Bad Apple

I, like many, have been victim to the bad apple who impairs our group's performance. The only way I really know how to do with these types of people is simple. I will talk to them about what they have been doing. Most likely, the bad apple won't listen. So I try to get deeper and talk to them about how important this specific task is to everyone until it means something to the bad apple.

Fecundity

My brightly orange colored majestic fish has a name. That well thought name is Maximus. He swims carelessly throughout his transparent sky blue tank. Whenever the frightened food enters the shallows of Maximus' territory there is a calm before the storm. Maximus stalks his prey out determining the speed of the mysterious new creature. Once he gathers the information needed he shows a burst of speed and elegance as he attacks. After the meal he lurks waiting patiently for his next chance to feed.

Manifesto and The Making of a Marginal Farm

I believe in Manifesto the author was trying to convey life in a meaningful sense. It seemed as though there was a comman theme throughout. That was to do what you want do not follow any specific path. Wendell Berry says that best when he talks about the fox on the last couple lines, "Be like the fox/who makes more tracks then necessary,/some in the wrong direction." He really just wants people to do as they wish even if its wrong.

The Making of a Marginal Farm had to do with just making a living on the land. Berry was trying to dipict the life of a farmer from the earlier ages. I think it shows how the environment helps people. Not just how it helps people but the impact it has on peoples memories.

What I am Doing

Lately, I have been trying to only buy organic foods. I don't feel it is alright to do some of the things processing plants do to food. I also think its wrong what a few farmers do to animals by giving them steroids or anything of that kind. Since this class has began I have started recycling. I believe this makes an impact on the environment. Using products more then just one time helps save other products, trees, etc. My writing will be covering recycling and it's impact on the environment. Because apartments seem to have a trash shoot on floors, no recycling ones.

What is her purpose/audience in writing this? How does she get her message across? Would you consider this writing-as-activism? Why or why not?

Her purpose is to inform the audience, anyone or specifically nursing mothers, about the harmful effects of the dioxins in breast milk. She gets her message across by bringing in a plethera of research that she has discovered. This makes her point very viable and gives good background so the people believe her. I would consider this as a form of activism. This is because she is standing up in some way for what she believes is right. She knows the harmful effects things like dioxins can bring to babies. Not just that she is also informing about whatever we put into the environment can come back to harm us if it is bad.

Personal Mission Statement

I care about life. I think that everyone has a very valuable life and can spend it more by just worrying about themselves. Growing up people around me took care of eachother. I hope to be just like that some day if I'm not already. I also value people that are honest to me and theirselves. My core being has to do with pursuit of happiness, ambition, fun and solid relationships. All of those things impact my life every day. I try to succeed in every one of them to make me a well rounded person that has a good chance in life. Not just a good chance so I succeed, but so i can also help others reach their goals as well.

Social Change Reading

Creating social change has been something many people have been chasing after for a long time. I think that it takes just one idea that someone is willing to put into action to make a difference. The reading talks a lot about how people work. However, I believe that anyone, even the bad, can make a difference in everyone's life. Maybe it is not a huge change. Picking up pieces of trash on the ground can make a difference. But what I really want to see change is the relationship's between people. It has completely changed over the years. Face-to-face communication is a dying art. When people are together they bounce ideas off eachother with more emotion. Changes in communication can allow us to have a better world. A place of love, laughter, hard work and freedom are deserved for everyone.

Silent Spring

Question: Delivery

Answer: Rachel Carlson uses her delivery to get across what everything looks like. Her description of the natural surroundings is very in depth and is done for a reason. That reason is to draw the reader into what she is saying by placing them there through the detailed imagery. Almost every paragraph has a sentence or more describing exactly what is around and that shows how important the author thinks imagery is. Carlson uses her delivery to develop a vivid scene for the reader.

A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf

Question: How does the writer structure this essay and to what effect?

Answer: Muir structures this piece by getting the audience involved first with action. This action draws the reader deeper into the book because it is interesting. Then Muir switches to his own beliefs by questioning things like life and God. People are going to be more likely to read these ideas with an open mind because of what he did earlier in the book by drawing them in. Not only that the ideas will make more sense. They will do that because they are directly related to the action earlier. It is a linear style piece.

Industrial Tourism and the National Parks

Question: What specific details stay in your mind? Why? How do these small details lead to larger ideas?

Answer: Edward Abbey describes the experience of working at a national park. Being in that situation it allowed him to look differently at the situation of the national parks. That detail shows his knowledge and allows the reader to respect his opinions. Then he suggests a way of eliminating cars from the parks. In my opinion, they seem to be very good ideas. Saving money on not making roads and helping the environment is a win-win. It seemed as though the details in the beginning helped back Abbey's ideas. That is why they stayed in my mind.

A First American Views His Land

Question: How does he make these transitions? What affect do they have on the forward momentum of the piece?

Answer: Momaday structures his piece by adding poems in between some paragraphs. This adds a dramatic effect to the transitions. In my opinion, it draws the reader more into what they are writing about because it adds a different tone to the story. This allows the reader to stay focused and keep a fresh mind towards it. The piece stays in a steady flow throughout because of the smooth transitions even between the poems and essay writing.