Smoke Signals.....

The movie Smoke Signal was a very good film. The two main characters in the film Victor and Thomas had a interesting relationship. At first I thought that Victor was very mean to Thomas. As I watched the film more I realized that Victor was kind of a nerdy type of guy and I think that is why he was so harsh towards Thomas. Thomas really looked up to and admired Victor’s dad especially since he saved his life. Also Thomas had never really seen the other side of Arnold like Victor had lived with. Once Thomas saw the other side of Arnold, he and Victor were able to connect in a way that they never were able to .
Victor was very jealous of the relationship that Thomas had with his father. This jealousy was very straining and hard on their relationship all through their childhood. The one thing that helped them rekindle their relationship was the trip to Phoenix, Arizona. They realized that although they were very different in their beliefs that their friendship was worth savoring. Victor was a very traditional person who lived the way a “real” Indian should live. On the other hand Thomas just lived to live and never really slowed down to think about it too much.
This was an interesting movie. I had a little bit of a hard time following everything that was going on. I did learn a good lesson though. You sometimes don’t know what you really have until it is gone. Don’t take your loved ones or friendships for granted. Here today and gone tomorrow.

Rules for Writers Chapter 48.....

Chapter 48 in Rules for Writers is about evaluating arguments and how to distinguish between them and emotional appeals. The first thing when evaluating an argument is to be able to tell the difference between reasonable and fallacious tactics. Fallacious tactics are used to be misguiding and/or dishonest. Secondly, you need to do some inductive reasoning by drawing a conclusion from numerous facts. Next is evaluating the conclusion is very important. In order for a conclusion to successful it must be based on factual information that is relevant to the topic. A conclusion that is based on irrelevant and false information is known as a hasty generalization. Drawing an analogy is a way to use two opposing pieces of information that are so different, but are both relevant to making a point. Lastly, it is always a good idea to be able to distinguish between unfair and fair emotional appeals.
This chapter was very informative about evaluating arguments. I have to say that I haven’t had much experience with argumentative writing, but this information will be very helpful when the time comes. I probably wouldn’t have been able to distinguish between an emotional appeal or a legitimate argument without reading this chapter. I intend on applying all these learned skills when I am evaluating an argument. I really enjoyed reading this chapter

"Happy Endings, "Obituary," and "Oompah Loompah" Dialogue

While reading this story I couldn't help but notice how cranky and mean Mr.Harvey was. He was very harsh towards his students and insulted them. He would tell his students that they were no good and couldn't speak right. I don't know if this was just a bad case of tough love or what. I think that he was so hard on his students because of his childhood and how it was a battle for him to get to where he is now.
I can strongly relate to this type of behavior. My fiance's father treats him so bad. He takes out on him the fact that he never got a childhood. He insults my fiance about spending money on fun trips for our family and for doing fun things. He always says, "Why go out and waste your money and time on playing around with your family, when you should be working and saving your money. Family is nothing but a burden and a huge price tag." This just breaks my heart to hear him say these types of things. I know that he is just looking out for our best interest, but doesn't know how to verbalize that in a decent manor.
This was an interesting story to read. I would have to say that I think that Mr.Harvey has the children's best interest at heart, but struggles with channeling those concerns in a constructive fashion. Giving advice and constructive critisism would go a lot farther with his students then degrating them.

Rules for Writers chapter 47......

Rules for Writers chapter 47 talked about how to construct a reasonable argument. While trying to construct your argument you need to keep in mind that the goal is not just to win, but to show your passionate side about a specific topic. In your arguments about the topic you need to explain what your understanding is about the topic and share you knowledge about the topic as well. Making sure that you fully understand the social and intellectual issues and contexts of the subject is very important to show your competency to your readers, not putting yourself at any disadvantage. In the beginning of your argument you need to establish your stance on the topic and also establishing your credibility on the topic is extremely important. Lastly, gathering supportive evidence to support your argument is the key to developing a legitimate and successful argument.
I really learned a lot from reading this chapter. I never really looked at constructing an argument just for the sake of proving a point, and not to win or have the last word. I always perceived an argument to be just for argument sake, not to present your case to numerous people as if they were like a jury. I intend on using the tips that I have learned in this chapter to help me better my skills at argumentative topics.

Essay #2 rough draft....

While reading the story "Shooting Dad", I realized that this story was similar to my father and sister's relationship. My father and sister have never seen eye to eye when it comes to hunting or politics. Both my father and sister are very well educated people who are too hard headed for their own good. I was reminded of what living with the two of them was like when I was reading "Shooting Dad."

My father and I are both avid hunters. It is a passion that we share and love to do together. Now as for my sister she thinks we are terrible people who she refers to as murderers. She thinks that us killing the animals is so cruel and inhumane. My father and I have tried to explain to her that what we do is more humane than what they do to the slaughter house raised animals. We have asked her numerous times to accompany us on a hunt so she can see that there is so much more to it than just shooting and killing animals. Similar to Vowell in "Shooting Dad", my sister refuses to try to accept that one person's hobby isn't wrong just because she chooses not to participate in it herself. Oh my goodness, lets not even mention politics around the two of them.

I am not a political person at all, but my dad and sister are political enough for the three of us. My father and sister are not able to hold a conversation about politics without it turning into a huge argument. The two of them aren't able to be civil towards each other. They are so hard headed that they actually will become enemies and not talk for weeks following a political debate amongst the two of them. It is really heart breaking for me sometimes to see how much they argue over something so silly. I have realized over the years that they will never be able to have a conversation about politics without fighting, so my mom and I avoid the subject at all costs.

Now one thing that my sister and father do have in common is love for the arts. They are both very artistic individuals who love to share their passion for the arts with each other. I am glad that they have at least this in common. I watch them draw together and paint together and it is so amazing. They have spend endless nights studying and reading about artists and pieces of art. It makes me so happy to see that they can appreciate each other when it comes to art.

"Shooting Dad" is a perfect example of life being too short to build barriers between family members. My family is similar to Vowell and her father in the respect that they have had a hard time excepting each other for their differences throughout their lives, but in the end when it mattered the most to her dad she was able to put all her feelings aside and honor his last wish. I hope that one day my father and sister can let their guards down about politics and hunting and respect each others opinions on the subjects. I think it would be neat if they just saw the debates as a form of furthering their educations on other's opinions and not as a negative thing. They really should be praising each other on how well educated they each are instead of bashing each other down. Just like Vowell and her dad, I hope my dad and sister can let down their guards and learn to love one another for their differences.

Rules for Writers Chapter 4....

Chapter 4 in Rules for Writers is about writing effective paragraphs. The first part of developing your paragraphs is to establish your main points. Next is choosing a pattern of organization. While organizing you need to make sure that your paragraph lengths are appropriate. Paragraphs are a bunch of sentences clustered together that support your main idea.
To make your main point effective it needs to be stated in the topic sentence. You also need to make sure that you are contentious about sticking to your main points and not diverting from them. It is easy to get lost and sway from your main points. There are multiple ways to choose a suitable pattern of organization. A few examples are description, process, compare and contrast, illustrations, narration, analogy, cause and effect, classification and division, and definition. Any of these organization patterns can occur alone, in combination and many of times throughout your paper. Next you need to make sure that your paragraphs are clear and easy to read. The way to make sure that this happens is to maintain consistency and to have effective transition sentences that guide your reader from one idea to the next.
I have to say that this was a very informative chapter. I really found that I have learned how to better organize my paragraphs. I have always felt that I have been good at transition sentences, but my organization leaves a lot to be desired. I think that the direction that this chapter has given me will help improve my paper writing skills. I plan on using all the strategies I have read about in this chapter to become a better writer.

Shooting Dad....

The significance of the title, “Shooting Dad,” is a daughter honoring her father’s last wish. Sarah and her father never really were able to get along as they didn’t see eye to eye on politics or their hobbies. Sarah really enjoyed the arts while her father was a gunsmith. I had a similar situation in my household growing up.

My sister and father would hardly ever see eye to eye on anything. My sister saw my father and I as murders since we both love to hunt. My sister is also very anti guns and violence. My father owns numerous guns and feels as though war is sometimes necessary. My sister and father have argued countless times about politics. To this day I refuse to ask any questions about politics as I am afraid to stir up an argument. Living with my dad and sister was like living with Sarah and her father I am sure. I found it wonderful that Sarah was able to put all her own feelings aside and honor her fathers final wish.

Sarah’s father’s final wish was to have his ashes shot out of his home made cannon on opening day of hunting season. This was not the easiest thing for Sarah to do, but being it was to honor her father she was able to shoot the cannon. Sarah had also realized that her father and her were similar creatures which made it easier for her to shoot the cannon too. "Oh. My. God. My dad and I are the same person. We’re both smart-alecky loners with goofy projects and weird equipment.” This gave Sarah peace of mind knowing that her and her father were actually closer than she had ever realized.

This was a very powerful story. I really enjoyed reading about the differences between a father and his daughter that ended up not be all that different. As I stated before this reminded me so much of my dad and my sister. I just hope that they can realize their similarities opposed to only seeing one another for their differences. Life is too short to not appreciate each other for our differences.