Sunday, October 17, 2010

The Color of Hunger (Roughie)

Hunger is black. It is white. It is brown. Hunger is all visible spectrum. Then why is the color invisible? The colors of hunger are transparent. They are there, but they are seen through and ignored. Hunger is the colors of the African flag. The Indian flag. The flags of all the world. Hunger is seen in the white of the American flag. It is seen in the green of the mountains. Hunger is in the sandy beige of the desert. Hunger in seen in the blue of the ocean. It is seen in the smog of the city. Where is the color of love? The color of compassion?

As I write this, i have food in my stomach. I thank the lord for thy bread to eat. The earth produces food for all to eat. Can it not be chared? Our great mother earth is bountiful. People suffering from salvation and malnutrition may not know the food pyramid and how many ounces of each food group to eat, but they know gnats can be made into an edible paste to survive. here we have to choice to be vegetarian. Other places dont even have a choice of that.

Red is the color of blood shed in the scarcity of food. Blue is the color of the sea of tears shed. Brown is the color of dirt in the grave. Death is the color of hunger. What is the color of life?

Sula Rhetorical Analysis

Rhetorical Analysis: Introduction Paragraph of Sula

In the opening paragraph of Sula, Tori Morrison describes an old neighborhood that will now be replaced with a Golf Course. She reminiscences about what the the neighborhood used to be and includes numerous details to establish how personal the neighborhood really was. This collaboration of memories makes the “Bottom” seem significant to her. She suggests that the neighborhood is now unimportant and forgotten to those who did not have ties to it when she says, ...there once was a neighborhood.”
Morrison emphasizes the irony of the situation in several instances. The name of the neighborhood on the hilltop is called the bottom. This signifies the rank of society. She also notes that, “Generous funds have been allotted to level the stripped and faded buildings...” This is ironic because if funds would have been provided to the “bottom” before, the neighborhood could have improved instead of becoming extinct. She refers to a beauty salon in the neighborhood as, “Irene's Palace of Cosmetology.” This most likely, however, was quite the opposite.
Tori Morrison intends for the diction to be direct and impacting. Words such as “tore” and “pry” show the inconsideration of the people who are demolishing the town. Words such as “nightshade” and “blackberry patches” signify the prejudice of the people who want to make room for the golf course. She conveys that there is an insignificance of these people to others.
Pathos is prevalent throughout the paragraph. Morrison describes African Americans being torn from their “roots,” their homes, for the selfish ambition of the Medallion City Gold Course. While describing the business and people of the neighborhood she adds a personal element to the paragraph, ultimately appealing to emotions. She creates vivid images that make connections to the place the “bottom” used to be.
Morrison aims to create a setting in the opening paragraph of Sula. She marks a place that used to be. The “bottom” was a neighborhood, with business and people, but now its only to be torn down to be built into something better. It is evident that although the bottom was not prestigious, it was significant to the people who lived there.

Lewe's Essay

M.E. Lewes Essay

In M.E. Lewes response to a letter from an American woman, Lewes emphasizes the importance of writing by expressing the significance of humble ambition. She demonstrates this through establishing credibility, reasoning, and direct connection to the heart of Melusina Pierce.
Lewes reacts to Pierce's as “touching and tender.” There is a direct connection between the two women because of their passion to write. Lewes has encountered and experienced many of the struggles Pierce has been through as a writer. Credibility is actually accomplished when Lewes reveals that she has entered “into those young struggles of yours” and into “the longing you (Pierce) feel.” By relating to Pierce in “all that I have gone thorough myself,” she reflects her position as a writer. Lewes implies the frustrations in the development of a writer.
Lewes' ethics and personality also embody credibility by admitting she was “too proud and ambitious to write.” She does not act superior to Pierce because she is a well-known author, but instead humbles herself to define an innate relationship with Pierce. She acknowledges Pierce as an author that shares similar characteristics to her.
Reasoning is also incorporated through the letter, providing evidence that “one's ignorance and incompleteness” can create a conflict. Lewes also remarks that a writer who has exhausted him or herself is “dreary.” However, Lewes uses these sentences to suppress Pierce's fears that she is “past her prime.” Lewes address that every writer has specific talents and gifts that are apparent in their writing. Lewes goes on to share some of her own story. This shows her own development as a writer to set an example for Pierce.
The English novelist addresses the rhetorical question of “Does this seem melancholy?” to confirm her opinion about the ways in which an author can be hindered. Lewes' answer to her question is “less melancholy than any sort of flattery.” This creates importance of avoiding conflicts that can burden writing. She wants Pierce to know that it is crucial to stick to one vision and goal.
By relating to the heart of Pierce, Lewe's draws on her emotions. She creates a connection between both of them instantly. Immediately she does this by complementing her writing ability and the she goes on to establish a deeper element to her letter implying a close connection. Lewe's explains that pierce is “held fast by woman necessities” of “neatness and household perfection.” She creates a definite persona which functions as a relational establishment. As she closes she remarks on her husband how that being married to good. This comment emphasizes how personal she intended the letter to be.
There are several apparent strategies in the piece that Lewes writes to Pierce that enhances her message. By appealing to Pierce through reasoning, connection, and credibly there is an underlying theme of encouragement in the development of a writer. By establishing this encouragement, humble ambition of a writer is generated.

Kennan Essay

Kennan Essay

In George F. Kennan's “Training for Statesmanship,” he addresses the element of power. His most compelling observation concerning this issue is that power “sometimes exists in irregular forces.” He then continues to state that theses forces are found “in underworld and criminal gangs.” This observation is imperative because throughout history is has become apparent that these self-appointed forces gain power through terror.
This observation holds true specifically in the United States. In the US there are 926 “hate groups.” Most of these groups are extremists that use violence to hold authority and power. Radicals exists from Neo-Nazis, Anti-Gay, KKK, White Nationalists, and cults. They use violence and possess control and command over others.
Neo-Nazi's intend to revive political and social aspects of Nazism. Most support discrimination and ethnic cleansing. Discrimination is the fuel of irregular forces of power. They brainwash others to believe that the honorable thing to do is keep one pure race. This is a direct example of a vigilante group. In their eyes, what they are doing is beneficial, although it is clearly destructive to society. Anti-Gay groups focus on tormenting those who are in homosexual relationships. Although society is entitled to individual opinions, the problem arises in those who use fear and terror to prove their point. It seems a little coincidental that many victims of murder are homosexual.
Similarly the KKK and White Nationalists uses terror, violence, and lynching to oppress African Americans, Jews, and other minorities that may be a “threat” to the interests of white Americans. This group has power because of its immense secrecy. In 1963, the “16th Street Baptist Church Bombing” killed four girls. The case was determined to be a racially motivated attack by the KKK in 2000. Groups such as these can get away with such violent attacks because of the authority they possess.
There is a defining line between a religion and a cult. A religion is a system of beliefs and practices that are based upon a power that controls human destiny, while a cult is unorthodox and extremist. Followers are brainwashed and manipulated to believe in demented practices. Most groups use fear to obtain their followers. Cults are so influential that several mass suicides have occurred over the years. From 1994 to 1997, seventy-four of the Order of the Sun's followers committed suicide leaving letters behind. The believed their deaths would be an escape from the “hypocrisies and oppression” of this world.
Power can be used beneficially, but when it is used in a corrupt manner, peace is unattainable. Kennan's observation holds true in the US among all of the radical group. Those who have extremist views towards a race, ethnicity, religion, or social class sometimes, unfortunately, express these views using power and authority as a direct result of fear. They will not cease to exist either. It will always be a power struggle.

Interpretive Response: Singer Essay

Interpretive Response:

In the “Singer Solution to World Poverty,” Singer assumes and implies several attitudes toward the issue of donation. In his essay he describes two hypothetical situations. The first hypothetical situation is a woman, Dora, who is given the choice to make a thousand dollars. She persuades a homeless boy to go with her where he will be adopted by foreigners. After she does this she buys a new TV. When she finds out that the boy was too old for adoption and will be killed, Dora decides to take the boy back. The second hypothetical situation that Singer illustrates is a man, Bob, who owns a Bugatti, which he intensely enjoys. One day he parks his Bugatti by a railroad track. Then he sees a runaway train and a child who will get hit. He had a choice to flip a switch which would stop the train, but he decides to save his car instead. Singer manipulates these two situations to invoke a response from the reader. This is effective, as I felt very negative toward Bob. Singer seems to favor Dora because she chose to save the child. He assumes his audience feels similarly if she did not save the child as he notes, “She would then have become, in the eyes of the audience, a monster." Singer implies that Dora's actions are more acceptable than Bob's as he says, "Bob's conduct, most of us will immediately respond, was gravely wrong."
Throughout the rest of his essay he assumes that the American public is also like Bob in which they have the ability and opportunity to save the lives of children, but choose not to. He supports this argument by adding, “So, if we condemn Bob for not saving the child, how can we not condemn all of the people with surplus wealth who do not donate a dollar?” This persuades me to want to give to organizations which will help the needy. Singer at this point convicts me of being selfish. However, at the end of Singer's essay, he demands his readers that, “the formula is simple: whatever money you're spending on luxuries, not necessities, should be given away." At this point, my attitude toward the essay changes. Singer assumes, incorrectly, that everyone has extra money to spend. This demand is unreasonable because he asks people to give away ALL their money that they rightfully earned. In the beginning of his article he discussed giving $200 to save a child, a reasonable implication. In my opinion, Singer takes his essay too far, and therefore loses his intention to persuade.