Journal #8

Emerson's Aphorisms

4. We boil at different degrees.

In this quote he is stating that every person has a different limit to where they will get angry. Some people can handle stress longer and stay calm, therefore they have a higher boiling point, the boiling point being the time when they get angry. Other people, every little thing gets them mad, so they have a lower boiling point, meaning that it takes less for that person to get angry then another person with a higher boiling point. I think that he is very on point with this aphorism. I agree with the fact that some people are angry people in general, and every little thing may make them angry or upset. I think he is trying to say that we need to be aware of other people’s boiling points before we say something that may cause them to go over the edge and explode.

9. What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not been discovered.

He is saying that people judge the things that they do not know. They name it something that might not describe it just because they don’t know its true function. This relates a lot to humans to the way that they may judge a person solely on looks and not what is inside. The judgment may be that the person is worthless, which is untrue, and the reason they are judging like so is because they don’t know that’s on the inside and what that person has to give to the world. I agree with this statement and I think that we, as humans, judge people more than we should. I think we should take the time to get to know someone before we start thinking and judging them.

13. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.

He is saying that life is about trying new things and having new experiences. We need to try things out and experiment to see if they work and if they are fun. He is saying that the more you put yourself out there and try new things, the more fun and successful life you will have. Also he is saying that if you just sit there and hide, only doing the things that you have done forever, your life will most likely be boring. I fully agree with this in the fact that I believe in trying new things. I think that you can’t really know if you like something or not until you try it out for yourself. You cannot rely on the opinions of others to tell you what you do and do not like. I also believe that we have to put ourselves out there, and try things that might be scary because it may end up as something that could change your life for the good. I think that a person should live life without the regret of not doing something because they were scared, and wondering what would have had happened if they had put themselves out there and tried something that may have been scary.

Journal #7

1. Compare/contrast the different views of nature that are being presented in the poems. Refer to the list of classical and romantic characteristics and provide specific examples from the poems to support your analysis.

The Poem the Waterfowl and The Raven are two different poems that both have very different views on nature and how the world work. They both state their views through rhyme and show how they felt through the use of neo-classicism and romanticism. Even thought they state their thoughts the through the same way, their views could not be more different.These poems and authors do not have many similarities on their views on nature, but one similarity is that both poems deal with a single bird. Also there is a mystery between both the raven and the waterfowl that both leave the reader questioning.

In contrast, the waterfowl deals with more the happy and positive view of nature with the calm feeling, and the poem shows his feelings that nature and everything else in the world is there for a reason. While, oppositely, Poe shows the dark side of nature showing his negative view on nature and that the raven is some type of demon and is there to torcher him. Also Poe tries to tell the reader that the world is chaotic and disorganized through the bird and its only word it knows which is "nevermore". These poems may deal with the same part of nature, but they show different views on almost everything else.

Journal #6

1. Franklin had many ideas for self perfection that were stated in this paragraph. These ideas come out in thirteen different virtues ranging from temperance to humility. At the end of this section, Franklin comes to the conclusion that these things may help a person get closer to perfection, but no one will ever be perfect.

2. Yes I think this virtues would help me because they are all things that I need to work on to be a better person. Also because they make you a more honest, friendly, and likable person. The top five virtues that I would pick as the most important for a person to have are: Cleanliness, humility, sincerity, industry, and order.

Journal #5

The American Crisis

Paragraph 1

Argument- The harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph. Things that you get cheaply are less valuable.

Appeal- emotional and logical

Counter Argument- How can you be sure that the colonist will win.

Logical- faulty analogy, begging the question

Paragraph 2

Argument-That God will not let them lose.

Appeal- ethical

Counter Argument- That God is not on either side because he may not want to start a war. No one can say what God wants.

Logical- begging the question

Paragraph 3

Argument-That America should go to war soon to get their independence so they can be a free country. This is because if we don’t fight them now, our children will have to fight them.

Appeal- Emotional and Logical

Counter Argument- Thing may work themselves out without a war and might not need to fight.

Logical- false dichotomy

Paragraph 4

Argument- We need to defend ourselves from the thief (the king)

Appeal- emotional

Counter Argument- Britain is more powerful and get punished if we lose.

Logical- argument by analogy

Overall the weaknesses are that he does not use many facts in his argument. The strengths are that he is really persuasive.

The Perfect Cookie

That perfect cookie. You know the one you just take out of the oven. When the chocolate chip cookie is taken off the cooling rack and the steam is coming off in perfect spirals. The scent it just an overwhelming smell of sweet that just

makes your mouth just want to water. When you break the cookie, some of the perfectly cooked golden brown pieces crumble to the floor while the melted chocolate chips cover everything in a thin layer of brown, chocolaty goodness. When you bite into it, the different textures of the cookie and chocolate combine to make a sweet taste that is hard to describe other than delicious. That’s the perfect cookie.

Journal #3

1. Cite three specific examples of Hodgman’s descriptive imagery that you find to be particularly effective.
1. There were chunks in the can, certainly-big purplish-brown chunks.
2. The meat was dark, dark brown, and it was surrounded by gelatin that was almost black. I knew I would die if I tasted it, so I put it outside for the raccoons.
3. Except for a lingering rancid-fat flavor, the gravy wasn’t beefy, but it tasted primarily like tap water, it wasn’t nauseating either.

2. What do you think Hodgman’s purpose was in writing this essay? What overall message/meaning do you take from the essay?

The purpose of the author writing the essay was to tell the world about the food that we are feeding our animals. She tries to convey the fact that the food is gross and unappealing. She also tells the reader that marketers, are just that; they are people trying to trick pet owners with pretty packaging to buy a product that may neither be healthy nor tasty to our animals. What I took from this essay is to never eat dog food, and also that most of the packages lie to get a person to buy the food.

Journal #2

1. How are the moths in the essay opening different from the moth at the campsite? What do the different moths represent?

In the beginning of the essay, the moths start out as already dead. They were killed by a spider in the web. In the campfire scene, the moths are flying around the campfire, obviously alive. The two moths represent of the two ways a person can take life and showing people how to live life by saying that take the risk and die bright and adventurous.

2. What lesson does the moth provide that Dillard takes back to her students?

The moths by the fire provide the lesson of taking risks and having fun with life, because you only live once. Also it is about “quality over quantity.” A good quote to describe this is the quote “life is not about how many breaths you take, but by how many moments that take your breath away.”

3. How many references are there to fire in the essay? What’s the larger significance of fire in the essay?

There are about three mentions mentions of fire in the essay. The significance of fire is that it burns up the moths, and that she leaves a candle lit while she sleeps. She leaves the fire burning to try to copy the moth’s life by taking risks.

4. Address how each of the following quotes connect to Dillard’s overall point.

a. “I would rather be ashes than dust!
I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot.
I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.
The function of man is to live, not to exist.
I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time.”

-Jack London

They are saying that they would rather be noticed, the will away in the background dull and unseen, which is much like the author of this essay because the author would rather take risks and have fun than be safe and bored.

b. “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”

-William Butler Yeats

It relates to the essay because they both refer to the idea of being passionate about learning and not just absorbing the information, but understanding it and being inspired by it.

c. “A book should serve as the ax for the frozen sea within us.”-Franz Kafka

It relates because they both talk about an ax, and how a person needs to approach life full, and not half heartily.

Cowboy's Rough Day

“Rough day Jim?” Noah, the bartender of Shoot’s bar, asks me as he slides the coke across the mahogany bar table. “You don’t even know” I say with a loud sigh.

You see, today something strange happened that made me change

After thinking, I decided I would confront him about the horrible thing he had done to me; it’s time he paid. I searched around the run down town until I saw him leaning against Shoot’s. As I walked towards him, I notice that something is off. “What’s wrong with you,” I said sarcastically. Matt looked up, and to my surprise, when he saw me he smiled. “Jim! How you doing!” he said. “Not good, thanks to you!” I said angrily, seeing a fight in my near future. “Oh man, I’m so sorry about losing your job! I miss our constant bickering!” he said. As he talked, I looked into his eyes, and saw a few tears welling up. He really was sorry about what happened. Maybe the hate was all in my head, and I felt horrible for hating him all this time. We chatted for hours after that, and after he left, I went into the bar. While sitting there drinking my coke, I realized that you really don’t know a person until you talk to them and try to understand, instead of making your own assumptions based on first impressions.my views about people forever. This morning I was riding

my favorite stallion, Misty, around town when I saw everyone is whispering to each other and giving me strange looks. I decided to ask around about the commotion, I came to the knowledge that Matt Burgan was back in town. Normally, news like this is not headline worthy, but the problem was, Matt and I go way back. We hatted each other ever since we first laid eyes on each other, back when we worked together on a corn farm. Usually I just leave people like this alone, but he just made me angry for some reason. I am not sure if it was the looks he would give me or

what, but every day at work we would fight and fight, and sometimes, it just got nasty. It got so bad to the point where one of us had to be fired. That’s when I swore I would get him back for what he did to me

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