Nick's Journal

Gatsby is a nice guy overall but I feel as if he was using me. At first, him using me was unintentional but once I brought the two together, I couldn't get out of it. They wouldn't let me leave. For some reason, they felt more comfortable with my presence. Once the two were together and had finished touring the house, I left without being noticed since they were so infatuated with each other. Daisy may not be doing the smartest thing since Tom seems to be abusive. It is obvious that Daisy loves being with Gatsby, now that I have brought the two together but Tom would be infuriated if he found out.

Daisy is showing true emotion now. I thought she was empty because she never expressed her true emotions. She seemed to not have any at all. I think Gatsby brought out the true emotion in her and made her become human again with her emotions. She cried, she smiled, she genuinely laughed. She was full of feelings.

Tom is very hypocritical for being with Myrtle but yet being so controlling over Daisy's actions. I am scared for what might happen if Tom finds out about this affair.

I think it is obvious to myself that I love Jordan. There is something about her that I love. Maybe it is her manipulative, deceiving ways. Or maybe it is the way she understands me.

BP Propaganda

Video 1
Techniques-
     Testimonial: Emeril
Fallacies-
     agrgumentum ad ignorantiam: People don't know what's actually going on
     observational selection: Pointed out all the "good" things going on but not the actual bad things.

Videos 2 and 3
Techniques-
     Transfer: Associates BP with the positive image of the Olympics
Fallacies-
     non sequitor: The association of the two don't follow or make sense
     red herring: They try to divert the attention of the spill over to the Olympians

Video 4
Techniques-
     Plain Folks: People just like us
Fallacies-
     half truths: They support many jobs but ignore the fact of the bad oil spill

This Land is Your Land

Guthrie portrays his view of America in this song. He believes that the government tries to cover up the real America that isn't as good as it seems with this image of a perfect society. We see this in the line reading, "And on the sign it said 'No Trespassing,' But on the other side it didn't say nothing." This shows that the government has areas we are not supposed to see represented with the "No Trespassing" sign. Away from this sign, the narrator was able to freely wander, showing how this is the part of America the government wants us to see. He uses imagery throughout the beginning of the song to portray the "perfect" America such as "ribbon of highway," "endless skyway," and "golden valley." These make the audience visualize this great land that belongs to us ("This land is your land. This land is my land.") but when he sees the reality of America, such as his hungry people in the shadow of the steeple, he realizes the underlying situation of this illusuion of a "perfect" land created by the government.

Where Have You Gone Charming Billy?

The setting and the mood of the passage influence the reader's feeling towards PFC Paul Berlin by making the reader sympathetic. The setting of the exert is during a time of war. The soldiers are quietly moving along with a sense of fear and tiredness about them. The passage says, "...some of them afraid, some of them exhausted from the long night march, some of them looking forward to reaching the sea where they would be safe." This shows how the soldiers had been up all night without rest but they must continue on. The reader then feels sympathetic for the soldiers because they can't rest and they can't return home; they have to go on. It is also a gloomy and solemn mood set up by the author. Words like "slowly in the dark," "single file," and "not talking," are used. This makes us understand the seriousness of the situation. The soldiers take their job seriously and aren't even communicating with one another. The setting and then the mood set us up to view PFC Paul Berlin in this sympathetic way, especially when he starts referring to his childhood. He does this to take his mind off of the real situation at hand and the fear going through his mind. The reader sympathizes with the soldier, wanting him to be able to rest and return home safely.

Commercials

1. Corn Flakes- This ad uses ethos when they say the corn flakes are made from corn because it makes them more credible since they are using real ingredients. This ad also uses half truths by saying the corn flakes are made with corn but they don't say what else is in them.
2. Alka Seltzer- This ad uses ethos by saying they are "better than any other." The fallacy used was argument from omniscience because they say they are better than anything.
3. Delk- Logos is used when they use the facts of it only taking 6 minutes and telling what the price is.

Chain Gang

Once the African Americans were freed, they were imprisoned. When they were slaves, they were all chained together in a “chain gang.” Now that they were supposedly free, they still felt that they were in chain gangs because of all the hard work they had to do and that they need to move away from it.

People probably liked this song because it expressed motivation and a hard work ethic. One line says, "See my woman, who I love so dear, but I, I've got to work right here." This shows that he wants to be back home with his woman but he knows he needs to work.

"Soma"

People don't want to face the real world and are never satisfied. The song hints at the way people avoid the bad things in life and try pretending like they are not there. It says, "Soma is what they would take when hard times opened their eyes." Whenever something bad was happening, people would look to a solution at hand that didn't really change or solve the actual bad thing happening. The real world around them is still there but the soma asks the problem. The song says, "Saw pain in a new way," meaning the world is still there, they just aren't seeing it clearly for what it is. Once people cover up reality with something else, this never stops. The people will never be satisfied. "And these friends, they keep asking for more." This quote shows how it is a never ending cycle in order to avoidthe bad things in life.

Sentence analysis:

1. Topic sentence and theme
2. Support #1 and connects theme to song
3. Example for support #1
4. Explanation of quote and connects to topic sentence
5. Support #2, extends topic sentence
6. Example of support #2 and quote explanation, leads to support #3
7. Support #3, back to topic sentence
8. Example of support #3
9. Sums up support #3 and connects to topic sentence