CC at Miami Response : My Name

My Name by Menfei Yuan, is a very eye awakening essay. Mengfei Yuan is a Chinese immigrant who moved to the States not too long ago. She had a very tough transition coming here, whether it was language, friends, culture, and even food, everything was very different. Yuan had a personal issue with Americans mispronouncing her name, so she changed it to "Fayer". She thought if she changed her name, it would make her fit into American society, but what she realized is that she felt that apart of her Chinese side was gone. Fayer explains that in China your name represents who you are, it has meaning and pride behind it, and when she changed it she felt upset that she lost her Chinese heritage. This essay was a very interesting essay to read and now whenever I meet an immigrant to the United States, I will be more conscious of pronouncing their name and trying to understand where they came from.

2 Nagging Grammar or Writing Questions

#1) When do you the word affect and effect?

#2) Where and why do you use a colon and semicolon?

Staple's Essay: Public Spaces

Staple's essay is a very famous and important essay to read about. I read this essay in high school and am not surprised that it keeps coming again in my academic career. He writes about the topic of race, which in todays society is a very touchy subject. Stable is a young, black male and is looked upon as a thug, scary, and harmful when he walks around the streets of Chicago at night time. He is not walking around causing harm or looking for any of trouble, but is actually the complete opposite of a criminal.

Personally, I do not think I come off as a threat to many people. I do not notice many people altering their public space around me because I am not a big person. I am nothing close to 6 feet and only weigh around 150 pounds, so my build is very small. As I look back, I cannot think of any specific example where I felt uncomfortable because someone around me was altering there space around me. As a society, we should all try to forget about the race issue and the stereotypes, I mean there is a black male running our country, which is a major step forward fixing the racism.

It is very sad to say, but Staple's incidents are very common in todays world. Staples admits that this example of the woman walking faster and faster away from him in the dark night is not the first time something like that has happened. Many people avoid him at night, whether they are in a car locking the doors, or sit further away on the subway. I see both points of view, and I think that this issue is such a problem because there have been so many incidents that don't turn out so innicent that many people try to avoid them at all costs. I try my hardest to look at everyone the same way, but I have to admit there are times where I can relate to the people walking faster and faster at night, alone in a dark alley. This has to do with the media, T.V, and movies in my opinion because they make so many story lines of rapes, murders, and mugging, so it hard to pretend like no of this happens.

Nicholas Connolly- Sequence IV

Rank= webpage, photo essay, wiki, movie, graphic story

Topics= Chicago Cubs, Miami University, English 111. Ms. Wood's class, Movie or TV Show, Music

Question #1= How long does the move and photo essay have to be?

Question #2= Why are we doing a project so technical? Why not just stick to the traditional writing style.

Past Present: Jimmy Baca

Baca’s “Past, Present” blends two traditional types of writing the narrative essay and the persuasive essay very well. He goes into great detail in the narrative part of his essay by talking about his own experience in jail. The audience knows exactly the types of emotions he goes through while he illustrates the terrible time he spent in jail. He explains, " I said i hated being back and that no movie could begin to show the injustices practiced here." Baca is being interviewed about his movie, and just talking about it got him all worked up and upset. After, he got up and told them to all "Fuck off", demonstrating his true feelings about the time he spent in jail. Baca uses the persuasive writing style in his essay by truly convincing the audience how terrible jail is. Most people understand that jail is a place that no one ever wants to end up, but Baca takes that feeling and makes the audience share that same feeling he had. He states, " When a man leaves prison, he cannot look into the mirror for fear of seeing what he has become. In the sense, he no longer knows himself". That statement persuaded me into actually feeling like if I ever ended up in jail, I would be miserable. Not being yourself anyone is a very scary feeling to think about because the one person you should know inside and out is yourself. Overall, Baca does a phenomenal job using both the persuasive and narrative writing styles in his essay and I enjoyed learning about his experience in jail and what he took from it.

Sanitized Reality: Nicholas Connolly

Disney World is known as the happiest place in the world. As a child or even as an adult everyone wants to visit Disney World at least once in their lifetime, even Super Bowl Champions want to visit right after they won the most prestigious event in American sports. Unfortunately, Salamone and Salamone feel the complete opposite about this magical wonderland. Salamone and Salamone describe Disney World as a " sanitized reality" because Disney World is one of only a few places in the world that affects the way we act. People visiting Disney World cannot wait to get in and escape reality. They spend a whole day in a fantasy world where there are no worries, no troubles, and most importantly no sense of reality. Salamone and Salamone stated, " The guest is exposed to the frontstage and left to absorb the almost subliminal message of the setting"(169). They're are implying that Disney World uses a low dose of subliminal messaging towards their customers, both kids and adults, which gives them the sense to come back again and again. They brainwash children's brains with imagination and a life that really doesn't exist. For the people who visit, they get one day to just simply escape from the world. They can, in a way, be whoever they want and do whatever they want. Moms and Dads can take their kids to Disney World where they can have a relaxing day and not have to worry about work, bills, or any other " real" world problems and Salamone and Salamone have a serious problem with all of this.

Another case of sanitized reality in the United States are the views of capitalism and democracy. These two very important views is what America stands for and they're slowly slipping away. The Federal Reserve just put in 700 billion dollars into the economy and the Dow Jones Industrial is still going down 500 points a day on average. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two of the worlds largest federal home mortgage corporations are now being run by the government. Capitalism as a whole in America is slipping away from a free market into a market ran by our own government. Democracy, what the United States of America represents, is now being questioned by everyone, Conservatives, Republicans, and Independents. This war in Iraq has been going on for almost a decade and not one person seems to want it to continue. The unfortunate part is that there seems to be no end to this war anytime soon. If you watch the news or read the paper, more people are jumping on the bandwagon of getting out of Iraq and hoped that the bailout would've never happened, but the government hasn't seemed to listen to any of this. Democracy and capitalism are two of the biggest examples of sanitized reality today in our country and I hope it doesn't stay this way.

Rhetorical Analysis: The Gettysburg Address Link

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/gettysburgaddress.htm

Rhetorical Analysis: The Gettysburg Address

On Thursday November 19th, 1863 one of the most famous speeches was given in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address four and half months after the Battle of Gettysburg, which was one of the most famous and bloodiest battles that occurred during the America Civil War.  In this speech, president Lincoln redefines the purpose of why the Union were fighting the Confederates.  Lincoln at the time was not very liked by both the North and the South because amount of causalities, so he thought that by giving this speech it would boost his ratings and the morale of the Union people. The short but powerful speech is so famous because of Lincoln's great rhetorical skills and the ways he explains how he is conserving the old ways of the Union and bringing them into the new America. 

The first key term that caught my eye was kairos. At this point in time in American history, the United States is falling apart. The war is for the most part over and both the Union and Confederate lives are in shambles. If Lincoln had not given this speech who knows where the country would be today. The Gettysburg Address was given at the perfect time to boost up the confidence of the people and give them a sense of security that everything was taking a turn for the best. Lincoln talks about in the first paragraph of this short but powerful speech that when this nation was first created by the four fathers all men were created equal. The reason for the American Revolutionary War was because the colonists had felt that they were treated like slaves by the British. After the colonists had defeated the British, they wanted to create a country that was based off of equality, not inequality. So 87 years later, the basis of how this country is supposed to be ran is said to be contradicted, which started the bloodiest war in American history. 

In the second paragraph, Lincoln talks about how the American people should now take gratitude towards those who have died for this country. He wants all to be put aside so we can pay our respects to those brave men who risked their lives for a caused they believed in. The use of diction stands out here because in this sad and tough time in American history, Lincoln is trying to but all issues aside and say that there is a bigger picture here. The bigger picture is that look at what this war has done to this great country. Men of the same country, but different beliefs died on the battlefield and now need to be given a proper goodbye. " We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that that a nation might live". Those words right there are very deep and need to be taken very seriously. The effectiveness of those words show the audience a clear picture of what the country needs to do to get out of the whole their in and to start off on the right foot.

The final paragraph of the Gettysburg Address truly sums up the beliefs and ground-stone of the United States of America. Lincoln uses Anaphora by repeating the word "we" talking about the country now as a whole instead of two halves. " We cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground". This appeals to the pathos of his audience by telling them that this country is now one. There is now Union or Confederates anymore, this is the United States of America. Lincoln goes on to talk about how the soldiers who died on the battlefield will never be forgotten. Some may not remember what they said, but they will always know what they did.  He says that, " It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us". The American people now need to move on from this point and finish what those who have died started. The president ends his speech with an epistrophe by saying, " that government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from this earth".  This goes back to his first paragraph by saying that we are all free, we are all equal, and we are all looked upon as one. This famous speech, which at the time was not looked at in such a uplifting way, turned out to be what the American people needed to get their lives back together and start a new life.

" The Church Uptown" by Ian McGuinness

" The Church Uptown" is a very well written and descriptive piece of writing. He started out with a very effective technique to teach us a history lesson of the church and how it came about. He went into great detail to describe the importance of the church and how much it meants to the parishioners." St. Mary's is a place that has not only withstood its trials of time, but has also provided the people of Oxford the opportunity to withstand their own trials of life and faith." Ian is saying that uptown is based around the church. The church meant so much to the people of Oxford that its location, being in the center of town, shows how important it is. He then tells his audience about how the location of the church now is almost like an oxymoron because now it is surrounded by nothing but bars and food. This sacred place of worship is right next to a place where college students drink, dance and sin, how ironic. Now, Ian thinks of it as a bad thing, but I think its perfect because after you sin, what would be better than to walk right next door and repent! But his last sentence really put everything into perspective, "Her lights are always on and her doors are always open." He is saying that no matter what, everyone is always welcome no matter who you are or what you have done, which is a very effective technique to use when concluding his piece.

Jamaica Kincaid's "On Seeing England for the First Time"

Of the four pieces we read in Writing and Place I thought that Jamaica Kincaid's "On Seeing England for the First Time" used thick description most effectively. Kincaid used thick description so well that after I finished reading her story I felt that there would be no need for me to take an English history class! The way she described England was so detailed and very patriotic, that it gave me the goosebumps after only reading the first paragraph. "This is England"-and she said it with authority, seriousness, and adoration, and we all sat up". She is telling us how great the old England was and how much everyone adored the country. She tells us how much history and tradition the country had, that it made me wish that i was apart of something so great.
Unfortunately, the thick description turns south after she visits for the second time. Now, all grown up she takes a good look at the "real" England and realizes that it's not at all what it use to be. Everything has changed for the worse and the way she desbribes England now makes you never want to go there. The people, the food, the culture, everything is groteske to her now."I said, my husband and I hate princes, my husband would never wear anything that had a prince's anything on it." He hatred towards England is so bad that she is very rude to everyone. The prince is a very well-respected man in England and her saying that she hates him is the icing on the cake telling the audience how badly she dislikes the country. Kincaid really took me for a loop while reading this story because at first she speaks so highly of England and by the end of it she is saying things like," It was not at that moment that I wished every sentence, everything I knew, that began with England would end with " and then it all died."

Why group work fails or succeeds- Roskelly

I think group work succeeds. I know many many people would love to disagree, but overall group work is a great method of bringing people and their ideas together. I agree with the statement two heads are better than one and this could not be a better time to use that sang. By bringing a small group of classmates together and letting them all express their opinions and thoughts is a great way to come out with one great result. Now of course there are the few straggler groups or stragglers in a good group, but nothings truly perfect. When Roskelly said all writers need to hear their own voices, and it is only possible to hear them through others voices, I was sold right then and there on why group work succeeds. I read that statement and then thought about my past group work experiences and remembered when I would say my opinion and right after someone else would say something, then another would express how they felt, and right then and there the group took off. It didn't matter if we all agreed what one had to say, it mattered that we were expressing our selves and overall working as a group.

Eng 111 Anne Lamott's Bird By Bird

After reading Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird, I read the first few paragraphs and felt great about myself. The reason I felt so great was because right away I took a great deal to heart knowing that I was absolutely agreeing with her perspective on writing. In our first assignment we were asked, " How does one become a good writer"? Anne Lamott could not have explained it any better in her first paragraph when saying start with a shitty first draft. I feel like practice makes perfect. No matter if it's a sport, acting, teaching,working, and last but not least, writing. Writing is something that no one is truly good at on their first try and it is very frustrating because it takes so much hard work and effort. When Anne said in the first paragraph that no writers sit down and feel like a million bucks because they know that it is just not simply true. The are being real and knowing that this first draft that the whip out of no where and nothing but rambling and random thoughts is going to be simply shitty. The upside to this very shitty first draft is one, the writer knows that the second one is going to be better and two, they could come out with something that they never thought would come out thinking "rationally". Anne couldn't be more correct in my mind because she is being 100% honest and it seems like in this day and age one doesn't see much of that. I am very glad to have read this article because with the year just starting it is good to have a little reminder in your head that is saying, if you give it some time and effort it will all come together in the end.

Eng 111 Blog Responce

1) Good writing is something that is very easy and comfortable to read. Also, good writing flows very smoothly.

2) One becomes a good writer by lots and lots of practice. Like everything else, many difficult things take much practice, time, and effort and that includes writing for sure.

3) Why is writing so technical and difficult to master?

4) The two most difficult things for me as a writer are coming up with a dead on thesis and the second one is sometimes I go way off the topic or point I am trying to conclude. The easiest thing for me as a writer is being creative and being able to tell a personal story.