Read/Responses

English 102 Read/Responses

Week 1:

The Captain America essay speaks to identity. Captain America identified himself as an American despite that when some outsiders saw him they just saw an Arab. Furthermore, he addresses self identity and how he struggled with being comfortable in his own skin due to his weight. In addition to identity, the captain American essay also addresses culture. In America's culture the Captain America superhero is always played by a white man. Though this is not a fair representation of American culture for as a whole America is a very diverse country. Superheroes should come in all ethnicities and races. 

       "Faking It" mainly focused on false identity. It gave an example of how easy the internet makes it for people to have false identities. In the example, Marcus used a false identity to share legal advice with the public. This shows that today's society is rapidly changing. We are expressing our cultural views through online sites making them more easily widespread in hopes of more support and acceptance from others.

         "Black Men and Public Space," is a perfect example of both cultural and identity issues. It is about a good black man who is prejudged by others simply because of his skin color. He is almost instantaneously identified as a criminal even though he has caused no harm to others. This highlights the socially ignorant culture in which we live today. That of which a man is still being judged by the color of his skin versus the content of his character.

        I like the quote, "Where fear and weapons meet--and they often do in urban America--there is always the possibility of death," (Black Men, middle). This sums up the concept that when someone is fearful, such as the way many Americans are when approaching a black man, and they hold power there is a possibility for the person holding the powerful weapon to act out. Even aside from this essay this quote alone is exceptional. For this is not only the case when it comes to race but in life in general. Even in politics, when someone is fearful of loss and they know they possess a weapon there is a possibility that they will use this weapon to fight their battle even though often times it is excessive/unnecessary.

Week 2:

Culture often plays a big role in one's personal identity. The attitudes and beliefs that an individual is raised with, impacts their life decisions. For example, in the poetry slam, the girl describes how her environment impacts her choices. The culture that she lives in holds women to a very different standard then men. As a result, she molds her identity accordingly. She learns by example to filter her speech and diet. Whereas, it is socially acceptable for the males in her family to say and do whatever they fell without the pressure of having to try to fit into a pre-determined identity. Furthermore, as illustrated in the Foster speech, often times one becomes so accustomed to a certain lifestyle that it just becomes an unconscious routine. As a result, it is difficult to reject this culture because it has become a mindset. One is no longer consciously deciding how to think.

According to Foster, "the mind's 'natural default setting'" will just come into effect and that person will automatically allow their surroundings to negatively impact them. Some things are more difficult to reject than others, because they are so natural. For example, a smile in society is a natural response. One is taught to smile from infancy. In most societies, as one matures, they still smile even though they may not be happy. As discussed in Cunningham's writing, a smile can represent over 18 different emotions. One's true feelings and identity is often masked by a cliché smile. Very seldom do people smile as a result of genuine joy. All in all, one's identity is shaped by their surrounding culture. Subconsciously humans assimilate so that they are accepted into a particular culture without even realizing that they are doing so at the expense of their true identity.

Week 3:

I think tip #11 will be most helpful to me. It advises me to take a negative approach verses a positive one. This especially stands out to me for my topic can be very sensitive at times so by starting off negative I will most likely get an honest and passionate response. 

The most surprising tip was #19. It warns against showing off your knowledge. This was surprising to me because I live in a society where it is encouraged to flaunt your education in order to receive creditability.

Identity: Intelligent black woman

1) How do you define intelligence?

2) What does it mean to be a black woman in 2016?

3) What obstacles did you face that are unique to being a black woman?

4) Are there certain expectations associated with being a black woman?

5) Where did these expectations derive from?

6)How does an intelligent black woman compare to a raisin in the sun?

7)How does being an intelligent black woman affect your daily life?

8) How does slavery make you feel? 

9) Are black woman still in bondage today?

11) Does being educated help to undermine discrimination? 

10) How are black women treated today in comparison to during slavery?

11) If at all, how do you differentiate being intelligent and being educated?

Week 4:

Citing sources can often be tricky. There are many different formats and rules to be followed. I find in-text citations the hardest. There are specific mechanics that need to be followed and the rules vary depending on various factors. For example, if a quote is over a specific number of lines then it becomes a block quote and the quotation marks are removed. I am often guilty of this myself. I do not think there is a specific question that I have concerning this though. I just need to focus more on details and following the rules. Additionally, sometimes I am guilty of, 'I Sware I Did Some Research.' I believe this often occurs because I do not transition correctly. Furthermore, my analysis probably was not in-depth enough. I have a few questions. First, what are some good transition words when going between paragraphs and ideas? Second, how long should an analysis be? Even if the quotation is self-explanatory does it still need to be analyzed? All in all, I feel pretty comfortable with citing sources. I just need a little more practice and review. 

Week 7:

The errors I experienced were missing commas with a nonrestrictive element, wrong word, unnecessary shift in tense, and comma splices. When I realized these mistakes, I was very surprised. For example, the comma splice error is when there is a coma separating something that could stand alone. Furthermore, I was very confused as to what was considered being able to stand alone. In high school, I would often put descriptions within the commas but apparently this needs a semicolon for it could actually serve as its own sentence. The process of finding these errors was very embarrassing. I had already proof read my paper online so to find all these mistakes I was astonished. 

        She uses personal experiences and logical thought to create the substance of her essay. She does this by describing her experiences versus flat out stating them. She provides enough emotion so that the reader can clearly relate to the situation even though they are not in it. Though, to further convince me I would like her to include research on both sides of the story. I would like to be able to feel what the other person is feeling as well. 

Week 7.5:

In Sarah's writing, she addresses the stereotype and judgments received by Pennsatuck and people that live in trailers in general. I like her unique approach. She describes the scenario, identifies the common judgments, and disproves them. Furthermore, she writes about how people are simply victims of ignorance. She talks about how her how family members experienced great dental problems. Though it was not their eating habits that caused this deterioration of their teeth. It was simply because they were uneducated on how to care for their teeth. This applies to my own writing in some aspects. Often within my identity people behave very stereotypically due to a lack of knowledge. As an intelligent black woman, I can realize that the shortcomings of my peers are not necessarily because they are bad people but because they do not know any better. Society plays a big part in this lifestyle. People are often criticized but never corrected. For example, many black girls dress inappropriately. This is not because they lack self respect but simply because they were never instructed on how to be a respectful woman in public. Society plays a big role in the shortcomings of others for they mock their mistakes versus providing the proper guidance as they should. 

Week 8:

Swallow makes her argument by referencing other studies that support her stance.

She uses research studies and psychology as her sources. She cites Paul, who is the author of the article, "Reading Literature Makes Us Smarter and Nicer." to highlight the benefits of reading.

The mot convincing part of this argument was the quote about the fragility of the brain because it shows how literature can truly shape us unconsciously. 

She chooses to introduce her sources by stating the author and providing a summary of the piece.

This paper was well written. Though, I do wish she had further developed the section about how reading is only unique to us because it seems very interesting. Additionally, it helps support her argument and defer other studies that might have been done on animals with a projected correlation to humans.

In comparison to the Said piece, the structure of this argument is more outside research based whereas Said used personal experience. The tone is a lot less casual but the level of depth is pretty superficial because she does not have much analysis just citing of facts. 

This essay is better at presenting research to support the argument. Whereas the Said piece was better at reflecting upon personal experience and contrasting it to previous studies.

They could have chosen different presentation styles because of the content of the information. Said's piece was very personal whereas Swallow's piece is directed towards the entire human race not just one group in particular.