RR #8

“Harrison Bergeron”

What message might Vonnegut be trying to convey with this piece?

What have we lost and what have we gained because of modern technology?

In your opinion, what is the significance of Harrison Bergeron and the ballerina touching the ceiling and “neutralizing gravity”?

“Safe Sex and White Lies in the Time of AIDS”

How would you describe the basic tone of this essay, and based on this, what are your impressions of the writer?

What, in your opinion, is the author’s basic message? Do you agree or disagree with her?

What is so disarming about the Love Phones scene?

Reading Response Questions #5

“Like Mexicans” pg. 113

1. What was, in your opinion, the most important sign that let the narrator know that his wife’s people were like Mexicans?

2. What is the significance of marrying a Mexican to the narrator? To his grandmother? Are these valid reasons?

“A Question of Language” pg 142

1. “Words themselves are innocuous; it is the consensus that gives them true power.” In your opinion, what is the meaning of this quote? Do you agree with Naylor? Why or why not?

2. Why does Naylor condone black people using the word nigger but find it derogatory when used by others? What gives one group the “right” to a word?

3.  At the end of the piece, when Naylor's mother takes her on her lap, what do you think she says to her daughter?

“Zipped Lips” pg 147

1. Have you ever experienced any kind of censorship on a job? In school? Or while out with friends? 

2. What is the tone of this piece? What words or phrases support your opinion?

 

Reading Response Questions #4

“Letter to My Mother”

1. If the author believes that her mother is not receiving the letters why does she continue to write?

2. Does she feel guilty about leaving her mother?

3. What is the significance of the two italicized lines at the end?

“Marriage as a Restricted Club”

1. Who is the author’s intended audience? How do you know?

2. How have views changed since this piece was written (it was written in 1984)? What examples support this view?

3. How effective is the author’s argument? Does the tone hinder the effectiveness?

“Mothers, Sons and the Gangs”

1. Why does the author use specific examples? Does this support the purpose of the piece?

2. How responsible are the parents?

3. How would you define machismo? What is the dictionary definition? How do the definitions compare?

Assignment!

So this assignment is not supposed to be a hassle. It’s just to give you an idea of what not-so-good theses are. Go ahead and read these ten and please determine if they are too opinionated, too factual, too broad or too narrow. And then fix them. Fix them and make them beautiful. Or functional. When you are finished with this just shoot me an e-mail at dsm31@humboldt.edu. I will mark you down and send you feedback.

1.) 1.) Ants are pesky insects.

2.) 2.) Everyone should speak English only in America.

3.) 3.) Dwarves are cooler than elves.

4.) 4.) Los Angeles is a vibrant city with a multitude of different cultures that contribute to a unique and global city.

5.) 5.) Humboldt County is located in Northern California.

6.) 6.) Men should not wear earrings because it’s too much like a pirate.

7.) 7.) Pirates aren’t as cool as ninjas

8.) 8.) Socks are a good way to express individuality.

9.) Communists are bad.

10.) America is the best country ever.

Nouns and Verbs!

Sorry about the absence, kids. But I am back and ready for a delayed blog on nouns and verbs (both the illustrious strong verbs and the soggy, squishy ones that fall out of trash bags on foggy school morns ruining shoes and slippers by staining and stinking them up indelibly).

NOUNS HO!

Nouns are divided into two nice camps: Proper and the oh-so-lowly common. The biggest distinction is the use of capitals. That's how to spot them. One might wonder when a capitalization is in order and when not. The easiest way to remember, for me at least, is that proper nouns are specific things, usually only referring to one person or place--The use of first and last names is a great example or really famous buildings, like the Eiffel Tower, is another--and is never preceded by an indefinite article (those crazy a's and an's). Common nouns are just about everything else.

Now there are some slippery ones that can occasionally fall through the crack. These examples are usually when referring to people by their office (ie. The President preceded with caution on his morning constitutional) or referring to geographical location (ie. The West was won by blood, sweat, tears and barbed wire). These are confusing and might take a while to wrestle into submission...

NOW VERBS!

I can feel the excitement (can I get a W00T?). So as much as people loved the word, "squishy," I think it's too good a word to be wasted on such awful bland verbs. So now I will call them, "soggy." These boring verbs (is, be, was, were, been, have, do) really don't add any spice to a paper and are as delicious as vaseline on white toast. So drab. Now great strong action verbs like grunted, tackled, pummeled, jolted, jammed... these words are like great jambalaya: seconds are in order. You can never get your fill...

I am still waiting on the technical aspect but will add all of you post haste so you can go crazy

and write all over this blog as well. It's supposed to be a forum (I really need to hop on that...)

Well, I will see you soon... And remember: keep watching the skies.
D-sco AWAY!

Notes on the reading response...and Auto-ethno.

Not to be too repetitive but try not to summarize. Instead write about how the pieces made you feel. Were you angry? Were you sad? Did the topics make you uncomfortable? Did you disagree? These are great ways to begin on a reading response. Flesh your feelings out with support from the text.

If you have any questions about the reading response or auto-ethno should me up: dsm31@humboldt.edu.

I look forward to hearing from you.

1st BLOG!

Welcome! So this is a forum for you to discuss anything (the readings, papers, journals et cetera) and also to pose questions for me to answer. I hope that I will be able to assist you with whatever questions you may have.