Assertion Analysis #9: Witches Brewing

      In late 1600's Salem, a mass hysteria over witches ravaged the town. In the strict Puritan society of Salem, anything not Puritan was regarded badly, as in they were viewed as witchery. One proponent of the Puritan lifestyle was Cotton Mather, a major writer at the time who published works that highlighted the witchery in Salem, including the poem "Witches Brewing". In this poem, Mather criticizes those who want entertainment.
      Any form of entertainment in Puritan society was considered witchery at the time. Said Mather, "Ye monsters bubbling deep, your Maker's praises spout". Mather is addressing this to people considered witches, and stating that they are "monsters bubbling deep", implying they are from Hell. Since they are from Hell, the "Maker" is Satan, whose praises in Christianity are rebuked. Mather continues, now referring to the "monsters" as "codlings". They "peep, and wag [their] tails about". Much like an animal, they wag their tails, signifying they are happy. Entertainment is un-Puritan, Mather implies.
      What is said in the poem are actually rhetorical devices that show a deeper meaning. The whole poem is an allusion to witch brewing, and the spells that are supposedly said during brewing. Basically it is a poem, but poetry during Puritan America was discouraged due to it being "entertainment". However, it seems that some were still able to write poetry. The "monsters" and "codlings" are metaphorical witches. They "wag [their] tails about". In doing this, Mather is dehumanizing people who don't believe in the strict Puritan way, or people who have fun, revealing much about the oppression of the period. This whole statement is a jab at people not in line with Puritan ideals.
      Those not in line do things considered as entertainment, or simply don't believe in Puritans. It was the sad truth of the 1600's. Puritans have fallen out of favor since then, and these ideals aren't really considered today. However, the dehumanization of people still happens in many places.

Assertion Analysis #8: City Upon a Hill

      During the 1600's, the Puritan sect of Christianity made their way to America, after being booted out of England. Their strict values and way of life became what Puritans have been known for. On the trip to America, John Winthrop used a speech to enforce these strict values. This speech was done in a way to incite fear and order into the Puritan society.
      Winthrop uses mainly religious ideas to create this fear tactic. He says that the Puritans "shall be as a City upon a hill, the eyes of all people . . . upon [them]". They are a new religious society, and have everybody watching them. Because so many people are watching, they "shall shame the faces of many of God's worthy servants", or should be faced with scrutiny, if "[they] shall deal falsely with our god in this work [they] have undertaken". If the people in this society do something wrong, they will be faced with punishment. It seems now that it is a strict society.
      The use of religious ideas in this excerpt also has many techniques to convey Winthrop's ideas. One notable example is the allusion of the "City upon a hill", a biblical reference. As this is a speech directed to Puritans coming to America, Winthrop establishes credibility and context for the Puritans in order to make it easier to understand. In addition, Winthrop makes extensive use of syntax to establish credibility and display his logic on this topic. The excerpt is one long sentence, with no breaks, making the audience want to pay attention to the speaker more. Winthrop is using this to make his statement more clear to the Puritans, and inciting more fear in the process. The connotation of words such as "evil" or "curses" creates an urgent tone for the Puritans, making them do their best.
      This urgent and almost violent speech was meant to instill fear to Puritans. As Winthrop does not use any statistics or ethical approach to this speech, Winthrop is mainly using a pathos way of rhetoric. The Puritans are supposed to feel fear when hearing this speech. Similar to Winthrop of the 1600's, some people today are using fear tactics, even gaining power and leadership status through them.
     
   

Socratic Seminar #2: Black Elk (question 3)

      Throughout the entire chapter, many ideas and concepts are motifs are repeated as motifs, perhaps emphasizing the importance of them. Among repeated ideas are the Black Road, which "goes from where the thunder beings live (the west) to where the sun continually shines (the east), a fearful road . . . of troubles and war". The recurring Black Road is important because this is the road the Black Elk "travels" on and explains a lot about the impending events of the Sioux nation. Another recurring concept are the horses, which "went into formation, four abreast". The horses serve as a sort of guide for Black Elk, and are emphasized and heavily described in the first two pages with black horses that have "necklaces with bison hoofs" or white horses with manes "flowing like a blizzard wind". I assume Black Elk uses these recurring themes and heavy description a lot to make the reader "experience" the vision along with him. Interestingly, though, considering Native Americans value words and stories, this overuse of words seems strange. This may be due in part by John G. Neihardt, who interpreted and published the vision for Black Elk. This description, so, may not be all of Black Elk's ideas.

Assertion Analysis #7: Act of Sadness

      Wooden Leg was a Cheyenne war leader, known for fighting in the Great Sioux War of 1876-77, notably against Colonel Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn. Soon after, he and other Cheyenne people were forced into reservations, where Wooden Leg assimilated partially into being a Christian and acquiring a job as the reservation's judge, teaching about American law. In a speech, Wooden Leg uses the image of a plant to describe his experience with assimilation and preserving culture.
      In this excerpt, describes the correct Native American belief of how to get rid of a plant. "The trees and the grass have spirits", he says, stressing the importance of plants. Because of this, plants "may be cut off, but [it] should not be uprooted". The roots still remain, but the main part of the plant can be removed. Wooden Leg says the act of removing a plant "is done in sadness and with a prayer for forgiveness because of his necessities". He is stating that the removal of a plant should be done with awareness of what is happening, due to the importance of it. What may seem to be only advice on how to remove a plant correctly actually reveals a lot about assimilation of culture.
      Wooden Leg's plant in this excerpt is a metaphor for culture. Like the plant described, a culture should not be removed completely, or in the plant's case, "uprooted". The culture is still in existence, not completely removed, just as the root of the plant still remains. This is connected to how Wooden Leg becomes a judge and a Christian, while at the same time preserving his name and living in the reservation, not fully assimilating. In addition, Wooden Leg's description of how a plant has a spirit stresses the importance of preserving culture. A culture is very rich and valuable, just like a spirit. Any harm done to a spirit should be done in awareness, Wooden Leg says. Like that, Wooden Leg is saying that people should know what they are doing when assimilating into another culture, and know that it is in a way harming the culture. He is providing a clear statement of the correct way of how a culture should be assimilated.
      The use of a plant suggests that a culture should be treated with respect and preserved in a way, just a plant still has its roots. People take into count more the death of a plant, rather than a culture, so using a plant as a metaphor provides an emotional response. One should not completely get rid of the "plant" that is culture. Wooden Leg was one of the many examples of this. Sadly, for many, their plant was completely uprooted.

Assertion Analysis #6: Surrender

      Chief Joseph, or Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt, was the leader of a Pacific Northwestern tribe. In 1877, with white people now on the west coast, the tribe was now on its last legs. What was Chief Joseph to do now, that the white people were closing in? Through simple and emotionally charged words, Chief Joseph surrendered and put the fighting to an end.
      In his speech, Chief Joseph lists his reasons as to why he will stop fighting. "I am tired of fighting", Chife Joseph says, "Our Chiefs are killed; Looking Glass is dead". There are no more ways that Joseph could continue, without the help of others. "My people, some of them, have run away to the hills, and have no blankets, no food", Chief Joseph continues. The tribe is now only able to turn to their last resorts. In a closing statement, Chief Joseph states, "I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more". He has now surrendered to the coming white people.
      Chief Joseph's tone and simple, yet depressing imagery conveys his message to the audience. Throughout the speech, his tone remains reserved, as to evoke emotions of a peaceful sadness in the audience. There is no intense or overly pleasant tone here; it is almost neutral. Chief Joseph uses simple imagery of sick people, people freezing to death, and dead chiefs to convey a very sad emotion to the audience. His use of imagery and tone are effective in making clear his message.
      Chief Joseph's surrender was charged with the depressing tone and imagery throughout his speech. Since the audience receives his message as emotions, the main rhetorical device here is pathos. If this was only one Chief's surrender, other surrenders may have been emotionally charged as well.

Assertion Analysis #5: Seeker of Visions

      As the story tells, the the White Man saved the native American. Prior to the arrival of white people in the Americas, the natives were savages. The White Man comes, and now with the help of the White Man, they are civilized. However, to John Lame Deer in the excerpt, Seeker of Visions, this does not hold true. Lame Deer suggests that native Americans did not need the "help" that the White Man offered.
      In this excerpt, Lame Deer provides a lot of examples of how the the white men did not need to "help" native Americans. "Before our white brothers arrived to make us civilized men," Lame Deer says, "we didn't have any kind of prison. Without a prison, there can be no delinquents". The native Americans were a well-structured society, and they did not need a prison system for discipline. "When someone was so poor that he couldn't afford a horse . . . he would, in that case, receive it all as a gift", Lame Deer continues. The native society was a communal society, and poverty was not an issue taken lightly. Another example says that people did not have money, so the person was not determined by wealth. Finally, Lame Deer says that the natives need prisons and laws, "or so [the white men] say", to function as a civilized society. Lame Deer uses these to prove a point.
      Lame Deer primarily uses verbal irony and sarcasm to convey that native Americans did not need white "help". He goes through all these examples of the native American society, and how it was structured, showing that native Americans were well off. In the final paragraph, though, he says that laws were necessary, "or so [the white men] say". Without laws, money, or prison, a society would be uncivilized. Lame Deer shoots this down, and uses the examples that he listed to show that native Americans were a well structured society.
      The native Americans, without laws or money, seemed to work perfectly fine. They did not need the "help" of Europeans. However, the arrival of Europeans rid the native Americans of this culture. Had they not intervened the way they did, perhaps they would have flourished and reached a high level of advancement. One can only imagine how far they would've went.

Socratic Seminar #1: Between the World and Me (question 2)

      Religion plays a big part on the people's perception of the American Dream. The belief in an omnipotent, helpful deity can make people believe that they will receive help, and that they will eventually have their burdens taken away. When in struggle, they will find some help from a deity. The American Dream is real at this point. If they never get out of whatever struggle they are in, they have two options: One is to still believe in the belief of help and the American Dream, and the second is to view religion and the American Dream as an illusion. The people who continue their belief in the American Dream sometimes are in conditions that people aren't willing to help on, leading often to false hope. The other side can become aware, as did Coates, and trash the American Dream.
      Coates' atheism in this statement is symbolic of the African-American struggle in a big way. This "hope" brought on by religious belief has never led to justice or success, he is asserting. The struggle of African-Americans has always been in existence. There is the harsh reality that is the constant struggle of African-Americans. In a way, Coates is saying that there is no God, no one willing to help, and the American Dream is not in existence.

Assertion Analysis #4: America Today

      "There's no way like the American Way", says a large circa-1950's billboard. In this billboard, there's a "perfect" white family, complete with dog, driving through nice scenery. The 50's were the beginning of the baby-boomer generation, the beginning of white suburban America. This is only a billboard, though. Is the "American Way" actually in existence in other parts? Curtis Mayfield, funk artist famous in the 1970's, uses this image in his album cover to show that the "American Way" is merely a billboard; a pipe dream impossible to achieve for many.
     In this album cover, viewers should be drawn to an assortment of objects. A Depression-era image of people lined up is superimposed on a modified "American Way" billboard, saying instead, "There's no place like America Today", perhaps implying an assertion of the conditions of America. The billboard is saturated and brightly lit, contrasted with the line of people, unsaturated and dark. The white family's smiles contrast with the faces of the people, all unhappy. Behind all of this is an image of buildings and skyscrapers, an industrial America. What do all of this mean?
      The illustrator uses many techniques to convey a message of what "America Today" is. Most obvious in this picture is their use of color, juxtaposition and contrast. The smiles and frowns of the people in the picure are juxtaposed. The brilliant colors of the billboard are contrasted with the unsaturated black-and-whites of the Depression-era photo. The Depression-era photo represents the reality of "America Today", people in poverty. The absence of people of color in the billboard says that white people are the only ones to truly achieve the "American Dream". The American Dream had failed the people in the line.
       How does this image, though, make the viewer think? This image contains strong elements of pathos. The emphasis on juxtaposition and contrast is supposed to evoke feelings of anger and deep questioning, especially to why the American Dream is this way. The faces of the people in line are supposed to create feelings of sympathy for them. Curtis Mayfield's choice for this image, considering his status as a famous funk musician, provides a platform for many viewers to see this image and to reflect on the problems of "America Today".

Assertion Analysis #3: Roses Grown From Concrete

      Raised out of poverty and crime-riddled East Harlem, New York, Tupac Shakur overcame many hardships to become perhaps the, some would argue, most influential rapper in history. His poetry often reflects those themes. Shakur, in this poem, "Rose from Concrete", suggests that even though a person could become successful and influential, people are still going to judge them based on their background.
      In this poem, Shakur mainly describes a rose that has grown out of concrete. He says here, "When . . . some ghetto kid grow(s) out of the dirtiest circumstance, all you can talk about is my dirty rose . . . ". Even though the rose has grown out of the hardships, people will still be turned off from it, due to its tattered appearance or the way it is. Earlier in the poem though, he states, ". . . even if it had messed up petals . . . you would marvel at just seeing a rose grow through concrete". Shakur says that people will accept the dirty rose, but not a person raised from the streets, even though they are analogous to each other. Someone will marvel at a rose for just growing through concrete, but for a person who grew out of a rough neighborhood it is much different. The last sentence says it all, "You can't even see that I've come up from out of that", Shakur concludes. People can't even look through the prejudgment they placed upon him.
      Shakur's rose provides all the symbolism for his statement. The rose here is symbolism, metaphor, and analogies in one, all to destroy the vision of the American Dream. The rose symbolizes the the justice that he should have had. When he states that even though the rose has tattered petals and such, people would marvel at it. But then he contrasts it with a description of a "ghetto" kid, and as such says that people wouldn't marvel at them. The rose is the metaphorical "ghetto" person, but with justice served due to people marveling at them. It is also analogous; the crooked lean is to the rose as the rough neighborhood is to the "ghetto" child. All these devices are used in a way to say that the American Dream is not truly present for people raised in rough circumstances. People can be wealthy and earn "success", like the rose that grew out of concrete, but unlike the rose, though, people won't put their focus on the success; they will put it on the background. The last two sentences establish the tone; his frustration and anger is evident in his word choice, using words like "ghetto", "dirty", and "crooked". Beginning the sentence with, "So why is it . . . " means that it is a rhetorical question, he is in deep questioning of this topic. All these techniques are used to push his argument further.
      To convey this message, Shakur uses mainly emotions and descriptions. His poetry in this, the devices, are all meant to evoke a feeling of anger in the reader, a feeling of frustration. The connotation is mainly what carries this feeling. Due to Tupac's influence, there are also some elements of ethos; he is using his status to convey his argument to a larger audience, and more people will listen to him.
      Going to school in a lower-income neighborhood has exposed what Tupac is saying to me. The scale of this is not on a local level, though; its expanse is throughout the country. People from these neighborhoods will be successful, but for some, seeing them earning that success isn't enough to change their minds about the individual.

Assertion Analysis #2: American Fast Food and American Individuality

     The American Bill of Rights lists the "unalienable rights" on which the country is founded on. It is the foundation of the American Dream, the ideal that people have the rights and responsibilities to build their individual success. Some believe that the Bill and the American Dream do not apply to them; it is dead. However, some believe it is still alive. Though not directly addressed in this statement, the "Burger King Bill of Rights", is the American Dream alive and well? Blum asserts that it is alive, but it boils down to what the individual makes of it.
      In this statement, the CEO makes a "Bill of Rights", only for his restaurants. "You have the right to have things your way", Blum asserts, "You have the right to a Whopper sandwich with extra tomato, extra onion, and extra cheese". Blum continues throughout the entire statement listing the different choices a customer has in a Burger King restaurant. Here, he is asserting that customers have the right to so many different choices in his restaurants. Whatever result, good or bad, that may come from these choices is not stated. A Burger King Bill of Rights connects to the idea of America in a more complex way.
      Though a hamburger-themed Bill of Rights seems like a satirical, not-serious take on rights in America, Blum is serious about the topic of the American Dream. Blum uses hamburgers and choices at his restaurants as a metaphorical way of explaining that American people have the right to choose whatever actions they may do. In addition, the entire document is an allusion to the American Bill of Rights. All the choices listed are analogous to those in the Bill of Rights, though a strong burger theme is present. He uses this allusion to convey that in his restaurants, people have the right to choose, so if people can choose in his restaurants, the country gives people the rights as well. He asserts that people's rights are protected. Burger King's slogan, "Have it your way", suggests that people anyone can find success in their own ways. It is evident that Blum believes that the American Dream is alive.
      From a fast food chain owner, tackling the idea of the American Dream seems ridiculous but it conveys the idea well. The pathos element is strong in this statement. Readers are now in the mindset of burgers, and people can relate to choosing if they want onions or extra cheese. If they can relate to choices in a restaurant, they can now tie that into the American rights. The allusion to the Bill of Rights provides an ethical approach; readers can connect Burger King rights to American Rights. Being a wealthy CEO suggests that Blum has "succeeded" in the American Dream, that he believes it exists; anyone can achieve it. However, that may not be true in the real world.

Assertion Analysis #1: Cheerleader Sex and the Illusion of the American Dream

      John Green, famed author of numerous romance novels such as The Fault In Our Stars and Paper Towns, tackles in an interview the serious topic of the American Dream: Is the American Dream a facade? The American Dream is one that is pursued by immigrants of many places. The American Dream is the "perfect" image of life. Like a lot of "perfect" images, is it only an "edited" image that masks many problems underneath? John Green, in this statement, considers the American Dream a joke, an illusion with many problems.

       Green satirizes the American Dream, mocking it with references to ridiculous topics. An example of this is his analogy to the American Dream being "cheerleader sex". Although he is not of Korean descent, he speaks from the point of view of a Korean-American, whose parents wanted him to have cheerleader sex "in the woman's bathroom of a Waffle House just off the interstate". Cheerleaders are often presented as sex symbols in the United States, and Green presents cheerleader sex as an image of the American Dream. At the same time, cheerleader sex is a ridiculous, exaggerated idea, so therefore the American Dream is presented as a joke here in Green's statement. In addition, Green says that his parents "have sacrificed so much for this dream". Green asserts that many immigrants go through a great deal of suffering and loss for a dream that is only an illusion, and isn't real. Green continues, "And that is why we must journey on, despite all trials and tribulations". This asserts that even though that cheerleader sex (the American Dream) is an illusion, they still pursue the dream fervently. John Green is presenting a clear mockery of the American Dream here.

        Here, he collapses the idea of the American Dream in many ways. The statement that his parents wanted him to lose his virginity to a cheerleader is a hyperbole. It is an exaggeration; the American Dream is often presented as grandiose, but upon further inspection it is a ridiculous idea, according to Green. In this statement, Green also alludes to the "I Have A Dream" speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, stating, "They have a dream that one day...". In King's speech, he presents a perfect, realistic dream. Green's allusion takes that down and juxtaposes a big dream with an unrealistic, stupid idea. He finally presents the idea with verbal irony, going as far as saying the singular, "Lady and gentleman" instead of what is usually said. Green is obviously here making a humorous and sarcastic take to the American Dream.

         This satire and humor is meant by John Green evoke an emotional reaction, one that questions the American Dream. He tries to relate the reader to the idea, as having sex with a cheerleader is considered ridiculous to many, and will not happen to them. Here it is clear to the reader that the Dream is an illusion. To immigrants coming to America, however, it may not be an obvious illusion.