Hungry Planet

The photographer seems to be making the argument that there are various ways throughout the world to obtain food; a meal. People eat many different types of food, from more civilized, western countries and their processed food to less civilized, third world countries still eating raw food, bugs, and simple meats. Some countries eat fresh food, like from the meat market, the fish. Weekly rations vary from country to country, family to family. Some have copious amounts of food with servants to prepare it for them, and others have some simple vegetables and nuts.
Being a person from a very civilized country, where there is access to food everywhere, it makes me feel somewhat selfish and ungrateful. It seems like something so simple, that is always there but in some countries it is not. The photographer almost makes us out to be greedy and wasteful.

Draft Workshop

Do I have a strong enough thesis statement?
Did I effectively analyze how the author wrote the essay and not about the work itself?
Is it long enough?
Does my conclusion wrap up my paper without summarizing what I said?
Is the introduction effective and correctly formatted?

"A Wrestling Mom" First Main Point

Mary Kay Blakely effectively uses pathos to communicate and relate to her audience throughout the article. She begins by introducing herself as a feminist, single mother and talking about her sons. She never thought that one of her son’s role models would be none other than Hulk Hogan, which she was not thrilled about. This is where she introduces her connection to her son Ryan and his love of wrestling. She says during a traditional Friday, match morning, “it was the wrestler’s mom, approaching the end of an eighteen-year intimacy with this body and this boy, who openly admired and winced through mornings such as these,” (263).  Mothers can identify with Blakely as she admires, but also worries about her son’s enthusiasm and relentlessness for a sport. But as she sits and watches him at the match she admires many qualities that her son and his team possess. As they warm up she watches them and “already my throat swelled with involuntary emotion, like that buried patriotism that reveals itself when a parade marches by,” (264). Blakely successfully utilizes pathos to connect to her audience, because surely other mothers feel the same emotion and pride when watching their children in an activity. Throughout the match she cheers Ryan on to the best of her ability as her “heartbeat accelerated, my skin dampened, my own muscles became taut. Sitting in the bleachers was an aerobic experience for me,” (266).  Mothers can relate to the nervousness that Blakely feels as she watches her son perform, the will to want them to succeed. As she connects with her audience through her son’s wrestling experience, she also illustrates her transforming relationship with her son.  

"A Wrestling Mom" Outline

Title: A Wrestling Mom

Thesis: In the article “A Wrestling Mom”, the author Mary Kay Blakely establishes a strong sense of pathos through her son’s high school wrestling experience, comes to terms with their evolving relationship as he matures, and illustrates the importance of language and interracial camaraderie.

 (Short summary of article)

I.                    Main Point: Blakely’s use of pathos

a.       Background of herself

                                                              i.      Feminist

                                                            ii.      Single mother

b.      Background/introduction of her son & their relationship

                                                              i.      Introduce the connection to wrestling

                                                            ii.      Before school-match day ritual

                                                          iii.      Shoelace

c.       At the match

                                                              i.      Her actions and thoughts as she watched him wrestle

II.                 Main Point: The evolving relationship between mother and son

a.       Noticing her son’s maturation

                                                              i.      References to when he was three years old

                                                            ii.      Noticing her son’s new physique

                                                          iii.      Admiration of his power

b.      Gender role

                                                              i.      His coaches teaching him things she could not

                                                            ii.      “Pete and Repeat”

                                                          iii.      Reference to Robert Bly

c.       Different Views

                                                              i.      His love of wrestling/her caution

1.      Hospital scare

                                                            ii.      New relationship with women because of his physique

III.               Language/interracial camaraderie

a.       Different words used

                                                              i.      “fairy”

                                                            ii.      “pain”

                                                          iii.      “feminist”

                                                          iv.      “captain”

b.      Multi-nationality of the team

                                                              i.      Recognizing the team chemistry/ how her son handles different race

                                                            ii.      Second to last paragraph on pg 268 (quote)

                                                          iii.       

Conclusion: Blakely effectively relates with her audience in her struggle to accept that her son is growing up and becoming less reliant on their relationship. Through his high school wrestling experience she sees how he has matured, because of her influence, but also the influence of others. She admires his relationship with his fellow teammates and of opponents, relating the camaraderie with the rest of the world. (end quote?)

In Class Writing Response

In the article "Lady Power", Bauer effectively makes the argument about the role of modern feminism and the questionable line between self expression and self objectification.

CR Responses

I read "Why Blame Mexico?" by Fred Reed and found it controversial, but very thought provoking. His argument is that the United States has brought illegal immigration upon itself. Reed says that "The problem of immigration, note, is entirely self-inflicted. The U.S. chose to let them in. It didnt have to. They came to work. If Americans hadnt hired them, they would have gone back" (47). I totally agree with him. Reed uses a lot of rhetorical questions in his argument to get the reader to really think about the point he is trying to make. He also has reliable resources like the book De Los Maras a Los Zetas, that talks about accounts with border patrol and how they can be easily bribed. He also talks about arguments people have made about illegal immigrants coming from Mexico and the government. He seems very knowledgeable. I think Reed uses all of this information to evoke emotion in the audience, by telling them that, yes there are people who come into the U.S. illegally because they are running away from previous crimes they have commited, but most of them are just looking for a better job, and a better way of life. Everyone can connect to that, just wanting more for yourself and for your family. He does a very good job at painting the "innocence picture" of the illegal aliens. All in all, I really liked this article and the point that he made.

I also read "Lady Power" by Nancy Bauer. In this article she is talking about the role of modern feminism and the line between self expression or self empowerment and self objectification. Bauer talks about Lady Gaga and her role in feminism today as she is a representative of "sexual, strong women who speak their mind". Bauer associates her with Cindy Sherman, an artist who also personified the question that is "being a woman is a matter of artifice, or artful self-presentation". Bauer builds this argument by citing quotes from Gaga, and using examples of her to ask the question of self expression or self objectification? She also talks about modern day feminism in young women, and how they act. How they can be very studious and driven one day and then the next they are matching men drink for drink and hookup for hookup at a college party. The power that they have during those hookups, to walk away, when mostly they dont, is the power that Bauer talks about. In this she can connect with the audience, women readers, because maybe they have been in this situation and they have their own opinion. But then when will society really be okay with women acting more like men?

Womb For Rent- For a Price

In the article "Womb For Rent- For a Price", the author Ellen Goodman's main point discusses labor out-sourced "beyond our reach"; surrogate parenthood. The main place she talks about is India, where woman are paid up to $7000 to deliver a child to more wealthy couples who are unable. Goodman sees this as a positive for the surogate, earning "a decade's worth of women's wages", but from a moral standpoint "humanity is sacrificed to the economy and the person becomes the product".
Goodman also uses these claims to appeal to pathos, to appeal to the emotions of the audience of the article. As a reader you feel bad for the surrogate, knowing they really need the money and that this is a positive thing for them. Also its a positive that a couple who may not be able to physically produce a baby themselves are getting the opportunity to have a baby with half of their genes. But then Goodman plays on the aspect that this is like putting humanity literally in the economy; producing and selling humans. This concept seems a little strange. People shopping around for the cheapest price and such.
"What is the writer's purpose?". I think that Goodman wanted to inform people, give them a little background about the out-sourcing surrogacy, but she also wanted to enlighten people and open their eyes to the unmoralistic side of it. It doesn't change my perspective of the piece because I can relate to Goodman's view.
"Nevertheless, there is- and there should be- something uncomfortable about a free market approach to baby making. It's easier to accept serogacy when it's a gift from one woman to another. But we rarely see a rich woman become a surrogate for a poor family", was a line from Goodman that I agreed with and stayed with me. This out-sourcing surrogacy shouldnt be thought of as "a-okay", there should be something uncomfortable and wrong about it. I also agree that it is easier to accept surrogacy when it is is a gift from woman to woman, not a couple looking in poor countries for the cheapest price to have a baby. And the last line about the rich woman having a baby for a poor family is also mind churning because it is true. The less wealthy family, by a long shot, is doing the manual "labor", almost taken advantage of in my eyes.

On the Preservation of a Good Temper in a Housekeeper Response

A housekeeper is someone who is "habitually gentle, sympathizing, forbearing, and cheerful, carries an atmosphere about her, which imparts a soothing and sustaining influence, and renders it easier for all to do right, under her administration". Beecher says the housekeeper must have a cheerful temper so in a main sense to not disrupt the rest of the household. If she did not she would "destroy all the comfort which otherwise would result from her system, neatness, and economy".
In a nutshell, Beecher's list of considerations are to "regard her duties as dignified, important and difficult". A woman should also see her influence on the family and how her mood affects everyone. She must also be organized and ready, always prepared for her "best-arranged plans" to be "interfered with, very often". A woman must lead by example because her children will follow all that she does. When she is irritated, "she will not speak, till she can do it in a calm and gentle manner", because angry tones are not necessary. A woman must also be ready for misbehavior because it is "must unreasonable, to expect the consideration and car of a mature mind, in childhood and youth". A woman must also understand that all events taken place in the household are "brought about by the permission of our Heavenly Father.
Beecher makes the assumption that women should lead the household,and that a housekeeper and the woman of the house are interchangeable. They are both housekeepers but in different ways. The actual housekeeper does the dirty work, (cooking, cleaning, etc.), while the woman of the house orders all of it to be done. It is through hierarchy.

Catharine Beecher's Background

Something that stood out to me from my research right away was that Catharine Beecher is renowned abolitionist author Harriet Beecher Stowe's sister. But it seems to me that Beecher's goal was to advocate women in the teaching field and to train them to master the household. Something that I quite didn't understand was that she was all for women in the workforce and improving education, but not for women's suffrage. It seems to be a contradiction that she is gung-ho for women's rights but not voting. She only thought that women were useful in the teaching field and at home, they had no influence in politics. She also wrote many books instructing women on domestic virtues. With the little research I was able to do, it definitely clarifies her writing and helps me understand her thoughts a little more.