More notes for rubuttle paper

Cicero said "not to know what happened before you were born is to remain forever a child."

(Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BCE) was a Roman writer, speaker, philosopher and politician)

If we don't teach our children the dark chapters of American history, they will only know of a past colored by revisionist thinking. We mature through experience but also - and critically - memory. It is tempting to want to erase the history of slavery from America's past and the "n" word from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but doing so will not help us move forward by learning the past. 
http://media.www.smithsophian.com/media/storage/paper587/news/2011/02/17/Opinions/Censorship.Of.A.Classic.Promotes.Revisionist.History-3977993.shtml

Twain responded: "I am greatly troubled by what you say. I wrote 'Tom Sawyer' & 'Huck Finn' for adults exclusively, & it always distressed me when I find that boys and girls have been allowed access to them. The mind that becomes soiled in youth can never again be washed clean. I know this by my own experience, & to this day I cherish an unappeased bitterness against the unfaithful guardians of my young life, who not only permitted but compelled me to read an unexpurgated Bible through before I was 15 years old. None can do that and ever draw a clean sweet breath again on this side of the grave."
http://able2know.org/topic/163570-1

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/twain-publishes-the-adventures-of-huckleberry-finn (history of it)

Huckleberry Finn -- T. S. Eliot says:

"It is Huck who gives the book style. The River gives the book its form. But for the River, the book might be only a sequence of adventures with a happy ending. A river, a very big and powerful river, is the only natural force that can wholly determine the course of human peregrination.... Thus the River makes the book a great book... Mark Twain is a native, and the River God is his God."

Huckleberry Finn -- F. Scott Fitzgerald (1935) says:

"Huckleberry Finn took the first journey back. He was the first to look back at the republic from the perspective of the west. His eyes were the first eyes that ever looked at us objectively that were not eyes from overseas. There were mountains at the frontier but he wanted more than mountains to look at with his restive eyes--he wanted to find out about men and how they lived together. And because he turned back we have him forever."

Huckleberry Finn -- Ernest Hemingway says:

"The good writers are Henry James, Stephen Crane, and Mark Twain. That's not the order they're good in. There is no order for good writers.... All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called 'Huckleberry Finn.' If you read it you must stop where the Nigger Jim is stolen from the boys. That is the real end. The rest is just cheating. But it's the best book we've had. All American writing comes from that. There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since." -- from Ernest Hemingway, "The Green Hills of Africa" (1934) http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/45645-upcoming-newsouth-huck-finn-eliminates-the-n-word.html AUTHOR:Esther Lombardi

URL: http://able2know.org/topic/163570-1

Documentation Quiz

1) MLA format
2) Works Cited page
3) Author, title of web page, name of site, date of posting and revision, name of institution/organization, affiliated with the site, date of access the site

Prewriting Essay 2

Claim: Censorship of Mark Twain's American classic, The Adventures Of Huckleberry Fin, is not the answer. 
-This is a novel that young children should not read due to its content, but as one gets older he/she will be able to read it in a more sophisticated light and analyze it in a proper way.
-Literature is a work of art, and shouldn't change that which is beautiful.
-Wouldn't change Leonardo Divinci's paintings, why would Mark Twain's masterpiece be any different. 
-Young children should not be reading this until they have an understanding, appreciation, and respect for the novel's content. 
-The language presents the reality of that time period, should not hide that which is true.  It is like lying about what really happened during the holocaust.  By not presenting the reality of the language used back in that era with people of color, it is like saying that the Nazis during the WWII were not that cruel to the Jewish people. 
-Huck Fin is an advanced text, how many children are reading Mark Twain?
-Author states, "But Twain books are too important as literary works, to be shelved, which is what's happening." The author is not addressing the full audience, which includes adults. 
-"The problem with keeping the text of Huck Fin and Tom Sawyer intact in schools, instead of banning the book-because that creates an outrage of its own-are simply not assigning it to students anymore.  And that's a shame." Dont agree with this, because I think it is a good thing to not assign this book to younger children because they would not be able to appreciate this great work.  If we have children read it when they are younger with or without the N-word, it would be a waste of time.  The best part in this book is that Twain is able to take the reader on a journey back in time and see the reality of the world.  It  is through this experience that the novel has survived to be considered an American classic, and if you take that away then it would just be another book lost in history.  And that would be a shame.

Reflection 1.2

I am happy with the changes I made to the paper and the parts I added.  I think by adding logos as another paragraph made the paper stronger.  I included internal citations and quoted, which strengthened the analysis.  This paper has helped me to not only read information given to me, but rather analyze the information in front of me.  I hope for the next paper I am able to be creative in my thinking and provide new fresh ideas that are well-worded.  I want to have each new idea flow smoothly into the next.

Rhetorical Analysis

Rebecca Moran

Professor Henderson

Academic Writing

2011 February 8

A Dream and a Vision for the Passage of the DREAM Act: A Rhetorical Analysis of “Act Would Give Education to Undocumented Youths"

Jessica Perez is a young gifted writer who attends Cornell University and writes news articles for The Ithacan.  The Ithacan is a student-run newspaper of Ithaca College. The newspaper is produced weekly and is considered one of the premier newspapers in the country.  Recently, Jessica Perez wrote an article about the DREAM Act, which is an act that requires undocumented youths to uphold good moral character and either serve in the military or attend college in order to qualify for citizenship.  She states her claim clearly and concisely and presents her reasons and evidence in a proper manner that is able to influence her target audience, which is the typical college student.  Through the creative use of pathos, ethos, and logos, which are rhetorical appeals of emotion, credibility, and logic, Perez is able to create an article that is informative and provides strong arguments for the passage of the DREAM Act. 

            The text’s appeals to pathos, or emotion, are the strongest and most persuasive in this article.  There is something captivating about Perez’s article in the way she is able to sway the reader’s opinion about the subject matter.  She succeeds in delving deep into the reader’s emotions, enabling the reader to sympathize with those that the act would affect if passed.  She writes about the thousands of undocumented college graduates who cannot legally work in their studied fields after graduation, but if the act was passed the graduates would be able to work and contribute greatness to America (par.2).  The audience for the article would most likely sympathize with the undocumented college graduates that the DREAM Act would affect.  The audience is well aware of how long and difficult the college years are.  They realize that it would be a shame to work so hard to graduate and not be able to put all your knowledge into practice to better the world.  Perez works most ardently to arouse the reader with powerful influential words when she states, “This week there is hope that politicians will remember the stories of the talented and bright youth who want to contribute to this country.  There is hope that this country will embrace and welcome a new generation of American leadership” (par. 5).  Perez shows the light at the end of the tunnel if the DREAM Act is passed with her effective approach to optimism; she is most confident that the DREAM Act will secure a better future for all Americans.  She states that there is a promise of hope for America if it would embrace this new generation who would work to elevate the United States’ current economic status.  Her words of passion towards this subject matter evoke passion in the reader and succeed in her goal of gaining awareness and support for the passage of the act.

            The text’s appeal to emotion makes Perez’s article strong, but the credibility of this article makes it even stronger.  It appeals to one of the most important aspects of an article, its ethos, which is its credibility.  The background of the author helps the reader trust that he or she is taking in credible information from a reliable source.  The fact that Perez is a student of government and psychology at Cornell University makes her claim about the DREAM Act even more reliable.  If the reader does not know that much about the subject matter, then the reader gets the sense that the author is more well-informed about it.  When most people hear the words, “Cornell University,” thoughts such as smart, intelligent, well-learned individuals come to mind.  The ethos in the article gives it more authority and helps Perez support the claim that if the DREAM Act is passed then America will benefit from it in numerous ways.

            Perez’s occasion for writing is an informative and influential article with the sole purpose to gain support for the passage of the DREAM Act.  Perez has lured her audience by evoking emotion and has gained trust in her reader due to her credibility, but Perez is able to bring the article to the next level through the use of logos, which the rhetorical appeal of logic.  She provides valid reasons for her support of the act and produces strong evidence to support her claim.  Perez writes, that according to CBO, “enacting the bill would reduce deficits by about $1.4 billion over 2011-2020 period” (par.3).   She also includes evidence from the UCLA North American Integration and Development Center who, “estimates that the total earnings from the beneficiaries of the DREAM Act would be anything between $1.4 trillion and $3.6 trillion” (par.3).  By providing these facts and figures, the reader recognizes that it almost seems like it is common sense or most logical to pass the DREAM Act.  Perez not only gives reasons and evidence, but also acknowledges that there are those who do not agree with her and would not want the act passed.  Perez could have done a better job at establishing common ground with her opponents, but she does prepare for opposition when she states, “If they are ready to say no to the DREAM Act, then they should have a plan for the thousands of immigrant youths” (par.2).  She believes that if this act is not passed then her adversaries are obligated to provide a respectable alternative.  By providing solid evidence that supports her claim and using the technique of acknowledgement and response, Perez has created an article that is not only influential, but has the potential to make people rally into action to help pass this act.

            Jessica Perez’s occasion for writing, “Act Would Give Education to Undocumented Youths”, was to present an informative and influential article to her target audience, which were her fellow college students.  Her ultimate purpose for writing the article was to achieve support for the passage of the DREAM Act that would give undocumented youths the right to citizenship if they achieved a certain criterion.  Through the careful use of the three rhetorical appeals of pathos, ethos, and logos, she was able to present her purpose, claim, and solid evidence for the subject matter.  Perez lured her audience in by speaking with such passion and diction.  She evoked emotion in her readers, was able to gain the trust she needed in her audience, and presented good solid evidence that was strong enough to make a lasting impact them.

Works Cited

Perez, Jessica. "Act Would Give Education to Undocumented Youths."  The Ithacan.  8 Dec. 2010  http://theithacan.org1605. 7 Feb. 2011

College Free Write

I thought that Rick Perlstein's essay was a little difficult to understand some of the points he was trying to make.  He believes that college is not as good as it use to be.  It was difficult to relate to any of his points because I currently am a college student and love it and find that the college experience is amazing.  I liked Weinger's essay more because he made very good points and counterarguments.  I agree that college is different than what it use to be, but not in a negative way.  I agree with Weingner's statement when he states, "It is simply the signs of a new reality he does not understand and therefore rejects."

Reflection 1.1

I think my first draft went pretty well.  I was able to get the main points incorporated into my paper, but I know I need to add more of the author's evidence and reasons for her strong opinion.  I need to add internal citations, direct quotes, and more about logos.  I believe this will strengthen my essay tremendously.  I was comfortable writing this essay, and I believe the meeting with Professor Henderson helped a great deal and her critiques will make my paper stronger.