Persuasive

Meaning:
1) Koch stands on the belief that karma is the overriding factor of your outcome. Meaning what you have done to someone else, something equal or worse shall occur to you. Koch is saying that is a man takes the life of another, then that same man deserves to have his own life taken from him. Punishment should not be light, there cannot be a light sentence available for doing something as gruesome as taking a man’s life just for pure enjoyment. “ Life is indeed precious, and I believe the death penalty helps affirm this fact.” (Koch) This is said in response to the argument or suggestion of a lighter sentence than the death penalty. Cold blooded killers are more likely to commit the same crimes if their sentence is easier. It’s harder to make a judgment on whether to kill a man, when your own life is in jeopardy as well.
2) Each debate over capital punishment somewhat coincide with each other, but yet contradict. On one point capital punishment is just to be used as a “scaring” method, because killing people is wrong, however if a man kills a man then he must die in the chair. The second statement supports Koch’s thesis in terms of what you do to another comes back upon yourself at a later date.

Purpose and Audience:
1. Koch did not create this essay, or offer his viewpoints on such a controversial issue to enable his acceleration, or popularity in the poles. Koch is aware of the publics lack of support of capital punishment but states, “ Admittedly capital punishment is not a pleasant topic. However one does not have to like the death penalty in order to support it.” ( Koch paragraph 6) Koch is bluntly stating that no matter how one feels about the death penalty right is right and wrong is wrong meaning, yes it may be wrong for killing a man “Thou shalt not kill”, however is it correct to let these same people continue to roam the streets, and take up space in our prisons?
2. Reading the first two paragraphs you can infer that Koch is anticipating that people are going to deject the idea of the death penalty. Consequently he opens up with gruesome stories to have the readers feel empathetic towards the victims, which strikes the thought of how they can resolve crimes like this occurring again. He questions the morality of the people by stating that we are being taught about what’s right and wrong by hard core criminals. Should we not be the one’s to tell them what they did wrong, and hand out the consequence?
3. Koch is prompting his readers to grow a back bone and put the wrong doers where they belong. Criminals have questioned the morality of the accusers by questioning, “ What makes you better than me.” As humans we take this into consideration and often feel a sense of guilt. You are consequently placed on the same level as the defense. They bring you to their level in hopes that you won’t step up; taking responsibility and doing the “right” thing.

Method and Structure:
1. Emotional- “Everyone wants his or her rights, and will defend them jealously.”
Ethical- “The Bible is our greatest source of moral inspiration”
Rational- “When we protect guilty lives, we give up innocent lives in exchange.”
Most effective: Rational, because it basically is a worst case scenario, but at the same time realistic enough because there is truth behind the argument.
Least effective: Ethical is the least effective, because everyone has different standards to what is considered ethical and unethical. For example an atheist would not find the Bible ethical which holds the argument, “Thou shalt not kill.”
2. Syllogism- 1. “Killing people is wrong…. It was no different whether it’s citizens, countries, or governments. Killing is wrong.
2. “Killing is wrong when I did it. Killing is wrong when you do it. I hope
You have the courage and moral strength to stop the killing.
It’s validity cannot be taken into consideration as means to be taken seriously, because these are criminal who are in a state of attempting to save his life. Is it really morally correct to take the advice of a man who not long ago took the like another? A man cannot change in the short period of time to conform to a pure new way of life. Honesty now comes into question.
3. Koch goes proceeds on my stating that capital punishment is barbaric and inhumane. Instantly he links his argument by altering it slightly, yes the death penalty can be performed inhumane, but yet it is necessary to get rid of those who are causing problems to our societies. I don’t find this part of his argument convincing, because he comes across as if he is contradicting himself, and unsure of which platform he should take.
4. 1. “ One does not have to like the death penalty to support it any more than radical surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy in order to find necessary these attempts at curing cancer.
2. If the penalty for rape were lowered, clearly it would signal a lessened regard for the victims’ suffering, humiliation, and personal dignity.
The first example is set to establish that like a disease death is an illness. Not capital punishment, however more so of the death that derives because of it. Like chemotherapy capital punishment is set in place to get rid of the murderers who burden society, however like chemotherapy there is always a downside to the outcome.

Wealth

Monetary excel is ultimately predominately the goal of many American. “I think it fair to say that the current ardor (emotion) if the American faith in money easily surpasses the degrees intensity achieved by other societies. (Lapham) Here he is establishing the different views of money globally. Americans take money for granted to be blunt. Life has seemed to turn into the materialistic; people are trying to roll around on 22s while many of our third world countries are filled with starving children, and people of all ages dying of diseases. Where are our priorities? “We are at a loss to know how to hold its majesty at bay…” (Lapham). I full agree with this statement. Money is a very powerful tool which we base our survival around. Without money our economy and society as we know it would become non existent. Americans priorities are not in tact when it comes to money which is the key thought of Lapham.

Wealth can be defined in many different terms globally. Traditionally wealth is viewed as having an abundance of money. Many people often mistake materialism as wealth. You can be broke, and own a Lamborghini, which would force you to live in you car; or you can hold a lot of money only purchasing your necessities. Do not infer that because one has nice things they have an abundance of money, materialism, and wealth are two different definition, however they do coincide with one another. Materialism is a way to display one’s “wealth (if this in fact could even be considered wealth), but what about our internal state? “The visible signs of wealth testify to an inward state of grace.” (Lapham) I don’t feel this statement reveals any truth. How one is internally in no means reflects the person they appear to be on the outside. Externally one could be drenched in the finest silk, but on the inside feel very alone with a void.
Money in this essay was represented in a way that it contained spiritual entities. Money in no way coincides with religion or spirituality. A man living in a landfill can be just as religious man living in the most beautiful palaces. Money does not determine your rank or who deserves to be spiritual. Spirituality is that personal relationship between oneself and that spiritual being. Who are we to put a price on that? “Balance the desire for wealth against the other claims of the human spirit.” Spirit knows no status. Money does not keep the spirit pure. Can you buy your way into Heaven?

Intellect and wealth don’t at all relate with one another. “In the United States a rich man is perceived as being necessarily good, and wise.” This statement is somewhat true, obviously because such a person has attained such an abundance of money infers he has either invested wisely, maturely monitoring his expenses. Or they could jus be people who hustle or do anything just for attention until they are paid just to bring undignified attention upon themselves for money.

We as American often do misinterpret the value of the dollar. We try to put a price on un materialistic things such as spirituality. I agree with Lapham that America has treated money in properly. As a nation we could invest wisely and help those surrounding nations that desperately need assistance. Where are our priorities?

Trifles

Huh? What in the world?! I just completed Trifles by Susan Glaspell, and frankly I’m
not sure whose crazier Mrs. Wright or myself for trying to understand why she performed
such odd tasks. Trifles’ story plot consists of a murder that was performed upon Mr. John
Wright, and clues are being sought out as to how such a crime could have been
committed. Immediately the first person under conviction is Mrs. Wright. During a
night’s allegedly a person entered there bedroom where Mr. Wright was strangled with a
rope. Peculiarly Mrs. Wright does not awaken from such a travesty, because she claims
she is a sound sleeper. Would not the vibrations from the body of a struggling man
awaken you? Mrs. Wright is taken in for questioning, and her house is searched for any
sort of evidence that may lead to the solving of this case, Mrs. Hale, and Mrs. Peters are
left in the gloomy kitchen reflecting, as the attorney and sheriff search the house.

Plays are movies on paper. In order to creatively capture your audience, you must
strategically create mental pictures with colorful language, and vivid imagery. Every
slight gesture is explained. There is a huge distinction between rubbing your chin, vs.
rubbing one’s chin in an empathetic thought. Glaspell made sure that every action was
derived from an emotion. There was not an instance when a character performed a simple
gesture without a history of events leading up to its climax. “It looked… [Stops, his face
twitches]… but Harry, he went up to him.” (pg. 7 line 7) Hale is reflecting on the
moment, when John’s (Mr. Wright) body is uncovered. The facial twitch bought a sense
of naturalness to the scene. Anyone’s first natural reaction to uncovering a dead body
would be one of shock; his facial twitch was that moment of shock and vulnerability.
Hale most likely was in a vulnerable position, imagine going to a friend’s house, and you
open the door to find their significant other sitting there in silence only to inform you that
they are dead. What are you to do? This element of human nature through gesturing
keeps the audience in tune with the characters in thinking that they are just human; as
humans we are all universally relatable.

Props are used as a way to keep the audience engaged in the events that are occurring.
In addition they often may be used as a symbol, or a way of communicating an overall
idea to the audience. In the kitchen, the objects, or props were arranged in a way to make
them appear un kept, and carelessly overlooked. The kitchen contained dirty pots and
pans, a loaf of bread that was forgotten about outside the bread box, and chores left un
completed; this added to the tone of the room being gloomy. The stove inside the kitchen
contained a fire that shed warmth to the room. This warmth was once the happiness that
was felt within the home, before it took its final toll of being considered a gloomy place.
The fire is comforting, and sheds light on the dark spaces of the kitchen. Mrs. Wright was
found in the kitchen sitting in the cold as if it did not disturb her, as if she had been so
used to such a chill atmosphere that she had soon fallen immune to its effect. The fire was
somewhat of a reminder that at one point this house was once filled with warmth and
love, when the fire dies out so will the memories. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters soon
uncover that Mrs. Wright had been working on a quilt. Mrs. Hale begins to pull a stitch
out of the quilt, because it is not lined as neatly, crisply, and precisely as the other
stitches. This false stitch is peculiar, because she was a wonderful homemaker; she was
amazing at making preserves, and made several jars, her beautiful quilt spoke for itself at
how talented of a homemaker she had resulted. The stitching did not become uneven until
she became nervous. This shows a caring vulnerable side to Mrs. Wright despite how she
was originally presented. Mrs. Wright was first introduced as sitting in a cold room,
hemming her apron as her husband’s cold body lay dead upstairs; the fact that she became
nervous indicated that she did have an overcoming feeling of nerves. At the end of the
day Mrs. Wright is not completely heartless. While fondling the quilt the women decide
on what items they will be taking Mrs. Wright, they look in the cupboard for some simple
sewing appliances, and uncover a birdcage whose door had nearly been torn off the
hinges. Despite the fact that the bird is missing, which shows that someone was careless
in its upkeep, the bird cage shows what a beautiful personality of Mrs. Wright. During the
introduction of the birdcage, they refer to Mrs. Wright as Minnie Foster, a woman who
always dressed fashionably, and contained a beautiful spirit. They compared Minnie
Foster to the canary, (“-- real sweet, and pretty, but timid and -- fluttery. How -- she -- did
-- change.”) (pg 22 Mrs. Hale) Minnie Foster can be thought of as the alter ego of Mrs.
Wright. When the women speak about a cold hearted topic such as murder they refer to
Ms. Foster, as Mrs. Wright; however when they speak of what a beautiful voice she
contributed to the choir they refer to Mrs. Wright, as Minnie Foster. As the women peer
into the sewing basket they uncover a beautifully decorated box. Slowly opening the box
they uncover something wrapped delicately in silk. Unwrapping the object with great
care, they discover that the box was turned into the final resting place for the canary. This
is the climax of emotions for the women. Does this mean that she actually plotted killing
her husband in such a quiet manner? The canary indicates that it may have been used as a
practice run before the actual killing of her husband; this is inferred because the canary is
uncovered with a neck that is snapped. The canary symbolized Minnie Foster, as a
beautiful woman, and then somehow down the road ended which in turn transformed into
Mrs. Wright. In the end women stick together, and the women conceal the box containing
the container from the men, deep in their hearts they want to believe she is innocent.

Trifles was a great play with a very compelling overall message for the audience. In
the end you are only going to have your female race behind you. Women have stuck
together through thick and thin for centuries. Slave mothers bonding over the loss of a
child, outraged political women bounding together to make one voice in order to gain our
rights, or even just walking three days to support each other in the fight against breast
cancer. Mrs. Peters and Hale remained on the side of Mrs. Wright even after she was
suspected of murder. Just as John Wright, men come and go, but your women will be
there for you till the end. “We girls have to stick together.” (Melanie Wanderer)

Iris/ Glory Box/ Ghetto Heaven

Iris

I’d step away from my future to feel you
Because I know that you’ll be there to embrace
You’re my Heaven on Earth and above
I don’t want to die in this moment

All my senses are of yours in this instance
And all I need to survive is your well being
One of these days our lives shall end
Tonight please stay beside me

Shielding myself from judgmental eyes
No one understands the being of my life
Things are made to be of imperfection
See me through the clouds of my storm

Don’t try to sympathize when you have no sympathy for me
There can never be blatant honesty in your empathy
Everything is surreal to good to be true
You need the obvious to be stated just to remind you of reality

Shielding myself from judgmental eyes
No one understands the being of my life
Things are made to be of imperfection
See me through the clouds of my storm

Shielding myself from judgmental eyes
No one understands the being of my life
Things are made to be of imperfection
See me through the clouds of my storm

Shielding myself from judgmental eyes
No one understands the being of my life
Things are made to be of imperfection
See me through the clouds of my storm

See me through the clouds of my storm
See me through the clouds of my storm
See me through the clouds of my storm

Even though the lyrics were changed the meaning remained the same throughout the entire piece. In the original piece the tone is very romantic like. It give off the feeling that this person really needs their significant other in their life. In my piece, it is more focused about becoming one, and possibly losing yourself while loving the other person.

Glory Box

Drone with childhood actions
I’m ready to stop my grownup games
I’m ready to fall in love
The other women can flirt all day
I’ve been playing the tease long enough

I need..

I demand a reason to give you my heart
I need a reason to stop being a girl
I just want to grow up

From now on I’m free to be a woman
Looking at myself in a new light
In my new mindset
Anything is possible to achieve
Watch me make the unimaginable possible

I demand a reason to give you my heart
I need a reason to stop being a girl
I just want to grow up

Remain the man that my woman needs
When things get hard look at what I’ve achieved
Show compassion of your feminine side
It’s ok to shed your emotions

I demand a reason to give you my heart
I need a reason to stop being a girl
I just want to grow up

This is a new chapter in my permanent life

Watch me make the unimaginable possible

Although the sentences are changed, the meaning remains the same. In the original piece it is more of a questioning of becoming a woman. In my version of the song it is more demanding. She wants to become a woman, and she wants to grow up, and she won’t settle for less.

Ghetto Heaven

Looking for my diamond in the rough through the rough
Young girl catching my eye with they tender body's
Diverting my attention away from the path of forever terminology
I got my soul on salvation
I want my people to escape the rags of poor
Mother of my child is now a ghost
No worries sweet child I’m your guardian angel
Staying in tune with the vibes of nature
The Lord is always guarding us
Children look up to a generation for role models
Never mistake the wisdom of a man that’s lost his way
Even though tragedy strikes our nation can get worse
I walk through life with God forever there to save me
I feel like I just need to kill these feelings
I wasn’t put on this Earth to kill
I want people to remember my name with pride
I want to be greater than the material things
He found his diamond in the rough through within him and God

Sweetness of the rough
Committed to the sweetness of the rough
Sweetness of the rough
Committed to the sweetness of the rough
Ghetto…

Happiness doesn’t derive from the accompany of love
Women be dependant on your own don’t rely on a man
I empathize with you that men can be your rock
Taking care of your material things, and treating you as such
I remember a friend who didn’t know about love
His man wasn’t able to love her because the problem derived within himself
He loved her from a distance and claimed that the love was felt
You cannot find true love until you find yourself
Mistakes are just solutions that teach you to become a better person
Do not turn from love because of the wrongs of one man
To get the love a woman needs, you must be willing to wait
At this point of time your patience shall be rewarded
When going through hard times its best to have people around you
Sweet angel he’s now a ghost, but I don’t mind losing your father you’re worth more
You have more value than anything priceless
To be the great person you have become he had to leave…let him go
I’m not ignorant to the fact that he’s left us alone without his love
Find your peace within yourself and God

My heart is with my baby
As my baby’s heart is with me
I’ lonely in the peace I have found in myself
In an instant I need my time of sweet roughness
Time for my peace of sweet roughness
Peace of roughness, peace of roughness
I’m in need of peace
I’m ready for my place of peace, ohhhhhh….

The words I’m speaking our bigger than my being
Music is what makes my soul happy
Having to deal with wanna bee’s and the girls with no clue
There are times in my life that are hard to get through
Choosing words to influence people around the world
I love doing something of my passion to support my family
Remaining to take care of your brothers who are in trouble
Reminding everyone of the messages our ancestors wanted to influence us
It’s hard to live up to the wisdom of our ancestors
I recognized how I wanted to build my success… the honest way
I didn’t want to sell out, because music is my art
I hope to didn’t take the easy way out, and hoped for the best
No matter from what walk of life we all have to go through it
Going through the hard times in life without music is unfathomable
It’s like trying to rely on multiple people
Find your place of peace in this music and God
Find your place of peace and God
Find your place of peace and God

Both the original, and my version resemble each other greatly, however in my version it is more explanatory. In the original versions, things are said more for the sake of the flow, and not for the sense of comprehension. In my piece the tone is set for a change to arise. It’s a problem solution type of story line, problems are stated with the repetitive solution that you must find piece within yourself.

*Yea this wan't fun* Comparison Analysis

1) Total number of words: 538
2) Total number of sentences: 39
3) Longest sentence in number of words: 32
4) Shortest sentence in number of words: 7
5) Average Sentence Length: 22
6) Number of sentences with more than 10 words over the average: 17
7) Percentage of sentences with more than 10 words over the average: 15
8) Sentences with more than five words under the average: 20%
9) Percentage of sentences with more than 5 words under the average: 80%
10) Paragraph Length
Longest paragraph in number of words: 74
Shortest paragraph in number of words: 34
Average paragraph in number of words: 52.6

Private Businesses Shed 250,000 Jobs in November
Federal Report Finds Economic Activity Fell in Most Every Industry
By Neil Irwin and Howard SchneiderWashington Post Staff Writers Wednesday, December 3, 2008; 2:47 PM

Business conditions weakened across the United States and in almost every industry in recent weeks, according to a Federal Reserve report released today. And a pair of other reports indicated that private employers shed jobs at an accelerating rate and the nation's service sector contracted sharply in November.
Together, the reports are strong evidence that the recession is deepening as winter approaches. Stocks were up moderately in early afternoon trading, with the Dow Jones industrial average up less than one percent, or 39 points.
The Fed's "beige book," a compilation of anecdotal reports from businesses across the nation published roughly every six weeks, found that "overall economic activity weakened across all Federal Reserve districts since the last report."
The report amounted to a catalogue of misery across almost all sectors of the economy. Consumer spending weakened almost across the board, especially for vehicles. Tourism activity was "relatively slow." Manufacturing "declined noticeably" since the Fed's last report. Services business "generally contracted in most districts."
Part of the problem was that lenders have continued to restrict credit. "Credit standards rose across the nation," the beige book said, "with several districts noting increases in loan delinquencies and defaults, especially in the real estate sector."
One bright spot is that price pressures have been dropping, especially for energy, food, and raw materials. The same is true of retail prices. "A number of district reports mentioned that retailers were widely discounting prices in anticipation of a slow holiday sales season," the document said.
In its monthly employment report, payroll processors estimated that private businesses shed 250,000 jobs in November on a seasonally adjusted basis. It was the biggest drop in seven years and "offers evidence that the labor market continues to weaken," ADP said in its monthly payroll survey.
Based on data from nearly 400,000 companies, the report showed employment declines across the board as large, medium and small companies all shed jobs, and employment contracted in all sectors of the economy.
The ADP report sets the stage for the government's next monthly jobs report, due out Friday. Analysts expect that report to show another spike in unemployment and job losses that may approach 300,000.
The numbers from the ADP report are "terrible," wrote Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist with the High Frequency Economics consulting firm, in an analysis of the employment numbers.
With payrolls deteriorating in both the manufacturing and service sectors "there is nowhere to hide," he said.
A separate study by the Institute of Supply Management showed that economic activity in the service sector fell to the lowest level since its index for the sector was first reported more than a decade ago. The ISM surveys businesses for information on hiring, new orders and other data that are formed into an overall index. A reading greater than 50 indicates a sector is expanding. The reading for November was 37.3, compared to 44.4 in October.
Even usually positive news -- a rise in worker productivity -- took on a dark hue. The value of hourly worker output increased by 1.3 percent from July through September, a larger increase than originally estimated, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But that upward revision came only because employers cut back workers hours, leaving fewer employees to produce goods and services.

1) Total number of words: 940
2) Total number of sentences: 37
3) Longest sentence in number of words: 57
4) Shortest sentence in number of words: 11
5) Average Sentence Length: 18.3
6) Number of sentences with more than 10 words over the average: 15
7) Percentage of sentences with more than 10 words over the average: 75.3%
8) Sentences with more than five words under the average: 22
9) Percentage of sentences with more than 5 words under the average: 25%
10) Paragraph Length
Longest paragraph in number of words: 506
Shortest paragraph in number of words: 434
Average paragraph in number of words: 202.3
I am a person who truly appreciates a beautiful and creative piece of literature muchlike a poem. The Author To her Book, is by far one of the most well thought out,compelling, and analytical poems I have read by far. Understanding the poem requiresdeep thought and understanding which really appealed to my logic. The Author to HerBook is a poem that tells about a young woman’s relationship with her father, mother,and the streets of which she will soon be forced to live. Throughout the entire poem she isexplaining to readers how she feels it is her fault that her father left, leaving her motherfor poor. “Thou ill-formed offspring of my feeble brain, who after birth my side remain”.(Lines 1 and 2). Here she is saying that as an infant her brain was feeble, basically sayingshe did not have much knowledge and was not capable of doing anything stupid oroffensive to her family, this is why her father remained at her side. In lines 8 and 9 sherefers to herself as a brat, which she explains as being the reason her father would notreturn home, even for her mother’s call. She didn’t feel her father was fit for light, so shechose to view him in the dark therefore masquerading the scars which she metaphoricallyused his face to display them. “I washed thy face, but more defects I saw, and rubbing offa spot still made a flaw.” The young girl is stating that her father has so many flaws andproblems, that by removing one in turn you are surfacing another; if she could mend hisscars she would, but she knows that deep inside the scar must be internal. “I stretched thyjoints to make thee even feet, yet still thou run’st more hobbling than is meet.”Apparently she is stating that she has been bending over backwards to keep her fatherfrom running away from her again, by stretching his joints she is saying that she is tryingto better the problems that exist, it’s kind of like putting someone’s head on strait, youdon’t actually physically do it. “In critic’s hands beware thou dost not come, and take thyway where thou art known; if for thy father asked; say thou art known; and for mymother, she alas is poor, which caused her thus to send me out the door.” This is one ofthe most powerful lines within the poem. This is the ending where she is no longerreflecting on her past. She is stating that her father is ashamed to be critiqued by his peersand neighbors, and flees to a place where he will not be known leaving behind his wifeand daughter. Her mother is poor, and has no job, and cannot afford to maintain herdaughter. Deciding that her daughter is old enough to fend for herself, she forces herchild, life, soul, and offspring into the cold night.This poem is short, however is very powerful, and well written. One very well usedliterary device used throughout the entire poem, is foreshadowing. Reading the poem theevents that are occurring are not happening as the reader in reading along, she isforeshadowing on past events so that the readers will understand her better at the endingwhen she reveals what actually ends up happening in her life. Thus the title The Author toHer Book. She is narrating her own life; she is the author to her own life. Everyone has alife, just like everyone’s life is different; this is much like a book. Everyday we write anew page in our lives, and hope that one day we’ve written it well enough that the mostimportant reader who receives the final copy finds that we have written it well. I guessmetaphorically speaking God is our Editor in Chief and gets the final word. The dictionused in this poem was excellent, and gave the reader a clue of what time period the eventstook place. I would say sometime during the Middle Ages, when everyone spoke brokenEnglish. I came to this conclusion by the word choices such as thy and may’st, and thefact that she referred to her clothes as rags. According to the caste system the lowestpeople wore “rags”, while purple and the finest colors and fabrics were reserved forroyalty. The tone of the piece is sympathetic, which correlates to the appeal to ouremotions. You can’t help but feel bad for the young woman whose father has left her life,and who feels it is all her fault, and whose mother made her leave their home. I know thatshe is a young woman, because her mother decided it would be ok to leave at her age.Surely she wouldn’t put a three year old out, and surely a three year old wouldn’t be ableto speak with great emotion and understanding, also she had already reflected on theyounger years of her life. This makes the author very credible although this poem is apiece of fiction, but based off of true emotions, it is more believable to have a youngwoman narrate her story, then have a three year old narrate her life, when three year oldhas not received much education to even know what’s a narrator. Overall I felt that thiswas a great piece of literature, and I recommend it for anyone looking for somethingstimulating, and beautifully written to read

*BLOG ON Y BRIANA BLOGS ABOUT MY BLOGGING ON OTHERS BLOGGING*

CAUSE IM MINDING MY OWN BUSINESS MS. LADY THTS Y! =)

Literary Response Chpt 3

African Americans endured the hardships of feeling like the worthless minority. W.E.B. Dubois strived for equality, and in order to develop black consciousness. Imagine that you were the outcast of your school. Everyone treated you highly unfairly and would abuse you verbally, and mentally. One day the principle makes an announcement that no one is allowed to disturb you anymore. Yes the abuse may stop, however you have entered a new place where discrimination exists. Discrimination is not abuse, but it can be very hurtful. To stand up and be the outcast voice of the “normal” majority takes a special strength and courage that most people to not obtain. In chapter three Dubois talks more about the effects after the abolition of slavery. He begins to commemorate the courage and strength, of Booker T Washington. In a time when the development of a new independent Negro race was forming, Washington was there to be the advocate, and leader. Firstly, Mr. Washington felt the need to have the Southern states in their favor. There is power in numbers. The Caucasian race made up a nice percentage of the population, and this is what they used to their advantage in superiority. It is easier to break someone down when they are alone and weak, than it is to try to break down a man who had the support of all his fellow brothers (Americans). “In all things purely social we can be as separate as the five fingers, and yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress”. Here he is using a hand as a metaphor for our nation. Our nation is basically a hand, and it is not fully functional until all the limbs are working together. He is saying regardless of personal opinion, our nation will be a hand and it would be best to work together, thus making the journey more bearable. In order to progress as a nation we must work as one. Washington is famously noted for being a great orator for the Negro race, with his use of vivid imagery, stories, and analytical tendencies which encourage you to think for a deeper meaning. “Today he stands as the one recognized spokesman of his ten million fellows, and one of the most notable figures in a nation of seventy millions.” (Dubois 81)

Without our notable leaders, our Black nation as we know it would not be in existence. If not for Mr. Washington, Mr. Turner, Gabriel, and Vesey; we would not have the same sense of pride that they had instilled within us. “The influence of all of these attitudes at various times can be traced in the history of the American Negro, an in the evolution of his successive leaders”. (Dubois 84) The overall thought of this chapter, is that every nation needs a leader. For change to arise it is up to someone to have the strength to stand alone, because in the beginning it is more than likely that you will be standing alone. All of the leaders appealed to their audience’s emotions, by basking in their pain with them. You never heard a Negro leader say, “I watched you all in the field today. It looked like you were all in discomfort.” You did however hear leaders say “I’ve tilled the same plows as you. I’ve seen my family sold off to family. I know how it feels to have the White man looks down upon you like the dirt you are which he feels he can trek over”. This is what makes a good leader, when you can take a situation, where you explain your experiences living through it, and finally offering solutions of survival. Each leader had some sort of plan or some sort of intention to lead the group to point “B”. Never have you heard of a leader leading just to lead without some sort of goal in mind. Mr. Washington had a plan throughout his entire career: Firstly, he wanted to make Negro artisans business men, meaning he wanted African Americans to have a greater sense of accomplishment in knowing that they are more than just the manual labor they can perform with their hands. Secondly, he wanted Negroes to have self respect. Before you can expect anyone to respect you, you must first respect yourself. Finally, He wanted schools for the youth, and colleges for the older of age. Education is something our nation strives on, and every American deserves that right.

Thanks to our brave African American leaders we can continue to live the life in which they envisioned for us. Without the planning of these strong leaders the ending result could have been unimaginable. “We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” (Dubois 95)