Tentative Thesis Paragraph

Johnathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” is a satirical and ironic essay that attempts to persuade the people of Ireland to take action against the poverty and overpopulation problems that they are facing. He is directly speaking to the wealthy and the politicians, but he is also attempting to motivate the poor and take action themselves. He suggests that the children of Ireland should be sold and eaten in order to keep the population down and the poverty levels at bay.  Swift manages to effectively argue his point by using a combination of vivid imagery, emotional and ethical ploys, and a large amount of irony. 

Here is a link of the reading:   http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1080/1080-h/1080-h.htm

And a visual:

 Attribution:  See page for author [Public domain], <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AInternational_Mag_Jonathan_Swift.jpg">via Wikimedia Commons</a>

Response to Swift

1.       What is the problem Swift identifies in his society? What does he want to do about it?

Swift begins by discussing the problem of poverty in Ireland, especially that in relation to the children of the country. He discusses how the parents of Ireland are constantly worried about what and how they are going to feed their children. He talks about how this issue has been weighing heavily on his mind for some time, but that he thinks that he has found a suitable solution. The solution that he has come up with is to simply kill the children and sell them to rich land owners to eat. He has thought of a detailed plan that he believes is the perfect solution to help Ireland recover from poverty.

2.       Is his suggestion serious? If not, what is the purpose? What is he making fun of?

Luckily, his solution is not serious, he is being highly ironic. He does not really want to kill innocent children and sell them as food. He uses this approach to shock the reader and grab their attention. He also wants his audience to realize the severity of the situation; poverty in Ireland. He wants them to realize that while his suggestion is absurd and horrifying, there does need to be a real solution. He is making fun of the wealthy in Ireland who do nothing to help those in need. This is also his target audience, as the rich are more likely to actually read the piece than the uneducated poverty stricken members of society.

3.       Is his solution logical? What kind of evidence does he give to support his position?

No, his solution is not logical as no sane parent would actually sell their own child as food. In fact, these parents struggle daily in order to provide their children with some kind of sustenance; no way would they willingly sell their children in such a terrible manner. He has a well thought out plan when it comes to how this will logistically work. He says that only one hundred thousand children will need to be sacrificed in order to make a dent in the issue. No more, no less. He discusses specific recipes and methods in which the children can be cooked. He also describes the perfect weight the child so be in order to be desirable as food.

Here is a picture of Jonathan swift. Link of the picture: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jonathan_swift.jpg

And here is a link to the reading: http://art-bin.com/art/omodest.html

Rhetorical Analysis

I chose an Geico insurance company commercial to use for this assignment. In the commercial, the gecko lizard is the spokesperson used, along with the Roadrunner from the Looney Tunes cartoons. This commercial was ineffective for me as it failed to convince me to want to switch insurance companies. The company failed to use ethos in this ad as the gecko as a spokesman is not trustworthy or a notable figure as he is a cartoon character. Who wants to take any advice from any type of fictional character? While I found this ad to be unconvincing, I do have to say the one strong point comes from the company's use of logos. They used the figure of you can save up to fifteen percent or more on your insurance to draw the viewer in. While this is a positive point in the ad, I still am not tempted to call them for a quote.

What I'm working on

After reading Herman Melville's story "Bartleby the Scrivener" I decided to write my essay based on the first optional thesis statement provided to us. This thesis says that Bartleby is a hero that refuses to participate in a workplace that represents the sad, dreary atmosphere of a bureaucratic, industrialized society. Here is some of the things I wrote so far:

Herman Melville’s short story, Bartleby the Scrivener discusses the relationship between the workplace and society and how this particular relationship affects Bartleby. Bartleby is the hero of Melville’s story in his refusal to participate in a workplace that represents the sad, dreary atmosphere of a bureaucratic, industrialized society. He is the only one standing up to a society that is increasingly oppressive to workers. There are many examples of Bartleby behaving in a nonconforming manner throughout the piece, such as his constant use of the phrase, “I would prefer not to”, as well as his complete and total isolation from everyone around him that eventually leads to his death.

            The office where Bartleby works is described as being bleak, sterile and cheerless. Bartleby’s window faces a wall, and even if it did not, Wall Street is also described as being in a sad and depressive state. Melville wrote, “Of a Sunday Wall Street is deserted as Petra; and every night of every day it is an emptiness.” The description of the environment where Bartleby works is extremely oppressive and stifling. Bartleby himself is affected by this environment as he is described as being pale, cadaverous, ghost like, and passionless. At one point, a green screen is erected to further separate Bartleby from his coworkers after they begin to complain about him to the Lawyer. He is literally blocked out from his fellow office mates for being different from them and not conforming in the way that they do. This makes everyone around him uncomfortable, but Bartleby does not seem to care; in fact he seems indifferent about everything.

Close Reading of Bartleby

While reading Herman Melville’s, “Bartleby the Scrivener” there was a short phrase that stood out as important. This phrase read “I would prefer not to” (p21). While this might seem like a simple phrase the meaning of it contributes to the whole theme of the story. To get a better understanding we must first establish that Bartleby is a scrivener whom was hired by a lawyer. At first Bartleby is a good employee who carries out all tasks when asked for and does everything his job requires him to do. As the story goes on, however, Bartleby is not the same worker he once used to be. He refuses to carry out tasks by responding “I would prefer not to.”

This response might seem simple and meaningless but in reality it has a lot of meaning behind it. By saying “prefer” instead of outright refusing to do something Bartleby portrays himself as a polite individual. He doesn’t actually refuse to do the job, but instead he politely says that he would prefer not to do it. The response has such importance in the story that it leaves Bartleby’s employer “The lawyer” speechless. He can’t believe that an employee would actually refuse to do something, and also say it in such a polite and calm way. Throughout the story Bartleby continues to use this same phrase when asked to do something job related, and even later, he uses the same phrase when asked just about anything.

Bartleby’s use of the saying begins to drive the Lawyer crazy; it leaves him puzzled and confused. When the Lawyer catches himself using the word prefer in a conversation it bothers him immensely. Bartleby uses this phrase as a way to slowly distance himself from society and the world as a whole, and the Lawyer begins to question his own sanity when he utters the word prefer. The repetition of this phrase, by not only Bartleby himself, but by the Lawyer as well shows its importance in the piece. Though it may seem simple at first glance, it actually highlights one of the major themes of the story, Bartleby’s rejection of the workplace and society in general.

Link to the story http://www.bartleby.com/129/

Summary vs. Analysis

After watching the video on Summary vs. Analysis it became clear to me that they are two very different elements. They are like day and night. When wanting to give a simple briefing of a story one may choose to do so by summarizing it. A summary tells the reader the main point of text by telling what happened in a simple brief paragraph. This informs our reader as to what happened by talking about who, what, when, where, why, or how things happened in the text. Summaries unlike analysis, however, do not use critical evaluation.

An analysis creates an argument that breaks down the context of the reading and makes the reader further examine the elements of the text. By doing so one can come up with an arguable claim that will help further expand on what the main point or points of the story are. Analysis, unlike summary, goes deeper into the story and examines the elements that help us identify what the reading is really about.

Analyzing is thinking more deeply about what is being read. It could even be compared to doing detective work. One must look for the small details that put the story together. These details can be found by examining relationships, trends, patterns, roles of people, places, and objects, among many other things. Another way to creatively analyze a text is to look for a cognitive dissonance. This is looking for something within the text that doesn’t seem like belongs there, or it seems out of place. By expanding on this thought one can determine how it affects the story as a whole.

While a summary might be a good way to sum up all of the events in a story, it doesn’t tell the significance of the things that took place. When wanting to write a more informed or “sophisticated” paper it might be a better idea to choose the analysis method as this gives a better more complex briefing of the text.

Good Readers and Good Writers

Nabokov believes that a good reader is one that pays attention to detail and stays away from generalization. He also says that a good reader should reread the material so that they can appreciate the work more. A good reader according to him uses his/her imagination and tries to identify with the characters. Good readers in his eyes are also those who have a dictionary.

I do not agree that a good reader should have to reread the material. Personally I can read just about anything and are able to retain the information by reading the material only once. I believe that a good reader is one that pays attention to what they are reading. A good reader is also one that does the reading willingly and eager to learn. I would have to say that I consider myself an average reader because while I might not read all the time I do take some time to read and strengthen my literacy.