Start of Second Semester Journals: Journal Seven

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.

‘To a Waterfowl’ is about going wherever god takes you. This is a didactic poem while ‘The Raven’ does not. Poe, the author of ‘The Raven’ views nature as his conscious, which ends up upsetting and depressing him. ‘To a Waterfowl’ uses anaphora, alliteration, and personification. Just as God guides the waterfowl to its summer home, He guides the speaker of the poem through life to his ultimate destination, heaven. In the end, one will be able to say about the speaker what the speaker says about the waterfowl: "the abyss of heaven / Hath swallowed up thy form" (lines 25-26). The poem is a profession of faith in God. The Raven is about a man who has lost his wife to death and is struggling to deal with his loneliness, and despair. He is also trying to come to terms on whether or not there is a God, therefore a heaven to meet his dead wife in. The raven, the actual bird, is basically him and his conscious wrestling each other for the answer.

. ‘The Raven’ has midnight, which is negative, while ‘To a Waterfowl’ has a sunrise.” ‘The Raven’ also has a tone of gloom and despair, while ‘To a Waterfowl’ has an optimistic tone. ‘The Raven’ is very individual, and focuses on the specific bird, while ‘To a Waterfowl’ focuses on birds in general. The bird in ‘To a Waterfowl’ is a good bird with nice qualities, while ‘The Raven’ is a harmful bird. A certain mystery is given to both birds. The Waterfowl bird is somehow able to follow the correct path. The raven represents some irrational force, and is almost a sign of evil. Each speaker of the poems are on opposite ends on an extreme.

Name: Erin Munchel

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 wanted to perfect and simplify life. He did this by creating 13 virtues he thought were needed to improve his lifestyle. To him, every detail mattered, and everything should be morally perfected while organized. He practiced each virtue one a time until he mastered it, then went on to the next, always marking his faults or successes. Each day was focused on one specific virtue that he would practice. He was confident that his character was vastly improved by these virtues. However, he found it was very hard to always maintain order. Although he fails and was not perfect, he thought he was happier then he would have been without the virtues.

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 that if I were to practice virtues that I made to improve myself, it would make me a better person. If I tried my hardest to achieve each virtue, I would probably be happier. If everyone picked out and understood their own personal flaws, virtues could be made to help perfect each one of us. These virtues focus on treating others in a good way, and putting passion into everything we do.

My top five virtues would be:

1. Patience: tolerate delay implying self control and forbearance.

2. Consideration: Putting others before yourself in order to display contemplation

3. Self reliance- relying on yourself, and no one else, in order to have significant responsibilities complete, and acquire a since of responsibility.

4. Compassion- regarding emotional capacities of empathy and sympathy as a part of love.

5. Honesty- being completely real and sincere with others, having openness with others in order to achieve better relationships.

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 harder the conflict, the greater the triumph; all power should be to god, it is not to Britain if something should be taxed of not. It will be tough but we must go to war; the victory will be great. This focuses on good feelings that will come out of triumph. Emotional

#2 god will not give up on us people,; A king (of Britain) can’t save and guide us like God can; the common man has the same deception as the king. Having faith in God will make them automatically win. This is Belief without proof, which is dogmatic. Paine is showing ‘begging the question’ in this paragraph. A counter argument is that there is no guarantee that god is on their side. Ethical

#3 American will not be happy and content until free from foreign rule. America should be freed now, because if we wait, our children will have to fight. More separation earlier will benefit the children. The children will benefit from this sacrifice. If we do it now, we will fight, and our children will be happy and free. A counter argument is that staying with England can help trade. Also, the children could be able to fight, because they should be the voice of their own generation. There is no proof that the conflict would not drag on until when the children grow up. This argument is based on the assumption that they will win the war, which is begging the question. Emotional, ethical, and Logical appeal.

#4 we cannot make the decision to pardon or punish if we do not know all of the facts. He compares the king to a thief, which is a faulty analogy. ethical

2. Can you identify any of the logical fallacy 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 does use a lot of analogies and is still straightforward and blunt. Paine’s arguments all relate something to God. If someone read’s this who is atheist, they may not relate and fully get the point of the argument Paine is making.

Journal 4

Name: Erin Munchel

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

Salad

Today for lunch I ate salad. Eating plain lettuce was like eating leaves, but I had salad dressing, like oil and thickening pepper. The lettuce can be pale green, dark green, or even purple. The dressing was ‘house; dressing, made from where I work. It looked like watered down iced tea mixed with grains of sand and colorful red, green, and black specs grated off the side of a crayon. Although it looked odd, it was delicious. The salad contained bright bed tomatoes, which I hate. They are mushy and full of seeds, almost like eating the inside of pumpkin carvings. However, the cucumbers I love. They are a soft but limber texture that is smooth to touch. They have a few seeds, but they dissolve in your mouth like pomegranate seeds. Some lettuce wilts like unwatered plants left at home while vacationing. Other lettuce is crisp, but easily chewed. Salad smells fresh, like walking through a garden. Eating the vegetables sounds like someone walking through a field of high crass, occasionally stepping on a corn stalk, a very crunchy reverberation. Salad is one of the most beautiful things to eat. It is colorful, and includes many different textures. Variations of green, red, orange, and purple are vividly shown inside my salad bowl.

Journal 3

Name: Erin Munchel

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.

‘The dull tang of soybean flour ‘’

‘’..but each can of the cycle was packed with smooth, round, oily nuggets”

“like meatloaf with ground up chicken bones’’

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

I think the purpose is that even though the dog food was disgusting, she still ate all of the dog food and was not afraid to tell anyone about it. I think that this is saying that even if something is difficult, we shouldn’t give up in it. If we really are interested in something and want to know a clear answer, there is no way to find a conclusion except experiencing the task personally.