Rereading America 2

Stephen Cruz presents the idea that the American dream has many deceiving aspects to it. When he first began his career he was naïve about the American Dream. He thought that if a person worked hard that they would be able to accomplish the Dream of having a lot of money and a high position in management. But as he became more experienced and began to observe how people treated minorities in the places he worked, he noticed that the American Dream was complicated and only attainable to certain people. That the Dream wasn’t just about going to college, working hard, and showing dedication. But it was about power and the supremacy of one race having higher ranking and complete control over the whole American governmental system. Cruz also came to the conclusion that the American dream’s definition was based off of the notion of that a small elite group.
I agreed with almost everything Stephen Cruz was saying in his argument. Accomplishing the American Dream or any type of success in America is so hard for minorities. Even now, in this century, it’s hard. It’s so difficult to movie up in life because the dominant race in this country keeps minorities from obtaining high positions. It’s like they have their own inner circle and they are fearful that if they let minorities in to powerful positions, then they might actually help this country. It’s like these people want to keep us down. No wonder why minorities can’t become successful in life. It’s because high white officials aren’t trying to improve anything. They say they are but I swear they are too busy collecting pay checks for themselves then actually helping minorities in this country. How are we supposed to be one of the richest country’s and we can’t even raise our working poor’s wages? We’re too busy giving too much money to powerful people while other people suffer.
One thing I did not agree with in this argument was when Cruz was trying to get all the minorities to interact with one another, and the blacks and Orientals weren’t interested in participating. Well Cruz made a comment about how it doesn’t matter if a black person is called black or a Negro. Actually it does matter, especially when someone form another race says it even if they’re a minority. That’s a touchy subject.
The American Dream should not be limited to a certain race, it’s unconstitutional and goes against everything this country stands for. I don’t think it’s ever going to change though. If it were going to change it would have happened already. Someone is probably trying to initiate change, but the power hungry, one-minded individuals who run this country have much more power than they do.

Rereading America 1

No, I don’t think that the author’s argument is making the point that the wealthy are exploiting the poor. I think he’s just trying to disprove the myths of class in America. He’s also making the point that the way a person is brought up and the environment he/she lives in, the influences that surround them may affect the way they perceive their careers and what they to aspire to be. My position on this argument is that I believe the myths are definitely untrue. I believe the influences thrown at a person during their childhood and teens subsequently affect what they want to become. The examples on pages 314-317 are good because it shows how people with different backgrounds and influences in their lives have influenced what their aspirations and jobs were when they got older. But I don’t think it’s like that in every case. There are a lot of people who want to “get out of the ghetto” and they actually do accomplish this because they have determination.
But my overall view of this argument is that even in America people do talk about social class in public more than they notice it.. Even though appearance isn’t one of the ways to tell if a person is rich or not, so many people judge and assume someone else’s class by associating them with the general population of their race or culture.

Argument 5

I thought the argument presented in Minneapolis Pornography Ordinance was fair. I didn’t necessarily agree with it, but I thought it was a valid argument. At the beginning, the author grabs the audience emotionally by acknowledging the pool table gang rape. I think the author’s main audience is women because women would have stronger feelings toward the pool table gang rape story. Even though the men involved in the gang rape may not have read the Hustle magazine, but the viewing of explicit pornography may affect the way men view women. In these explicit videos the women are degrading themselves and giving men the impression that they like to be raped or mutilated, when in reality most women would never want this happen to them. I didn’t agree with the end of the argument. I think everyone should have freedom of speech because it is a part of our American Constitution, and censoring what someone puts in a magazine or the Internet may be taking the freedom away. But, at the same time, if this type of freedom is affecting our society in a negative way then wouldn’t we want to stop something so harmful whether or not it took the freedom of speech away or not?

Arguments Four

I encountered a pseudo-argument with a friend once over religion. My friend doesn't believe in God and I do, but we weren't trying to argue about it, we were just attempting to talk about the pros and cons of believing in God and not believing in God. We both agreed with some of the points that the other made about believing in God and not believing in Him, but as the discussion continued we both began to defend our own views on how our religion (or his lack of it) was better than the other. The argument turned into a heated discussion where neither of us let go of our own beliefs and were solely committed to our positions.

Arguments Three

The appeal of pathos is a powerful rhetorical device because it's basically the part of the rhetorical triangle that touches the author's audience emotionally. Pathos helps the audience connect to the author and understand the emotions the author is feeling and seeing; it engages them. The use of pathos in an argument also moves the audience toward thinking about the author's argument, forming a deeper appreciation for it. When an author is using pathos in his or her argument, the author is trying to figure out what is the best way to open his message up for the understanding of the reader. He's also trying to play off of the readers emotions by writing what appeals to the readers values and interests.

AP Exam

To be honest, I am scared for the AP English Language and Compositon Exam. What I am most nervous about is the thought that i might not be prepared to take it. I know that sounds weird, but with the AP U.S. History exam to study for as well, i don't know if I will be able to retain all of that information. I think the hardest part for me will be the essays. We're given such a short amount of time to complete them and i am a slow reader/writer. It takes me a while to get my thoughts gathered and actually form them into unfragmented sentences. In my opinion, i think the multiple choice will be the easiest thing on the test. I know they will be hard questions, but atleast you have choices and don't have to formulate your own answer. But overall, this test seems like it's going to be extremely challeneging, but what we looked at on-line about the exam was only a first glance at it. It's early on in the year, and by the time the exam rolls around we will definantly be more prepared.

A Case for Torture

Even though I agree with Michael Levin, I don't believe that the way he came about his argument was particularly agreeable. His argument is very eplicit and leaves the reader any room to explore a different view point in a positive way. Levin doesn't want the reader to accept a view other than his own, so he makes sarcastic remarks about the anti-torture terrorist view point. in a way, Leavin also makes anyone who opposes his argument, feel unamerican and have the least interest in keeping fellow citizens safe. This argument is poo because Michael Levin isn't even trying to come to a consensus agreement and attempt to understand why someone believes in anti-terrorist torture, but is too blinded by his beliefs that he cant take the time to reconsider other possiblities.

Arguments Two

The author's for the picture on page 24 and page 1 both have the same genre of a visual argument. They use these so that one can see and feel the strong emotional appeal. The cartoon and the photograph's genre's influence their argument by narrowing their issues to a central, powerful focus of their perspective of genetically enhanced food. The picture on page 1 is stating that genetically altered foods are bad for you, but what about the people who are starving or can't afford healthier foods. And should we, who eat healthier, keep cheap and altered food away from those who need it the most? The photograph on page 24 is arguing that all people should know exactly what is going into their food because recent studies show that not all ingredients are being labeled on the ingredients section of our foods. Some of these ingredients are or could be harmful, so why would they hide it?

Arguments One

An explicit argument is straight to the point and obvious. It also has evidence to support the arguments claim. An implicit argument is more suttle and not as clearly stated. It usually takes the form of a poem or short story. Both implicit and explicit arguments attempt to pursuade its audience to a certain point of view. Owen's poem is an implicit arguement because he is arguing against war. But though it is still a more suttle form of argument, Owen is still trying to pursuade us to look at war with horror as he explains how a soldier dies because he drowns in his own fluid from a gas attack. Explaining these vivid details, Owen makes us believe that war doesn't deserve to be celebrated with medals of heroism, but that it should be thought as meaningless. The picture of Veterans Day is also implicit. It is not an anti- war picture, though it can be perceived that way. It makes the point to pursuade the audience of honoring the military services in our country and appreciating them for sacrificing their lives( or the dudes hand) so that others may be safe. Both the picture and the poem are not explicit, one has to interpret them, their arguments are not obviously stated.