The Deer at Providencia

Annie Dillard's informative essay, The Deer at Providencia (1982); explores the idea that there is always suffering in the world. Dillard uses a personal experience to convey this idea, she tells a story. Dillard's purpose is to inform the readers in order to show how the world works and that inevitably involves suffering. She appeals to anyone who can understand how the world works and who can comprehend what suffering is.
I did not necessarily like this reading. Although I understand there is suffering in the world, I don't believe that you have to partake in watching it. This woman is watching this poor little deer suffer for no apparent reason. She is acting unlike most woman who can't stand the thought of an animal suffering. I understand that the deer has to die in order for the humans to eat, but that doesn't mean we have to watch it happen. I think there are better ways this situation could of been handled. Although the deer will taste better this way, it is still cruel and unusual punishment to put any living thing through this torment.
Dillard explains, "Its hip jerked; its spine shook. Its eyes rolled; its tongue, thick with spittle, pushed in and out." Dillard analytically describes what the woman is witnessing. She uses tone words such as "spittle" to create a lasting effect on the reader. These sensory words create and image that the reader can understand. The harshness of this sentence shows no remorse in the description. Dillard giving the woman's account, describes no pathos qualities. This in turn creates a cold heartedness within the main character.

Why I Want a Wife

Judy Brady's, "Why I Want a Wife", (1972) tells us about the author's sarcastic desire for a wife. The author herself is a wife and one of her male friend's divorce left her wondering what it would be like to have a wife of her own who would fulfill all the tasks of the average wife. It would innclude tasks such as taking care of the children and herself, doing household chores, and fulfill the author's sexual desires only when she's in the mood, etc. Brady wrote this passage to describe the roles that wives take on in their daily lives and would love to reverse these role with herself playing the husband role. Having a wife is seen as a wonderful role, as she mentions, "My God, who wouldn't want a wife?" This passage is very realistic towards today's society. Brady make a good point as to what most husband's expect out of there wives nowadays.

The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society

In Jonathan Kozol’s informative essay “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society”(1985), he asserts that illiterate members of society are neglected by the government which causes not only problems for the individual but problems as a country. Kozol uses experiences from those who are illiterate and shows how they are damaging themselves and society. Kozol's purpose is to highlight these problems to society and to the government in order for something to be done to fix it. Kozol appeals to essentially everyone, ones who are illiterate, ones who have met and illiterate person and people who have the power to doing something about it.

Johnathan Kozol brings many examples to question. It is appalling how true these accusations are in real life. I imagine myself as an illiterate person, not being able to do simple tasks by myself such as knowing where I am or what food I am buying. Hearing the personal accounts of some of these illiterate people makes my really question how they even got this way. How can the United States school system allow these people to fall through the cracks? How does the greatest country in the world allow people to be cheated and left hopelessly to figure life out when they don't even know how to survive. Although these people shouldn't of gave up in school, I believe the government has some responsibility to these citizens to make sure they can at least have a basic vocabulary to function in everyday life. I think the biggest thing that Kozol brings up is that " The number of illiterate adults exceeds by 16 million the entire vote cast for the winner of the 1980 presidential contest." This just shows that illiterate people are casting a vote based not off of knowledge but from appearances. This is a very scary thought that the people that run this country were voted for by illiterate people based on how they look and not how qualified they are. Since this is one of the biggest issues I think it is in the governments best interest to do something about this problem.

Black Men Walking in Public Places and Spaces

Brent Staples, non-fiction, Black Men In A Public Space, (1986); suggest that simply being black in America, causes people to look at you as if you are a criminal if you aren’t one already. He does this by sharing with his audience his personal experience of how he was treated by others but doing even the most bland things like walking through the park, while using and emotional appeal. Staples does this in order to make a connection with the audience and allow them to step in his shoes and understand where his is coming from. Brent Staples intended audience would be individuals outside of the description of the “Black Male” category. His style is quite relaxed and not very formal. He is very detailed and arranges his story in a way that wont confuse the reader.

Thirty-Eight Who Saw Murder Didn't Call the Police

Martin Gansberg's narrative, "Thirty-Eight Who Saw Murder Didn't Call the Police," explains the murder of  Catherine Genovese, a twenty-eight year old woman that lived in Queens, New York. This murder happens in 1964, early morning hours, after midnight. Gransberg wrote this narrative to show how people in the community were not considerate enough to help Ms. Genovese at the time of her murder. He wrote this in order to show how people do not want to cooperate or be involved with law enforcement. The narrative shows this when the detective went around asking citizens why didn't they call the police when they saw the murder happening. The audience would be investigators or people that read the newspaper. In this situation we would have called the police before the murder.

Why Leaves Turn Color in the Fall

Diane Ackerman"s, "Why Leaves Turn Color in the Fall," (1990) explains why leaves during the fall season change colors. The author writes that the leaves stop producing the pigment chlorophyll and photosynthesis cease because the leaves are undernourished. Ackerman also writes about how humans love the changing color of leaves during the season and how different pigments change the colors of the leaves. The author mention the pigments anthocyanin which turn leaves red and carotenoids which turn leaves orange and yellow. Ackerman made an analogy that humans hope that our death would be like the death of a leaf, not to vanish but to sublime from one beautiful state to another. We feel that the changing colors are beautiful and that this article is very educational.

Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain

Jessica Mitford in behind the Formaldehyde Curtian, spoke on the subject of embalming as well as any other process that prepares the deceased for the funeral service. Her intended audience was anyone intereted or curious about the process of embalming and/or preparation of the body before it is put into it's casket. The purpose of this story was to explain what is not commonly talked about or questioned. She discribes the setting as well as who is involved in embalming and what to do to acheieve the desired life like look as well as what is best to do for each individual as everyone is not the same. As an example she used the charater Mr. Jones. Mr. Jones is injected with many different types of chemicals to assist with any ordor is discoloration. His cheeks and gums were sewed in ways that affected his expression so he would have a satified relaxed look. It was also explained how high or low the body should be in the casket to avoid the giving the illusion that the body is lying in a box. Though this is not a topic I would have chosen to read on my own, I found that it was quite intresting and informative, thus making it a strangely enjoyable read. 

That's How I Roll

Ginny Donaldson's, "That's How I Roll," 12/3/2009, explains how slang words and phrases are here one day and gone the next and how some slang words or phrases "stick" or stay for a period of time. The author takes the slang phrase "That's how I roll" and tries to find the meaning and origin. The writer finds the meaning of the slang phrase on google.com but never end up finding the origin. Donaldson came up with the theory that though different slang phrases and terms may "stick" or "not stick" they are all as important as the rest and that the "stickiness" depends on how much we use the slang phrase or term.

How to Mark a Book

Mortimer Adler, nonfiction, "How to Mark a Book" (1940); asserts that writing in a book is the only way to understand it and to truly own it. Adler explains in understanding and owning a book you need to make it a part of yourself, you need to write in it. Adler's purpose is to show how important writing in a book is in order to truly show our possession of a piece of literature. Adler reaches out to those who have had relationships with books, whether it's owning, reading, or borrowing them.
I agree with Adler's assertion. Last year in my english class I was given an assignment to read and write my thoughts in a book. The teacher told us to mark it up as best as we could, write every thought that came to mind. After I was done not only was I proud but also I will never forget how much more I understood from writing in the book. I had sticky notes after every chapter, different color highlighters to represent writing techniques, and pen marks everywhere. Adler gives different examples of why we should write in our books. He says that writing keeps us active, awake, and most importantly helps us to comprehend what we are reading. Adler says "writing helps you remember the thoughts you had, or the thoughts the author expressed."
Adler expresses his opinions by showing the reader different types of people, and how their actions represent their true understanding of books. He explains his points and furthers the readers understanding by supporting his claims. Before you read the story the books tells you to think about your reading habits and how you comprehend what you read. Throughout the essay Adler explains things in different ways so the audience, no matter what their reading habits are can understand his claim. He uses devices such a similes and he also creates a picture for the reader. This picture can relate to everyone and is an effective persuasive technique. Adler concludes that writing in a book can help show the reader that "the soul of a book can be separated from its body."

Spanglish

Janice Castro, Dan Cook, and Christina Garcia's, Spanglish (07/11/1988), is an article that explains how spanglish is now part of the American culture. Spanglish is the spanish language mixed with a little of the english language. The writers shows how the mixture of the  languages come into the home of spanish speaking families and how spanish has become so important in the United States. They wrote that more high school and college students are choosing spanish as an elective and that spanish children bring spanglish into their homes. They also explain how businesses in America try to use spanglish and misinterpret it. We believe that learning spanish is very important for breaking barriers in communities, businesses, and the world.

A Lasting Impression

Debra Anderton’s “A Lasting Impression” is a short story of a mother, Dorothy, and her love for her family and the hardships she had had to go through and then her expected tragedy. The story is told through the words of one of the daughters, Debra. She informs us on Dorothy’s background, stating that she grew up in poverty with 9 other younger siblings, and even went as far as ending her education just to support her family. Dorothy even struggled with her own kids as a widow. She soon remarried though, but to an abusive man. All the stress in her life finally led Dorothy to an alcoholic lifestyle. For years she battled with this disease until Debra finally pronounced to her mother that she needed help. Instead of seeking professional though, Dorothy decided to try and quit on her own. Soon enough, she died. Debra explains that no matter what, her mother has impacted her in the most positive ways, even with her own children now. The overall theme is that we witness someone we love go through the many hardships in life so that we can learn from those hardships to better our own lives.

This Battle Will Not Be Lost

Sandi Millwood, This Battle Will Not Be Lost (9-12-08), narrative, explains that love, determination, and will can defeat anything. Millwood writes of a mother that tells her personal experience with her daughter. The mother explains how one day she woke up to find her daughter not breathing. She is rushed to the hospital while the mother waits anxiously for the doctors to tell her something. Millwood describes, "my hands were sweaty and uncontrollable tears streamed down my face." The doctors tell the mother that her daughter has a tumor the size of a grapefruit and it is cancer, they rush her into surgery and thankfully she lives. The mother personally describes the struggles of her daughter having to do chemotherapy and losing her hair. This mother daughter relationship shows in the end if you fight you can do anything. With the love and strength of their relationship the finally defeat cancer, and the daughter is a survivor. Millwood conveys strength and determination through this story and captures the readers with an emotional theme, this makes the readers thirsty for more.

A Man In The Woods

Andrew White, Man in the Woods (3.5.2010), narrative, explains that by sharing, respecting, and being friendly to  all who enter Bankhead's woods, those men break loose from any false impression they may give at first glance by their humble actions. He does this by telling a story of how he and his sister would take food and water to the men that lived in small shacks in the woods of Bankhead. They describe the setting as cold, dirty and barely livable, contrary to the men who live in that environment who are friendly, appreciative and don’t complain about any situation. Andrew White does this in order to inform the reader that you cannot judge a person’s character based on their living conditions, and know that everyone deserves respect. I believe White’s intended audience was anyone who inaccurately passed judgement on another individual. 

“His smile and generosity survives even in the coldest winter. His heart stays warm when his body shivers...” -p.39

Reading this story touched me because I knew that there are really people out their who despite their condition, manage to smile and not turn a bitter back to the rest of the world but instead smile just because they got the please to be apart of it.

Garbage Man

"The Garbage Man, " by Sharon Curtain is a short story that has a recurring theme of mystery. The main character in the story is a boy who is intrigued by the local "garbage man," a man that slums around town in dirty clothes  while covering his face. The boy is captivated in the mystery of what the man looks like and what is his purpose. He brainstorms on the possibilities of where this man came from, "I suspected him of being a millionaire, with thousands of dollars hidden in that old firetrap of a house." Curtain reveals the curiosity of a child and how judgmental some people can be. At the end of the story the boy finally sees the man's face and realizes he is just like everyone else. There is no mystery, it is just an old man's face. This theme shows the reader not to judge and to be open to the way some people live, we are all equal no matter how your face looks or what you wear.

The Chase

"The Chase" by Annie Dillard is an essay in which Dillard describes her personal childhood recollections, and how the decisions she made shaped the person she became. Dillard describes how she felt being the only girl in an all boy group. She explains that in the winter there were no sports going on, therefore to entertain themselves they would throw snowballs at passing cars. Dillard throws a snowball at a car and for the first time the car had stopped, the door opened, and a man got out and started chasing her. In the beginning of the story Dillard shares with the reader how it feels to be the only girl in the group, "Your fate , and your team's score, depended on your concentration and courage. Nothing girls did could compare with it."This statement shows the true feelings of Annie Dillard she distinguishes herself from the girls. My personal experience is the same, I grew up with boys and was by no means a girly girl. Dillard creates a connection with the readers who have similar experiences and opens herself up showing a deeper side of her childhood, which creates an honest bond which makes the reader interested in what she says. Also, the climax of the man chasing her adds to the suspense and interest that the reader is hooked on.

What is Literacy?

Literacy is the ability to understand, write, and logically determine what one is read. In today's society we are taught at a young age in school how to comprehend the basic elements of literacy such as comprehending what one is told, and understanding the thinking process. In third world countries the adult literacy rate goes from 0-49% . Literacy opens doors to education empowering minds in ways which allow people to understand the power in which this society today has given us. An example of this would be our natural born rights as citizens of the United States. We as United States citizens are fortunate enough to be taught at a young age to understand the aspects of our world.