Journal 9: Free Will vs. Determinism

Free Will is the power to make a choice on our own that is not constrained by other circumstances. Othello and Desdemona’s marriage is an example of free will. They were in love and decided to get married, without Desdemona’s father’s approval. They had the power to make that choice and were not held back by someone else’s will.

Determinism is the theory that everything is based upon consequences and is independent of the human will. Iago’s actions are all examples of determinism. He plotted many things, for example telling Othello that Cassio was sleeping with Desdemona, and they ended up leading to other consequences and eventually ended in death. All of Iago’s wrong doings had consequences that were bound to follow. 

Journal 8: Emerson's Aphorisms

In skating over thin ice, our safety is our speed. 
In life, you can't spend to much time over analyzing things. Life is made of many quick decisions. You need to get through situations, rather than pause and spend too much time thinking about it. I agree with Emerson's aphorism. When a person over analyzes something, it can have a negative effect on them. They spend to much time thinking about what the right thing is and get stressed out over it. Often times when a person thinks too much about something, they forget the true meaning behind it. I agree that life is made of quick decisions. Every decision you make may not be the right thing, but you learn from it and it teaches you a lesson you can use in making your next decision. 
We boil at different degrees.
Emerson is stating that everyone has there limit, and everyone's limit is different. Some people have a better temper and withstand things that frustrate or annoy them for a long time, while other people quickly snap at the slightest things. I, personally, get mad easily. My mother is very different, it takes her a long time to be angry about things. It's not a bad thing, it's just the way a person is, and everyone is different. 
All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.
Throughout life, a person makes several mistakes. Every mistake is an experiment. Every mistake you make helps you learn for the future. Emerson is saying that the more mistakes you make, the more you learn from those mistakes. If a person does not make any mistakes, they would never learn from what they did wrong. I agree with Emerson because I make several mistakes. I also learn a lesson from every mistake I make. I think it's very important to make mistakes in life because along with them, you learn a life lesson. If you were to not make those mistakes, you would never learn some important things that mistakes have to teach you. 

Journal 7: "To A Waterfowl" & "The Raven"

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 poem written by William Cullen Bryant’s “To a Waterfowl,” the tone could be expressed as peaceful or happy. The setting takes places during sunset which is often a symbol of peace in the world. The speaker reassures the tone and setting of peace by the way he believes the birds will lead him to something great. The supernatural powers of the bird in the poem help lead him down the right path.

In the poem “The Raven,” written by Edgar Allan Poe, the tone is the opposite from Bryant’s poem. Instead of being peaceful or happy, it is depressed. The setting in this poem is midnight and represents darkness.  The speaker’s view is different from the speaker of “To a Waterfowl.” The speaker is disturbed, unsettled, and weary rather than peaceful.  The supernatural power of the bird in “The Raven” represents his lost love. The poet is grieving his loss of the one he loves.

The visionary characteristic in “The Raven” and “To a Waterfowl” are very different. In “The Raven” it’s dreary and dark and in “To a Waterfowl” the visionary characteristic is bright and uplifting. Emotion is presented in both these poems. Sadness is represented in “The Raven” and in “To a Waterfowl” happiness and hope is presented. 

Journal 6: Franklin

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’s plan for self-perfection involved 13 virtues: temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility. Franklin focused on each virtue, one at a time. In a book, each virtue was allotted to a row and was recorded. Through this, Franklin discovered more faults, but continued to try and diminish them. Franklin often relapsed, especially on the harder virtues of this plan like Order. Even though Franklin never was able to achieve perfection, he was a happier person then he was before. Though Franklin was not able to reach his goal, he was benefited by his plan. He came out as a better person and learned many lessons he may have never discovered.  

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 a plan like Franklin’s, though it would be difficult, would improve me greatly as a person. I think that writing down my faults and finding a way to fix them or go about them differently is better than ignoring them and continuing to make the same mistake. It would help me be more aware of my actions and words towards myself and others. My top five virtues would be silence, temperance, frugality, industry, and tranquility. I think silence is important because often times I speak too much, and say things that may be hurtful to others or me. Temperance because often times I eat too much or drink too much when I’m not even hungry or thirsty. I become ungracious of what I have. Frugality, because I like to spend my money of useless things. Industry because working hard is important to go far in life. Tranquility because throughout my busy life, everyone needs peace and silence to keep them sane.

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.

          #1He is making an emotional appeal. Logical fallacies: sentimental appeal, begging the question, faulty analogy. Comparing America to slavery. How do you know we are going to win would be begging the question. Argument: “Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.” Things you get cheaply are not valuable. People are not willing to pay this price. Counter Argument: You can’t assume they will win

          #2: That God Almighty will not give up a people to military destruction or leave them unsupportedly to perish. He is making a logical appeal. The counterargument is that God Almighty will give up a people to military destruction and leave them unsupportedly to perish. Logical Fallacies: Begging the question, dogmatic.

          #3:

Argument: If we do not fight now, our children will not have peace in the future. Good parents would fight for their children futures.

He is using logical appeals because there will be some separation eventually so why not have it now. Ethical appeal due to parenting.

Counter argument: shouldn’t fight because maybe things will work out in the future.

Logical fallacy: false dichotomy because only giving to extremes.

Begging the question: assumes once war is fought everything will be great but it might actually be worse.

          #4

Argument: American needs to defend ourselves. Compares king to a their and they are fighting a defensive war.

Logical fallacy: argument by analogy by comparing the king to a thief so that means we are forced to fight.

Emotional appeal because there is anger involved. Ethical appeal because they stand up to the king for their rights.

Logical fallacy: faulty analogy because the king and the thief are not similar and it author doesn’t support this argument will facts and statists.

Counter argument: Britain is more powerful.

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?   

Logical fallacies discussed in Paine’s argument would include: faulty analogy, false dichotomy, argument by analogy, begging the questions, and sentimental appeal. Overall, I feel that Paine had a good argument, but he did not back it up with enough facts or information. If he would have done so, his argument would have been stronger. 

Journal 4: Food

Last night, my mom made me a large, colorful salad for dinner.  It included lots of lettuce, sliced tomatoes, crotons, shredded cheese, ham, and hard boiled eggs. This salad was topped with a creamy Caesar dressing, my favorite. The crotons were garlic flavored and crunched loudly. The shredded cheese, ham, and hard boiled eggs were the perfect addition to make this salad filling. Even the tomatoes, which I usually put aside, were good mixed in with the salad. And the Caesar dressing, it made the salad absolutely delightful.

This was a salad you’d order at a restaurant, or at least that’s what it tasted like. The taste was wonderful; I can’t even put it in words. This salad really hit the spot after my long practice. It was large, and filling, but felt healthy and left me with no regrets when I finished. I ate the whole entire thing in one sitting. I wish I could have a salad like that every night. 

Journal 3: No Wonder They Call Me A Bitch

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. 

1. “Up close my Gaines-burger didn’t much resemble chopped beef. Rather, it looked and felt like a single long, extruded piece of redness that had been chopped into segments and formed into a patty. You could make one at home if you had a Play-Doh Fun Factory” (78).
2. “In the world of canned dog food, a smooth consistency is a sign of low quality_lots of cereal. A lumpy, frightening, bloody, stringy horror is a sign of high quality_lots of meat” (79).
3. “One Purina spokesman told me that poultry by-prodcuts consist of necks, intestines, undeveloped eggs and other “carcass remnants,” but not feathers, heads, of feet. When I told him I’d been eating dog food, he said, “Oh, you’re kidding! Oh, no!” (78.)

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 that Hodgman’s purpose in writing this essay was to compare her better taste testing with a rather grosser food types. She is a former food critic, which means she has tasted some of the best foods. She is taking a different route to taste testing through this essay. I think she is challenging herself through test testing dog food. I think that the overall message of the essay is that we should try something different, just to know how lucky we are. Don’t take what you have for granted, because there is always worse. Example: dog food compared to human food. 

Journal 2: Death Of A Moth

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

At the opening of the essay, the moth bodies are described as wingless and huge and empty. They are reduced to a nub in the spider’s web. The moths at the campsite are singed and melted. The moth in the beginning of the essay is different from the moth at the campsite because it changes. The other moth stays the same, even while being burned for two hours. The differences represent what will remain of you after your death. Will you be the moth that died in the fire and will be remembered or will you be the other moth who faded away.

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

The lesson is whether you are willing to give your whole life to something, or will you go at your life with a “broadax.”

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

There are references to the fire in the essay in almost every paragraph. I think the larger significance of fire in the essay is life. What you’re life will or will not turn out to be.

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

In this quote, it is connected to Dillard’s overall point by saying that instead of wasting time not doing anything important, you should use your time wisely so you will do something great.

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

          -William Butler Yeats

Education is not the only thing you need to do something great in your life.

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

          -Franz Kafka

Books are helpful to us because they provide information and imagination. 

Journal 1: Photo Narrative

Mackenzie was 17, oldest of seven other siblings. Her family was very poor and had to provide for all their children, so she decided to get a job at the local diner to pay for her college tuition. She worked Saturdays through Tuesdays 7 AM to 7 PM. Her official job was to take orders and clean tables. She despised her job, but she only had one year to save enough money to go to college. She sacrificed her social life, her school work, and family time. Three months after taking the job, Mackenzie saved $100. Three weeks after that, her mother fell sick. The only way to save her mother’s life was to have an emergency operation that totaled $75 in doctor fines. Mackenzie, feeling guilty for the large amount of time she spent at work rather than with her family, she knew what she had to do.

She had seven months left to save for college, she was determined. She picked up more days at the diner, Saturdays through Saturdays. She worked hard and saved her money in a piggy bank in her house. Eventually the day came when she had enough money to afford tuition and the fee for books. She decided when she finished up work she would enroll in classes and buy her books. She was ecstatic and couldn’t wait for her shift to end. When 7 PM came around, Mackenzie walked home only to find that her house was burned down. She discovered her mother and father were stuck inside during the fire. Mackenzie was left to take care of her siblings. She was forced to work at the diner the rest of her life and spend all the money she owned on her siblings.