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.