Booker T. Washington Response

Disturbia Character Analysis

Ashley, neighbor to Kale (Shia Laboeuf) stood out the most in this movie. In the movie Ashley was played out to be someone who had hidden agendas. In the movie she is seen to have some issues. She undresses with her windows open. She acts like she doesn't know it's open and that no one can see her. However she does know. She knows Kale is watching and that he likes her, because of this she gives them a show. She does this not to entertain them, but more so to entertain herself. She is a complicated character for she only shows what she wants people to see. (Literally) Also figuratively. The way she dresses also exemplifies her and her characteristics. For example when Ashley first spoke to Kale. She had on a bright colored shirt; pink (I believe it was) and a dark spagetti top under. Also when she swam she had on a red bakini. This displays her to be devious.

"Ain't I a Woman?" vs. "Aren't I a Woman?"

"Aren't I a Woman?" is the retold version of "Ain't I a Woman?" This is a speech given by Sojourner Truth at a womens convention. Both versions of the speech has it's pros and cons. "Ain't I a Woman?" has authencity and orighinality because it was written in the exact words of the speaker. Also this version gives a sense of interaction between the speaker and the audience. However the diction is hard to apprehend if one isn't used to that sort of diction. For example sojournes says "ober" rather than "over". This makes it difficult ofr the reader to understand. "Aren't i a Woman?", the retold version, on the other hand is more wordy and modern-like. It has more of a flow in it and easer to understand. However because of this it lacks authencity and originality. Also ht reader gets a false tone. It also decreased the sassiness and sarcasm of the speech.

Aren’t I a Woman?

    "Aren't I a woman" is a retold version of Sojourner Truth's speech at a woman's right convention. This audacious speech was full of so much sassiness giving the speech an empowering air. Truth talks about women rather than men in her speech. This emphasizes women's importance in the role of society. She gave many examples to prove her point of view alluding to the bible. First she asks the audience "where did your Christ come from?" giving the audience a chance to think about the question. Then she goes ahead to ask the question emphasizing the importance of the question. She repeats the question as a way to interact with the audience, to elevate their (audience) minds into an abstract way of thinking and to connect with her audience at a higher level. After this as if to relieve the tension she purposely and specifically built up, she answers the question "From God and a Woman."

    Repetition is a very significant rhetoric device that Truth uses to get her point across. When truth uses this device, an amazing result gives way. Her feelings and passion emanate from her and flow into her audience. The reader knows this fact with the help of the Italics. With this assist, the reader gets an instant gratification of what is going on with the audience. The reader can see Truth's use of repetition when one looks at "Aren't I a Woman?" That question was repeated throughout the whole speech. The use of repetition stresses the significance of the question. It stresses the meaning and what she believes the definition of a woman is. Truth sees all these women being taken care of and admired by men and yet she gets nothing. This makes her wonder; isn't she a woman? She is a hard worker, works harder than most men, yet she is not noticed in the society. That accepted but in the least she should be accepted as a true woman. This makes her wonder; isn't she a woman? She bore thirteen children and watched as they were all taken away from her. Her children were considered to be nothing more than property just as she was. She went through so much and was denied so much but still didn't have the simple respect of being addressed as a woman even though she was better than a man. This makes her wonder; isn't she a woman?

    Sojourner Truth's tone in this speech was sassy; almost sarcastic. This gave the speech an air of empowerment because it was courageous and brave. Truth was a minister so she was a skilled preacher and knew how to rile up a crowd. The most important fact about this speech was that Truth killed three birds with one stone. Not only did she address the situation of a typical African American, the typical situation of a woman but she addressed the problems of an African American woman. She painted a picture with her words her diction and use of syntax (not imagery) of what an African American women go through. Sojourner Truth proved that it was good to be audacious but more respected was being audacious to be good.

Civil Government Response

    The main idea of the essay was Thoreau's disapproval of the government, their support of slavery and their involvement in war with Mexico. The essay in general talks about the government but also those who support the government's ways. The author seems to be saying or asking if or if not the government controls the lives of the inhabitants. Can or can the inhabitants change in the fact that they support the government by paying taxes. The speaker, Thoreau, also scolds those who sit around and listen to the government telling them what to do and accept it. The authors main question is if the government is corrupt or not in the opinions of the inhabitants.

    The author used expedient constantly through the course of the essay. The meaning of this word is to serve to promote one's interest or to approach a given purpose. This helps in explaining what the author is trying to prove or his purpose in the essay which is self reformation. The author emphasizes in the essay the importance of self reformation and only through self reformation can one change something else; either governmental reformation or social reformation. Another point the author tries to get across to his audience is the definition of manhood. The definition of a man as Hawthorne puts it is someone who "…has a bone on his back which you cannot pass your hand through" (Thoreau) meaning a man is someone who is bold and is willing to stand up for his conscience even if he is in the minority and not one can frighten him to the point of keeping silent. A man must stay true to his conscience even though it means defying the government "under a government which imprisons unjustly, the true place for a man is also prison." (Thoreau)

    The author uses many quotes and examples to support his point. Thoreau uses quotes and examples from many philosophers to support his claims, such as Nicholas Copernicus, Confucius and Shakespeare. The author also gives allegorical examples such as "you many see a file of soldiers, colonel, captain, corporal, privates, powder monkeys, and all marching in admirable order over hills and dale to the wars, against their will, ay against their common sense and consciences which makes it very steep marching indeed, and produces a palpitation of the heart. They have no doubt that it is a damnable business in which they are … peaceably inclined. Now what are they? Mean at all? or small movable forts and magazines at the service of some unscrupulous man in power?" (Thoreau) The author also uses himself as an example to support his point appealing to ethos and his credibility. He resisted by moving into the woods and not paying taxes and by staying in jail standing up for his conscience.

     One of the major virtues in this essay is evidently Thoreau's uncanny ability to acknowledge the idealism behind his views. In doing this Thoreau uses metaphors. For example Thoreau uses the machine metaphor for the government at least thrice in the essay. This is an example of his acknowledgement of idealism for he goes on to say "machine of the government, let it go, let it go; perchance it will wear smooth-certainly the machine will wear out." Another virtue in his essay was his constant advice to the government to cease slavery and war with Mexico. This kept the focus of the essay and facilitated the rhetorical strength of the piece by appealing logos.

    Thoreau's tone is truly engaged at the beginning of the essay. This empowers the significance of his message. He initiates the piece mainly in a personal manner, factoring merely how he himself "went to the woods because he wished to live deliberately" (Thoreau) Portrayal of this bias practice is in no way imposing but rather it expresses Thoreau's own opinions. Thoreau appends this with a modest tone moderating his claim with phrases like "it appears to me". This submissive opening tone leaves his audience tolerant of his excessive views. Slowly Thoreau succeeds in capturing his reader his tone becomes more aggressive and confident. His tone becomes more commanding over time "let your affairs be as two or three" (Thoreau) However, in the course of pointing out excesses such as the news Thoreau implements a sarcastic tone.

    Figurative language one of Thoreau's many rhetorical devices. Thoreau never limiting himself to any group of strategy uses a mass of them upon his will to entangle his audience in lovely delicious rhetorical goodness. A lot of these devices are related so discreetly it would go unknown to an average reader. For example "still we live meanly, like ants" (Thoreau) a simile that slurs the existing human condition and lowers it to the level of an ant. Another example is the allusion" with unrelaxed nerves, with mourning vigor, sail by it, looking another way, tied to the mast like Ulysses." (Thoreau) This is alluding to the common awareness the Ulysses also known as Odysseus had to strain himself from the dangerous lure of the siren, Thoreau compares that to the dangerous attraction of the modern world.

    In conclusion Thoreau is a genius who took steps in acting on what he believed in. He uses himself as an example for many who wanted what in their conscience knew were right, but were not courageous enough to act on their stance. He proved himself to be masterful of the metropolitan mind

    

The Slave’s Dream Response

    The slave's dream is evidently about a slave who is sleeping and dreams about his old life before being captured. During this dream the life of this slave is freed, escaping from the clasp of slavery by death. While the slave slept, he dreamt about his old life as king, his wife and his children. The speaker of this poem is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. His audience's are possibly to his wife and children telling them of the happy thoughts this man had in the course of his peaceful death. The audience could also to be all others who don't believe they could be freed from an inescapable situation. The tone of the poem is empathetic because it seemed as though the author was feeling the same things the character was feeling through the author's syntax. With denotative devices one can determine that the author also sympathized with the character while the character dreamt about his once loved family; but also was exhilarated by the liberation of this characters soul.

The author also uses a lot of figurative devices. Literal or concrete imagery is figurative device used to generate a mental impression created by direct description. Longfellow uses a lot of these types of imagery when he described the slave's flight to this haven. "At night he heard the lion roar, and the hyena scream, and it passed like a glorious roll of drums…" (Longfellow). The author used metaphor when saying "…his lifeless body lay a worn-out fetter…" (Longfellow). Personification, another figurative device used by the author is also made useful in "…death illumined the land of sleep…" (Longfellow),"The forests, with their myriad tongues shouted of liberty…" and "… and the blast of the desert cried aloud, with a voice so wild and free…" (Longfellow). The last of all figurative devices used in this poem is symbolism. For example Longfellow uses a worn out fetter to symbolize the bond life had on his soul to slavery, it also symbolizes a hold life had on the slave's happiness and freedom.

In this poem, the author appeals to pathos or the emotions of the reader. For instance the author says "They clasped his neck, they kissed his cheeks, thy held him by the hand!—a tear burst out of the sleeper's eyelids and fell into the sand." The author uses denotative language like kissed, held, tear, burst and fell to appeal to the reader's emotions. As said previously the author in correspondence to his use of syntax is indirectly in control of the reader's mood. The author lets us feel, with his use of literal imagery, what the character is feeling. In doing this he imposes his tone in the reader and we feel what the author wants the reader to feel.

The theme of the poem is that one always has a haven waiting for them. All has a haven, even if it's as simple as sleep or as complicated as death. This was a reoccurring theme throughout the poem. At the begging the author starts the poem with the character asleep, dreaming about his family and feeling happy; letting go of all inhibitions. At this moment the slave was free. Free of slavery, free of pain and free from loneliness. While the character was asleep he was pulled in a flight to a permanent haven; a flight drifting away finding permanent freedom.

Feeling inspired

I just finished with my story and I can't stop writing….

Being so long, I have allowed my self the pleasure of free writing

I sit here listening to the squeak of my chair and the jangles of my typing

I experience all these emotions; too much to handle to excellent to let go.

I must be loosing my mind for I see colors: blue, red, and yellow

And hello green

Oh woe unto me

Indescribably

presumably, vigilantly, persistently, abominably

and all other, any other ably

there might be

Ha!!!! Deliriousness of vision and fevered conceptions

My witty ambitions

All this lateness up night staying

All this because I am feeling

INSPIRED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!