Douglas and 4th of July

Douglas says throughout the speech that he doesn't think that 4th of July is a day of freedom for African Americans, and it isn't. They weren't free on that day. It technically shouldn't even be a holiday for them. So when Frederick Douglas was asked to speak on this day it is kind of offensive. Asking a former slave to speak about a day that was a great day for all white people, and definitely not for African Americans.

Douglas is appealing to pathos in his speech, because you can definitely tell from reading it that he was passionate while he was giving it. This is very important in being a good speaker, which Douglas was known for. He appeals to the emotion of the audience by explainingn why it isn't a day of freedom for African Americans. I would say that he appeals to pathos more than ethos or logos. He doesn't appeal to logos very much, but he doesn't need to in this speech, and back when he gave it, it would have been really hard to come up with statistics and data to support his argument.

The Socialization Process

According to Parrillo the socialization process is, as it says in Rereading America, how people obtain their values, attitudes, beliefs and perceptions of their culture and others. Parrillo says that we usually turn out the way that our parents want us to and fulfill their expectations. I really like the point that he brings up about children usually accepting these concepts without questioning them. I completely agree with what Parrillo is saying here. For example, my parents are Lutheran, and because that is what I have been exposed to since I can remember, I am also Lutheran. My parents have instilled their values in me as well. And when my parents were little, their parents were also Lutheran and did the exact same thing. Yes, there are people who don't believe in the same things as their parents, but that is not nearly as common. You surroundings dictate how you act, and what you believe. This even ties into the previous unit of the myth of individual opportunity, and how if your culture or society doesn't value education, then there aren't going to be a lot of educational opportunities.

The real Jefferson

In our history classes we are taught that Thomas Jefferson is a really great man who was the author of the Declaration of Independance, and was a good president. Jefferson accomplished some pretty big things in his lifetime, and we should recognize him for them. The Declaration of Independance is a huge thing, and the fact that he was the author of it is quite amazing. Notes on Virginia brings to light a very different side of Jefferson that most people don't know about. It made me not like Jefferson as much. I found his thoughts on slavery and the treatment of blacks disturbing. The most upsetting part for me was when he talked about wanting to put blacks in their own colony and limit mixing blacks and whites. This is a really wierd opinion since he actually fathered some mixed children himself. He can't talk about wanting to free slaves when he owns slaves, it's contradictory. I still think Jefferson was a great leader, and brilliant, but he had some serious flaws.

Loman vs. Tucker

These two are very interesting to compare for a couple of reasons. They both wanted to be succesful in their lives, but only Tucker really was. Willy tried so hard to accomplish as much and to be as successful as Cora was in her life. The main difference between them is that Willy worked his way up being a salesman and was on the right track to be successful, but then everything went down hill, whereas Cora kept working her butt off and managed to become successful and accomplish everything that she wanted to do in her life. Cora was successful in something that was really important and helped other people, she wasn't as self-centered as I think that Willy was.
Another really interesting thing about Cora is that she was not very well-liked, she was almost the opposite of what Willy thinks is so important to be as successful as she was. Yes, she had small following, but there were many people that didn't like her. That was why they slashed her tires and soaked her bed in gasoline. In the story there was a woman mentioned who was really excited to hear Cora speak, thinking that she would be this great and eloquent speaker, but in fact she wasn't. Cora was an extremely brave woman fighting for something incredibly important in her society, and Willy was a man trying to be successful in life and in a job that has gone downhill for him.

Willy Loman's idea of success

Willy thinks that it takes one thing to become successful, and it is to be well-liked. He doesn't understand when someone is successful when they are not well-liked. I think it is really interesting that he is so stubborn about this. He can't wrap his mind around the fact that someone who is unpopular is successful. His popular, football star son was not nearly as successful as he had hoped that he would be. I have almost the opposite opinion on this matter. I think it is much more common for the nerdy, unpopular kids to be successful. The popular football players are not usually successful, unless they are amazing at football and play professionally. Nowadays, there is the stereotype that football players are not going to be successful unless they are extremely talented. It might have been different back when this play was written, which makes it an even more interesting thing to discuss.

Brittney's presentation

I enjoyed listening to Brittney's speech in class. First of all, it was brave of her to volunteer to go first for the day. I thought she did a really good job speaking. She spoke loudly, clearly and kept me interested throughout. I like that she chose an organization that none of us had heard of. That was one thing that a really liked about this assignment in general. I hadn't heard of a lot of these organizations and it's amazing how diverse they are, and how many there are out there. But back to Brittney's presentation, I still remember clearly what she said in her speech, which is really good, because persuasive speeches are supposed to be memorable. She had me convinced to donate at least a few of my donor bucks to her organization. I could really tell that she had practiced her speech, and she was passionate which is so important.

Speeches Today

I really enjoyed Alex Mergaglia's speech. I thought he presented it really well. In the beginning, he scared me a little becuase he started out so powerful. I liked that he started out strong and stayed strong throughout the entire thing. I liked how he started out with the "[picture yourself homeless...)" it really drew me in from the start. I wasn't expecting something like that. My favorite part of the speech was the end when he said "Goodwill, good cause." I thought it was so cute, and it's catchy and has been stuck in my head the whole day. He was very well practiced and delievered the speech well. And the whole reason that I'm writing about his speech now is because the whole thing was memorable, and it made me want to donate. I learned a lot about Goodwill that I didn't know before. It's very interesting to get the background on some of these well-known organizations.

"Self Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Emerson says that it takes a lot of hard work and staying true to yourself to be successful, and I completely agree with him. There are a couple things that Emerson says in this piece that stood out to me, including "Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist." I liked that sentence becasue I think it really shows Emerson's opinion of staying true to yourself. Most people do have to work very hard to be successful. Of course, there are a few exceptions, that include heirs and heiresses but that is not as common. I don't think that working hard to be successful is an easy thing, but I do believe that if you set your mind to something and don't give up and then you will most likely succeed. It's a long and difficult process but if you want it badly enough then you will do anything it takes to get there.

Organization I chose

I chose the Julian Center because I think it's not a very well known non-profit group. It is a center that is based in Marion County, so it is something close to us and affects the people around us. I think people will want to help an organization that is based near them, so they can go see the difference that they're making. The Julian Center is a place for women and children that have been sexually, physically or emotional abuse. It provides a shelter, counseling, and education for the victims. The center helps steer these women in children in onto the right path in order for them to be successful. I picked this center because I think it's doing something really important. Abuse is a fairly common thing, and I think it's great that there is place, close to us that really helps the people who are unfortunate enough to go through this.

"Extending the Critical Context" #9

I think it's hard for a cultural myth to be challegened or "robbed of its mythical power." Cultural myths have usually been around for a while, and it's hard for people to just forget about them, or not believe them anymore. But, if a myth is consistently being analyzed and exposed for being a myth than it will probably not be around anymore. The more people realize that the myth is in fact a myth, the less they will believe in it, thus causing it to lose its myth power. The word will spread, and eventually the myth will die. The problem is, that it can be hard for people to accept that myths aren't true. There are people out there who are incredibly stubborn and that is why I think it's so hard for myths to be buried. I think there are even rare occurences when even though myths have been proven wrong and unrealistic, they are still around. For example, the Fountain of Youth that the spanish explorers were looking for. Obviously, there is no fountain of youth, we know that it doesn't exist, but there are probably people out there who still believe that it does exist. People sometimes choose what they want to believe because it's easier than accepting the truth.

Ragged Dick

This is an example of an extremely unrealistic piece of the American Dream. Dick saves a boy's life and all of sudden he becomes rich and famous. This rarely ever happens. Once in a while, a person who saves another's life will get recognition, but they will not get rich from it. I would not consider this the American Dream, it has nothing to do with working hard to get out of poverty. This is about what could happen if you are lucky. I guess it kind of goes back to the first essay that we read in Rereading America and how the American Dream is a myth. The idea that anyone can pull themselves out of poverty and change their class. It's more like there will be a lucky few who will achieve this. The American Dream is really if your lucky, you can pull yourself of poverty and become wealthy. The more I read out of this book, the more depressed I feel about this country. There are so many myths, and when they're exposed it's very depressing. Our country is not as great and perfect as we are taught to believe that it is.