Summary:

In the article “The Ku Klux Klan in the 1930s” by Annalou Mack, he talks about the significance the Ku Klux Klan had on African Americans in the south.  The Ku Klux Klan was able to control politics and even some police stations.  The Ku Klux Klan had such an impact on local communities in the south that African Americans had no chance.  They were physically and mentally abused by the Klan which was definitely not fair.

Response:

I decided to expand on my Maya Angelou essay, so this article will help me out tremendously.  It shows people all of the adversity that African Americans were facing in the south.  Not only were they being affected by almost every white man and woman in the south, there were specific groups against African Americans.  As Mack stated, a young boy was “whipped with branches until his back was ribboned flesh” (Mack).  This is a perfect example of the physical effect racism had in the south.  The Ku Klux Klan was a specific group in the south that was against African Americans.  My essay will be an expansion on the physical and emotional effects racism causes and this article will no doubt make my argument stronger.

 

Summary:

In Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, a story written by a Vietnam veteran a chapter stood out to me.  In the chapter “How to Tell a True War Story”, O’Brien talks about the differences between story truth and happening truth.  The example that O’Brien uses is a man jumping on top of a grenade to save the life of his fellow soldiers.  In the story truth, a man sees a grenade and decides to jump on top of the grenade.  He took the blow and lost his life in order to save his friend’s lives.  In the happening truth, the man did the same thing and jumped on top of the grenade.  He had a very unselfish attitude, but the men he tried to save still died.

Response:

The reason this chapter stood out to me is because of the bravery used by the soldier.  In both stories I respect his bravery.  In the story truth, his unselfish act saved the lives of his whole platoon.  He could have easily just wished that someone else jumped on the grenade and he could have saved his own life, but he stepped up to the plate and died for his fellow soldiers.  In the happening truth, the soldier jumped on the grenade, but it did not go as planned.  Everyone still died, but the way the soldier tried his best to save everyone makes me respect him and his decisions.

Sample proposal:

I plan on expanding essay three about Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Birds Sing.  I focused my essay on shedding light on the effects racism has both physically and emotionally.  I only had one point of view and it was a females.  For my revised essay, I want to use a male’s story to compare and contrast the physical and emotional effects racism causes for men and women.  I think it will be important to get more views on the situation.  The view will be quite similar to Marguerite’s, but I believe that choosing a male’s view as well it will be an even more unpleasant situation.  I will keep my focus around the same time period as Marguerite’s that way the comparison will be accurate.

Key terms:

1)      Racism in the 1930’s

2)      Racism towards certain genders in the south

3)      Physical and emotional effects caused by racism

4)      Physical and emotional effects racism causes male African Americans in the south

5)      Physical and emotional effects racism causes female African Americans in the south

Summary:
I recently started reading The Things They Carried written by Tim O’Brien, a Vietnam veteran.  The chapter that stood out the most to me the most so far was “Friends”.  In this chapter, O’Brien talks about two men who in the previous chapter hated each other, but become friends.  The two men gained each other’s trust, even though at one point they wanted nothing to do with one another.  The two men trusted each other so much that they made “a pact that if one of them should ever get totally fucked up” (62), they would figure out a way to end their life no matter what.  One of the men, Lee Strunk, stepped on a rigged mortar which destroyed and took his right leg completely off from the knee down.  The man begged for no one to kill him multiple times.  The man even made everyone promise that they would not kill him.  Jensen, the man who made the pact with Strunk, was relieved when he later found out that Strunk died on the helicopter ride to a doctor. 

 Response:

The reason why this chapter stood out to me the most was because it proved to me that when people are in a time of need they can forget about the past.  When someone truly needs help there will be someone, either friends or enemies, that will be there to help.  War is the perfect example of when someone will need help.  There is death everywhere soldiers look and they need to know that they can count on the person to their left and right.  Soldiers forget about their differences and come together as one unit.  The reason why this stood out to me the most is because I realized that war is not the only place where people are willing to forget their differences.  I looked back on multiple times in my life when I was in need and remembered kids helping me out just because I was down.

Summary:

In Chapter Nine of Gerald Gaff and Cathy Birkenstein’s They Say I Say, the idea of when to mix your writing styles is introduced.  Gaff and Birkenstein dedicate this chapter to help writers know when to be formal with their writing and when to use their own type of language.  The chapter helps writers create a successful blend of academic and professional language with their own popular expressions and sayings.  Another main idea in the chapter is when to mix your styles.  It is recommended that when the writer is applying for a job or submitting a grant proposal that they should use a professional type of writing or it may jeopardize your chances.  The writer must first know who the audience is going to be before they can have a success in writing.

Response:

I believe that this chapter is going to help lead me to a successful career of writing.  I was always one of those kids who believed that you needed to always write in a professional manner.  I now know that I need to discover who my audience is first before deciding on what type of style my paper will consist of.  All of my previous teachers taught me to write professional no matter what.  I guess I knew how to write in their classes for a good grade, but there is going to be so many other times where mixing the two styles will be very helpful when it comes to my success.  I am very happy that I took the time to focus on this chapter because I have learned extra ways to be successful when it comes to writing.

Summary:

In the article “Enough about You” Brian Williams analyzes the selfishness of the modern era and the dangers it is causing.  Williams goes on to explain how every modern American has to feel special.  Nowadays “everyone gets celebrated” (473) to put an end to cruelties.  Another point Williams made was that people can now have only what they want.  They can listen to any music they want to, they can find television stations that agree with everything they say, and they can find sites on the internet that only show them the things that they want to see.  Williams goes on to warn Americans of the dangers of the new democratic media.  He believes that we will be too busy worrying about ourselves which will cause us to “miss the next great book or the next great idea, or that we fail to meet the next great challenge” (474),  Americans are so worried about themselves that they are going to forget about everything else that makes life truly enjoyable.

Response:

After reading this article, I decided to take a look in the mirror.  I am not a completely selfish person, but Williams’s article made me reconsider my view.  I think it is hilarious that nowadays every little thing someone does is celebrated.  When I was growing up only the best players and the best teams were awarded with a prize.  Everyone else got acknowledged for their hard work, but not everyone deserves a prize.  The only way someone becomes a great player or a great team is through hard work over and over again.  A kid does not deserve to be rewarded just for showing up.  If a kid gets rewarded for every little thing that he or she does they will stop working as hard as they can to achieve something amazing.

Summary:

In Ian Daly’s article “Virtual Popularity Isn’t Cool – It’s Pathetic”, he talks about how people believe that online popularity is a necessity in life.  Daly goes on to explain that even though people feel popular over the internet, the popularity is self-created.  No one has 10,000 friends that truly care about what you have to say or how you feel.  Another point Daly made in his article is how social media can affect your career.  People are allowed to tag you in any picture which can be seen by current or future bosses and coworkers.  Online popularity is perceived as being a necessity, but in reality people who live their lives through social media are the ones missing out.

Response:

When I read this article for the first time it was a real eye opener.  I am not one of those people who thrives off of social media popularity, but I know people who do.  The article is kind of a warning for those of us who have not let social media control our lives yet.  Daly does a good job of explaining how social media can start to ruin people’s lives.  People can start to look forward to their social media lives more than their real lives, which actually counts.  If people are not careful, social media can affect the jobs they try to acquire later in life.  No fake popularity is worth ruining the rest of your life.