to control where a ship will go or when it will get to him.
There is, however, a different opinion about women’s dreams. According to the text, a woman can absolutely control what happens in her life. Any serious dreams that she has will be attained, because females have the ability to do what they know needs to be done, no matter what.
With the contrasting characteristics of men and women, it is safe to say that Hurston was a feminist who had the utmost respect for women. She believed that, although men had a higher role in society than women, women were superior to men in a way that mattered more than mere status. They have more will and more mind power, and can make more happen in their lives than men can. The quote states that a man may work hard for what he wants and still come up short, but a woman never fails when she has a real dream that she puts her mind to. A woman’s dream is reality.

Wealth

Since first introduced to humans, money has caused much controversy. There is the notion that money is the root of all evil. Many believe all negative behavior exhibited by people can be traced back to money. There are others, however, who believe that money itself is not evil, but those who yearn for it and use it to do malicious acts. Money is an inanimate object and could not possibly be the “root of all evil”. It the human race that should be blamed for the evils supposedly induced by monetary units.
Humans have 3 basic needs: food, clothing, and shelter. In America, each of these things costs money, therefore the needs of everyone are not always met. This is something that could cause an issue with someone on the negative side of the equation, because they need these things to survive, therefore they need money to survive. Some people resort to begging, and others just accept what they don’t have, but there are always people who will try and get money any way that they can. This is why people steal, and this also causes some people to commit homicides. The yearning of these people for money controls their actions, and, often times, brings about negative occurrences. Although these issues have to do with money, people are still in complete control of their actions. An inanimate object can not be blamed for the actions of living, thinking human beings.
“The rich get richer…” Some people are born with money. Other people stumble upon it throughout life, but the majority of the people in the United States work hard to earn the money that they have, because they know that without it, they would not have much of a life. Unfortunately, a good number of people become overtaken with thoughts of acquiring money corruptly. Others are content with the money that they already have, but choose to use it for evil instead of good. Again, the fault does not lie within the money itself, but within the malicious people and their malicious acts. Even someone unthinkably rich could still yearn for more money, because normal people do not get tired of getting money. But it is people who commit the acts, so it is people who should be blamed for the repercussions.
I do, however, agree with Lapham in his argument that money is unnecessarily flaunted in America, and if you don’t flaunt it, it can be assumed that you don’t have it. This is ironic, because the country that is supposed to be so equal is subconsciously discriminatory of those who seem to not have much money. In other countries, it is not necessary to show on the outside what is in one’s wallet. “In France a rich man is a rich man.” (Lapham). There should be no need to publically announce someone’s wealth. Those who don’t publically flaunt it should not be looked any differently than they would be if they were flaunting it, because you never know all of what is inside of someone’s wallet until you have looked in it.
Money is not a living object, so it could not be to blame for any mishap that occurs. However, the people who deal with money are at fault, because they are in control of their actions. I agree that money is unnecessarily flaunted in the United States, and we are less mature in this way than other countries.

Death and Justice

Meaning
1. The thesis of Edward Koch’s argument in favor of capital punishment is “Life is indeed precious, and I believe the death penalty helps to affirm this fact” (p. 320, Koch). He believes that it is important for life to be kept sacred, even if this means another life must be taken in the process. He believes that capital punishment is absolutely necessary for American society to function, because it gives a great reason as to why people should not commit murders. Koch wants readers to agree with him that capital punishment is necessary to keep American life just and in tact.

2. Koch believes that the death penalty acts as a deterrent to homicide. No actual evidence is given to prove his point, but he lets the readers know what he think would have happen had things been done differently. He says, “Had the death penalty been a real possibility in the minds of these murderers, they might well have stayed their hand. They might have shown moral awareness before their victims died, and not after” (p. 320, Koch). Koch insists that if these murderers had thought about the death penalty beforehand, they most likely would not have committed the homicide. Koch also believes that the death penalty is a form of justice for the injustice done. “We may not like the death penalty, but it must be available to punish crimes of cold-blooded murder, cases in which any other form of punishment would be inadequate and, therefore, unjust” (p. 321, Koch). He feels that is would be unjust for someone to commit a murder and get away off with anything less that a death sentence. The crimes of these “cold-blooded murderers” must be dealt with accordingly, and in the only just way possible.

Purpose and Audience
1. Koch does not seem to be speaking in order to attain votes. He speaks very enthusiastically about this issue and it seems a bit personal for him. He is most likely not trying to attain votes, because if he were, he would not have publically been in such strong agreement with the death penalty, for this could possibly have cost him some votes.

2. The first two paragraphs give evidence that Koch thought that his audience would disagree with him. He asks rhetorical questions to really get the reader thinking about the issue. “Did their newfound reverence for life stem from the realization that they were about to lose their own?” (p. 321, Koch). In this question, he was attempting to make the reader reconsider his opinion about the death penalty. Also, he saves his thesis statement for the end of the first two paragraphs.

3. In the final rebuttal, Koch discusses the issue of state versus individual responsibility. This, in turn, places unspoken responsibilities on the readers. He is attempting to convince the readers that if they know an injustice is taking place for them to speak out against it, or at least tell an authority figure.

Method and Structure
1. Koch uses examples of emotional, ethical, and rational appeals in his essay. An emotional appeal is, “If the penalty for rape were lowered, clearly it would signal a lessened regard for the victims’ suffering, humiliation, and personal integrity” (p. 322, Koch). This is reaching out mainly toward people who can relate to being raped. Maybe it happened to them or someone they knew, but, either way, it catches the readers’ attention. An example of an ethical appeal is, “A prisoner named Lemuel Smith…effectively been given a license to kill (p. 322, Koch). This makes the readers think about how serious the offense of murder is. The fact that there he did not receive the death penalty was the reason that the corrections officer lay dead. An example of a rational appeal is, “In New York City in 1976 and 1977…average of one every 8.5 days” (p. 322, Koch). This quote contains many numerical, unarguable facts. The most effective of these three examples is the rational appeal, because it gives cold, hard facts, and there is really nothing else for the reader to think about. The least effective, in my opinion, is the emotional appeal. Within this appeal, Koch discusses rape, which may be responded to by many, but not every reader will have the same opinion on rape as opposed to death, so rape was probably a bad analogy.

2. Major Premise: All killers admit to the wrongs when they face death themselves, to bring those who sentenced them to death down to their level.Minor Premise: Willie and Shaw charged with the death penalty admitted right before their deaths that “Killing is wrong” and that “Killing is wrong when I did it. Killing is wrong when you do it.” (p. 319, Koch)
Conclusion: Willie and Shaw sought “to bring his accusers down to his own level.” (p. 323, Koch)
Willie and Shaw basically state that by them being killed, those who sentenced them are no better than they were in terms of doing the right thing. They attempt to bring their prosecutors down to their level. This, however, is an invalid argument according to Koch, because the individual does not have the same rights as the state. “Therefore, the execution of a lawfully condemned killer is not an actual act of murder, just like legal imprisonment is not actually considered kidnapping” (p. 324, Koch).

3. Koch counters the argument that “the death penalty is ‘barbaric’”. In a way, his methods of argument in this section are convincing. He argues that people complained that the method of death was inhumane, because the death was painful. However, once the method was switched to lethal injection, capital punishment’s opposers still were not satisfied. (p. 320, Koch) This point nullified the argument of those who opposed, because even after their problem was tended to, they still complained about the death penalty as a whole being inhumane. On the other hand, Koch presents an analogy that was imperfect. He compared murder to cancer, but the only problem was that murder is “not the ‘disease’ we are trying to cure.” (p. 321, Koch) The actual “disease”, which was thereafter pointed out, was injustice.

4. Robert Lee Willie and Joseph Carl Shaw “hoped to soften the resolve of those who sentenced them to death.” (p. 323, Koch) This emphasizes the idea that killers try to bring their accusers down to their levels in terms of rights and wrongs pertaining to death. Luis Vera and the “tragic death of Rosa Velez.”… “I knew I wouldn’t go to the chair.” (p. 320, Koch). This portrays the idea that killers have a warped belief that they won’t face capital punishment. In a sense, it encourages killers to go on with their plans of homicide. A New York Times editorial on the lethal injection proved that “it is not the method that really troubles opponents…but death itself.” (p. 320, Koch). The analogy between cancer and murder proves that “one does not have to like an idea in order to support it.” (p. 321, Koch). “No other major democracy--in fact, few other countries of any description--is plagued by murder rate such as that in the U.S.” This supports the idea that “if other countries had our murder problem, the cry for capital punishment would be just as loud as it is here.” (p. 321, Koch).

Language
1. Koch maintains an assertive and critical tone throughout this essay. He is quite confident in his viewpoint of capital punishment being a good thing, and he asserts his confidence by addressing opposing views to his, and then criticizing them, thus proving his definitude about the issue. He uses language that is declarative and decisive. Through his language, Koch gives the idea that what he says is final, and any opposition is futile. This greatly increased my receptiveness to his essay, because he seemed so positive of what he was saying. Although I am not a condoner of the death penalty, I definitely gave it some thought in Koch’s favor while reading this essay.

2. Koch refers to his opponents’ thinking as “transparently false” and “sophistic nonsense” p. 323, Koch). His use of phrases indicates that Koch views the ideas of the opposers to capital punishment as purposeless and not well thought out. He attacks their ideas by considering them unreasonable and untrue. Then he introduces his own ideas as ideal and right.

Writing Topic
Although Edward Koch has many valid points in his essay, this does not deter me from believing that capital punishment is immoral and unjust. Koch counters many arguments against capital punishment, but some of those can not be attacked and still stand firm.
No other major democracy uses the death penalty. Koch claims that this is because we are the only democracy that is plagued by such a large murder rate. However, it seems quite logical that the murder rates are extremely high due to the death penalty, and other such extreme punishments. There are people who would much rather be executed that be sentenced to spend a life in prison. Koch’s argument that the death penalty discourages people from committing murders is not necessarily true. Some people are encouraged to do it because of this law. It seems like there is some sort of connection between the United States being the only democracy with so many murders, and being the only democracy with this policy of death.
An innocent person might be executed by mistake. The life of an innocent citizen should never be jeopardized by any means, especially purposely by the government. It is essentially unconstitutional, because it goes against the promise of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” to all citizens. Instead, the person in question should just be placed in a correctional facility, then, if they are found to be innocent, the results would not be so final and the accused could possibly return to a normal life.
Capital punishment cheapens the value of human life. Koch argues that the death penalty strengthens the value of human life, but this is not at all the case. Capital punishment ends the lives of many human beings, as if those people were not important enough to live. Koch claims that capital punishment deters many people from committing murders. It is false that more people would kill if there was no death penalty, because, as I have previously stated, many people would rather be sentenced to death than suffer life in prison. Even for those who would rather life in prison, if the consequence for murder was prison, many murders would be discouraged from committing homicides.
Another reason that I consider the death penalty to be wrong is my religion. I believe in a God who created all things, and I feel that it is wrong for anyone to commit murder. I do, in fact, believe that the government killing someone is still considered murder, because it the conscious taking of one’s life. I believe that because God put man on this earth, He should be the only one to take them off. Who gave the government the authority to decide who deserves to live and who should die? I feel that this is a decision that can only rightfully be made by God.
The death penalty was instituted with the belief that those who commit a murder should be killed by the government. This, to me, is unjust and unauthorized, because an innocent person may be killed by mistake, and because only God should be able to take life away, for He is who gave life. Besides, how does it make sense that we kill people who kill people to show that killing people is wrong?

Glaspell's "Trifles" 2 pg. Lit. Response

“Trifles” is a play by Susan Glaspell that tells of a murder by hanging that takes place. The culprit of this crime initially could not be identified. It was not until later in the story when the ladies were looking at the house that the murderer was quietly discovered. The name of the play most likely came from the fact that it was a very small thing that was the key to the ladies discovering that it was, in fact, Mrs. Wright who killed her husband. The story was in a sense separated by gender, and it was the gender group that was not even on a real mission to find the offender who found it. Glaspell often times uses visual elements in order to communicate information to the audience that the dialogue could not.
An example of this occurs when Hale was describing Mrs. Wright. “She had her apron in her hand and was kind of—pleating it” (Glaspell, 5). The fact that she was wearing an apron gave the idea that she was a homebody wife who cared about her household and family. Mrs. Wright pleating the apron let the reader know that she was deep in thought about something and was using the apron to deter her visitor from thinking that she did anything malicious. This was a way for her to portray innocence. When Hale told Mrs. Wright that he wanted to see John, she laughed (Glaspell, 6). Obviously she was not in her right mind, because her husband, John, had just been killed and she found some sort of humor in it. At one point, Hale told Mrs. Wright that he had come in to see if John wanted to have a telephone put in, and she began to laugh, then she looked scared. This visual element shows that she was unsure of how to react either because she was so upset, or because she was trying to cover up the dastardly deed she had done.
As Hale was describing his first experience with seeing John’s lifeless body, he said “It looked…”, and then his face twitched (Glaspell, 7). Glaspell used this important visual element to really portray how horrible the body must have looked. Without this visualization, the reader would not have gotten the full effect of how awful Hale felt as he looked at the body. As Mrs. Hale described her interaction with Mr. Wright, she shivered (Glaspell, 22). This is another example of how the body language that the characters of the story give off shows to what extent they feel the way they do about something. Mrs. Hale thought that spending time with him was so bad that it caused her to have a body gesture to match her dismay.
When the men leave the room for the first time, Mrs. Hale “arranges the pans under [the] sink, which the lawyer had shoved out of place” (Glaspell, 12). This shows the first obvious difference between the men and the women of the story. The women were more delicate and caring about others’ needs. Although Mr. Wright was dead and Mrs. Wright was in jail, she felt the need to tidy up the house a little. Mrs. Peters was talking to Mrs. Hale about whether or not they thought Mrs. Wright killed her husband. When Mrs. Peters hears footsteps, she stops speaking; she looks up at the room from which the footsteps were coming, and continues speech in a softer tone (Glaspell, 15). This is the first time that the women had broken off from the men and had actually tried to keep something a secret from them. The sheriff mockingly repeats something that Mrs. Hale had said. “The men laugh, [and] the women look abashed” (Glaspell, 17). The women were looked down upon by men, and judging from this visual element, their opinions were not valued, but scoffed at rather. This is another example of the differences between the men and women becoming more and more apparent.
All in all, “Trifles” was a very interesting play in which the murder of the victim became more and more apparent as the story proceeded. The author of the play, Susan Glaspell, used very colorful visual elements, such as actions and costumes, to tell her story about how the perpetrator of this crime was discovered. These elements play an important role in Glaspell's play, because without them, the reader would not be affected by it in the same way.

Bernice Bobs Her Hair Response

“Bernice Bobs Her Hair” is a witty, charming, and intelligent story about a girl, named Bernice, who had a cousin who was quite malicious and selfish. It started with Bernice being a boring nuisance to her cousin, whom she was visiting. From there, her cousin, Marjorie, took Bernice under her wing and taught her to be attractive to men. Bernice became so attractive, in fact, that she caught the attention of Marjorie’s worshiper, Warren McIntyre, who becomes infatuated with Bernice and her new found sense of herself. Envy rises up in Marjorie and she seeks to destroy Bernice, which she succeeds in doing by tricking her into cutting her long hair to a bob, then subtly throwing it in Bernice’s face. In the end, however, Bernice cuts Marjorie’s long hair and peace is restored within the reader’s heart.

Along with the great story line, this short story is filled with many rhetorical tropes. The author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, includes many uses of allusion in his story. There is a sentence in which Bernice quotes “Little Women”, a novel by American writer Louisa May Alcott. She says, “Don’t you think common kindness----”. This is probably included to point out that Bernice was dependent on sources other than herself to let people know how she was feeling. She went to a book when talking to Marjorie; just like she turned to the advice of Marjorie when talking to the many boys she met. Another example of an allusion used in this story was when Bernice was talking to G. Reece at a dinner-dance. She used a quote from Oscar Wilde, an Irish author, saying “You’ve either got to amuse people or feed ‘em or shock ‘em. This was probably included because Oscar Wilde was known as a witty writer, and in this situation Bernice’s main goal was to be looked upon as “witty”. Fitzgerald refers to Marie Antoinette, who was executed by guillotine in 1793, when describing the way that Bernice felt when she was on her way to the barber shop. The author most likely included this to give a better idea of how Bernice felt about getting her hair practically cut off. If the reader didn’t know anything about Marie Antoinette, they probably still wouldn’t have had a hard time relating her experience to Bernice’s, because the author made it evident that she was beheaded.

There were also a number of metaphors and similes used in Fitzgerald’s story. Bernice referred to Marjorie as a “peach” for helping her with her changes. This does not literally mean that she thinks that Marjorie is a fruit, but it is her way of metaphorically saying that she is a sweet girl for offering her assistance. Bernice also announces that she wants to be a “society vampire.” This metaphor means that she wants to prowl the social scene, be seen, and be popular. When referring to the barber shop that Bernice was to go to, Fitzgerald states that “it was a guillotine indeed”. This is not literally a place where Bernice will go to get her head cut off, but it is what can be looked at as the end of her social life. It is used to add more color to the story and to build upon the allusion of Marie Antoinette.

Scott Fitzgerald compares Marjorie’s hands, as she was braiding her hair, to “restive snakes” by using the word “like”. This simile is most likely used to give the reader a negative image of Marjorie. A snake is most often looked at as a bane to goodness, so comparing her hands to snakes points out the fact that she was a malicious person. Another simile is used when Bernice was viewing her hair shortly after it had been cut. She said, “It was ugly as sin.” As the reader discovers in the beginning of the story, Bernice is a very reserved and moral person. So her comparing her hair to sin is saying that she her complete and utter distaste for it. It is a big deal, because to someone like Bernice, sin is just about one of the ugliest things out there. This simile was used to let the reader know how horrible Bernice felt about her new hairstyle. All in all, this was a charming story that was filled with many rhetorical tropes, such as allusions, metaphors, and similes.

"I Have A Dream"

Rhetorical Structure: Figures of Speech

1. Alliteration- repetition of initial consonant sound
Allusion- indirect reference to someone or something
Metaphor- all language that involves figures of speech or symbolism and does not literally represent real things
Simile- a figure of speech that draws a comparison between two different things, especially a phrase containing the word "like" or "as,"

2.“Five score years ago,” is an allusion to Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, in which he says “Four score and seven years ago,” when he is referring to the independence of the United States. It was probably used because it points out parallels from Lincoln’s speech.

3. An allusion to the Declaration was the well-known phrase “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. An allusion to the bible is “and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh see it together.”

4. An example of alliteration can be found in the line “One day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression…”

5. An example of a metaphor can be found in the line “American has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds’”.

6. An example of a simile can be found in the line “No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until ‘justice rolls down like waters’”.

7. a. This is a metaphorical term.
b. This would be an effective way of moving his audience because those African-Americans who are listening with slave ancestors can probably relate and feel the pain those to which King refers.
c. King was inferring that the progress is taking too long to be made. He felt that, because slavery was over, people should no longer be discriminated against because of their skin color.

8. One example of an anaphora is the phrase “One hundred years later…” Another example is “We can never be satisfied as long as…”

9. One possible effect is that more blacks in the future could also possibly make changes, because they see that is not impossible to do. This phrase could also state the idea that racial equality in this country is nothing more than an optimistic dream.

10. There are a few of King’s images that jumped out at me as I was listening to and reading his “I Have A Dream” speech. “One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.” This particular quote caught my attention because he was making an indirect reference to slavery. This was 100 years after slavery was abolished, so the fact that King chose the words “manacles” and “chains” made me think that the effects of slavery were still in play. King also speaks of cashing a check that had insufficient funds. We as a people were promised Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, but blacks of the time were being deprived of at least one of these: Liberty. There was no liberty in the treatment of the African-Americans. This was a promise that was broken, so I loved the reference to a check that had insufficient funds. This describes the situation perfectly.

Understanding The Dream

1. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a great dream that changed the lives of many. He gave his “I Have A Dream” speech on August 28, 1963 during the march on Washington. King’s dream was for every person living in this country to have equality, regardless of race, gender, or ancestry. Slavery had been ended for almost one hundred years, and African-Americans were still treated unfairly. Blacks were still discriminated against, and still suffered from the unjustified and belittling act of segregation. King felt that hose who were treated unfairly should attempt to gain their deserved place in society, but to do so without mistreating anyone else, because King was an advocate of peace.

2. Some specific acts of injustice were “the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.” Also, “This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice.” and “Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.”

3. The “American Dream” that was mentioned in King’s speech is the freedom that all citizens in the United States want to pursue their goals through free choice and hard work.

4. I think he did this to be inclusive of all the states in the United States. He wants to make sure that all the states feel included so that there is a wider response to his message.

5. I do think that I would have been moved by King’s speech because I am of African-American descent. At this time, I would have been mistreated because of the color of my skin, so this message would have definitely moved me.

Relating to the Dream

1. My definition of racism is the mistreatment of an individual based on the color of their skin, or ethnicity.

2. a. Perhaps the extreme right-winged organizations chose violence because they knew that they had no real purpose and could not fight the blacks with words. This also may have made them feel more powerful than the blacks. They were probably trying to remind the African-Americans of their heritage and where their ancestors were only years before.
b. This is possibly because their leader, Martin Luther King Jr., was an advocate for nonviolence. They most likely knew that they were right and didn’t feel the need to retaliate violently.

3. I do not think that today’s skinheads are very dangerous. Granted, they could do some minor damage, but in reality they would quickly be overtaken, because there are far more in this world today who believe in equality than those who don’t. So they would definitely be outnumbered, and this fact would probably cause them not to try anything.

4. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his speech in 1963, and in 2009 it is safe to say that we are reaping many of the benefits of it, because so much has been accomplished in terms of assuring equality of all. On this day, January 20, 2009, our nation’s first black president was sworn into office. This is a feat that many never saw actually happening, and it goes to show that anyone really could become whatever they want in life. This is a prime example of the “American Dream” being lived out. Many of the issues posed by King in his speech have been fixed. For example, segregation is now illegal in America, so there are no more “Whites Only” toilets or water fountains. It is also now illegal to deprive someone of a job based on race or gender. Black men and women are now allowed to vote. This is a great example of the equality that we as a people have today. Everyone is given equal opportunity to do everything in this day and age, and personally, I believe that this is what makes this country “the United States of America”. Although we Americans have made great strides in fulfilling King’s dream, there are still some things that have yet to be accomplished. We have not completely filtered out all of America’s discrimination. Although it is illegal to deprive someone of a job based on skin color, it is still done without anyone’s knowledge save the person doing it. There is also still racism in the country.

Although many won’t admit to it, there are far too many people in this country who judge individuals based on the color of their skin, which is clearly disapproved of in King’s speech. We have made leaps and bounds from where we once were in terms of equality, but we have quite a while to go before we are where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wanted us to be.