Kylee

The many book covers of the book “Fahrenheit 451” have reoccurring images and colors of flames, books, books on fire and a body in flames. They reoccur because the main plot of the story has to do with lighting works of literature on fire. They are banned, and it sometimes resulted in killing people if they did not cooperate, hence the flame engulfed bodies and books. In order to give a reader a sense of the book it’s cover usually has something to do with the overall plot, which is what “Fahrenheit 451” accomplishes. Even though they say, “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover”; I can get a feel of the book before even opening it. A cover of a book captures the attention of a potential reader. The cover that speaks to me the most is the one in the fourth column and the farthest to the right side. It draws my attention because it is very bold and has intensity. Most of the other covers seem to be 2-D, and this particular one seems to pop off the page. I seem to be drawn to more complex pictures, and not ones that are of the simpler sort. This particular cover encompasses all of the components the others contain and gives more. It has much depth because of the intricate drawing. The cover is more realistic as well, which provides a unique aspect, when being compared to the other covers. All of the covers are good representation of the book, based on my knowledge of it. I feel that the cover farthest to the right, in the fourth row speaks to me the most about the book’s subject matter.

You have a cell phone. This month you can’t pay your the bill for it because you went over your minutes. Next thing you know you will be living in an alley with your stray dog. (slippery slope)

My cat was acting really wierd today. She was jumping all up on the walls. The next day there was and earthquake. I reported to the local news station that my cat’s actions could predict natural disasters. (post hoc)

 A sneeze leads to a cold and a cold leads to a trip to the hospital. Then you die. I hope you don’t start sneezing. (fake one)

1. I would have to read something that is so outrageous I don’t believe it. It would probably have to do with information about the future or another life form and include pictures so that I know it’s truly real. It would have to come from a credible source and include lots of discription and examples to make me feel as though I were in a new world.
2. This matter is reciprocal because the zoo is involved with science just as science is invloved with the zoo. The two have a mutual relationship. A reciprocal matter today would be how people interact. Both people interacting are getting the enjoyment out of a conversation, so they are reciprocal. Most of life consists of being reciprocal.
3. I find this sight not as beautiful as Eiseley pictured it. I enjoy having people surrounding me and to have the last man run away to the hills would be sort of disappointing. I believe that Eiseley would view this as a nice gesture to restore the nest, although he would rather not restore it and just let the birds go on with their life in a normal manner. I think that Eiseley would view this sort of human involvement as kind but unnecessary for birds need to be wild and free.
4. In paragraph 26 Eiseley had an epiphany. He realized that capturing the bird was not the right thing to do and that it needed to be free. Although the point was not to help science Eiseley still has strong beliefs in helping science studies. He also has strong sympathy for those who suffer or experience great change due to science.
5. I think that a good sentence to end his essay with would have been, “It’s life I believe in, not machine.” This sentence ties all of his story back to the main point having to do with life vs. machine.
6. Eiseley’s essay reveals that all humanity is the study of science which brings about new forms of technology. Without just one of these three aspects life as we know it would not be the same. We study, learn and grow through science, technology and humanity.

This excerpt of Corbett Trubey’s essay is trying to convey that televisions are taking control of way too much free time than they ought to. The “omnipresent box” he refers to is a TV. It is described as being almost everywhere in homes throughout the world. Trubey shows that he does not approve of this nature and that people are extremely unaware of how bad situations have gotten.
“The omnipresent box” shows how widely used the television is. It gives a larger impact than just using “television” would have. Trubey states that TV’s control much more than we realize. By this I think that he means while watching TV people don’t realize how much time they are wasting and end up watching it for hours and hours. Since he is describing these things in a negative manner I assume that Trubey doesn’t particularly like TV.
My point of view is slightly different, since I am a television viewer and enjoy watching it. I do believe that the places that televisions are being watched are increasing, as I have seen first hand. My family of 3 has 4 TV’s. While this may not be necessary, we have them. TV is a large part of worldwide culture.
This just goes to show how controlling the television is. Just watch someone while his or her favorite show is on. They seem to zone out and really focus on the TV, and not so much of their surroundings. These viewers don’t realize that they are zoning out like this either, which just goes to show that TV has an immense grasp on our lives. Statistics that Trubey gives throughout his argument show that television takes up much of our lives. At the time it doesn’t seem like we are watching a lot of TV, but after a while it adds up.
For the most part, I agree with the facts that Corbett Trubey makes, but I don’t feel as strong towards the fact that TV is such a bad thing. I agree with all of the facts that he gives, for instance, television is becoming more apparent throughout the world. It is very controlling and people don’t realize it until years of their lives are wasted away. Although, I still truly enjoy watching it and don’t plan to change my watching habits any time soon.

1. The first example I found was made up of mostly anecdotes. It was titled, “Sleeping Around, What’s the Best Inflatable Mattress?” Since this entire article was based on personal opinion of the author, Torie Bosch, it would be considered to have anecdotal support. For each of the six types of mattresses tested the tester (Bosch) graded them on their ease of use and whether or not it provided a good night’s sleep. I found this article on the website, http://www.slate.com/id/2177978.
2. I would have to consider my second example to consist of mostly facts. This article, “Fish are Jumpin’”, explains why fish jump out of the water. One example of this is a 75-pound stingray jumped out of the water and struck a lady in the head while sitting in her boat. Author Michelle Tsai makes statements such as, “Salmon, for instance, hurl themselves up waterfalls when it’s time to spawn.” This is just one of the many explanations Tsai uses to explain why many different types of fish fell the need to jump into the air, sometimes causing injury to humans. This essay was found on, http://www.slate.com/id/2187114/.

For me, this essay was confusing and hard to interpret. From what I understood Giovanni was comparing the scene with drums and an elephant to the movie Harry Potter. She was implying that the movie should have been more dramatic, like the scene she described with the elephants is. Giovanni gave a description of a dramatic incident with elephants and shooting, and right afterwards went on to give a summary of an excerpt of the movie, Harry Potter. This is what leads me to believe that they are being compared. After the comparison, Giovanni describes the life of Harry after schooling. In this section she is interpreting what will possibly happen next, and how it should be written using the dramatic state similar to that of the elephant scene. This essay, written by Nikki Giovanni, seems to be informing the writers of the Harry Potter movie of how upcoming sequels should be produced. She is merely stating her opinion on how it could be improved for future experiences.

Overall, I agree with this quote. Education should not be all about competition and trying to be the best. It is better to focus on yourself and become your personal best. Although students should be recognized for the academic accomplishments, this is not the main point of education. It is nice to be known for having good grades, but it should be motivation enough to known that you are accomplishing a lot for your life. Lately, school has gotten so competitive that students have lost sight of what the real point to education is, to broaden your horizons. A successful future is not lead by sticking with what you know, it is by learning so much more and applying it to life. Students need to take into account all of their options and take opportunities that come to them, this will carry them far in life. In conclusion, education needs to change its focus from beating out everyone else, to learn all that is possible.

1. Her rhetorical strategy is to use an example to go more in depth into the explanation of the topic. Things are easier to understand if they are explained through an example. Talbot uses a lot of different context to get her point across. Facts and stories help create concrete reasons in favor of Talbot’s point of view.
2. This gives more context into the essays topic. The more references/ examples are used, the better the writer’s point comes across. She gives examples and feelings from other people’s perspective, as well as examples and thoughts from her perspective.
3. Talbot surveys perspectives from the parents of valedictorians, actual valedictorians, kids who almost became valedictorians, and from principals/ teachers points of views. She surveys all of them to show that everyone has mixed feelings about the topic of valedictorians, and not everyone can be pleased.
4. Talbot’s audience is that of students currently in high school who may or may not have a valedictorian at their upcoming graduation. She gives so many examples to show that there are an overwhelming amount of issues with the topic of choosing valedictorians. There has not only been one instance, there are issues with it all over. This may show kids how hard it is for their principals/ teachers to choose a valedictorian, or who their school no longer has a valedictorian.
5. If this historical information had been placed at the beginning of the article, it would have changed what I would think the essay to be about. The historical information is a good addition to the essay, yet it’s not the main focus. By putting it at the beginning it would alter the way the reader would expect the rest of the essay to read.
6. Yes, the analogy is a valid one. a quarterback and a valedictorian are chosen based on their skills and accomplishments. If a quarterback can’t throw the football better than anybody else, then he’s not the right person for the position. Also, if the valedictorian doesn’t have better grades and accomplishments than everyone else, then they should become valedictorian. These two positions are not being held at the same standards. Yes one is a sport and one has to do with academics, but they have the same basic requirements. If coaches of the football team won’t allow anyone to be quarterback , then why should we allow a student who’s not number 1 in their class to be valedictorian.
7. This essay appeals more to logos. It is made up a mostly factual evidence. The clear point is made by giving a large amount of statistical evidence and examples. There are a few instances where it appeals to pathos (emotion) but overall it is a factual essay.
8. Talbot’s sympathies lie for those who still have to go through the process of choosing a valedictorian. She believes that there should no longer be such a thing, for it is getting harder and more complicated to choose just one student. She believes in honoring good students but not naming just one student the best, for there is too many different criteria that must be considered. Her tone would be described as informative and strong. She has a very clear idea of what she believes is right and wrong and states it very well. Yet, she does it by including a lot of information.

1. The quote is a form of asydenton. It lists things without conjunctures. This gives emphasis on how bad the life the writer and their family was. By listing, it makes things seem worse because it’s putting all of the bad things together.
2. From Alexie’s article, the average native American is made out to be fairly ignorant. His father does not fit that description at all. Most native Americans at that time did not read. Alexie’s father read excessively. He read all sorts of books in order to make a better life for himself. He did not want to have the dull future that all of the others did on their reservation. By reading he educated himself, which in turn created a better life for him and his family.
3. The reason for Alexie’s analogy relating a paragraph to a fence, is to paint a picture in the reader’s head. If they can see the paragraph as something other than words, then maybe it will make more sense to them. Alexie wanted to explain exactly what the purpose of organizing information in paragraphs was, and he made it interesting by using a figure of speech.
4. In paragraph 5, Alexie is trying to show that he did not grow up to be the average native american. The other children that lived on his reservation grew up not very well educated. Alexie took his life into his own hands and taught himself so that he could have a better life later on. By saying that he “grows up into a man who often speaks of his childhood in third person”, he is trying to show that he became an educated man. From his perspective a man who talks about himself in third person is smart, so Alexie shows that he’s smart by saying that he talks about himself in third person.
5. In paragraph 7 when Alexie uses short sentences repeatedly, he’s showing that she read a lot throughout his life. He is basically listing all of the different kinds of literature and/or text he has had the experience to read. Instead of actually listing them in one long sentence, he makes a series of short sentences. This instills his point of how much he reads, but at the same time does not create one huge sentence of a paragraph.
6. This essay is broken up into two sections, the first about how Alexie’s father’s reading habits shaped his life, and the second about how his standards of education were much higher than the average native american on his resrvation. He arranges it this way so you get a little information about him before he goes into the subject deeper of how different his is than most other native americans. This suits his overall purpose because, Alexie wants to show that you can change your future, he shows his past first and how different his future is from his past second. This makes his writing have much more fluidity and it makes more sense to the reader than if his showed his future then his past.
7. Alexie used parallel structures in the last two paragraphs in order to show his many accomplishments. By using the same sort of structure over and over he is emphasizing how much he has actually done to get where he is today. He also shows how others have a greater chance to change their lives than he did, with increasing opportunities. The last sentence in the last two paragraphs are extremely similar. They sort of sum up the last two paragraphs in saying that he is trying to save/change his and our lives. Alexie shows that he has done it and others can too.
8. The audience for this essay is kids/ teenagers who don’t think that they can do anything with their lives and just follow what everyone else is doing. For example, the last paragraph states, “I visit schools as often as possible.” This quote shows that Alexie is trying to help students to accomplish what he has done. The essay also states, “I am trying to save our lives.” This excerpt is showing that he wants to help others that are in situations similar to what he was accomplish more in their lives.

For the most part I agree with Susan Jacoby’s, “How Dumb Can We Get?”I believe that there is too much video, less common knowledge, and nobody cares about it. Although, this does not necessarily mean that people are getting more ignorant. There are many advances in schooling, which makes up for lack in other areas. Jacoby made very general comments about people. That may not have been the right direction to go, because many people get offended by generalism. I feel that this article needs to encompass all of Jacoby’s thoughts on the matter, for I would not want her to change her opinion on the subject at hand. Yet, I feel that she should make statements that include all kinds of knowledge levels, so to not offend as many people.