Tuesday, September 30, 2008

rhetorical analysis of the first charter of virginia: revision 1

The author of The First Charter of Virginia is trying to convey his message to the subjects, of the King of England, that are planning to colonize the lands in Virginia, America. The tone is that he is trying to convey what their goals are while there. The goal to create plantations, mine the area for gold, silver, and copper, and to creating trading opportunities that will better England’s economy. The main idea of this text is to communicate to the subjects that will be living in colonies what will and should happen while in Virginia. He is telling them the rules and how the colony should be ruled. The emotions of the text are that the author cares about what will happen once colonists get there and how much of the land each colony controls, so that it will better England as a country. The character of the author seems credible because of the way he speaks. It also seems as if the author knows the King and is in a position of power. It seems as if the King is telling this author what to say and the author is writing it down. The author has a very logical way of thinking because he is telling the future colonists what they must do before and after they get to Virginia. He also tells them that there will be a council to govern them in Virginia, which makes it seem like the colonists are taking control of themselves while still being led by the King. The author also states that any child that is born within a colony will get the same rights as any other Englishman that would be born in England. This seems to relate to the English's ultimate goal: to inhabit and create colonies on as much of the New World's land as possible.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

rhetorical analysis of the first charter of virginia

The author of The First Charter of Virginia is trying to convey his message to the subjects, of the kings of England, France, and Ireland, that are planning to colonize the lands in Virginia, America. The tone is that he is trying to convey what their goals are while there. The goal to convert the Native Americans there to Christianity, create plantations, and mine the area for gold, silver, and copper. The main idea of this text is to communicate to the subjects that will be living in colonies what will and should happen while in Virginia. He is telling them the rules and how the colony should be ruled. The emotions of the text are that the author cares about what will happen once colonists get there and how much of the land each colony controls. The character of the author seems credible because of the way he speaks. It also seems as if the author knows the King and is in a position of power. The author has a very logical way of thinking because he is telling the future colonists what they must do before and after they get to Virginia. He also tells them that there will be a council to govern them in Virginia, which makes it seem like he has good control over the situation.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

destruction of the indies

In recent discussions of the Spaniards landing in the Americas, a controversial issue has been whether or not what they did to the native peoples was right and justified or whether it was just inhuman. On the one hand, some argue that the Spaniards treatment of the people was morally wrong and just sick. From this perspective, they believe that the Native Americans did nothing wrong and did not deserve anything that happened to them. On the other hand however, some argue that the Spaniards had every right to handle it the way they did. In the words of one of this view’s main proponents, “so imbecile and unequal-balanced temper…altogether incapable of hard labor…” According to this view, the native peoples weren’t really human. The Spaniards didn’t think they were equal to them in any way, so it didn’t matter what did or didn’t happen to them. In sum, then, the issue is whether the Native Americans deserved what happened to them or whether the Spaniards mishandled the situation in every way possible.

My own view is that the Spaniards were so focused on their greed and struggle for power that they didn’t care what happened to anyone they came across. They were so power hungry, they killed millions of people to take what they thought was rightfully theirs. The Spaniards took their lives, their land, their homes, their people, and they’re dignity. Though I concede that the Spaniards thought that what they were doing was right and reasonable, I still maintain that what they did was wrong. For example, the native people greeted the Spaniards warmly and treated them like gods. The Spaniards took advantage of their hospitality to reach the “vast Wealth” they had heard about and slaughtered all of them to get it. Although some might object that the Spaniards were doing what they thought they had to do, I reply that the Spaniards knew what they were doing was wrong, but they didn’t care what they had to do to get what they wanted. This issue is important because it affected the lives of millions of people and changed history in some of the worst ways.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

writing philosophy

“Your heart tells your brain what to think and your brain tells your hand what to write.” This is my writing philosophy. Your brain may control all the functions in your body, but it’s your heart that really does all the decision-making. Your heart is the part of your body that tells you what to think and what to feel. Both of those qualities are needed to write. You need to feel something about what you’re writing. You need to have a passion and an interest for it. To me, thinking and writing without a heart is like trying to breathe with no air. You can’t write without a heart.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

english composition as a happening

Charles Deemer thinks that education and English Composition, as a course, has become too misguided. There is too much of a separation between the teacher and student. Teachers have become too comfortable in their position as leaders and have forgotten what it is like to be a student. The teacher and student gap grows with each passing generation. Teachers no longer try to relate to the generation of students they’re teaching. Charles thinks that the teacher and student should be more united and should see each other as equals in the classroom. They should each participate together in what is trying to be done in the classroom. Students have also changed for the worse.

Students have become less interested in what is being taught. They are more concerned with getting the class over with and done so that they can succeed in their goals. Students are also more willing to accept what their instructor says without questioning it. Deemer thinks that students should be more independent with their education and more freethinking. He thinks education should be more of an experience and less of a lesson. The only way students will ever truly learn is to experience it themselves. It is better to let them experience it firsthand in the classroom, than out in the real world where it will be too much of a shock. To change education as a whole, for the better, action must take place in the classroom between the student and the teacher.

Monday, September 22, 2008

PSEC admissions essay

Puget Sound Early College Admissions Essay

Community service has always been very influential in my life. At my previous school, St. Philomena, they put a great emphasis on community service and helping others. They required a certain number of hours of community service. This prerequisite made me realize, at a young age, how important it is to be active in your community as well as school. Since a young age, my parents have instilled in my sister and I, how important it is to use our gifts and talents to help others. They told us that, because we had so much, it was important to give to others who had so little. Helping others is something that is almost second nature to me.

I’ve always been taught to be helpful whenever I can. When I was younger I always thought that to help others it always had to be in some big way that changed the world. As I grew older, however, I learned that contributing and helping others didn’t always have to affect only a huge group of people, it could also affect just one person. One example of this is when I contributed at the Des Moines, Washington Pregnancy Aid. I collected various baby items, such as toys, blankets, and clothing, and donated them. I also cleaned dolls that were donated to the facility so that they wouldn’t look as “used” and would look more pleasant for the children. Helping all of these women made me realize that even small acts of kindness could make a huge impact in a person’s life.

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” This is the motto of PSEC. If you want to see any kind of change in the world you live in, you have to do something. Contributing to your community is just one way that you can change the world. I’ve always believed that to start something big, you first have to start small. If I were to attend PSEC I know that I would use this same idea every day because of the school’s emphasis on community service and outreach. Helping others is just the first step in helping the world.