Birmingham Letter

Monday, January 21, 2008

Response to Birmingham Letter

That letter was insane.
At first I was apprehensive as to whether or not I would like how he was writing, but towards about the third page, he really grabbed me. His writing was so compelling, and the rhetorical structure he used to address his point was phenomenal.
When MLK begins addressing the major struggles that the negros endure, it absolutely captivates the reader, because it all is so gut wrenching. When he discusses the ridicule that they receive, it's absolutely impossible to stop reading. "Any law that degrades human personality is unjust." That right there is so simply stated, but so complex in meaning. MLK speaks with some gentleness but assertiveness, that he almost forces the reader to acknowledge the seriousness of his letter. Even toward the end, he is apologetic for taking up too much of the reader's time. How can a man with so much purpose, be so kindhearted when the battle has yet to be won?
I thought it was brilliant for him to compare his efforts to those of Paul as need for Macedonia. He asked the reader to "never be considered an outsider" and he often describes he and his fellow negroes as "victims of broken promises." These broken promises begin with the signs that the local businesses refuse to take down, to the idea that negroes still can't enjoy a seat in the front of the bus.
His idea of a direct action program used to create a situation so crisis packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation. Althought MLK uses such a gentle tone, his ideas are drawn out, and show concrete ideas and planning. It is obvious that he is not toying with these ideas, but planning of prevailing.
I like how he offers the gainer a more personal approach to understanding the difference between the 2 laws of unjust and just. He addresses the audience by saying that Adolf Hitler's possession of Germany, and persection of the Jews was "legal" but the Freedom Fighters and their attempts to change the world, was considered "illegal."
He compares Asia and Africa's "speed toward gaining political independence" with "negroes still fighting to be served a cup of coffee."
This was by far one of my favorite reads in a long time!

Posted by Kates13 at 10:31 PM

Nouns & Verbs :(

So, after Monday's class, I did feel a little insignificant...
That insignificance caused me to dig through my last semester's notebook to find the English 321 notes, from Mai Kuha's class.

Here are some examples from her class:

BE verb:

Efficiency is intelligent laziness.

The decision was controversial.

Linking Verb:

Iguanas became popular.

Transitive Verb:

Elmer ate Dinner.

I think that it's such a necessary part of our lives, that we become comfortable with what we are taught as children. In my English 496 class, we're talking about the "structure" that we learn when we're young, and how we develop as a result of it. How we can look at a sentence and off the top up our head, we'll know what the noun is. We might not be able to describe it, but we just KNOW it. That's kind of how I felt in class Monday. (My mom would have been soo disappointed!)
I thought it was interesting that Professor McKinney said that high school is the time that our brains are most responsive to what we're being taught. I think that if that's proven in a study, why doesn't the high school curriculum show these things? I didn't have any English teachers help me study grammar, or anything. All they seemed to care about was vocabulary and punctuation, oh and Romeo and Juliet!
When I teach my second/third graders, I notice that they seem to be very confused when it comes to nouns and verbs. One little girl in my class refused to do anything until I began writing the answers on the board. She even went as far as to copy MY name on her paper, because she didn't realize she had to do her own work!
I think we need to teach these kids more.

Grammar Snobs!

In the Grammar Snobs Chapters 1-7, I think I got a little annoyed.
Although I appreciate Casagrande's comparisons to drunkens, hippies, and obsessed band fans, she also rambles a lot about grammar snobs. While, at the same time, she uses really big words to justify her reasonings. I liked the idea of starting out with two contradictory letters, and I also greatly enjoy the idea of SHORT chapters, and also an easy read. Her comparisons are what kept me entertained, but she seems very arrogant.
I think it's funny because my mom is kind of a grammar snob. When I was little, I would purposely walk around speaking incorrectly. "I done this earlier." If I said stuff like that, my mom would get so mad! She said it was really embarassing when I messed things up, and I feel like that is sort of how this author is.
I don't know, the first 7 chapters had only 24 pages in it, so I hadn't really been given the opportunity to warm up to her yet. I guess I'll have to keep reading and find out :)

Writing about Myself :)

I've been writing for a long time now. Ever since I can remember, I liked to write short essays, or long essays, depending on the class. No matter what, though, I would always choose to write an essay rather than take a multiple choice question test. I have never been good at taking tests, but I could write about mostly anything.

I think that's when I decided on an English major. It seemed the most enjoyable, and logical choice.

I am a a very strong writer when it comes to involving emotions. I like to do reflective essays, and motivational pieces of writing. I really enjoy writing papers when it involves something I really enjoy. For instance, last semester I took a Shakespeare class, and I thoroughly enjoyed writing my final on Macbeth, because it had always been a favorite play of mine.

I'm not good at writing when it involves a lot of opinion, or source for debate. I don't like when people read my paper, and because of their beliefs on the topic, they either give me a bad grade, or misinterpret my own ideas and thoughts. As a writer, I know this is something I should work on.

I can't stand when people make grammatical errors, so I like to think of myself as doing a good job at focusing on those areas.