Assignment I

One of my favorite novels, Of Mice and Men, presented a clear quest of two characters striving towards one goal in the beginning, but reaching another in the end.

1. Our quester: two men, Lennie and George, who have been best friends since they were small children. Lennie is a large, mentally disabled man who relies on George, a small, sharp man, to get through each day.

2. A place to go: George and Lennie are dropped off by a bus many miles from where they are to start work on a plantation. They must first make it through camping together one night in order to make it to their destination where…

3. A stated reason to go there: George has a dream of owning his own land and starting a farm where he and Lennie can live together without having a boss.

4. Challenges and trials: Lennie is mentally disabled which holds back George from already fulfilling his dream. Lennie doesn’t understand or know how to control his own strength. George has to continuously cover for Lennie in order for the two to keep their job and keep earning money. Also, Curly’s wife, a much too flirtatious women, causes the biggest challenge of all, George’s decision of how to truly save Lennie from an awful, life-threatening mistake. Wealth presents reoccurring trials throughout the book because in society, the strong, or rich, always defeat the weak, the poor. Reaching the “American Dream” is also an impossible dream to reach that is George’s main goal.

5. The real reason to go: George has always been just as attached to Lennie as Lennie was dependent on him. Throughout the quest, George discovers more and more that Lennie is not capable of living the perfect life style George has set up for him in his imagination. Also, George realizes that no one is capable of living that perfect lifestyle, not even himself. Through continuous struggles to earn enough money for the all-important acre of land, George learns that hard and constant work can never buy true happiness and also learns what it is to be a true friend to Lennie, knowing exactly what is best for him.

Toulmin Model Arguement

Kati Haycock expresses her opinion to the looming question of, "How to raise the status of teachers?" She explains that schools and administrations need to improve teacher training. I agree. Teachers must be better prepared for their position in order to become more respected by our society and in order for more upcoming employees to pursue the field of education. Many teachers today obtain their lessons directly from the textbook, along with the homework worksheets and assignments. This causes their lessons to be repetitive, not interesting to the students, and not beneficial to the teacher. If teachers were required to be better educated in their field, they would have a wider variety of unique information to share with their students to keep them interested in class. Also, requiring teachers to be better educated would benefit them in other aspects of life. In my own school, it is obvious that the teachers who have earned their masters degree are more prepared for teaching and helping their students be successful than those who have just earned the minimum requirements. These teachers don't necessarily make their subject "fun" and easy, but the students seem to enjoy it because they feel like they are actually learning something instead of wasting their time on information they may forget. Although it may be true that many other steps will be required in order for teachers to earn respect from our society, teachers being required to be better educated than they are now would be a major step.

The Great Gatsby

Fitzgerald's reflective and hopeless tones portray his idea that Americans continue to push against the current of life and nature, thinking they are bettering the world, but in turn hurting it by destroying its origins.

Fitzgerald uses optimistic diction to describe the old, natural world while he describes the modern times with pessimism. Before the moon brings light to the old times, the narrator sees the current world as "shadowy" and dark with "hardly any lights." As the "inessential houses" of the modern America become hidden, "a fresh, green breast" is seen, the "greatest of all human dreams." Fitzgerald is bringing to light his opinion that all of the new advances that made the 20s the "Roaring Twenties" have destroyed it rather than helped with the building up of the country. He sees the old, traditional world as a very beautiful work and shows that he cannot see this special world until the characteristics of the modern world are gone, or "melt[ed] away."

Fitzgerald wraps up his point with important syntax in the last two paragraphs of the passage. He uses ellipses and dashes which in writing serve as a break in thought or in the case of ellipses, repetition or a never ending thought. Being sucked into the idea he is disagreeing with, Fitzgerald begins describing how "we" will "run faster, stretch out our arms farther," continue doing things we are convinced will help and benefit our country. However, with his very last sentence, Fitzgerald reminds the reader that no matter how much Americans may keep doing in an attempt to help the country, they will continue to be pushed back and held in place without success, just like the boats that continue to go against the current, but make it nowhere.

By using effective diction and syntax, Fitzgerald very clearly expresses his opinion that Americans will continue trying to add to their country in an attempt to benefit and make it better, much like a sailor pushing against the current and convincing himself that he is making process because of his art work, but in the end, staying idle and in one place.

3rd Quarter Reading

I read 3 books, the equilvalent of 6 books.

• The Pact by Jodi Picoult-416 pages


• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury-148 pages (classic)


• The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult-385 pages

I really enjoyed reading Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury because it challenged me more than the other books I read this nine weeks. Guy Montag, the main character, is a fireman. Not the kind of fireman we have today, but a fireman that starts fires in order to keeps books out of the possession of regular people. When one lady is so attached to her books she chooses to burn with them, Montag becomes interested in why these books are so important. He begins secretly collecting and reading books but eventually gets caught by the head fireman. Now, Montag must choose between living in the dark like everyone else or rebelling in order to find out what's being hidden. Fahrenheit 451 used imagery very often to describe different events in the book and also different words that forced me to stretch my vocabulary. Also, the storyline centered around censorship, a characteristic of some Utopias.

Consumerism Quote

A strange species we are. We can stand anything God and nature can throw at us save only plenty. If I wanted to destroy a nation, I would give it too much, and I would have it on its knees, miserable, greedy, sick.

-John Steinbeck (1902-1968), Letter in The Washington Post, 28 Jan 60

John Steinbeck makes a great point by pointing a finger directly at the American society. Americans are truly blessed and have so much more than they could ever need. However, the percentage of Americans who claim to be "happy" is declining or remaining the same even though our citizens have more possessions than anyone in the past. Steinbeck proposes that in order to destroy a nation, he would give it too much and in turn, the nation would be so thirsty for more they would do anything to obtain it. Many Americans completely ignore the third world counties that are barely surviving, and continue on with their everyday lives of spending on non-necessary possessions. Maybe Americans need these possessions to be taken from them by someone else but themselves in order to see their reliance and dependence on wealth and how great the consequences they face will be.

McDonald's commercial

Since it would be harder to convince adults to buy fast food, many McDonald's commercials are aimed towards children. The Happy Meal is so irresistible because of the cute, convenient box, the variety choice, and the new toy. In this specific commercial, two girls are having fun eating their Happy Meals together when they hear the sound of a mermaid. They reach in to find their toy, a mermaid. One technique in this commercial is the voice of a child talking instead of an adult. Now, when a younger child is watching it, it's more like a friend talking to them which they're more likely to be able to connect to than an adult authority. Also, the end of the commercial shows the two girls with mermaid tails at the end of their meal. Now, not only can you play with your toy, but you can also look like your toy. McDonald's uses several clever tricks to convince children that McDonald's Happy Meals will be the most rewarding and fun meals.

A Healthier America

Dieting has become a large part of American life due to obesity levels and the demanding "perfect" image our culture continuously pushes on our citizens. Meredith Melnick wrote a recent article called Weight Watchers' New Point: Zero For Most Fruits and Veggies. In this article, she compares the new point system by Weight Watchers, the PointPlus system, to the old point system, Weight Watchers Points. In the old system, the more calories a food had, the more points it was, the worse it was for you. In the new system, the overall nutritional value of the food is taken into account: the amount of protein, carbs, fat, and fiber. The main reason for this is to show dieters that "a 100-calorie bag of cookies isn't as healthful as a 100-calorie apple."

Many dieting commercials advertise diets that allow you to eat good food, but still lose weight. When did the American mind change that "good" food cannot also be healthy food? I found myself in major agreement with the new point system presented by Weight Watchers' because now, Americans will learn how to not only lose weight, but also learn and make a habit out of eating a healthy diet. I think too many Americans who are dieting dread the process of it because they believe they are not allowed to eat tasteful food. This may also be the cause of the growing problem of obesity in our culture.


I believe if Americans, dieting or not dieting, will use this point system to create their regular eating habit, they will learn that healthy food can also be tasty foods. This will help cause the obesity and even unhealthy levels Americans are on now to decrease.


http://healthland.time.com/2010/11/30/weight-watchers-new-points-zero-for-most-fruits-and-veggies/