Essay on "Loss (Read P. 305) Leaving"

Quoted Instructions for "Loss (Read P. 305) Leaving" Assignment:

I need (20) twenty-page essay on the World Literature course.

There are sixteen separate questions that need to be answered thoroughly.

You will need to use about 1 to 2 pages depending on question.

I*****'ll include the literature textbook materials.

1) Addressing Love and Loss (Read p. 305)

Donne*****'s poems deal with some of the great tragedies of life: losing someone you love and facing your own mortality. This journal assignment asks you to think about your response to these events.

*****¢ Have you ever left someone without knowing exactly when you will see that person again? If you were to leave someone you loved very much, what would you say? If you were the one being left, what would you want to hear?

*****¢ Write down a few thoughts about an appropriate way to say good-bye and things to say.

*****¢ Think about these as you read *****"A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning.*****" Consider how your answers would change if you knew that you would never see that person again.

2) Responding to Literature

Answer the following questions in your essay. Please write your answers as complete sentences.

a) Metaphysical poets have plenty of critics. Many people find the images of metaphysical poetry contrived. Do you agree? Samuel Johnson, an 18th century *****, described metaphysical conceits as *****"the discovery of occult [hidden] resemblances in things apparently unlike . . . the most heterogeneous [dissimilar] ideas are yoked by violence together.*****" Do you think that metaphysical conceits work-that is can you draw meaning from the connections they make between dissimilar things? Support your answer with specific examples from the poems. Your answer should be written in the form of a paragraph and should be at least five sentences long.

b) In *****"Death Be Not Proud*****" Donne personifies death. How does this poem make you feel about death? Does in make it seem more or less frightening? How does it change your perspective on death or dying? Write at least a one-paragraph response. (Read pages 307-309)

c) *****s convey their tone through their diction (word choice), images, figures of speech, and the details they choose to include. Rhetoric refers to the art of using words effectively to communicate. How does Donne*****'s tone in *****"Meditation 17*****" support the point he is trying to make? Your answer should address what the tone of the passage is and the techniques (rhetoric) Donne uses to achieve this tone. Respond in paragraph form and use at least three specific details from the text to support your answer. (Read pages 312-313)

3) Prewriting a Modern Parable (Read p. 342)

After reading the introduction to parables on page 342, make a list of modern situations that would be subjects for a good parable.

*****¢ Your situation can be an experience from your own life or something you*****'ve observed that has the potential to teach an important lesson about life.

*****¢ Your list should include at least three possibilities and a brief explanation of the situation and what lesson it teaches.

4) King James Bible (Read pages 338-341)

Answer the following questions in your journal. Make sure that your answers are written in complete sentences.

a) Psalms 23 and 137 may or may not be familiar to you. Both of them contain extended metaphors and use parallelism to achieve their effects. I*****'d like you to list one example of parallelism from each psalm and explain why it is effective.

b) On page 341 of your text, you*****'ll find another translation of Psalm 23. This version of the psalm was translated by the Massachusetts Puritans and published in the Bay Psalm Book (1640). In a brief essay, compare and contrast this version with the version in the King James Bible. Tell which version you prefer and why, using examples from each text. Include in your discussion a comparison of the images, main ideas, sound effects and syntax. Because this is an essay, you should begin with an introductory paragraph that contains your thesis and end with a concluding paragraph. Make sure your essay is well organized and you support all of your contentions with specific examples from the text. You should include references to both translations in your response.

5) The Best Advice I*****ve Ever Received

Take five minutes and complete the following thoughts in your essay.

*****¢ *****"The best advice I ever received . . .*****"

*****¢ *****"The wisest statement I*****'ve ever heard was . . .*****"

You should discuss the advice or statement and also explain why it was so important to you.

6) Worlds of Wisdom (Read pages 349-359)

Answer the following questions. Make sure to follow the directions for each question carefully.

a) Some of the didactic literature you have read may express attitudes toward life that you find surprising, baffling, or in conflict with your own beliefs. Other pieces may strike you as accurately reflecting your beliefs. Choose two pieces of wisdom literature, one that expresses your beliefs and one that expresses a view different from your personal beliefs. Then write a brief essay explaining the similarities and differences between the literature you*****'ve chosen and your own belief system. Your essay should be at least four paragraphs long and should include an introductory and a concluding paragraph.

b) The most memorable proverbs stand the test of time because they address general truths. Think of a general truth about modern life and write it in the form of a proverb. If you can*****'t think of a new topic, update a well-known proverb.

c) Didactic literature often uses metaphor and conveys its moral message indirectly. Do you think using metaphor obscures or illuminates the message. Explain your answer using at least two examples from what you*****'ve read.

7) Persuasive Writing Techniques (Read pages 427-437)

As you are reading, I*****'d like you to keep track of the persuasive techniques used by Swift in *****"A Modest Proposal.*****"

*****¢ In a blank document or on a separate piece of paper, label three sections as: Logical Appeals, Emotional Appeals and Ethical Appeals.

*****¢ As you read *****"A Modest Proposal,*****" note examples of each kind of appeal that you find in the essay. Use the questions in margins of the text to guide your thinking.

*****¢ You will need these notes to answer questions after you have finished reading.

Part 2: After reading, evaluate the effectiveness of the appeals on a literal level. Write a paragraph for each type of appeal discussing whether or not it would be effective if the essay were taken literally. Look again and evaluate whether or not the argument is effective satirically. Are the appeals effective in the satire? Support your answer with clear reasoning and specific examples from the text.

8) A Modern Proposal

Swift approached the problems of poverty and corruption from the point of view of a benevolent humanitarian and then proposed an outrageous solution to those problems. You are going to be writing your own ironic proposal. Follow the steps listed below and make sure label each part separately.

Part 1: Make a list of modern situations that you think desperately need to be addressed. Pretend you are a social worker, educator, environmentalist, or military advisor. Your list should include at least five problems that you think deserve immediate attention. After you*****'ve listed the problems, make a list of outrageous possible solutions.

Part 2: Following the model of *****"A Modest Proposal,*****" draft your proposal outlining the solutions to the problem. Your proposal should be so outrageous that your readers will immediately see the severity of the problem. Remember that some readers may miss the irony and attack you for being insensitive. To lessen this possibility, make your moral outrage clear by the sheer outrageousness of your exaggerations.

Your essay should be between 300 and 500 words long and should be carefully crafted. You will be graded on the quality and correctness of your writing, as well as on how well you utilize the elements of satire (humor, irony, etc.)

9) Responding to *****"A Modest Proposal*****" (Read pages 438-441)

Answer the following questions in your essay.

a) How is Boyle*****'s satire in *****"Top of the Food Chain*****" similar to and different from Swift*****'s proposal. Write a brief essay comparing these essays in terms of the content, purpose and language techniques used in each essay. Your response should be at least three paragraphs long.

b) Is Swift*****'s irony effective in *****"A Modest Proposal,*****" or does it risk being taken seriously by readers and arousing nothing more than disgust or outrage at the author? Explain your thinking in a brief paragraph of at least five sentences.

c) Vocabulary: Connotations, Diction or word choice is especially important in persuasive writing. Swift is particularly skillful in choosing words with strong connotations-that is, words loaded with strong feelings, associations, or even judgments. Some of Swift*****'s loaded words include:

o Savages

o Male and female

o Popish infants

o Beggars

o Rags

o Breeders

o Filth

o Idolatrous

o Carcasses

In each instance where the above words appear, another word or term could have been chosen to create a different, less harsh effect. For example, man and woman are gentler terms for male and female. By using the terms male and female, Swift is equating people with animals. Answer the following questions for six of the nine words listed above:*****"

*****¢ Find the places in the text where the words listed above are used. What is the emotional effect of the each word choice?

*****¢ What tamer or more positive words could have been used to create a different effect?

10) Mock Versus Real Epic (Read pages 451-459)

*****"The Rape of the Lock*****" literally means *****"the violent theft of a lock of hair*****" and is based on a real incident. This mock epic examines the relationships between men and women in high society of the eighteenth century. A mock epic is a comic narrative poem, written in dignified language, which parodies the serious epic genre by treating a trivial subject in a lofty, grand manner.

*****¢ As you*****'re reading I*****'d like you to create and complete a chart similar to the one below, which directly compares mock and heroic epic poems.

*****¢ If a counterpart to a convention of heroic epics is not immediately apparent in the mock epic, you can leave it blank.

11) ***** Pope (Read pages 445-449)

Respond to the following questions in your essay. Be sure to follow the directions for each question carefully.

1. List five examples of antithesis found in ***** Pope*****'s *****"Heroic Couplets.*****" Identify the parallelism in each example.

2. In almost every sentence in our excerpt from *****"An Essay on Man,*****" Pope says something flattering about the human race, only to follow it with something critical. What characteristics does he think we should be proud of? What does he think we should be ashamed of?

3. Do you disagree with any of Pope*****'s opinions or pronouncements in the Heroic Couplets or *****"An Essay on Man*****"?

4. Based on what you have read of *****"The Rape of the Lock,*****" what do you think the poem*****'s theme or central message is? What or who are the objects of his satire?

5. Does the epic, *****"The Rape of the Lock*****" apply in any way to society today? Identify two passages that could serve as satiric commentaries on people*****'s behavior today. Your answer should discuss both the passage and the comment that applies to contemporary life.

12) Analyzing Humor (Read pages 462-470)

Satire relies on many techniques usually associated with comedy, including exaggeration, understatement, warped logic, improbable situations, and ridiculous names.

*****¢ In your journal, make a chart like the following where you list each of the five techniques and as many examples you can find for each technique.

*****¢ I*****'d like you to list at least four examples for each technique (exaggeration, understatement, warped logic, improbable situations, and ridiculous names).

Part 2: Looking back at the chart you made for Part 1, use the details you gathered on that chart to write a brief analysis of Voltaire*****'s humor. When you analyze something, you take it apart and examine its elements to see how it works. The chart will show you many techniques used by Voltaire to ridicule his character and to make us laugh. At the end of your essay, describe the targets of Voltaire*****'s satire.

13) Comparing Satires (Read pages 473-479)

Answer each of these questions in your essay. Make sure to follow the directions for each question.

1. Voltaire wrote Candide more that 230 years ago. In your opinion, how well has his satire held up? What value, if any, does Candide hold for someone growing up into today*****'s world? Does Voltaire*****'s underlying message against intolerance, cruelty, and smugness still apply? Write a brief paragraph addressing these questions.

Support your answer with specific examples from the text.

2. In his parody, Cervantes uses the techniques of exaggeration, verbal irony, incongruity, and humorous imitation. List one example of each technique used in this selection.

3. A foil is a character that is used as a contrast to another character. In what ways is Sancho Panza a foil to Don Quixote? Identify three behaviors of each of the two men that suggest they are opposites.

4. How do Don Quixote*****'s optimism and idealism compare with Candide*****'s? Do both of these characters *****"tilt at windmills,*****" or do they manifest their philosophies in profoundly different ways? After you have addressed whether or not the main characters are similar or different, I*****'d like you to address the purpose of each satire, as well as the techniques each author uses to achieve his purpose. Your response should be three paragraphs long.

14) Your Views on Women*****s Rights

Are men and women truly equal? Do they, or should they, have equal rights in society? Why or why not? What institutions in modern society help to promote equality or keep it from being achieved? What do you think of feminism? Do you prefer the terms human rights or women*****'s rights?

*****¢ Spend 10 minutes writing in your journal about your own views on women*****'s rights and roles. Include in your discussion what term you think is most effective in discussing women*****'s quest for equality.

15) Patterns of Organizations (Read pages 484-491)

Part 1: Page 485 gives you a general idea of the most common pattern followed by authors who write persuasive essays. The pattern is:

*****¢ State a position.

*****¢ Clarify the position.

*****¢ Offer supporting arguments or evidence.

*****¢ Restate the position and make recommendations or judgments based upon it.

As you are reading *****"A Vindication of the Rights of Woman,*****" I*****'d like you to answer the questions posed in the margins on a separate piece of paper or in a blank document. Your answers will help you complete Part 2.

Part 2: After reading, *****"A Vindication of the Rights of Woman*****" I*****'d like you to outline the main points of the essay and show the details that the ***** uses to support them. Your answers to the questions posed in the text will guide you in making your outline. Your outline should be written in outline form (see sample) and should include the main points covered by the author.

Outline:

I. Main Idea A. Supporting Detail

1. Further evidence

2. Further evidence

B. Supporting Detail

1. Further evidence

2. Further evidence

II. Second Main Idea A. Supporting Detail

1. Further evidence

2. Further evidence

B. Supporting Detail

1. Further evidence

2. Further evidence

16) Responding to Literature (Read pages 322-326, 329-334)

1. *****"Of Studies*****" was written almost four hundred years ago. Do you think Bacon*****'s views are still relevant today? Are any of his points outdated? Do you disagree with anything Bacon says? Write a paragraph answering these questions.

2. In the Tilbury Speech, Queen Elizabeth says that she has the body of *****"a weak and feeble woman*****" but *****"the heart and stomach of a king.*****" What inference can you draw about implicit and explicit ideas and assumptions concerning women and men? (An implicit idea is one that is not stated directly and must be inferred from the details. An explicit idea is stated directly). Why do you think she finds it necessary to mention her gender?

3. Review the excerpts from Margaret Cavendish*****'s Female Orations (332). Characterize the speaker in each section. What arguments does each speaker present? What assumptions about women may have been valid in the seventeenth century but are no longer valid today?

4. Each of these writings makes strong claims about the rights of women. Discuss the effectiveness of each text, not only for what it says, but for how it gets its message across. What rhetorical devices do these *****s use? Which *****, in your opinion, creates the most powerful and memorable argument. Your response should be at least three paragraphs long and should list at least four examples of rhetorical devices for each text discussed.

5. Mary Wollstonecraft uses wit and satire throughout the essay whenever she discusses the qualities conventionally assigned to men and to women. List three of those qualities. How does the ***** satirize the belief that educating women will make them masculine?

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