Essay 4 Workshop

Alex Robinson

Lauren Servais

English 100

9 December 2010

Picture yourself working as a young child to pay off your parent’s debt.  Giving your all ten hours a day, six days a week, only to give all of your hard earned money away for a reason that you feel is unreasonable.  After struggling for two years to get out of the financial hole that you were born into; realizing that those two years of work hadn’t been to pay off the $6,000 in debt at all, rather it was just to help your family survive.  Family or cultural values should be held high, but an individual’s freedom is always more important.

            In Japanese culture at the time, the oldest boys in the family had a duty of repaying all of his parent’s debt before starting a life of his own.  Mr. Oyama was a very filial son.  That is why he ended up in the situation he was in, with a staggering $6,000 in debt and nothing but work to look forward to for the rest of his life.  Since Mr. Oyama was trapped in this debt, he and his wife had no choice but to expect their sons Toshio and Kiyoshi to do the same he did, be filial, and work for their parent’s until there was enough money to repay the entire debt.

            In the depression era everyone worked for their family’s well being.  For the Japanese-Americans in Hawaii, that meant breaking your back on the plantation’s fields for pennies an hour.  The families that were forced to do this barely made enough money to survive; with all of the expenses from the plantation owned store, the rent due to the plantation, and paying for some children to go to high school or college, the families were stuck.  This meant that the older boys in the families were forced to stay on the plantation to work for the family to survive.  Unlike America’s culture though, the Japanese boys were expected to stay with the family, putting their lives on hold until their family’s debt was completely paid off.

            Mr. and Mrs. Oyama’s culture and expectations of the boys made it so they had no choice but to do as they were told.  Toshio didn’t seem to lose any sleep over the fact that he was a rebel and refused to live by all of his parent’s expectations or conform to Japan’s culture.  Unlike his parents, Toshio realized what it meant to be an American, and he was very proud that he was one.  He knew he shouldn’t have been overwhelmed by the debt that his parents accumulated over the years.  Instead of totally disobeying them though, he decides to deal with their debt the best he can and makes the decision to be the first one in the family to change the trend, and have an obligation to his child, instead of putting the obligation on the child. 

            Being born and raised in the United States, Toshio and Kiyoshi learned of freedoms which were not understood by their parents who were raised in Japan.  Freedoms which made Toshio’s mind run wild with thoughts and feelings that made his mother cry when he expressed them.  Toshio understood what it meant to be filial and didn’t like it one bit; he knew that is why his father was in the situation he was in, and felt it was ridiculous that he was expected to repay his parent’s debt just so he could end up in the same situation as his father.

            Toshio and Kiyoshi were both smart young men, capable of making anything of themselves had they been afforded the opportunity to put their brains to work.  This could have been the thing that turned the tides of their family’s fortunes.  Had the family given them four to six years to take a break from repaying the debt that they shouldn’t even have been responsible for, the boys could have spent time in school, earned degrees, and made at least five times more than working on the plantation.  If Mr. and Mrs. Oyama would have ended the brutal cycle, the family would have been pulled from the debt much sooner than the twenty years that Toshio hypothesized that it would take.

            Mrs. Oyama wanted the best for her sons, she wanted them to be educated and successful once their duties to the family had been completed.  What she does not see though is that they are continuing the cycle that has kept their family down since she came to America to marry Mr. Oyama and start the family.  She, like many of the other Japanese-American families in Hawaii at the time thought that living by their culture and its rules is the more important than anything else.   She was a proud Japanese citizen, too proud to realize that she could have been the one to change the direction her family was headed in by not worrying about the debt and sending her sons to college to make a name for the family.

            I try to imagine life in Hawaii as a Japanese-American during the depression.  How horrible it was for those children, knowing nothing except whatever lies between the plantation and the ocean.  The young boys being forced to quickly become men, skip their young adulthood, immediately go to work for their parents in the fields, and not even keep 50% of what they made.  It is understandable that their parents had a huge amount of debt during that period, I doubt if there were many families that didn’t.  But for them to bring their Japanese culture to a totally new country and use that to hold their boys down is very shameful.  What did Mr. and Mrs. Oyama expect when moving to a United States territory?  Freedom is what they found but they were definitely not ready for it.

            All Toshio and Kiyoshi had wanted was their bodies.  To be able to do whatever they wanted with them and not feel as if they had let their family down.  If their parent’s would have opened their minds as Toshio had told them many times they would have realized that they could have been the ones to end the cycle.  They had two intelligent boys who wanted to be educated and worked hard to become professional boxers since an education was out of the picture and almost made it.  Those boys had a lot of will power and could have done great things if it weren’t for the culture that there parent’s loved so much holding them down.

All I Asking for is My Body Part III Dialogue

What do you think about the ending?

The ending to the book seems like it is cut short, and you are left out of the ending of a good story.  But what Part III of the book is about is the struggles that Kiyoshi faced in dealing with the families debt and the ending makes you realize that.  Much of Part III of the book speaks of smaller stories, which all in some way impact the main point of the part; the families debt situation, which worries Kiyoshi, whose mother tells Toshio the debt would be Kiyoshi's to worry about.  Although it is not mentioned much throughout the part, Kiyoshi does worry about the debt, and the fact that he will be living for his parent's debt for 10-15 years.  Kiyoshi doesn't share his worries throughout Part III because he was raised to be a strong man, to always be samurai, and to hold all of his complaints in.
I was disappointed with the ending when I finished the book. what built up to the ending left me wanting to go off to war with Kiyoshi and see what World War II was like from a nisei's perspective.  After considering it though, and realizing what the story was about I feel content with the ending.  Imagine going through that struggle; being robbed of your childhood; forced to work to pay your parent's debt; going off to war only to get off of the plantation that you have called home for years, knowing you'll make the same amount of money either way.  Kiyoshi didn't even speak of nervousness about going to war, or traveling, which he's never done before.  The only thing he worried about was doing what he felt was the right thing, paying off his parent's debt.
The ending shows how noble of a person Kiyoshi is.  He obviously cared about his own life, but knew that if doing what his mother wanted him to do, he wouldn't have a life and would be repaying his parents debt until he's too old to live his life.  Going off to war he knows he will be able to give his parents the same he would give them if he was on the plantation.  He reassures himself that it's the right thing to make everyone happy by ensuring the insurance will pay off his parent's debt if the worst happens and he dies.

All I Asking for is My Body Part II Dialogue

Kiyoshi belives Obanan is a substitute for his mom, because of the supersititions that he picked up from his mom.  Kiyoshi's mother was more superstitious than most others on the plantations that they had lived on.  Superstitious about everything, whether it be about cutting and cooking food before the New Year, or scooping two scoops of rice into each bowl for protection.  Kiyoshi never wanted to believe the superstitions that his mother often spoke of, mainly because his father so easily put them off and had the attitude that luck comes and goes, whether it be bad or good.
As Kiyoshi's mother began to get sick, she began telling him of more superstitions that she believes in, mainly superstitions about death.  When his mother tells him of Bachi, Kiyoshi begins to believe in his mother's superstitions, and he believes that the Bachi will take her life.
Once Kiyoshi spoke with Obanan, his fears were confirmed, his mother was soon to die.  Sure, Obanan told Kiyoshi that it was possible to have the Bachi passed onto someone else, but Kiyoshi didn't think that would happen.  The next day, as Kiyochi's father walked in the class, he was sure that he was about to hear the worst news possible.  But when he heard that it was Obanan who had passed, he had realized that the Bachi was passed on to her.  Since the story played out how it did, Kiyoshi had no choice but to believe in the Bachi superstition, because it played out exactly how he was told it could play out.

Writing Topic: Chapter 34 The Semicolon

     In chapter 34 of Rules for Writers the main focus is the correct use of semicolons.  The chapter teaches that a semicolon should be used "between closely related independent clauses not joined with a coordinating conjunction."(291)  Usually, when more than one related independent clause is used in one sentence, it is linked with a coordinating conjuction; still there are times that the relation between the clauses is clear and there is no need for a coordinating conjunction, that's when you'd use a semicolon.  The chapter also tells us that the semicolon must be used instead of a comma when a coordinating conjuction is omitted.
     Another instance the chapter teaches that it is okay to use a semicolon in is between independent clauses linked with a transitional expression (conjuctive adverbs or transitional phrases).  When a transitional phrase is used, such as "in fact," the semicolon would be used before that and the transitional phrase is usually followed by a comma.  When using the semicolon with a conjuctive adverb, the semicolon would go between the clauses.  Semicolons should also be used between items when listing a series containing internal punctuation, using semicolons over commas in these instances help the reader sort out the major groupings in the sentence.  The final part of this chapter focuses on avoiding misuse of the semicolon.  In most of these instances the semicolon that is corrected in the example is replaced by a comma, susch as between an appositive and the word it refers to, or between a subordinate clause and the rest of the sentence.
     The information contained in this chapter will help me tremendously in tightening my sentences and avoiding run-ons.  The semicolon has always been something that has interested me, but I never knew the correct use for it.  Now that I know how to appropriately use the semicolon, I feel that my sentences will come out appearing a lot tighter, and they will be easier to follow for the readers.

All I Asking Ffr is My Body Part 1 Dialogue

     Makot is a boy that is Kiyoshi's older brother Toshio's age.  Toshio calls Makot "General of the kids," because Makot is the leader of the gang of kids three years younger than him.  Makot hangs out with younger kids because he was always made fun of by the kids his age, so, in turn, he buys the friendship of kids younger than him.  Makot says that he has gone through a lot of younger kids and they all eventually "quit him," but Kiyoshi and the other two his age didn't quit Makot because they're too stupid.  I believe the reason Makot's peers make fun of him so much is because of Makot's parents, the first part of the book doesn't get into detail about them, but it seems like something fishy is going on with them and they are very embarrassing to Makot.
     I do feel sorry for Makot since he is bullied by the children his age.  If it weren't for the way he was raised, I'm sure Makot would be a normal boy like Toshio or other boys his age but he wasn't so he's an outcast.  The way Makot copes with his parents is by forming something like a family in the gang of younger boys.  He buys the gang "chow fun," brings them to the movies, and feeds them good lunch so they'll hang around him; he knows none of their families have the money to give them those things so the boys will be more attracted to him.  I think Makot just doesn't know how to make friends, or how to deal with people and it all boils down to the way he was raised.  It's not very apparent what they do from reading only the first part of the book, but they seem to a lot different than the parents of the other young boys.

Essay 3 Workshop

                     Robinson

Servais

Eng 100

10 Nov 2010

A child growing up watching the “perfect” American child every Sunday morning on television can make that child seem like he/she isn’t “perfect” and never will be.  That’s how it was growing up for Lovey; every time she turned on the television she was subjected to images of “perfect” American children, which forced her to realize she was not the “perfect” American child.  This is one of the many struggles that Lovey faced growing up as a poor Hawaiian; one that made her feel as if she couldn’t draw positive emotions out of a single soul; the worst struggle a child can face.

            Watching Shirley Temple on the television is something that made Lovey cry every time she watched her; the story lines, the acting.  It made Lovey feel as if she were there, helplessly watching that perfect little girl in the most unfortunate of circumstances.  But somehow every week that little girl pulled through and was reunited with her loved ones.  Lovey knows that everyone else watching shares the same feelings she does; holding back tears because there are others watching in the room. 

            The girl, with her bright eyes and blond ringlets, a girl that was obviously loved by anyone who set eyes on her, made Lovey think very low of herself.  Lovey, who could not even make a proper sentence felt that she was well below standard to all Americans when watching this beautiful young girl on the television.  Her teacher did not help with the situation, making all of his students feel little every time he spoke by telling them that they will never be able to make anything of themselves by the way they talk.  Lovey could not do anything about this, she was who she was; a poor Hawaiian girl who was raised around other poor Hawaiians, they didn’t speak or live like the average American.

            At Sunday School,  Lovey and her friend Jerry would make alternate endings to the ends of shows that they didn’t have enough time to watch.  They made happy endings, endings like the ones that they were sure the show had.  These endings made Lovey both happy, and sad.  Sad because she knew that she would never be able to draw the kind of emotions that she was so sure Shirley drew at the end of each show.   

            This wasn’t the only show that made Lovey feel like a substandard American.  The Checkers and Pogo Show; with all of the “rich Honolulu kids,” trying to look honest for their spot as the Unbirthday Child was another thing Lovey knew she would never experience.  This was a totally different way the media had affected Lovey. 

            The Checkers and Pogo Show made Lovey realize, and attempt to cope with the fact that she was from a poor family; the fact that she would never make it to that show to win $0.57 had a larger effect than it should have and Lovey knew it.  It wasn’t the show that Lovey wanted to be on though, it was the atmosphere that the show created, being around all of the happy kids acting like happy kids is something that Lovey wanted more than going to Honolulu to be on that show.

            Lovey finally got what she wanted on her birthday when Jerry gave her the birthday present that she had always wanted: a ticket to The Checkers and Pogo Show.  Of course it wasn’t a real ticket to the show, but it was something that made Lovey realize that someone wanted her to be as happy as the children on the show.  Lovey had a lot of fun with Jerry, and he took very good care of her as a friend, giving her exactly what he knew would make her happy.

This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix, Arizona Dialogue

Are you more impressed with the film or the
story?  Why? 
     The film Smoke Signals, was filled with more detail than this weeks reading that's why I was more impressed with the film.  From the beginning of the movie, I was drawn in by the house fire and Thomas Builds-The-Fire's speaking which got me instantly hooked on the film, the story just didn't have the same impact as the film for me.  The emotions, stereotypes, and personalities were so much easier to comprehend in the movie than the vague descriptions in the story. 
     The storyline in the movie is another part that had me more drawn in and impressed than the reading.  The house fire during the 4th of July, along with Thomas'  narrarations of how he and Victor burn everything they touch to the ground, and fall apart when anything touches them are a perfect way to start the film about this story.  I was disappointed in the lack of detail that the reading had, although I understand that there was a lot of information to cover in the few pages that was written.  It was missing the things that I remembered the movie by; the girls driving backwards, the house fire, the woman at Victor's fathers home, the anger.  I'm certain if this was a whole book to read, I would be more happy with it, but due to the limit the author had, I am unimpressed with the reading after watching the film.

Writing Topic: Rules for Writers Chapter 16

In chapter 16 of Rules for Writer the author teaches about keeping sentences tight without losing meaning.  It teaches that there are several ways that the author recommends when tightening sentences, they vary from restructuring sentences, to eliminating unnecessary words.   The chapter teaches that eliminating redundancies is one of the ways of tightening a sentence.  It says that when the writer says the same thing twice such as, true fact, it is a redundancy and only one of the words is necessary in the sentence.  Much of what the chapter teaches is to eliminate different things that can make your sentences run on.  Using modifiers, which are adjectives or verbs that lead into a word that already gives the notion of the descriptive word used, can help add meaning to the word they modify, but are many times redundant and should be left out of the writing. 
Empty phrases are another thing that should be cut from writings as well according to the chapter.  Saying "in my opinion," or "I think that,"  adds unnecessary length to sentences because the readers already know that they're reading what the writer believes.  The chapter teaches us about many different ways to reduce the amount of words in sentences and that many of the phrases that we use can be converted into single words, which it provides examples for. 
I've always been hard on myself after reading over sentences I have written and realizing that they are too long but could never figure out how to shorten them while maintaining the meaning.  After reading through the chapter, I've realized that there are several ways to do that.  The biggest part of the chapter that I'll use in my writing is the section on eliminating redundancies.  Before reading this I didn't even know what redundancies were, now that I can identify them, I will be able to eliminate them before they even make it onto paper.  The other major section of the chapter that I will take with me is the section on reducing clauses to phrases, phrases to single words. 

Smoke Signals Dialogue

What do you think about the relationship between Thomas and Victor?

     The relationship between Victor and Thomas reminds me of the relationships of brothers who live with seperate parents have.  They are both raised in the same area, know the same people, and have known the same people throughout their lives, but the way they were raised makes Victor hate Thomas.  Since Victor's parents were young, alcoholics, and his father was abusive, he developed a hatred of his life on the reservation, but eventually succumbed to reservation life and became a sloth by the time he was a young adult.  Thomas' parents passed away in the fire at the beginning of the movie, so he was raised by his grandmother, who appears to be more traditional and is definately more mature than Victor's parents.  Thomas' grandmother obviously spent a lot of time with him, raising him to be a respectful, intelligent man, and she passed her tribes traditions on to him and taught him how to be a traditional Native.  The differences between the two, Victor's hatred for his childhood, particularly the situation surrounding his father, and Thomas' pride in being a Native American and admiration of Victor's father made Victor resent Thomas.
     It is not until Victor's father passes, that him and Thomas' relationship begins to grow into a relationship that tight brothers would share.  At the beginning of the trip to recover Arnold's ashes and belongings, there was still a lot of friction between the two which is all caused by Victor because he doesn't like the way Thomas is.  It is easy to see why Victor felt this way; growing up, Victor learned that you have to look tough and be tough, nothing else matters.  Since Thomas was anything but tough, Victor felt Thomas was wrong and portrayed himself in a bad way as a Native.  Throughout the trip, Victor attempts to instill his beliefs on the way Natives should be into Thomas; Thomas attempts to learn more about Victor's feelings towards his father and shares fictional stories of Victor's father with him which only upsets Victor.  Though Victor is often upsetted by the way Thomas is on their journey, they begin to know each other more than they ever had during this short period, and their bond begins to grow.
     After leaving Arnold's home in Arizona, Thomas and Victor's fight that ends in a car accident, their bond as brothers is sealed.  This is proven by the fact that even though Arnold is the reason Thomas' parents died in the house fire at the beginning of their lives, he says nothing to Thomas about it.  The reason he doesn't tell Thomas isn't only to defend his father's name, but also to retain the relationship that him and Thomas gained on their trip.  When they arrive back home, Thomas and Victor share a moment as Thomas is being dropped off.  They both have the same plan for Arnold's ashes, and they have an "inner" understanding that the relationship that they gained on that journey, will be the relationship they'll have for the rest of their lives.

Writing Topic: Chapter 48

     The main focus in chapter 48 of Rules for Writers is to teach how to evaluate arguments.  The chapter teaches that there are several different ways to evaluate an argument to deteremine if it is fallacious, unfair, or both.  There are many different argumentative tactics that the writer can use, and a number of them are unreasonable, according to the chapter, these are called logical fallacies.  One of the things the reading states that all writers and thinkers do is generalizing, which is when the writer/thinker looks at a small portion of the information they are writing about and assumes that the rest of the information they get the portion from will be exactly the same and that's how they draw their conclusion.  By doing this, the chapter states that the writer is engaginig in inductive reasoning, meaning it deals with probability instead of certainty.  To ensure the argument is not unreasonable when using inductive reasoning the chapter gives three questions for the writer to ask him/herself: is the evidence sufficient? Is the evidence representative? Is the evidence relative?  When the writer uses insufficient or unrepresentative evidence to come to their conclusion, this is called a hasty generalization and is an unreasonable argument tactic.      Another of the tactics the chapter mentions is drawing analogies, which is used extensively in our court systems.  The chapter states that analogies "point out a similarity between two things that are otherwise different."(373)  When reasoning by analogy, the writer must consider that just because two things are alike in one way does not mean it will be a reasonable analogy to use in an argument, if the analogy is clearly off point, the chapter says it is a false analogy.  There are several other tactics the chapter mentions to conduct an argument including weighing options,  making assumptions, tracing causes and effects, and deducing conclusions.  The chapter also teaches about distinguishing between legitimate and unfair emotional appeals.  What it teaches in dealing with this is that many arguments attempt to win our sympathy instead of our intelligen agreement.  Some of the arguments that strive for unfair emotional appeals use biased language and attach the people who have a different feeling about the issue.  The final topic the chapter teaches is about handling the opposing views fairly.  To do this, the writer must fairly explain the opposing views when it is necessary and counter the views with their own facts.     I plan on taking all of the information from this chapter into account when it comes time for me to write an argumentative paper.  I've never had to write one, and I have never been taught about writing them, so all of the information throughout the chapter will be used in my writing of an argumentative paper.  What stuck out to me the most in the chapter was all of the different tactics one can use to develop an argumentative paper.  Some of the tactics I can relate to arguments that I have read in the newspaper, or magazines, and others I have probably seen but never realized.  The biggest thing the chapter has taught me, is to open my eyes and realize that there can be a lot that goes into an argumentative paper but more importantly, the writer should ensure that is written fairly and logically.    

Obituary Dialogue

     Lovey's English teacher, Mr. Harvey, resorted to shaming his students into wanting to learn to speak standard English.  He constantly tells the students that they sound uneducated and says that they will go nowhere in life.  Mr. Harvey does this because his Hawaiian students speak pidgin English, which Mr. Harvey refers to as a "low-class form of good Standard English" and he is very frustrated that he cannot change the way they speak.   Mr. Harvey had a major impact on Lovey, he made her ashamed of who she was, what she ate, even her family.  Though Mr. Harvey may have intended to do good by constantly ridiculing and making the students feel little, the things that he said to them only forced them to accept that they will never make anything of themselves.
     I find the reasoning behind the way Mr. Harvey teaches very odd and interesting.  I think Mr. Harvey may have, at one point, attempted to treat the students how they deserved to be treated, like ordinary people.  After a few years of failing at his job, he began giving the students images that they won't be able to forget by treating them like garbage.  Mr. Harvey believes that if he informs the students of the worst image they may be seen as it will give them motivation to change their form of English.  What Mr. Harvey doesn't realize is pidgin English is the only form of English that the children know besides what they watch on television.  It seems that Mr. Harvey constantly ridicules the students, but doesn't take the time to actually teach the children how to speak proper English and inform them of the benefits of speaking proper English, vice the downfalls of speaking pidgin.
    

Writing Topic Rules for Writers Chapter 47

The main focus in chapter 47 of Rules for Writers is to inform the readers how to construct a reasonable argument.  The chapter starts by telling the readers that when writing an argument, the writer takes a stand on a debatable issue, it then gives several examples of debatable issues concerning public policy.  When constructing the argument, the chapter says that the argument is not about getting the last word in, or winning, but it's written to "explain your understanding of the truth about a subject or to propose the best solution available for solving a problem."(359)The chapter says that in the introduction of the argument, the writer should state his/her stance on the issue in the thesis.  Using the sentences before hand to gain creditibility by showing that the writer is knowlegable on what he/she is writing about and is a fair person.  According to the chapter, the argument should persuade the readers and prove to them that the thesis is correct.  The chapter states that the argument should also include evidence to support the claims that the writer makes, the information the chapter recommends using are facts or statistics.   Finally, the writer should think of the arguments that can be written against his/her arguments, include them in his/her argument and counter them so the readers can see that there is a more reasonable argument in his/hers.
This chapter included a lot of useful information to take in and I plan on using much of it in my future arguments that I will write.  The most useful piece of information that I can see myself use from the chapter is the section on anticipating objections and countering the opposing arguments.  Without that knowledge, I couldn't see myself thinking of mentioning arguments that would counter the argument that I'm trying to get across.  Another piece of information that I will use from the chapter is the sample argument paper.  Since I've never written an argument paper, having this sample to give me an idea of how to construct an argument will be very valuable.

Essay 2 Workshop

          Being born six feet underground makes it extremely difficult to crawl out of the hole that you call home, but when you’re determined and led to the right path, the feel of green grass under your feet is only a short leap away.  That’s what I’ve learned from seeing what I’ve seen in my short time on this planet.  When you’re born into that life, already in a hole, most everything around you has a goal of blocking the right path.  That’s how it was for Sherman Alexie and me, but, with the examples of great men in our lives, we both found a way of overcoming all of that and clearing a path to success.

            The city I was born in, Tacoma, Washington, was at the time plagued by gang violence, corruption, and drugs.    It was the 1990s, the “gangster rapper” hype had reached it’s peak, all of the children in my neighborhood wanted to be a gangster just like Tupac, Biggie Smalls, or Brotha Lynch.  Being raised in that environment made it impossible to fit in with your peers when you are trying to stay in school and out of jail.  My brother was in and out of Juvenile Hall, my sister began her addiction to drugs, and I watched, helplessly from the sidelines, doing the only thing I knew would keep me away from that, I learned.

Like Sherman Alexie, I was raised poor by most American’s standards, but given the condition of my surroundings, my family was well into the middle class.  Unlike Alexie though, my parents always had jobs, I’m not saying they were good ones, my father worked at Jack in the Box for some time, and my mother at a bank, but they had jobs nonetheless.  My siblings and I were never given many gifts, but that was okay, because every day after school I got the best gift I could’ve been given, given the situation I was raised in, an education in the form of a newspaper.

Being raised below the poverty level in a God forsaken city, there were many kids my age that had nothing to do besides getting into trouble.  Luckily, I was given an alternative to this.  One of the memories I have from growing up is of my father keeping up with the world’s issues by reading the newspaper.  I was always so interested in what he was reading, even before I knew how to read.  Why would this interest him 365 days a year?  How could they possibly come up with something new and exciting enough to keep him entertained so often?  I began answering these questions before I could read; looking through the comic section laughing at the pictures even though I had no idea what was going on in them. 

            By the time I’d learned to read I already had skimming through the newspapers, looking at the Toys R’ Us ads as a daily routine in my life so it wasn’t hard for me to read into the articles and begin to learn about everything important enough to be in the newspaper.  This transformed me into an information gathering fiend.  I learned from reading the newspaper that there is something to be learned from everything, the political comic strips that lined the comic section, how the ads were displayed to target a certain audience, what was on the front page that the editor wanted to grab the city’s attention. 

            At this point in my life I was after every bit of information I could find, but I started looking for the knowledge in different areas.  Whenever I stepped out of my house, or even when I was inside of it, I would learn as much as I could.  Whether the knowledge that I gained was from watching: The Discovery Channel, people as they worked, as they drove, how they interacted with different people.  I was on a mission to learn whatever there was to be learned, and this was the only way I knew of doing it.

            I gained a great deal of knowledge from watching my peers interact with each other.  Being the quiet kid in class, I had a lot of time to do this and I made the most of that time.  It’s amazing how much some people can change their character given the group that their around.  I think the knowledge that I’ve gained from that is the most valuable that I’ve received to date.  Watching my classmates and others that I’ve been around change their character, and in turn, seem like a fool to the people who really know them taught me to always be myself.  It taught me to not try to be a gangster, thug, or anything else that you’re not.  Especially if what you’re trying to be will never amount to anything. 

            Since I never tried to be anything I wasn’t, and I was shown what path to take to make a successful life; I used my desire to gain knowledge as a shield to keep all of the bad from my neighborhood from getting to me.  Now that I’m older and understand even more, I look back on my life, the people I knew in my neighborhood, they’re now drug addicts, gang members, or dead.  I can’t help but be thankful for the direction that I was given, like Sherman Alexie, my life was saved at such a young age by the example from my father. 

            Now that I can feel the green grass under my feet, and have the golden road full of opportunity in front of me, I can’t help but to look back.  All of the young children growing up in circumstances like mine, in bad neighborhoods, with bad influences surrounding them.  I feel horrible for all of the children that are forced to grow up the way I did and the feeling will only get worse as they grow older and I watch the kids I knew when they were 10 years old being put in caskets.  I haven’t done it yet because I’m still developing a life for myself, but my mind is set on giving to the community that has given me nothing but bad examples to learn from.

Rules for Writers Chapter 4

     In chapter four of "Rules for Writers,"  the author teaches how to build effective paragraphs.  The chapter starts with stating the main point in a topic sentence.  A topic sentence is a lot like a thesis except it lets the readers know what will be in the paragraph to follow vice an entire draft.  The topic sentence should clearly state the reason for the paragraph and relate to the thesis.  According to the chapter, the topic sentence usually is the first sentence in the chapter, but for different types of writing or for writers with different styles, could be in the second sentence, or even at the end of the paragraph.  Next, the author explains how to develop the main points.  When doing this, she says that the main point, like a thesis must be proven and that it must be developed enough depending on purpose and audience.
     The author then teaches how to choose a suitable pattern of organization.  She gives several examples of standard patterns of organization that are frequently used by writers including: examples and illustrations, narration, description, process, camparison and contrast, analogy cause and effect, classification and division and definition.  There are different reasons for using each of these organization processes, and the process that the writer will use will depend on the writer's style and purpose.  The next section in the chapter covers making paragraphs coherent.  As with patterns of organization, there are several examples that the writer gives to help writer's make their paragraphs coherent.  Finally, the author teaches how to adjust the paragraph length if necessary.  The chapter states that there are several reasons to begin a new paragraph, or combine paragraphs.  Some reasons for beginning new paragraphs are to signal a shift to a new idea, mark off the introduction and conclusion, break up text that looks too dense, or to highlight a contrast.  Reasons to comine paragraphs include clarifying the essay's organization and connecting closely related ideas.
     Like the other chapters that we've read so far in this book, I will benefit from all of the material the author has written in it.  All of the points in the chapter are points that I haven't been taught in the past and will only help to make me a better writer.  One of the more important lessons that I will take with me from the chapter is the section on organizing paragraphs.  All of the descriptions in that sections are very detailed, and the examples make it very easy to understand and will help me apply the styles to my writing.  Another of the lessons that I will take from this chapter, is the section on making paragraphs coherent, more specifically on providing transitions.  I've always had issues with transitioning between sentences, but this section gives examples on transitioning the I believe will help me.  I like how the author italicizes the words in the paragraphs to show the readers the words that the writer uses to transition, it's a great example and will really help me apply the information in my own writing.
    

"Shooting Dad" by Sarah Vowell Dialogue

What accounts for the narrator’s struggles with her dad?

     The narrarator and her father seemed to be two totally opposite people, the father was a Conservative Republican, gunsmith, and hunter, the narrarator on the other hand was a Democrat, and artist who seemed to be annoyed just by the fact that there were guns everywhere you looked in the house.  There were periods when the two couldn't even hold a conversation without it erupting into an argument just because their views were so different and they were both so adamant about them.  Their home was even split into seperate territories just so they wouldn't cross each others paths and in turn start a war.
     Ever since the narrarator was six years old and her father let her fire one she decided guns weren't her thing, she felt that it was evil and even said, "Satan, I rebuke thee" after firing.  Since then, the narrarator wouldn't even go on any of the father-daughter hunts the family had, her twin sister couldn't even pull her along to spend some quality time with them.  The narrarator's dislike for guns pulled her in the other direction than her father was in, she didn't spend any time with him and he didn't force her to, so they never had bonding time where the father's values could have been implanted into the narrarator.  This kept them apart for many years, until the narrarator decided that it was enough and finally gave into what her father lived for, that's when she realized they were both so alike and the struggles certainly ended after that.

Writing Topic: Rules for Writers Chapter 3

     The main purpose in "Rules for Writers, Chapter 3" by Diana Hacker, is to educate the readers on revising a rough draft to transform it into a final draft.  The chapter begins with a step that many writers skip while revising because it is too difficult to see what they wrote from someone else's shoes: global revision.  According to the chapter, global revision is a process in which the reviewer looks at the draft as a whole, ignoring the grammatical and punctuation errors, but focusing their attention on the big picture: purpose, audience, focus, organization, paragraphing, content, and point of view.  If the writer has a problem with looking at the big picture of the draft, the chapter gives a recommendation that the draft be set aside for one night, or longer.  Then, when the writer is ready to revise, the chapter suggests asking questions and/or enlisting the help of reviewers to determine if the big picture of the draft is satisfactory.
     The second section of Chapter 3 focuses on revising and editing sentences, and proofreading the final draft.  Per the chapter, when revising the sentences, the writer should be focused on how effective the sentences are, and when editing, how correct the sentences are.  Proofreading, according to the chapter, is "the final and most important step in manuscript preparation,"(30) and is a process in which the reviewer slowly, and carefully examines the draft for "misspellings, typographical mistakes, and omitted words or word endings."(30)  The chapter gives a detailed example of a student's essay from a rough draft with classmates comments, to a final draft, ready for submission.  The example shows how (after considering the comments and rereading the draft on his own) the writer applies all of the recommendations in order to finalize the draft for submission.
     After reading Chapter 3, I feel much more confident in my abilities to revise and finalize my drafts for submission.  The tool that I feel is most important and that I will apply to my writings from now on, is the checklist for global revision.  Before reading this chapter, I've never thought of any of the questions on the checklist, I don't think I was ever taught any of it, but now that I understand why the questions are important, I feel that it will really boost the quality of my final drafts.  Another tool in the chapter that I will utilize in my own writing will be the suggestions to help get over the problems writers may have with proofreading their own papers.  This is a problem that I have always had, it would take me over an hour to proofread my final draft because I would continually miss mistakes, but reading out loud, and then backwards will make it so I have to focus on each detail of what I read, therefore, catch the mistakes on the first, or second proofread.

"Coming Home Again" By Chang-rae Lee Dialogue

Why does his mother regret allowing him to attend boarding school?

     Chang-rae Lee was somewhat of a home body.  He enjoyed his time at home, and from reading the story, he was very particular of his Mother.  In the beginnining of the story, Lee says his mother sent him away to school to change his character; so he wouldn't end up like her.  As a child, it was easy to see that Lee was taking on the characteristics of his Mother, he loved to watch her cook, he would even sneak into the kitchen to watch her instead of playing with friends.  Going away to Exeter only made him grow apart from his mother, realize that she did nothing except stay confined within the four walls of the house, and forced him to take on the world, which he wasn't prepared for.   Later in her life , sending him off to school comes back to haunt Lee's mother, because she realizes sending him away didn't change his character at all, it just made it so she had less time with him, time to teach him the things she thought were important, and that she had less of an impact on the end result of the person he became.
     Lee's mother was disappointed that she hadn't taught him to cook as well as she could have.  When she became sick, she knew that Lee would be the one to make the meals that would bring the family together for dinner, and she expects the food that they come together for to be perfect.  But this won't happen because Lee was sent away to school for 9 years, 9 years that his Mother knew could have been spent at home by her side, where he could've learned to make the dishes as perfect as she did.  His mother feels like she not only grew apart from her only son while he was at Exeter, but also that she wasn't able to pass on the best skill that she felt she had, to make perfect Korean food for the family.

Writing Topic: Rules for Writers Chapter 2

      The main point of chapter 2, "Rules for Writers," by Diana Hacker, is to teach how to make the rough draft of an essay.  The chapter starts off by informing us that while making our initial, or rough draft, that we shouldn't focus our attention mainly on our grammar and sentence structure, but instead on ideas and organization.  The first step Diana recommends is compiling all of the prewriting materials made, such as, outlines, lists, and freewrites, and keeping them closeby throughout the process of making the rough draft.  She then goes into developing the rough draft.  The first part of the draft, the introduction, she says should catch the readers attention with an example, question, vivid description, analogy, and thesis statement.  She also teaches us that a thesis requires proof or further development and that it cannot be a fact or description itself.
     The next part of an essay covered in this chapter is the body.  The body is what supports the thesis statement made in the introduction, so it is important to have a thesis before beginning to draft the body.  One question Diana says to ask when drafting the body is "what does your thesis promise readers?"  She recommends asking that question while throughout the drafting of the body.  Another thing that Diana says to do while drafting the body is using the outline (or making one) and from each supporting point writing a paragraph to prove your thesis.  The conclusion is the last part of writing a rough draft covered in this chapter.  The conclusion should remind the readers what the essay was about, but not reiterate things already covered; it's what uses the energy developed in the body to turn the light on in the readers head.  Diana also says that the conclusion might also "briefly summarize the essay's key points, propose a course of action, etc, etc," and she gives examples on how to make the conclusion memorable.  The final part of the conclusion hit in this chapter, is the fact that it should be "decisive and unapologetic"(27), and shouldn't include new ideas.
     One of the ways I plan on using the contents of this chapter in my own writing is by applying the information Diana gave us to draft the body.  I really liked the idea about making a paragraph out of each supporting point of your outline.  It seems like I always have a huge problem writing the body's of my paragraphs, and I think that if I have an outline right next to me (another thing suggested in the chapter), full of ideas, all I'll have to do is plant the ideas in my mind and let them grow.  One other thing that I will take with me from this chapter is the characteristics of an effective thesis.  I haven't been taught much on thesis' going through school, and I think I can use every bit of knowledge available to me to improve my future thesis'.

Essay 1 Workshop

As I sit here and look through these photographs, I can’t help but to have a huge smile on my face; these images of great memories that were created at Disneyland, now sealed in between a book of black leather. In August of 2009 my wonderful girlfriend Nicole, her adorable daughter Evany, and I took a ten hour road trip to Anaheim, California to spend four wonderful days in Disneyland. This magical vacation brought magical memories that helped bring our family together as one.


People may feel that a ten-hour-straight drive is something they’ll never do, especially in order to vacate life for a short period of time, but for me, it is a perfect time to get to know someone better. Before this, driving for extended periods of time was just another part of being a Marine, convoying and trying to find mud houses in the middle of nowhere. This trip was something different, something special. Being able to communicate with my two favorite people in the world, singing, talking about deep emotions, playing road trip games were all things I hadn’t been able to do since taking road trips with my immediate family growing up. Being able to be the host of those things really meant something different to me, something that I will cherish my whole life.

Disneyland’s otherworldly atmosphere had a way of making us all lose focus with what was going on in our daily lives. Being the first time Evany and myself had been to Disneyland gave us energy that lasted seemingly forever to explore the deepest reaches of Disneyland. It was an amazing thing to see, her eyes light up as we passed through the ticket check area and came into the sight of “The Enchanted Castle.” At that moment, it seemed that was what Evany lived for, it meant the world to her, and to be a part of that is unforgettable in itself.

There is so much to do at Disneyland, and unless you are willing to pay a fortune to spend the time to do it all, you will be rushing the whole time you’re there. Pulling Nicole and Evany around, rushing all around the park is one of the memories that made Disneyland not seem like an actual vacation at all. I don’t think I’d been as busy as we were in Disneyland, since I was at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, being marched around by drill instructors the ten hours a day we weren’t eating or sleeping. We got to most of the rides we really wanted to go on while we were there, but didn’t have enough time to really enjoy the park for what it was.

The nights staying in our suite in Anaheim, after a long day, when the excitement from the day finally caught up with us was a whole different experience. We stayed up as long as our bodies could cope with our spirits, watching movies, playing board games, and bonding those couple of hours nightly before we gave in to our exhaustion. Dealing with Evany, as tired as she was would not be joyful for many, that’s how I realized how much I loved her, my ability to handle her during those tough times.

The picture that I chose with Mickey Mouse, Evany, Nicole, and I at Tunetown, in Mickey’s own house symbolizes my experiences at Disneyland. We had finally reached the true reason we were at Disneyland, being together as a family, meeting the one that made Disney what it is. After waiting three hours in line, just to meet and take a picture with him seemed appropriate for what a good part of the time at Disneyland was; hurry up and wait. After our vacation and twentieth hour of driving over the past five days we finally returned home, not long for me though, the next day I had to leave for two weeks with the Marine Corps and live on the memories I acquired during our four days at Disneyland. It was not until I returned from that two weeks with the Corps that I had realized how the vacation, and 120 hours side by side with my family, had solidified the tight bond that we still have to this day. Pictures are valuable things that record great moments and memories, and to me, this picture is why I believe a picture truly speaks a thousand words.

Writing Topic: Rules for Writers Chapter 1

     The main purpose in "Rules for Writers, Chapter 1," is to inform the readers that writing is not a process of putting your thoughts on paper, but "figuring out what you think."(2)  The way Mrs. Hacker explains doing this, is doing it in stages, which she is sure that you will go back and revise once you've gotten further into your writing process and realized the beginning may need a change.  She has broken the first phase of the  writing process down into four stages to give writers a guideline to follow while writing.

     The first stage Mrs. Hacker introduces is, "generate ideas and sketch a plan."(2)  In this stage, she first recommends thinking about what you will write about while you're performing a daily activity and assessing the situation you will be writing under (time constraints, subject, length, etc).  She then goes into the subject your writing will be on and what will be expected of it, how you can get your information on the subject, why you will be writing and to whom, and how to present your ideas to the audience.  In the second stage of the first phase of the writing process, she goes into ways you can explore your subject to get you to the question, problem, or issue you will write about.  Mrs. Hacker lists several ways of exploring your subjects including:  listing, clustering, freewriting, etc.  For the third stage, she talks about coming up with a thesis, which will contain your central idea in one or two sentences in the first paragraph of your writing.  She recommends drafting a thesis early in the writing process, which may be rough and not what you will use in the final draft, but it will be a tool in organizing your first draft.  The final stage she goes over is sketching a plan.  She teaches us there are two ways of doing this, both using an outline, either rough, or formal.  Mrs. Hacker says rough outlines work good early in the writing process, and have advantages over a formal outline, but a formal outline is, "useful later in the writing process, after you have written a rough draft, especially if your topic is complex."(18)

     I plan on using the information from this chapter in many ways in my writing.  One of the points I know I will take with me throughout my life, is the section on "purpose."  I don't remember ever thinking about who I would write to when writing anything, although I think everything I've written (besides letters to friends and family) to date has been for educators.  Even so, as I advance in my life I know I will be responsible for writing to different groups, for different reasons, and now I'm confident that I'll be able to capture the attention of the group I'm writing to by clearly stating my purpose.

"The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me" by Sherman Alexie Dialogue

     Alexie learned to read at 3 years old, a poor Indian boy, middle class by the reservations terms, who read "Grapes of Wrath" in kindergarten.  The feats, which would have made a boy of any other race a genius, simply made the Indian kindergartener an "oddity."  That was fine, because what made the young Indian boy an oddity at an early age is also what allowed him to survive.  It saved his life.  You may wonder, "How can reading at a young age save an anyone's life?"  Well, to understand the answer, you must understand the way of the people's lives that it saves.

     Alexie was raised in a fairly large family of seven.  His family was poor to most standards, but, living on an Indian reservation was able to remain in the middle class simply by one of the parents usually finding a minimum wage job.  His father loved to read, he always had stacks of books lying around the house wherever there was room.  Since Alexie loved his father with "an aching devotion,"(12), Alexie learned to love books himself.  He first learned to read with a Superman comic book at 3 years old, well, not literally read, but make stories himself with the pictures and put words in the places he saw writing.  He became addicted to reading, reading whenever he found time, no matter where he was.  This helped him to keep to himself, since there were no other Indian children who cared to learn what the teachers wanted to teach, this is the best thing he could have done.  Instead of the "normal" Indian life, Alexie decided he would do what he watched his Dad do, what he loved, he would read.

     Since Alexie constantly read though his childhood, he learned and was able to make something of himself.  Now, instead of being dead, or a drug addict like I'm sure the kids that picked on him for wanting to learn are, he is an author who speaks to Indian youth so they don't lead the lives that are expected of them.  By speaking to the children at the schools Alexie visits, he is showing the young Indians that there is another path they can lead through life, they don't have to live up to the image that America has expected of them throughout the centuries.  He is giving the children the tools they need to save their lives.

Writing Topic: Rules for Writers chapter 46

     In chapter 46 of "Rules For Writers" by Diana Hacker, she explains all of the steps to writing a summary or making an analysis of a written text or visual.  She begins with explaining a few different types of texts, then moves into what is expected when you're given an assignment to write about a text or visual.  According to the author, "Most assignments that ask you to respond to a text call for a summary or an analysis or both."(346)  According to the author, in order to write an essay or an analysis, you must first actively read the text several times.  She also gives a list of guidlines to follow in order to succesfully actively read including asking questions to familiarize yourself with the basic structure of the text, noting details that you find interesting, and applying critical thinking strategies.
 
     The author also goes into developing a brief outline after actively reading and annotating the text several times.  In the outline she states that you should, "put the author's thesis and key points in your own words."(350)  The outline does not need to be in paragraph form, more importantly it should bring the texts central points together.  She then gets into writing the summary or analysis.  "The goal when your summarizing a text is to state the ideas and key points simply, briefly, and accurately."(351)  To do this she recommends using the outline that you've made as a draft for the summary, finding the central point of the text, and splitting the summary up into major and minor ideas.  When analyzing a text, she recommends instead of hitting the text in a whole, as you would in a summary, you should try to determine how the text makes it's points.  An analysis should be set up in essay format, with an introduction that summarizes the text, your own thesis on what you think about the text, and a body of paragraphs that support your thesis.  When analyzing a visual text, you should begin by analyzing the visual as a whole, then break it down and analyze how the individual details add to the whole effect of the visual.
 
     I plan on referring to this chapter in "Rules for Writers" whenever I have a writing assignment to do from now on.  Before reading this I had heard about taking notes or highlighting as you go along with your reading, but the active reading guidelines included in this chapter are far more detailed than anything I've been taught.  That is what I will refer to the most after reading this chapter, all of the questions in the guideline will help me to really explore what's actually in the text that I'm reading, and why the text was written.  Another of the guidelines in the chapter that I will use frequently is the guidelines for writing a summary.  Before reading this, I never totally grasped the expectations of a summary, now that I've read it I am totally confident that I can hit every point that is expected when I summarize a written text.  The one thing that I didn't get too much out of from this chapter, which I'm sure it went over enough, but I didn't take it in well enough was analyzing visual texts.  I'm sure it's simple enough, but I've never done it before so I'm more than likely unconfident in my abilities to do something I've never done.

"Freewriting Exercises" Dialogue

     A freewrite is a writing activity in which an individual spends approximately ten to twenty minutes constantly writing about anything that comes into the author's mind.  It's a period of time where the author does not worry about spelling, punctuation, grammar or anything you would worry about in conventional literature.  Freewrites are more of a time to let you, yourself come out on paper: to write the words exactly how you would say them, to let your ideas flow.

     Freewrites tend to produce a good amount of wasted paper, but out of the ninety percent of garbage, the author has the potential of finding ten percent of gold.  People often use freewrites as a way to determine what to write about, letting their minds bring them to the subject they're interested in which leads them to write a paper that they are adament about.  A freewrite can also be used as a source for good bits and pieces to add to planned writing being put together; often there are good phrases, ideas or questions in freewrites that will tie in well with the subject being written on.

     After reading the "Freewriting Excercises," I found freewriting to have the potential to be very helpful in developing writing skills.  What I found to be the best idea in the text and the idea that I'll use the most, is using the freewrites to let my mind bring me to the subject I would like to write on.

    

Alex's Intoductory Blog

      Hi everyone, my name is Alex Robinson.  I am originally from Tacoma, WA but moved to Santa Rosa about a year and a half ago after a combat deployment in order to better my life.  I am currently on active duty in the Marine Corps Reserve in Alameda, CA.  I have been in the Marine Corps for nearly 3 and a half years and I must say it's the best decision I've made in my life.  I have met the best friends, who would literally go to the grave with you if they had to, traveled the world, and learned the discipline that I believe will enable me to take on anything the world has to offer.  Now that I don't have a deployment in my near future (as far as I know), I feel honored to be able to take advantage of online learning and hopefully help all of my peers learn as well.
      I have always felt English was my best subject and I'm excited to jump back into it after such a long break. Over the years I'm sure my skills have diminished, but after reading the course syllabus I'm certain we have a great instructor, and I know all of my peers will help me out along the way so I should have no problem picking up where I left off. This will be my first semester taking online courses, so I'm kind of nervous, but a few friends have told me great things about taking classes online and I'm hoping it will benefit me as well as it has them.
      In the civilian world, I work at Costco, which I do not like one bit.  I've worked in the retail industry since I was 16 and am extremely tired of working weekends and oddball hours.  I'm taking this class to work my way up to college level reading and writing in order to take the required classes and transfer to SSU where I'll obtain a BA in Business Administration.  My goal after I earn my degree is to obtain a General Schedule job for the Government, preferably the Department of Veterans Affairs.