Yankee Questions

Are there any fresh ideas enlisted in this definition? How would you have defined this idea? Are there ideas similar to it that you could choose to define?

The idea of being "beholden" and the secret generosity of a Yankee.  I believe that most Americans (Yankees) are generous to a fault relative to other people. I probably would have folded all the ideas of the Yankee into the fact that Yankee is associated with Americans everywhere else in the world so that Yankee=American.

There are allusions here: (1) to the musical Damn Yankees!, (2) to the Bible (the parable of the Good Samaritan), and (3) to a poem by Robert Frost. Do these allusions add anything to the essay or to your understanding of things? What if you didn't "get" the allusions?

They add a bit of taste and recollection to the essay, and helped me picture in my head what the author might have been thinking at the time. Of course, allusions are dependent on the reader understanding what they are, and in todays America, I'm not sure many people read Robert Frost regularly unless forced unfortuneatly, and the Bible for that matter; or even read.

What techniques of development does the essay use in the process of definition? Do you think the writer dwelt too long on what a Yankee is not before moving on to what a Yankee is?

Some techniques the author used in development of the essay were using common literary devices such as anecdote and allusion, as well as giving precise details and historical descriptions.  I do not think the author dwelt too long on those things, I believe what the author wrote was necessary and was writing for someone who had never heard the term "yankee" before.

Can you point to (write down) one sentence that functions as thesis statement in this essay?

"That's what I think defines this dying breed of the American Yankee: an extraordinary sense of balance and reserve, a holding off — and yet, behind all that reserve, a reservoir of generosity and friendliness that can be nearly overwhelming."

 

 

Spring Break

For my Spring break, I took a trip to california, to see my brother who I haven't been in contact with in 5 years.  I went hiking and saw many amusement parks around the greater california area, including Knott's Berry Farm(owned by Cedar Point) and Six Flags Magic Mountain.  I even went to SeaWorld. I came home yesterday, and I'm running on 4 hours of sleep and a cup of coffee. So I'm sorry if my decription of events is brief, but I'm tired.

 

Thank you for your understanding,

Gabe. 

A modest proposal

1. “A Modest Proposal” is an ironic essay: the author deliberately writes what he does not mean.  What is the real thesis?  Is there more than one?
  

I believe that his real thesis is he beleives that the people of ireland are treated horribly by the Engish to the point that ireland is starving to the point of despiration.

  

2. Look closely at paragraphs 4, 6, and 7, and study how the appeals to logic are put in mathematical and economic terms.  Underline those words and phrases.

"There is likewise another great advantage in my scheme, that it will prevent those voluntary abortions, and that horrid practice of women murdering their bastard children, alas! too frequent among us! sacrificing the poor innocent babes I doubt more to avoid the expense than the shame, which would move tears and pity in the most savage and inhuman breast."

3. When does the reader begin to realize that the essay is ironic?  Before or after the actual proposal is made in paragraph 10?

To be honest, the idea of eating babies is so absurd, especially when the idea of using women as "breeders" that the whole thing is obvious to anyone paying attention   

4. Which groups of people are singled out as special targets for Swifts’ attack?  Are the Irish presented completely as victims, or are they also to blame?

Their English Lords who own most of the land are to blame as well for not allowing them to be more independent. They can't grow their own food, so the men go to drink, and beat their wives, and basically end up in a downward spiral.

7. The character proposing the measure uses various techniques to convince. These include statistics and appeals to the authority of prominent figures. Can you spot any others? Have you done any sort of "labor" job? Did you resist your employer and, if you did, what forms did your resistance take?  Is there a strong link between humor, anger, or other emotional states and resistance? Can you give examples of things you did to vent frustration (particularly if they were funny?)

He makes very detailed imagery of the subject he's talking about, and uses anecdotes from people the author knows. Yes I have. No, If i resisted my employer (US Army) I would ptobably be in very very deep trouble. I don't resist, I obey and submit. Usually Physical exercise made me not have any frustration, just fatigue.

8. If you were, conversely, given the job of marketing babies, do you think it could be done, and how? We have a tradition, in English, of keeping the French names for the meats of animals eaten primarily by the rich. Would the first step be calling baby meat something French? Would it be by processing the baby to the point of non-recognition?

It could be done, with very deep research, given the advertiseing resources and demographic I'm shooting to advertise to. I don't think I would not name it french, I would try to implement it into daily life and make it a "fast food."

James Thurber satire

I liked The Unicorn in the Garden, The Little Girl and the Wolf, and The Princess and the Tin Box.

     I liked The Unicorn in the Garden because it has one of the funniest little twists in a story ever, It plays against the wife instead of the husband, who understood how to get rid of his wife. I think it also is a good lessoon to teach you to think before you say something ridicious.  I'm not exactly sure his aim is to satirize anything in the story, except the concept of mythical creatures and marriage perhaps.  It's an interesting story.
     I liked The Little Girl and the Wolf, because it is extremely satirical to the original fable.  The little girl now, is much more aware of her surroundings than the easily fooled girl of the past, she knows that story and isn't the same timid, and foolish archtype she used to be. I find the story very refreshing and hilarious.
     I liked The Princess and the Tin Box because Mr. Thurber is very dryly hilarious in explaining this story.  He makes it very real, and he builds the story up so that you'll think that the Princess will pick the Tin box, when in fact, she acts logically and chooses the really nice jewlery box that is the most useful to her.  Basically he twists the story the way it would probably work out to be in the real world. 

Aesop's Fables

The Camel and the Arab
1)  A man asks his camel whether or not he would want to go uphill or downhill, he responds with a sarcastic remark.
2) Moral : Do not ask obvious questions

The Bundle of Sticks
1) A father on the point of death brings his sons together, asks them to break a bundle of sticks tied together, in which they are unsucessful, but when they untie the bundle, the sticsk are easily broken.
2) Union(s) give strength.

The Fox and the Lion
1) A fox saw a lion, and at first was struck with fear and ran, then he saw him again and stoped a safe distance and watched him pass, a thrid time he spoke to him and talked about personal matters, they then parted without ceremony.
2) Familiarity Breeds Contempt.

The Lion in Love
1) A lion proposed to the parents of a young maiden, they feared he would hurt her so they requested he take his teeth out and trim his claws, he did so, and they laughed in his face to do his worst.
2) Love can tame the wildest.

The Thief and the Mother
1) A man caught in a daring act of thieft asks before he is executed to see his mother, when she sees him, he says he wants to whisper to her and bites her ear, he did so to punish her, because he started stealing young and she did not rebuke him.
2) Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old he will not depart therefrom.

The Hart and the Hunter
1) a Hart was admiring his antlers and the rest of his body, he wished that his legs were more robst and less slim and slight, then appears a hunter, which by means of his legs escapes, but he is later caught in a low place and his antlers get stuck.
2) We often despise what is most useful to us.

The Two Pots
1) Two pots were on the river bank, one brass, one earthenware, the river floods and both float in the river, the brass pot says that he will not strike the earthen pot and that he should have no fear, the earthen pot responds that whether or not who hits first, the earthen pot will suffer for it.
2) The strong and the weak cannot keep company.

The Tortoise and the Hare

1) The Hare boasts about how he's so fast, the tortoise challenges him to a race, the hare darts out at the start of the race and takes a nap, the tortoise passes him and by the time the Hare wakes the race is already won.
2) Slow and steady wins the race

The Ant and the Grasshopper
1) The ants work all the summer preparing for winter, the grasshopper wishes for them to relax and play, not preparing anything for himself. Winter comes and the Grasshopper begs for food to eat.
2) It is best to prepare for days of necessity.

The Man and the Serpent.
1) The Serpent bites and kills the Farmers son, and in revenge cuts off part of the serpents tail, and in revenge of his lost tail, stings the farmers cattle and causes a great loss, he makes up with the serpent and offers him gifts, he refuses and states that they will never forget the wrongs they've done to each other.
2) Injuries may be forgiven, but never forgotten.

Poems of fables

I'm stuck in a ropey cage
and yet this mouse can help me? psshh

I'm a rich, sophisticated, young woman
I love me a good lion, don't knock it till you try it

Who lives in a pinapple under the sea,
not me, because I have my prince, I'm a mermaid.
(come at me sister)

Should of been working when I was shirkin'
Should of been Shirkin' when i should have been workin'
Now I'm starving.

I scrub scrub scrub all day,
I work work work all night,
I'm so sick of being the servant,
I'm going to get my prince charming.

I stalk my prey, watching intensely, I watch her move, smell her smells
but most of all... I see the basket. I want it.
I crave it, I seek it. All I think about now is retreving her basket.
That little red hood taunts me with it's shimmer, it's boldness.
how dare she walk with me, moving and shifting in the breeze, in the dark
doesn't she know that this is my domain, my sacred place.
I'm driven to madness, on the brink of insanity.
Why can't I leave? I'm hopelessly bound to the pursuit,
Of this little red riding hood.
And so it begins...
The chase, the excitement.
She will never get home.

I'm not sure where the rabbit hole goes...
But maybe it goes to a wonderful land.

My back hurts really bad,
why can't I sleep soundly,
maybe I should eat my veggies.

I dance all day, with my seven lovely dwarfs
I can't believe that I'm asleep, waiting for my perfect man.

Sonnet (It is about no one, I just went off on the paper)

When together, the place where happiness lies,

Is only as happy as you may make it for yourselves,

But when you hear your lovers cries,

With her laughter, her joy can only outsell,

The beauty of the greatest items in the world,

With her head held high, and her smile shining bright,

You may barely notice that her hair is uncurled,

Her brown locks glistening, and lying upright,

May only be described as magnificent,

Night fast approaches, and with dinner winding down,

With our money misspent in our pockets innocent

We drive to the center of town.

Happy Valentines Day

I hope you maybe see me again today.

Essays (ThisIBelieve.com)

The America I Believe in - Colin Powell  http://thisibelieve.org/essay/27/

I read this essay, and was very touched by his enthusiasm about America, and his anecdotes as well
as their own personal experience, explaining how his Father and Mother were immigrants themselves.
He explains that our strength is in our openess and that people still come to the United States, despite
all the scrutiny, and anti american sentiment, because we are a beacon of hope to everyone in the world
what we stand for is good, and what makes up this country is hope, and he believes in America.

Yankee Go Home - Rita Barrett  http://thisibelieve.org/essay/19619/

I found this little essay very nice. The main story is about a trip to around Spain, and her encounter with
a person on a train.  She explains that a man entered her train car and wrote in the glass "yankee go home"
and through understanding and speaking in spanish to this man, eventually he began to warm up to her, and
erased what he wrote on the glass and replaced it with "Welcome"  She explains that learning a natives language is one of the best ways to show them your open and aceepting of them, and warming them up to you.  If we are better to understand the world, try speaking their language.  I believe that those little things probably do make the difference. Language is a very powerful tool.

More Than a Job - Erika Frances  http://thisibelieve.org/essay/5546/

This  essay is very touching.  The empathy she has due to her everyday work should be an example of how we take perspective on everyday situations.  The humanity she sees, and the disconnect we sometimes feel to the tradgedies of everyday life, are unnoticed. She makes a good stance on what she says, and she is very compassionate. 

Do Talk to Strangers - Sabrina Dubik  http://thisibelieve.org/essay/11875/

This essay entails the personal experience of the author.  She says that talking to strange, new and different people can be very rewarding and that people shouldn't be afraid of new people.  He touching story about meeting Mr. Roberts, and becoming friends with the man through conversations made good sense.  Just getting out and talking to people can make all the difference.

Dylan and Gabe's Free Rice Sweet Story. (we used all the words)

To be honest, my first time at the go kart track, I felt a severe sense of dejection and sadness at points.  After the first turn, I ended up perpendicular in the middle of the track, and everyone was deciding that the best course of action would be to hit me so forcefully so that my car would straighten out on the track.  Unfortunately, the savagery that actually occurred was much different.  I end up a buoy in the mini putt pond, upside down, dripping wet in my smoking hulk of a go kart.  I feel like a grilled piece of delicious maize, being pounded by the crash and smoking inside my burning go kart.  I hear my mother nagging me to get out of the scorched wreck, but all I want to do is be defiant and sit in the dissemblance.  My melting epidermis is beginning to tether to the burning roll cage of the go kart, and my vision flashes back to my nativity.  I can see the baby pictures in side my head, my genealogy mapped for generations inside my family home, all those photos flash before my eyes as I sit there inside my blackened and wet tomb.  It’s ironic how the dispersion of the water doesn’t allow my wreck’s fire to be put out.  So, I just sit here, and wait for the fire department to claim my cold wet body. 

Signed,

The go kart guy.       

I feel my bare feet on the pavement as I run from them.  The cold, and wetness I feel beneath my toes, the cold sharpness of the night, contrast with my throbbing head and arms.  I can hear their distant shouts as they chase, they scream “get back here,” “We want your liver for research!”  I run naked away as they chase, holding their syringes at the ready waiting to sedate me.  They won’t catch me.  I run backwards, flapping ostentatiously into the wind as I look at them.  I shout “Come and get me!” and they continue to give steady chase.  The suburban neighborhood I’m running naked through can obviously hear the shouts coming from the grown men running after my naked self.  It was a splendid feeling knowing that they were not going to be able to catch me. There was a vast river that would separate me from the evil that was chasing me. The only object I could use a raft was a giant plastic board which seemed very fragile. I decided to take my chance and cross the river using it. I finally made it across but the fungus on my body was unreal. I couldn’t take the time to stop and clean up because I am on their clock, and not my own.  On the other side of the river was a forest, which I raced through, eager to escape from my pursuers.  I eventually reached a wooden cottage, with smoke billowing out of its chimney.  I walked inside, and spotted a washcloth on the table, right next to a scrumptious apple pie.  I took the washcloth and cleaned the fungus off of my body.  I was searching through the drawers, eager to find some clothes to put on, when I heard a voice behind me. The voice is from an old woman who invited me to into her home after I already broke in. She is explaining to me the quintessence of blueberries in a pie was to add sweetness and a contrast of textures and flavor.  The fantastic feelings, the satisfaction of eating, the warmth of clothes, the relatively safety of the moment. 

Helen Keller Narative Questions

1. What did you think of this narrative?
I found the narative a very interesting retrospective on the awakening of conscious thoughts.  I too felt a similar way when I relized that I was thinking clearly.  It something we all feel, but when your blind, and deaf and the world is dark, it has more signifigance I think.

2. What was most interesting or engaging about it?
The detail in which she describes learning the words, and feeling out the world is remarkable to me, she also uses metaphor effectively.


3. What surprised you?
How different the world can be if you can't see, or hear.  The sense of touch can supply that void with great detail.

4. Did this change your outlook on Helen Keller at all? Why or why not?
No, I never really had a set outlook on Hellen Keller in the first place.

5. Copy and paste three examples of vivid detail and imagery that helped enhance the story
   
      1) "As the cool stream gushed over one hand she spelled into the other the word water, first slowly, then rapidly. I stood still, my whole attention fixed upon the motions of her fingers. Suddenly I felt a misty consciousness as of something forgotten--a thrill of returning thought; and somehow the mystery of language was revealed to me. I knew then that "w-a-t-e-r" meant"
     
      2) Have you ever been at sea in a dense fog, when it seemed as if a tangible white darkness shut you in, and the great ship, tense and anxious, groped her way toward the shore with plummet and sounding-line, and you waited with beating heart for something to happen? I was like that ship before my education began, only I was without compass or sounding-line, and had no way of knowing how near the harbour was. "Light! give me light!" was the wordless cry of my soul, and the light of love shone on me in that very hour.3) "As we returned to the house every object which I touched seemed to quiver with life. That was because I saw everything with the strange, new sight that had come to me. On entering the door I remembered the doll I had broken. I felt my way to the hearth and picked up the pieces. I tried vainly to put them together. Then my eyes filled with tears; for I realized what I had done, and for the first time I felt repentance and sorrow.

      3)  "I left the well-house eager to learn. Everything had a name, and each name gave birth to a new thought. As we returned to the house every object which I touched seemed to quiver with life. That was because I saw everything with the strange, new sight that had come to me. On entering the door I remembered the doll I had broken. I felt my way to the hearth and picked up the pieces. I tried vainly to put them together. Then my eyes filled with tears; for I realized what I had done, and for the first time I felt repentance and sorrow."
      
6. How can a narrative be more engaging than something like a biography? Why is it important to get someone's personal perspective?

It's one of the only ways to truely feel the way the author feels, with great personal details, you understand (at least to the degree the author can describe such a narrative) how they felt.  A biography almost can seem impersonal because it takes an overview of the subject, it isn't as specific.

7. Make a bulltted lists of some things you could write a narrative about

• Times in the woods
• Moving from place to place (multiple times)
• My Enlistment into the US Army.
• Adventures of the Weekends (what I did on a particular weekend.)
• The time I broke my arm.

and many more...

I am from...

I am from the smell of the salt air

From palm trees, and the fruits of the islands

With their soft, warm touch, and their cool sweet tastes

That entices all men to adventure.

I am from the long deep, depths of the sea, from the cold blue

From the sparkling azure, to the glistening green that excited the

worthiest adventurers, brigands, smugglers and captains. 

I am from the earth

From the spicy red clay, to the hard desert cement

To the rolling greens, and rolling hills, to the smoky pines

And the sweet smell of the grass beneath my feet.

I am from the long road trips with multiple stops

From the long hours of boredom on the way to the great beyond.

To the “are we there yets” to the “I’m tireds” always making it to our destinations

I am from the long dusty nights; The crisp chill of the cold dry air hitting my face

From the dew on the ground, to the walk to the school bus

All seemed right with the world.

Survey

Survey:

1.)  Yes and no.  The main reason I do enjoy English classes is discussion and the ability to creatively write with little restriction.  I enjoy DIRECTION, not restriction. Telling me what to do can be done, but the best work comes out of me when I'm guided, not necessarily constricted.

2.)  Poetry, Notes to friends, Letters, Lists, Directions, anything creative. (Science fiction, Short Story, etc.)

3.)  Anything in the Fiction Category, Novels, Particularly Classic Novels.

4.)  I hate doing persuasive research papers. Anything where I cannot be creative and open, and where I have to cite sources takes away from my writing.   I enjoy being creative. 

5.)  D.

6.) Yes, I enjoy dicussing hard hitting topics and current events to see how people think.  I like encorporating personalities I meet into my fictional short stories. Makes it seem more... real.

7.) I will start the dicussion often, but most often, I contribute to keep it going, and steer conversations in different directions by asking rather open ended questions.

8.)  I am currently a Private Second Class in the United States Army reserve until I go active duty this summer after graduation. Go to mandated drill twice a month, but hang out with friends, and otherwise have a good time.

9.)  I literally sat in my house, made food, and wrote computer code.  Trying to make a program to keep track of all my personal data files (streamlined database)  (yes, went nerd mode)

10.) I just wish to be creative, and I tend to lose focus easily on dry subjects, as do most people. Keeping subjects interesting will keep me interested. 

11.)  Just excited to get started!