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)