Journal #9

Journal #9 - Free Will vs. Determinism

Free Will - The power of making free choices that are unconstrained by external circumstances or by an agency such as fate or divine will.

Iago: “'tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus. Our bodies are our 

           gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners” (1.3 361-3).

Determinism - The philosophical doctrine that every event, act, and decision is the inevitable consequence of antecedents, such as genetic and environmental influences, that are independent of the human will.

Othello: “Yet ‘tis the plague of great ones … ‘tis destiny unshunnable, like 

               death” (3.3 313-16).

  

Using the above definitions, write a paragraph that argues in support of each of the terms.  In your paragraphs, use specific examples from Othello to support your ideas.

Free Will is the power of making free choices that are unconstrained by external circumstance or by an agency such as fate or divine will. This definition is saying that people have the option of making all the choices in their lifetime. God made the world this way because he didn’t want everyone to be the same. He also did this in a sense that the choices people make will either lead to joy or consequences. It seems to me that Iago was the only one who really understood free will in the book because of when he said “tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus. Our bodies are our gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners” (1.3 361-3). Free will is very apparent in the book Othello by William Shakespeare because it was the choices of all the characters that led to their death. Othello had the option of ignoring Iago and not listening to his lies but he chose to believe and chose to kill Desdemona. Desdemona could have escaped from Othello while he was going to kill her but she chose to believe in a better Othello. Rodrigo also chose to listen to Iago and let him deceive him. Rodrigo choice to believe Iago only led to him making decisions that led to his death. Everyone has the choice in whether to believe someone and in the actions they take.  

In the book Othello it seems that not all of these actions could revolve around free will but instead are concentrated on Determinism. Determinism is the belief that situations weren’t only free will but involve fate which is something that humans have no control over. It seems that everything that happened that was part of Iago’s plan couldn’t have happened as easily as it did. It is apparent in the book that the death of all the character was destiny, something that they all had coming for them. It was fate that Othello’s jealousy would overtake his body causing him to do the unspeakable of killing his innocent wife. Othello couldn’t help what he was doing and didn’t want to kill her but his jealousy got in the way. This is also visible when Othello says ““Yet ‘tis the plague of great ones … ‘tis destiny unshunnable, like death” (3.3 313-16). He understands that fate comes into play with everything and everyone’s death is destined and meant to be. People have no control of when they die therefore their death is fate, something they couldn’t change.

   

Journal #8

Journal 8 - Emerson’s Aphorisms

Write a one paragraph personal response based on three of the following aphorisms.  Your responses should address the point Emerson is making as well as your thoughts/feelings about what he is saying.    

5. To be great is to be misunderstood.

            Emerson is saying here that to be different and to not be understood is someone who is great. If everyone was normal and easily understood than no one would great or different. People who do great things are the ones who are different from the norm and are misunderstood. If everyone always stuck to the norm where would we be today? There would not be discoveries and other great accomplishments. To be a great person is to be someone who does things differently than everyone else and is misunderstood by those who disagree. I completely agree with this statement because I believe that those who are different from everyday people will do great things with their life and make a difference.

11. What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.
            I believe that Emerson is saying here that we shouldn’t worry about things that have happened in the past or what lies for us in the future, it is about the person that is inside of you overcoming the past and future and living in the present. He is saying that worrying about the past and future is only the smallest of importance and what we should worry about is who we are on the inside. What kind of person we are and who we are made to be is the most important. I completely agree with Emerson because we do need to worry more about what lies within us than what we have done in the past and will do in the future. If one does worry more about their past and future than they can’t think about whom they are in the present and get lost in who they really are. It is important for people to live in the present and know who they are and what lies within them.
14. The only reward of virtue is virtue; the only way to have a friend is to be one.
            Emerson is saying here that if you do moral excellence and have virtue that the reward is virtue because having that is the only reward you need. It’s also true that the only way to have a friend is to be one because no one wants to be friends with someone who betrays them. If one is loyal to his or her friend than that friend will always be there for you in return. If someone was bad talking their friend than their friend will not want anything to do with them. I agree with this statement because I believe friendship is important and what you do with your friendship is up to you but if you are a good friend you will always a friend there by your side. 

Journal #7

                                                                                   

Journal Assignment #7

William Cullen Bryant’s “To a Waterfowl” (p.151) and Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” (p.181)

Read the selections and write a detailed response to the following:

1. Compare/contrast the different views of nature that are being presented in the poems.  Refer to the list of classical and romantic characteristics and provide specific examples from the poems to support your analysis.    

There are two different views of nature in the two poems. In Romanticism it is more concentrated on emotion and feelings towards everything. It is about the individual. Neo-Classical is more about logical feelings on ideas and it more universal.

                        The tone of The Raven is dark, gloomy, depressing, and dreary while the tone of the Waterfall is calm, peaceful, and optimistic. The Waterfall makes the reader feel good about them and the Raven makes the reader feel depressed. In the Raven nature is indifferent, torturing, and hostile. In the Waterfall when he sees the duck he thinks it stands for God knowing what will happen to him and allows him to think about his life in a good way.

            The Raven is ornate in that it is very descriptive and the Waterfall is plain. The Raven is unclear and confusing as to what the meaning of the poem is. The Waterfall is straight forward and readers know exactly what is going on. There is a clear cut answer where in the Raven it is unclear and there is no real answer.

            The settings are different because in the Raven it takes place during winter where it is cold and dreary and at midnight. The bird flies into his house and he isn’t even looking at the nature of it. The Waterfall is during sunset where it is pretty and happy. He is outside watching the bird in nature.

            The speaker of the Raven is grief stricken, depressed and possibly crazy. If the speaker of the Raven were to be watching the sunset he would probably find something bad and gloomy about it. The speaker in the Waterfall is thoughtful, open-minded, and content.

           

The speaker in the Raven has a definite conflict because he is grieving over Lenore. He is aggravated and upset over the death of his wife and can’t seem to move on from it. He is having an internal conflict and in the end only feels worse. The speaker of the Waterfall doesn’t really have a personal problem. His biggest problem is his curiosity towards how the birds migrate and how they know where to go. He starts with a question and ends with an answer involving God leading you to where you want to be.

The imagery in the Raven is all dark, ghastly, dreary, weak, and fire. It all depicts sadness. In the Waterfall it is a rosy day and all leads to happiness. Each speaker makes his own symbolism. The Waterfall symbolizes God and God’s power and guidance. In life we will guided in life by him and he will tell us where to go. In the Raven it is all negative when he constantly says “nevermore.” He tried to finds answers but is only told he will never be re-united, he will never go to heaven.

The purposes are completely different in that in the Waterfall he ends happy and there is always going to be someone there to guide him to where he needs to be. The Raven’s purpose is that his spirit will never be lifted and things will never be better.

They also have some things that are the same because they are both about a bird and a person. The bird in both has a sign for the person. The both have direct interaction with the bird. The two poems have a similar purpose in that they both are having an interaction with the bird and uses it towards a meaning in his life. 

Journal #6

Journal #6

From Ben Franklin’s The Autobiography (p. 80 – 83)

1. Explain what was involved in Franklin’s plan for self-perfection?   What conclusion did Franklin come to regarding the effectiveness of this plan?

            In Franklin’s plan he came up with thirteen virtues that are important for someone to live by in order to improve yourself as a person. The virtues were temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility. He made a little book which he put each of the virtues. Franklin wanted to spend a week practicing one virtue at a time and making it perfection. He marked with a little black dot for every fault that he found he did. It was a thirteen week process in which by the end he would have lived a perfect and happy life. The conclusion that Franklin came to was that even though he couldn’t get passed order because he would need more balance in his life, he was still a better and happier man than he otherwise should have been.

2. Do you feel that a plan such as Franklin’s would improve you as a person?  Why or why not?  What would be your top five virtues? 

            I think that Franklin’s virtues would improve me as a person because it would improve anyone. Although I probably wouldn’t improve myself on these virtues because of laziness and lack of interest they are a good way of making you a better person. My top five virtues are temperance because balance in life is important, silence because talking only when important is a great quality to have, resolution because it’s important to resolve things, sincerity because any good person has sincerity, and cleanliness because it is important to take care of your body. 

Journal #5

Journal #5 – from Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” (p.95-6)

1. Identify the specific argument that Paine is making in each paragraph.  For each of the arguments, identify whether Paine is making an emotional, ethical, or logical appeal and suggest an effective counterargument.

1.     The argument that Paine is making that the Americans must stand up against and conquer Britain’s tyranny. The more they wait for the independence the greater the feeling will be when they win. The harder they have to work, the better it is when they gain independence.

The appeal is emotional to get the readers fired up and excited. It based more on the emotions people are feeling rather than the logical reasoning

An Effective Counterargument is that Britain is the mother country and they sovereign over them, so they have the right to tax the colonies.

Logical Fallacy is non-sequiter. It compares taxing to slavery Aphorisms. He uses an aphoristic writing style and had many short statements about life.

#2 The Argument that Thomas Pain is making is his secret opinion that God the Almight will not let the military powers destroy people who have tried so hard to avoid the war by every method that wisdom could have invented.

He is making an ethical appeal because based on his argument on his religion and the emotions of God. He hints at the Americans as being morally superior over the British and that because of that, God will support us.

An Effective Counterargument is that the British King gets his power from God to rule, why would such a God protect the Americans who are Britain’s enemy? It also says that by God protecting the Americans it is contradicting to saying that God is giving Britain the military power to destroy the Americans when he is only going to save them.

          Logical- God doesn’t chose sides.

Logical Fallacies are Ad Hominem when Paine attacks the King of Britain personally, calling him a common murderer, a highwayman, or a housebreaker. Another one is Begging the Question in that why would God help the British, if he is not going to let the Americans lose to the British forces? The British think that God is on their side.

#3 The Argument that Paine makes is that America will never be happy unless they are free from Britain. The between the two is an inevitable event. We should fight now so that our children will one day be free and not leave the war for them to fight.

The appeal that Thomas Paine is making is ethical. He is saying to fight the war now, for the children. He is telling the man to take the burden upon yourself and don’t let the children bear the stresses and losses of war. It is also a logical appeal because it is going to happen sooner or later.

An Effective Counterargument is just because you to go war for child doesn’t mean you will get the best outcome. What would happen if the next generation had no parents because they lost them all in the war?

Logical Fallacies are False Dichotomy in that not talking about any sort of options between two extremes. Also begging the question in that the assumption that they are going to win.

#4 The argument that is being is made is that it’s better to fight defensively offensively. It’s okay to fight back. We should fight the British just as we should fight a thief who breaks into our homes. He is using an analogy to relate to the thief.

Pain is making an emotional appeal because he feels as if the king of Britain is a thief and his character is appalling the dead America, will come after the king and get revenge on the king because he deserves it.

An effective counterargument would be to argue that the king is not a thief, and he possesses many effective and useful powers.

Logical Fallacies would be Argument by analogy by not using much reasoning

·          Non-Sequiter – Paine jumps from taxing, to slavery. There is no logical sequence.

·         Sentimental Appeal – Thomas Paine is trying to get the reader’s minds away from the logic of the situation, and appeal to the emotion of gaining independence.

·         Aphorism – Paine uses many clever and wise statements about what life will be like without the British.

·         Dogmatic – Paine states that God is on the American’s side, which cannot be proven.

·         Ad Hominem – Paine attack’s the King of Britain and relates him to “a common murderer”, “a highwayman”, and a “housebreaker”. He attacks the king of Britain personally. What kind of murderous person would ask God for help?

·         Begging the Question – If God will not give the Americans up to the British, why would the British ask God for help? It cannot be proven that God will not give up the Americans to the British.

·         Hyperbole – “No a man lives on the continent…” No man lives in America that does not believe that America should be free from Britain. Paine makes a very broad assumption here and cannot prove that all Americans are for the war against Britain.

·         False Dichotomy – Paine makes the assumption that either you have peace between two countries or war. There is no happy medium.

·         Faulty Analogy – Comparing the King to a thief would be a faulty analogy because it is not a fact that the king is a thief. Paine and a majority of the Americans emotionally feel that the king is a thief.

Journal #4

Journal Assignment #4

Descriptive Writing Assignment

Using Ann Hodgman’s essay as a model, write a detailed description of a recent meal that you ate.  Your focus should be on describing as many aspects of your food as you can.  

Important Elements:                      Concrete/Abstract Images

                                                            Multi-Sensory Images                                                                                                       Simile, Metaphor, Analogy

Dominant Impression

                                                           

 

            That moment when your mouth is completely satisfied and no other hot and appetizing spice could ever compare to this outer body experience. Whenever a waiter serves Bang Bang Shrimp to one of the lucky customers everyone in the room can smell the sharp but enticing effect of the seasoning surrounding the shrimp. Your ears can hear the slight crunch of the breading that is then filled with flavor and delight. When eating bang bang shrimp it is like a burst of flavor has exploded into your mouth and always leaves you wanting more. The appetizer is so satisfying that your mind, stomach, and mouth will be filled and never want anything else again. The sweet chili sauce mixed with a slight touch of hot chili sauce will induce your senses making it impossible to resist. Everyone likes the taste of shrimp but after adding all the ingredients to form the bang bang your whole body will forever love this appetizer. The shrimp is described as delightfully small and perfect for a bite size appetizer covered in a citrus and zesty flavoring that will draw your eyes and mouth in until you feel as if you cannot live without eating this delicious appetizer. 

Journal #3

                                                                                  

Journal Assignment #3

“No Wonder They Call Me a Bitch” – Ann Hodgman

(The Norton Sampler p.77)

Read the selection and write a one paragraph response to the following questions.

1.  Cite three specific examples of Hodgman’s descriptive imagery that you find to be particularly effective. 

“Poultry by-products consist of necks, intestines, undeveloped eggs and other ‘carcass remnants’ but not feathers, heads or feet.” (Page 78 line 5)

“I flipped the patty into the sink, where it immediately began leaking rivults of red dye” (Page 78 line 11)

“There we chunks in the can, certainly – big, purplish-brown chunks” (Page 79 line14)

Journal #2

Journal 2 - Annie Dillard – “The Death of a Moth,” from Holy the

Firm

1. How are the moths in the essay’s opening different from the moth at the campsite?  What do the different moths represent? 

The moths are the two different approaches to life. The moths in the bathroom are dead and empty. They are just body parts and not recognizable. The moths at the campsite were burning like the wick in the candle. She is saying that the first ones are nothing, dried up bits of life that aren’t inspiring or driven. The moth in the flame brought some life and beauty. She wants to be the one in the campsite because it’s burning and passionate.

2. What lesson does the moth provide that Dillard takes back to her students? 

The lessons that the moths provide is to give whatever you do your all. It is to be the person to attack it and go all out. The ax could also mean to dig deep and struggle to find your courage.

3.  How many references are there to fire in the essay?  What’s the larger significance of fire in the essay? 

There three big references to fire in the essay. The candles before she goes to bed, the title of the book that inspired her to become a writer, and the moths in the fire. The fire represents inspiration. The fire is sparking ideas, passion, and ignites. She compares the moth to a saint that is a martyr. The death has meaning and it wasn’t an empty death.

4. Address how each of the following quotes connect to Dillard’s overall point.  

a.      “I would rather be ashes than dust!
          I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot.
          I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in        magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.
          The function of man is to live, not to exist.
          I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them.
          I shall use my time.”

                    -Jack London

He is saying here that she would rather have lived his life at the best and has meaning instead of being nothing. He wants to leave life knowing that he did something important and passionate. London is saying to take every day and live it to your fullest. Don’t let your days get away from you and be passionate towards anything you do. It connects to Dillard’s point in that her whole essay if pointed towards finding the fire within and being important in life.

b. “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”

          -William Butler Yeats

In this quote, Yeats is saying that education is not just getting what you need to done but it is taking what you have learned and make it into something big. Don’t just learn what you need too but learn everything you can and make importance out of it. The purpose of education is to ignite an interest and spark a fire with the individual person. This relates to Dillard’s essay in the mention of fire and using fire as a symbol of inspiration.

c. “A book should serve as the ax for the frozen sea within us.”  

          -Franz Kafka

This quote by Franz like Dillard is referring to the ax in going at things with full force. He is saying that books bring out the person we really are inside of us. Dillard says in her essay to go at life with a broadax saying to go through life giving it your all. 

Journal #1

Once upon a time I was a little girl with a big dream that changed my life forever. Anyone reading this would assume that I became someone who is to be remembered but I am just here to tell you my story, the truth. Mom and Dad weren’t the typical parents that pushed me to be the best person I could. No, they were the ones that brought me down. Sometimes I can’t blame them, since the death of my sister sent my dad to drugs and my mom through the roof with anger. It seemed that they forgot about something else, me.

When I was nine nothing was stopping me from becoming a princess. I was destined to become something important, someone with the name everybody in the world will know. I even thought of changing my name from Bernice Bowers to Stephanie Hope because everyone who is anyone has the coolest name. In my trailer in Sunny Side Trailer Park in Alabama, I would walk through the streets in my crown, which I saved up cleaning Ms. Jenkins’ house, waves as if I was Anne Hathaway from the Princess Diaries.

At the age of fifteen, after growing out my brown curly hair, filling out in my breasts, growing into my heart shaped face with blue eyes, and having the body that every girl in my grade wishes they could have there was a change. I went to Hollywood at eighteen with so much vigor that no one would dare get into my way. Except for Kegan Hanes. He was the first boy I ever loved or so was said. I was intrigued by his high class parents that dressed like polo models, his knowledge of the world I was never a part of, and his friends that looked at me with such respect. It wasn’t until the night that these friends of his looked at me a little differently after having a few drinks. That night, those guys did things to me that no woman should ever endure while the love of my life, Kegan sat back and did nothing. I was broken with nothing, no money, or the will to move on. After becoming homeless and ruined for months, I decided it was time to do something for myself. I went to an audition for a small movie and although I looked ragged, a woman there saw something in me that no one has before. Her name was Elizabeth Nied and I would be nothing without her. She brought to success as a famous actress and I now make my own money and will never let all those people bring me down again. I became the princess I was made to be.