God Bless America.

When Trump first entered the presidential race, most saw it as a joke. Now he is leading the pack leaving some furious, but most cheering him on. After seeing this I am simply left confused. Trump was never expected to win, but now it looks like he might have a chance at actually becoming president (God forbid that really happens, but it does seem to be a possibility). One can only ask why? What is he doing that appeals to such a large percentage of the population? Most of all, why are people voting for someone with little to no political experience? After watching a video of one of his speeches, I think I may have a few answers.
Trump is a crowd pleaser. He doesn't really care what he says, and he certainly doesn't care whether or not what he says is a lie. Instead he says whatever will get him more voters. At one point he'll say that he wants to remove all Muslims from America, then he will turn around and say that he loves Muslims. The issue is that people will often only see part of Trump (or be too ignorant to see the whole of him) and they will base their understanding of him on what they want to hear. As far of his lack of political experience, I believe that it might actually be one of the aspects of Trump that attracts voters. Many people are tired of listening to politics. Trump is more like the average person (with the exception of that awful hair). It's the same way in school. The smartest people are not usually the popular ones. The popular ones are usually the ones that make us laugh and the ones who are outgoing. It's interesting that this mentality stays with us throughout our lives.
After Trump we watched one of Bernie Sanders' speeches. The difference between them is remarkable. Bernie makes good points and wants to fix the problems that need the most fixing, but, in all honesty, I don't think he can do it. Some of his plans are too idealistic (Trump has the same problem). I digress. Bernie does also have some appeal, particularly to liberals and young people. This is likely because he wants make college free (which would be absolutely wonderful). His plan is to tax the rich, but the rich aren't infinite pools of money and there aren't that many of them.
I, personally, do not favor any of the candidates. Trump is a liar who will likely do nothing if he manages to become president, and Bernie won't be able to do anything. I'm keeping my expectations low for the next 4-5 years.

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The Working Woman

In Virginia Woolf's Professions for Women the idea of women working for their own money is discussed from the perspective of Woolf herself, a writer. The beginning paragraph of the article introduces the topic, but more importantly it gives Woolf's own opinion on the subject. She explains how she is going to tell the reader something about her own professional experiences.
Woolf introduces herself rather humbly. She says that although she is indeed employed, there were few material obstacles in her way. Woolf explains that for a woman to become a writer is not overly difficult. All she must do is buy paper (which is cheap) and have a mind for writing. She says that women have succeeded as writers because of this. Woolf then goes on to discuss her hardships with becoming a successful writer. She obviously sees the lack of employed women as an issue, but manages to keep the article on topic.
I found this article to be incredibly well written and understandable, particularly for the time period. Woolf is articulate in her speech and gets to the point rather than filling pages with useless wording. I enjoyed her writing very much in both subject and style.

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A "Modest" Proposal

The article "A Modest Proposal" written by Jonathan Swift was meant to be a satirical piece of writing discussing how the cannibalism of young children would be the solution to Irelands famine. Although it was mean to be sarcastic, many took it seriously and its easy to see why. Swift's article is so well written, and he makes his "scheme" sound so logical that one may be fooled into taking it seriously. Swift uses ethos, logos, and even pathos, to make his point. These devices make his argument even more convincing, even though the thought of cannibalizing young children is unbelievable.
Ethos is when the author establishes their credibility. People will only listen to what Swift has to say if they think it worth their time and holds some meaning. Swift uses impressive language and addresses quite properly to create ethos. I also believe that the shocking proposal he makes adds to his credibility. It encourages people to continue reading and find out why such an article would ever be written by a man who seems so knowledgable. Swift also mentions a "very worthy person, a true love of his country..." who is a cannibal himself. Swift creates a source; a very worthy source whose opinion would be taken seriously. Swift is essentially saying "if you don't believe me, listen to this other man of high importance who supports my scheme." It adds to ethos and makes his argument all the more believable.
Swift's article appeals to logos the most. Logos is when an author uses logic and reasoning to make his/her argument more persuasive and convincing. Swift's proposal sounds so absolutely insane in the beginning that everyone would simply think him mad; that is, if he had not given so much logical support to his idea. Admittedly, by the end of the article I was thinking to myself if this wasn't such a morally wrong idea, it would most certainly work. Swift lots of calculated numbers such as how long a child can live off of nursing alone, how many children are produce in a year, and how many would be spared so that the population doesn't drastically decrease. People love to see numbers when you are trying to convince them of something. Numbers create solid evidence, and can't be argued against. Swift's overall tone of the article also adds to logos. He seems so confident in his plan, and he makes it sound like such a great idea that there are times when you forget that he is talking about cannibalism. If he wanted it to be facetious, he missed the mark.
Pathos is a writing device that "pulls on the heart strings" and (usually) makes the reader sympathetic.  However, in Swift's case, his form of Pathos pulls the "heart strings" in the opposite direction. The article certainly evokes emotions, but they are not sympathy, or sadness. Instead one may feel disbelief, utter surprise, horror, or unease. Although this isn't exactly pathos, I still see it as a evocation of emotion, and encouragement to keep reading.
Swift's strange, and slightly horrifying, article is an impressive piece of writing. It's satirical aspect is often difficult to see because of Swift's use of ethos, logos, and pathos.

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Thoreau on Eloquence

   
          "We love eloquence for it's own sake, and not for any truth which it may utter, or an heroism it may inspire." I had to read this more than once to get the full understanding of such a phrase. Eloquence can be defined as fluent or persuasive writing or speaking, and by saying that we love it for its own sake is to say that we love eloquence simply because of what it is, and not for its purpose. Eloquence may convert truths or inspire heroism, but we like it simply because of what it is. It is interesting that Thoreau would make such a bold statement when he himself writes with what can be considered eloquence. Perhaps by saying this he is telling his reader that although he writes with eloquence, he wants it to be known that his writing holds some truth, and should not be love solely for its fluency.
            I do believe that his statement is truthful, although not in all circumstances. There are plenty of amazing pieces of literature that are loved because of their eloquence, but their deeper meaning is much less appreciated or even noticed. Reading literature that was written with eloquence can sometimes be "wordy". The reader gets caught up in the writing style and leaves behind the true meaning of the text.
           In school, we read books that are famous for their eloquence, but we often miss their meaning. We eave behind the story because of the way it was written. The truth and purpose hides under fluency. It is a  problem that I have experienced myself. In government eloquence can be a major deciding factor. A man or woman who speaks well may be elected to an important position even though they have nothing to say. On the contrary, a person who has much to say may be ignored because they lack eloquence. Systems fall apart because no one truly understands, and instead they simply move to the one that "sounds nicer". People assume that if someone speaks with eloquence they have much to say, and that their words have meanings. They assume these things but do not actually confirm them. Eloquence quickly becomes a mask that people can hide their ignorance behind, and it is often a mask that many people like and trust. Are those who use eloquence the deceivers, or are people deceiving themselves by ignoring the truth and deeper meaning?

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The Declaration(s)

The Declaration of Independence is famous document known by most people. It stated that the people of America were free and had unalienable rights. It stated that America was independent from British rule. It is important to the American history. There is also a lesser known "Declaration" called the Declaration of Sentiments written in 1848. This declaration was written to give voice to the issue of women's rights during the time period. It is one of the first acts of feminism, though it probably wasn't called that at the time.
What I believe to be the best part about the Declaration of Sentiments is it's purposeful resemblance to the Declaration of Independence. The document is set up in almost exactly the same manner, even adopting most of the first two paragraphs of the D.I. This  was likely done to show the importance of the document, and also perhaps to mock the D.I. The Declaration of Independence does not exclude women from being created equal, yet for some reason they are not treated equally, and the D.S. wanted to make a point of this. Women want it known that they are tired of the unjust and reasonless oppression. The D.S. even goes as far as to bring up the problem that oppression towards women is not just a political issue but also a social one. Men can escape judgment from things that would deem women "improper" or "undesirable". The entirety of the Declaration of Sentiments has a tone of attitude in it, almost as if the women who participated in its creation saw the necessity of such a document ridiculous. After all, why would women be oppressed when the Declaration of Independence stated that all were created equal?
The strange bit about the Declaration of Sentiments is that some of the issues it addresses, are still relevant today. Women (and also men) continue to fight for equal treatment of the sexes. It's strange that this issue has not been resolved, even though it started so long ago.

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John and Abigail Adams

We haven't blogged in a long while, and to kick things off we have begun with some old timey writing:
In class today we read letters that were sent between John and Abigail Adams. Within the letters thy discussed what was happening at the time, as well as plans for the future of the country. However, the primary focus was not to be on the content of the letters but rather the stylistic aspects of the writing used. For example, many seemingly random words in the letters are capitalized, but this can be seen as a calculated choice. Important words and phrases are capitalized to show importance.
One piece of the letter from John to Abigail is particularly interesting. He says:
"Whenever Vanity, and Gaiety, a Love of Pomp and Dress, Furniture, Equipage, Buildings, great Company, expensive Diversions, and elegant Entertainments get the better of the Principles and Judgments of Men or Women there is no knowing where they will stop, nor into what Evils, natural, moral, or political, they will lead us."
This is obviously a lot, but taking a closer look allows its meaning to become clear. He is basically stating that over indulgence in material things can lead to what he describes as "Evil". John capitalizes the many things that lead to evil in order to emphasize their importance. His statement is astounding because of its truthfulness, as well as its ability to transcend time. It is indeed true that placing earthly wants above human principles leads to corruption, and John Adams realizes this and decides to mention it in a simple letter to his wife. John's words continue to be true today. What he says can be applied to any time period which makes its message even more meaningful.
The initial goal was to look at the stylistic choices of the documents, but the content ended up being the more interesting discussion.

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"Even a Fiuscrzsa Ticiwelmun Knows That a Typewriter is Feminine."

Language can be a difficult topic to wrap your mind around. Isn't it odd how ten people can say the same exact thing ten different ways? Isn't it strange that we may understand one of those people, but not the others, even though they are all saying that one same thing? Language is an incredible device, but it poses a few problems and creates some borders between people. Yes, one can learn a new language, but not everyone has time, and learning a new language can be incredibly difficult! (All of those who can speak more than one language fluently, I applaud you). In Me Talk Pretty One Day David Sedaris explores the challenges he faced while taking a French class. He describes how awful his teacher was, and how she would often tease the students whenever they misspoke. Some of the details in the article are likely exaggerated, but it got the message across: not knowing the language of the country you are in will often get you looked down upon.

When someone is in a country where they don't know the native language, it leaves them feeling out of place and inadequate. Being able to communicate is very important in any human society. Those who cannot communicate properly may be treated like children, or even worse, made fun of because they cannot speak and be understood.

Despite the negative focus of the article, it ends on a good note. The author realizes that when the teacher jokes at his broken French, he understands every word of her cruelty. After this realization he is filled with confidence because even though her teaching method is tough and unforgiving, he is still learning the language.

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