Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving, my family did nothing out of the ordinary. The first day of break, I lounged around all day, watching movies. I wanted to relax, which is exactly what I did that day. Wednesday night, I went to campus with my friend Sara, to celebrate the Michigan v. Ohio State game. We watched crazy people jump into mirror lake, with barely any clothes on...it was gross. The next day was Thanksgiving, which meant family day. I woke up and went downstairs to watch the Macy's Day Parade with my mom and sister. I love watching the parade because it reminds me of all the past Thanksgivings. My favorite float was Santa Claus because it was the big finale at the end. I have always wanted to go to the parade with my mom and sister because it just looks like a good time. After we watched the floats and singers, we went to the Westerville Metro Park with my three dogs and whole family. It was so pretty, with all the different colored leaves falling to the ground. It was wet and cold so I didn't enjoy the long walk as much as I could. We left after a full round trip through the park,  arriving at home in the late afternoon. The rest of the afternoon, I helped my mom cook Thanksgiving, which was not fun because she got really stressed out. She was snappy and just plain old mean. So, I layed down and waited for dinner to come to me. We all sat down, said grace, and dug in. Stuffing is my favorite, but on the contrary, I ended up not even stuffing myself. That night, I treated myself to homemade pumpkin pie and watched " The Change Up" with my parents and sister.

Questions

3) The thesis is in the last few paragraphs. Basically, when he states I do not agree with what I just wrote.
4) The children, elderly, and the babies are singled out, along with the mothers. His attitude towards the beggars are that they are nothing in the world, and that we should just leave them out. The Irish are presented as victims in the later paragraphs.
5) Swift only provides serious suggestions when he is explaining how we fix the system, in the last pages when he states what is wrong with the system and how we can improve the system.
6) This is organized in the fashion of chronological problems; he states the problems that need to be fixed and then how to fix them. Also, towards the end of the story, the purpose of the last paragraph is to show the reader that this is not what he believes, to prove the irony of the story.
7) Swift's success of this story is very good. He goes into much detail explaining the satire problems and what the world should do to fix the problems, but the end is short and sweet, applying simple solutions to the story. I think it was a very successful end and had the impact it was supposed to, at least on me.
8) This story is Horatian because it has light-hearted humor, making fun of the mothers and the children, saying we should just eat them with pepper; but the Juvenalian is when he addresses the real problems, the problems that are not so funny...the real satire when he is serious about the old "dying off."
9) This story is not the least modest. He shows the real undercover problems and the problems affecting everyone, and that is why this is verbal irony. He says the title with something that this story is not.
10) This story  has many examples of irony and exaggeration. When the author states the problems involving the children, and how they can not steal until they are 6...also, the author goes into detail about how we should eat the children, with herbs and spices. There is also irony when the author states that the old people are dying off anyways.

The missing ones are answered on the worksheet...no point in answering them twice :)

THE MERRY MEN

Exaggeration
To enlarge, increase, or represent something beyond normal bounds so that it becomes ridiculous and its faults can be seen.
Incongruity
To present things that are out of place or are absurd in relation to its surroundings.
Reversal
To present the opposite of the normal order (e.g., the order of events, hierarchical order).
Parody
To imitate the techniques and/or style of some person, place, or thing.

The Merry Men scene shows exaggeration by dancing and singing, when the men are supposed to be tough! Also, it shows incongruity by having the bushes move and the men moving in the background.
Robinhood is a parody in this scene by singing and dancing to the princess, when he usually is swift.
The princess fight scene demonstrates reversal by being the tough one and beating up all the men instead of Shrek, the huge and scary ogre. This also demonstrates incongruity because usually the princess is not tough and by her jumping up and beating the crap out of the men. This scene vastly exaggerated the abilities of the common princess.

"I Want A Wife"

1. Does this essay have an explicitly stated thesis? If so, what is it? If you believe the thesis is implied, paraphrase it in your own words.

I think that this is the thesis, “As I thought about him while I was ironing one evening, it suddenly occurred to me that 1, too, would like to have a wife. Why do I want a wife?” Rephrased in my own words, she is sarcastically saying wives are treated like slaves.

2. Throughout the essay, Brady repeats the words “I want a wife.” What is the effect of this repetition?

This is the sentence that the reader should take special attention to, and know that this is the point of the story.

3. Brady never uses the personal pronouns he or she to refer to the wife she defines. Why not?

I think that the word “wife” is another name for the slave in the marriage, and that she is sarcastically saying that men treat their wives like slaves.  The acts of the slaves cannot be characterize d by he or she!

4. Do you think Brady really wants the kind of wife she describes—does this ideal spouse

actually exist? Explain why you think Brady wrote this essay.

I think this ideal spouse exists in the 1950’s or so. This spouse does not exist anymore because society has given woman more rights and treats them with more respect. She wrote this essay because men used to think their woman’s only job was to work in the house, and she wants to specify that woman are not just slaves to their men.

5. How does Brady define what it means to be a “wife”? How does she organize the many services a wife provides her husband and family? What do you think of Brady’s characterization of a wife and her responsibilities? How do you think she wants her readers to respond to this characterization? Why?

Brady defines her wife’s duties as of what she does around the house and taking care of the children. Every specific act of being a wife, she defines her wife as doing. She goes through a simple day and every aspect of what her wife does, which is how she organizes the many services. She goes through the kid’s life, the sex life, and the general kitchen wife. I think that some of the acts are true because my mom does many of these acts, like take care of my sister and I, etc. Also, I think she wants the reader to realize that the “wife” in his or her life is not a slave. They should appreciate all the things they do for them. She just wants to be appreciated for all she does, and for the reader to say thank you to the “wife” in their life!

6. Write a letter to Brady responding to “I Want a Wife.” Let her know what you admire or don’t admire about the essay and the extent to which you consider it effective and/or persuasive.

Dear Brady,

I admire everything about this essay. It really makes the reader realize how wives are looked at in the world, and to appreciate them. I do not admire the part about taking care of the kids all the time, because of course the husband helps at that too. I think this essay is very effective in persuading the reader because he or she will pick up the sarcastic tone and actually pick up on the humor. I love how she is supporting woman’s rights! Thank you for having the nerve to confront this controversial issue.  I hope many men in the world read this also and realize what kind of wives they have and give them a little more respect!

Sincerely, Sarah Smiley

7. Write your own piece entitled “I Want a/an X.” You can use Brady’s essay as a model, and in the process, imitate some of her stylistic techniques. Or, alternatively, write an essay about the role of a “wife” in the early twenty-first century, explaining how a wife’s responsibilities complement and are complemented by those of a spouse.

“I want to be a Smoker”

Not to long ago, my father was telling my sister and I about how he use to smoke before my mother got pregnant with us. He enjoyed it; it was his hobby. He continued to tell us how he started smoking when he was young, so I wondered, why shouldn’t I smoke?

I want to smoke because it is the most attractive attribute of a woman. I want to be a smoker because I love dining and breathing in smoke at the same time. I want to be a smoker because many people love the smell it leaves on my clothes. I want to smoke because everyone does it! I want to be a smoker because it just tastes so good.

I want to be a smoker because it’s the best thing for my health.  I want to be a smoker because it keeps my lungs clean and productive. I want to smoke because it does not cause cancer and I will live a very long life. I want to smoke because it keeps my teeth as white as snow. I want to be a smoker because my face will be young and vibrant. I want to be a smoker because I will look like my face is 15 when I am 30. I want to smoke because it won’t affect my overall health at all!

I want to be a smoker because my baby will not be affected. I want to be a smoker because my baby will not have birth defects. I want to smoke because I won’t give people second-hand smoke. I want to smoke because my kids won’t pick up the habit. I want to be a smoker because my husband will not care. I want to smoke because my kids will not be affected when they get older.

Taking these positive factors of smoking into consideration, I want to smoke to overall improve my whole  life!

My God, who wouldn’t want to smoke!?

Lightswitch

The lightswitch. The one thing Alex, Kenzie, Graham, Jeremy and Ajia were afraid of. Not knowing its hidden powers...Graham, the unintelligent and exploring teen, ran over and was tempted to switch it on. Jeremy grabbed him, Graham flinging his body in the air. Graham acting like a squealing pig, just wanting some warm milk. Alex, the only normal and intelligent teen, decided to take the proactive and realistic way out of the situation.She ran over and guarded the lightswitch haulting everyone...dead in their tracks. But suddenly, Ajia flew in the air so fast, no one saw where she was going. She flew by the switch and flipped it on. The light at the top of the ceiling turned on...they sat down in pure amazement...five seconds later, they all got zapped and died instantly by the light. THE END. BUT THEN...$GMONEYCERTIFIED, the superhero, flew in and gave them all CPR and rescued them. They all went to chipotle and ate until they all looked obese.