Journal 8 Emerson Aphorisms

Journal 8- Emerson Aphorisms

1.    All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.

2.    Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist.

3.    What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not been discovered.

I chose these tree aphorisms to write a personal response about. I believe that in these aphorisms Emerson is trying to show his readers his beliefs and to share his wisdom. The first aphorism is a phrase we have heard ourselves in many different forms but it still rings true to the ear, one can never have success if you do not try. The second aphorism is Emerson saying something he has noticed about society and people, Emerson is trying to tell his readers that in order to be truly noticeable and exceptional you cannot conform to what society asks of you. The final aphorism tries to show the value in things that seem to have no value at all, rather their value is hidden and yet to be appreciated. These aphorisms from Emerson show his unique and profound beliefs about society and how society is sometimes very incorrect.

Journal 7 Waterfowl Raven

                                                                                    Name:

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. 

In the two poems, “The Raven” and “To a Waterfowl” we see an example of two different time periods in the writing. While “To a Waterfowl” is classic and written in the Age of Reason which focused on natural values and logic, “The Raven” poem is from the Romantic era which focused on emotions, senses and the way humans perceive their environment.

The tone and style of the waterfowl is optimistic and positive which contrasts to the gloomy and sad world of “The Raven.” Edgar Allen Poe’s poems are often toned to what is happening in his characters head while the water fowl’s tone is positive and focuses on rationality and harmony as most classical writings did. The settings also contrast romanticism and neo-classical writings. The setting of The Raven appeals to the senses in a dark and gloomy matter, the setting of the waterfowl is realistic.

The two poems have a similar purpose; the poets are trying to explain something. The water fowl is trying to show the beauty of nature while The Raven is an attempt to show that there really is no purpose to life, that the principles of logic and reason.

Journal 7

                                                                                    Name:

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. 

In the two poems, “The Raven” and “To a Waterfowl” we see an example of two different time periods in the writing. While “To a Waterfowl” is classic and written in the Age of Reason which focused on natural values and logic, “The Raven” poem is from the Romantic era which focused on emotions, senses and the way humans perceive their environment.

The tone and style of the waterfowl is optimistic and positive which contrasts to the gloomy and sad world of “The Raven.” Edgar Allen Poe’s poems are often toned to what is happening in his characters head while the water fowl’s tone is positive and focuses on rationality and harmony as most classical writings did. The settings also contrast romanticism and neo-classical writings. The setting of The Raven appeals to the senses in a dark and gloomy matter, the setting of the waterfowl is realistic. The imagery and symbolism in the Raven creates a dark and gloomy setting which is starkly contrasted in the bright setting of the Waterfowl. The author's view of nature is contrasted as well from the Neo-classical and Romantic viewpoint. The Raven is much more particular, describing in detail the factors that put the Raven beyond human control. To a waterfowl is universal and indefinite and is easily subjected to human control. In The Raven untamed nature is to be celebrated whereas in To A Waterfowl untamed nature is dark and often evil. 

The two poems have a similar purpose; the poets are trying to explain something. The water fowl is trying to show the beauty of nature while The Raven is an attempt to show that there really is no purpose to life, that the principles of logic and reason.

Journal 6- Franklin

                                                            Name: Brian Cadden

Journal #6

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

Write a well-developed paragraph in response to the following questions.

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

Franklin planned to perfect himself by strengthening the 13 virtues that were in his opinion the road to self-perfection. In order to do this he would attempt each week to focus on one virtue and not to stray from the path. The logic of this plan was that each week he would strengthen each of the individual virtues until eventually he had mastered them all. Franklin felt that even though he had not completely succeeded the exercise in “self-examination” had benefited his character and he hoped his descendants would follow his example in future.

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 feel like a plan such as Franklin’s would not be able to improve me as a person, mainly because all too often we overlook our own faults. I believe that if I were to be grading myself on my own virtues I may end up overlooking many of my failures and subsequently not improve due to this. Rather, I believe the exercise instead helps to stop bad habits but not truly change the personality of someone.

My top five virtues would be:

1. Compassion
2. Justice
3. Honesty
4. Peace
5. Intellect

Journal 5- Thomas Paine

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

          #2

          #3

          #4 Paine is saying that it is ok to fight when your enemy is a thief and stealing your livelihood from you. As long as you are fighting in self-defense the war is justified. Paine is making an emotional and logical appeal to the American people by saying that if you were to be attacked you would fight back. A counter- argument would be that the British are very strong, much stronger than the colonies and if the colonies were to fight them many people would get killed and if they lost Britain would punish them harshly.

2. Can you identify any of the logical fallacies that we discussed in Paine’s arguments?  If so, which ones?  Overall, what do you feel are the strengths and weaknesses of Paine’s arguments?   

Paine makes a false analogy about Great Britain. Comparing them to thieves that burn and pillage when really it is just tax. This is kind of misleading to the reader.

I feel that the strong points of Paine’s argument are that he is able to appeal the emotional sides of his reader’s minds but he failed to mention that there will be terrible sacrifices when the colonies stand up to, and fight against Britain.

Journal 4 Food Description

                                                                                                Name: Brian Cadden

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

                                                           

  An amazing smell wafted through the air as the oven opened, a mix of tomato, cheese and meat fed the senses and made the brain imagines a delicious meal ahead. Once the lasagna is down on the table everyone in the room sort of gravitates to it, like buzzards to a fresh kill. The anticipation of the food is palpable, next the garlic bread comes out and that was it. Everyone is already sitting at the table ready to eat. The minute you bite into the cheese, meat and tomato combo your taste buds send messages back to your brain with the taste and your brain sends messages to your body to take another bite. It is so good no one is talking anymore as the people devour the food. You chomp on bite after bite of the juicy lasagna and the crisp garlic bread, probably eating too much of the stuff, but at the moment this doesn’t matter; the meal is too good.

Journal 3- Hodgman

                                                                                    Name: Brian Cadden

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. 

In Ann Hodgman’s “No Wonder They Call Me a Bitch” Hodgman has used many descriptive images to help her readers visualize the food she was eating. Some examples I found particularly effective were:

 “I gagged my way through can after can of stinky, white flecked mush and bag after bag of stinky, fat-drenched nuggets.”

“A lumpy, frightening, bloody, stringy horror is a sign of high quality-lots of meat.”

“Chunky chicken? There were chunks in the can, certainly-big purplish-brown chunks.”

2.  What do you think Hodgman’s purpose was in writing this essay?  What overall message/meaning do you take from the essay?  

I believe the author’s purpose of writing this essay was to subtly mock the food critics and how serious they take their jobs on food reviews. The way she describes the dog food with such detail as if she is actually taking her review of dog food seriously seems to be a satire of food critics reviewing regular food. It is also trying to show that lots of dog food marketing is targeted towards owners who may or may not know what food is best for their dogs. 

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 in the essay’s opening are purposeless and jumbled, flying about “in a confusion of arching strips of chitin like peeling varnishes.” The moths at her house have no purpose while the moths at the camp plunge headfirst into the fire of her candle and burn.

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

The moth is a lesson about life and being a writer. Dillard visualizes the burning moth as an analogy for a good writer and tries to show this to her students. She says that a good writer puts everything they have into their work, so much that they burn up in the flames.

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

The novel that “made me (Dillard) want to be a writer when I was sixteen” is called a The Day on Fire. Her candle and the moths that keep flying into it are a reference to fire Finally at the end she says that she lights 3 candles whenever visitors come and move “light over everyone’s faces.” The greater significance of fire in the essay is that it needs fuel to function, the moth is the fuel and the moth symbolizes a writers passion to write.

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

This quote is significant to the overall theme of the novel because Jack London’s point is very similar to Dillard’s. In order to be a good writer or exceptional at anything one must burn the brightest and longest, however the flames will eventually consume you.

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

          -William Butler Yeats

This quote is significant to the passage because in the narrative the author tries to teach her students that to become a writer you have to truly put your whole self into your works. However, if you do this you will burn yourself out eventually. Yeats says that education is the lighting of a fire.

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

          -Franz Kafka

This quote relates to the moth narrative because in the narrative the author talks about going at your life with a broadax. She is telling her students that you need to go at your life hard and aspire to be great. If you don’t have this you shouldn’t be a writer.

Journal 1- Robert Frank Narrative

Brian Cadden

9/7/11

Robert Frank Narrative

            I raised my hands up in gratitude as the crowd chanted my name. Stepping into the ring again I felt the familiar nervous feeling that gets my adrenaline pumping. It is a feeling that I’ve always felt and I can’t get away from even with over 300 bouts to my name. My opponent entered the ring on the other side, squarely built and strong, the man eyed as I eyed him. In another situation I and he may have been best of friends, but in order to get to the top I’ll crush him like I’ve crushed the rest of my opponents in this tournament. Hopefully this guy will be a pushover just like the last few fights. The crowd suddenly fell silent and I snapped out of my sudden daydream about becoming the world’s best, the fight was about to start.

The bell sounded and my coach started shouting in my face about tips and possible strategies. As usual I pretended to understand what my coach was saying to me, his tips were old news and I could probably take this guy out in one punch if I wanted to. I took one final sip of water and headed up to the middle of the ring. My opponent was there too, his eyes fixed with determination. I laughed a little in my head; this guy actually thinks he stands a chance against me. The ref asked us both if we were ready and then sounded the bell, the fight had finally started. Weaving around each other I searched for an opening in my opponents guard. “There!” he was coming in for a punch, I decided to go for a knockout first punch and jabbed with all my strength, if I could win this match in one punch my name would be even more famous in the wrestling world…

I woke up in the medical room; I’d been knocked out in one punch.