Vocab #5

Consolation
Context: Thomas Paine
My guess: meeting
Definition: the action or process of formally consulting or discussing
Own sentence: The consultation to discuss the 13th Amendment was coming up.
Mnemonic Device: Conversation, consultation

Calamities
Context: Thomas Paine
My guess: deaths
Definition: an event causing great and often sudden damage or distress; a disaster
Own sentence: The calamities around the world have begun to take its toll on the global population.
Connotation: neutral

Highwayman
Context: Thomas Paine
My guess: a bad person
Definition: a man, typically on horseback, who held up travelers at gunpoint in order to rob them.
Own sentence: Before they could reach their destination, a highwayman stopped them and stole their money at gunpoint.
Mnemonic device: on the highway to hell.. and I was robbed

Ague
Context: Thomas Paine
My guess: the flu
Definition: malaria or some other illness involving fever and shivering
Own sentence: He trembled like an ague at the idea of having to clean the dishes.
Mnemonic device: sounds like adieu, which is goodbye. Like death.

Garrison
Context: Thomas Paine
My guess: defense
Definition: the troops stationed in a fortress or town to defend it
Own sentence: The garrison was supplied with guns and ammunition in case the enemies decided to return.
Connotation: Neutral

Folly
Context: Thomas Paine
My guess: kindness
Definition: lack of good sense; foolishness
Own sentence: The children were full of folly as they get in trouble by the teacher.
Mnemonic device: Like in the penguin movie, the vacuums were full of folly

Fortitude
Context: Thomas Paine
My guess: protection
Definition: courage in pain or adversity
Own sentence: She endured her illness with great fortitude
Connotation: neutral

Aqua
My guess: blue
Definition: water
Words: Aquatic, aquamarine, aquarium, aqueduct, aqueous

Cumul
My guess: finished
Definition: together
Words: accumulate, cumulative, cumulus, cumulative

Duo
My guess: two
Definition: two
Words: duet, duplicate, duel, dubious, duplex

TOW # 10- visual text

Racism has been a problem in America since the first settlers landed in Jamestown. This visual text tackles this prominent problem. In most situations, white people are racist against blacks, Mexicans, Asians- basically anyone who isn't white too.
In this visual text, three hearts are laid out, labeled white, black, and yellow. They are the hearts of people who are different races: white, black, and Asian. They all look like normal hearts, and they all look pretty similar. This is a message that is being spread: that we all are the same on the inside, so what's on the outside shouldn't count.
The target audience for this specific visual text is white racists. It lays out a white heart first, establishing what white racists consider "normal." They it lays out a black person's heart. Blacks typically experience the most racial discrimination, but this proves that their hearts are the same as ours. We are not that different. The last is an Asian's heart, proving that all hearts are the same, so we should treat everyone the same way.
The artist uses compare and contrast to show how similar the three hearts are. Comparing them, there are few to no differences, which proves the artist's point.
I think that it will be hard for the artist to achieve their goal, to convince racist people that we are all the same. They used the right devices and share the correct message, but most racists are to close-minded to interpret this as a positive message that promotes equality.
Racism will be a problem for many more years, but we are taking a step in the right direction by sharing visual texts like these. Two hundred years ago slavery was legal, so where will we be two hundred years from now?

Vocab #4

Gregarious
My guess: outgoing
Definition: being sociable or fond of company
Context: team roles test
Mnemonic device: Greg is an social person
Own sentence: The gregarious boy went around to each of the booths, introducing himself and making new friends.

Fidelity
My guess: honesty
Definition: being faithful to a person, cause or belief
Context: health project
History: 1375-1425; late Middle English fidelite (< Middle French) < Latin fidēlitās, equivalent to fidēli- (stem of fidēlis loyal, equivalent to fidē(s) faith
Connotation: neutral

Melancholy
My guess: sad
Definition: a gloomy state of mind
Context: A Modest Proposal
Own Sentence: The church held a group of melancholy people, as the funeral went on.
Example: Meanwhile, the bandsmen of his captive army played a “melancholy” tune on drums and fifes. (Brendon)

Cultivate
My guess: create
Definition: to prepare and work on in order to raise crops
Context: A Modest Proposal
Mnemonic device: Like farmers, Shay's rebellion was kind of like a cult, cultivate
Connotation: neutral

Prolific
My guess: significant
Definition: producing offspring
Context: A Modest Proposal
Own sentence: The young, prolific women sat together discussing the struggles of being a mother.
History: 1640-50; < Medieval Latin prōlificus fertile

Banality
My guess: ridiculous
Definition: lacking freshness and originality
Context: vocab hand out
History: 1861, triteness, from French banalité "banality, commonplace," from banal
Own sentence: The singing group was a perfect example of banality, as they copied each of the bands before them and blended in to the background.

Amo
My guess: weapons
Definition: love
Words: amicable, amateur, amour, amorous, amity

Syn
My guess: at the same time
Definition: with, together
Words: sync, synonym, synthetic, syntax, syndicate

Sol
My guess: alone
Definition: sun
Words: solar, solstice, solveig, Sunday, sowilo rune

Digitus
My guess: fingers
Definition: finger
Words: digits, prestidigitation, digitalis, digital, digitigrade

IRB intro post #2

The book I have chosen to read is She Said Yes by Misty Bernall. My sister read it over the summer and said it was really good, so I've decided to give it a try.

TOW #9

Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/12/us/because-i-was-a-girl-i-was-told.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

Sexism has been an issue since the beginning of time. Women have always been seen as inferior to men. In the recent presidential election, there was a distinct possibility that a 227-year-old gender barrier would be hurdled: we could have a female president. While this didn't end up happening, the New York Times asked women around the country to share stories of things they were told they couldn't do because of their gender. The list ranged from "I wasn't strong enough" and "technology was for me," to "I wasn't allowed to play with boys."
The way ethos is established in this article is through all of the anecdotes from different women. They each tell their own stories of how people have tried to limit them because they were girls, and how they overcame this. And you know you can trust them, because they are women.
The goal audience is both men and women from America. They want to show women that they're capable of so much, no matter what anyone tells them. And they want to show men that women deal with gender discrimination all of the time, but we won't let it limit us.
The use of the anecdotes makes the article seem much more intimate. The women that tell their stories are of different races, cultures, and backgrounds, but they all share this struggle. It almost evokes a feeling of unity between girls. It acknowledges that we may be different on the outside, but we are all strong and able to overcome gender obstacles.
This article was written because of the presidential election, but it has the potential to relate to so much more. Congress this year has more women than before, women are stepping up politically to show that they can do what men can do, and even the olympics showed that girls can be strong and successful too.
While this is just one article, girls everywhere are growing more confident in themselves, supporting each other, and fighting to break down the gender barrier.

TOW #8

Picking Cotton- IRB

Ronald Cotton was put into jail after being accused of raping Jennifer Thompson. He was transferred from prison to prison, and even spent some of his tome in solidary confinement. While in prison, he met a man who was there for a similar crime, named Bobby Poole. He even looked like Cotton. Upon this realization, Cotton demanded to be taken back to court; they must have gotten the wrong guy. Once again, Jennifer identified him as her rapist and he was sentences to life in prison plus fifty years. After eleven years in jail, Cotton took a DNA test, and was let go after it was determined that Bobby Poole was, in fact, the actual rapist. Jennifer, guilty, requested to meet Ronald, and the two formed an unlikely friendship.
This book focuses on the idea of forgiveness. It's an important theme that the authors focus on throughout telling their stories. It also focuses on the importance of forgiveness. Ronald Cotton forgave Jennifer for her mistake, even after eleven years in jail. This is one of the main things they want to get across to their audience: that the most important thing is forgiveness. Because as we see in the book, forgiveness is what drives Ronald and Jennifer's relationship.
Jennifer and Ronald focus on writing to those who have conflict in their lives. Their main purpose is to show people that the best way to solve conflicts with with love and forgiveness, not anger and hate. They write, "And I'm glad you all have come together as one to stand up for Troy Davis, to put your foot down and keep going forward instead of fighting fire with fire." (pg 281) This quote shows how using love is better than 'fighting fire with fire,' or fighting hate and fear with more hate and fear.
I really enjoyed this book, and I recommend it to those who are going through any conflict in their lives. It teaches lessons about compassion and forgiveness that can be applied at any time. I hope my next book is as good as this one.

TOW #7

On September 11th, 2001, two jets flew into the twin towers. This was the first time Americans had experienced an act of terrorism, and President George W. Bush addressed the country right after the incident.
While his general audience is American people, it is also evident that he is speaking to those behind the attack and to other countries, to prove that we are a strong nation. Not even thousands of deaths can bring us down. This is evident when he says, "These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed. Our country is strong." This quote is sort of like a 'take that' to the attackers, and 'we are still here' to other nations.
Bush uses metaphors to appeal to pathos. He says, "These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve. America was targeted for attack because we're the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining." This quote appeals to Americans' emotions, making them feel like they are a strong country and were only attacked because of that.
Bush also appeals to ethos, portraying himself as the responsible president whom we can trust to take care of the situation. He says, "Immediately following the first attack, I implemented our government's emergency response plans.... The search is underway for those who were behind these evil acts. I have directed the full resources of our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and to bring them to justice." These quotes show that Americans can trust Bush because he is qualified and knows what to do; he's already doing what he can.
Bush wants to prove to other countries that America can not be beaten, while at the same time assure American citizens that everything will be okay. He achieves this as he says at the end, "None of us will ever forget this day, yet we go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world." This proves that there is time to mourn, but we will continue on and fight for what is right no matter what. Because we are America, land of the free and home of the brave.