The Diary of Cotton Mather Analysis
Cotton Mather's diary is like everyone else's diaries. He creates his entries to reflect and for something to look back on himself. He talks about his daily life and the problems that he encounters throughout his day. One particular thing that he talks about is a "gentlewoman". Because he has just become a widow, he tries to resist the urge of this lady. In his diary, he writes about what decisions he should make about the "gentlewoman" and he ties his religiousness into his prose as well. To me, it seems like his diary is referencing the way that the Puritans thought. Puritans were extremely religious beings and looked down upon anything that was considered odd or unnatural. Cotton Mather's diary shows how this man was in a mental conflict with himself because of the way he thought that others would think of him.
Cotton Mather's diary is like everyone else's diaries. He creates his entries to reflect and for something to look back on himself. He talks about his daily life and the problems that he encounters throughout his day. One particular thing that he talks about is a "gentlewoman". Because he has just become a widow, he tries to resist the urge of this lady. In his diary, he writes about what decisions he should make about the "gentlewoman" and he ties his religiousness into his prose as well. To me, it seems like his diary is referencing the way that the Puritans thought. Puritans were extremely religious beings and looked down upon anything that was considered odd or unnatural. Cotton Mather's diary shows how this man was in a mental conflict with himself because of the way he thought that others would think of him.
How to Write with Style
CLAIM: Sounding like yourself is a good thing to do when writing.
DATA: Sounding like yourself makes the writing more important.
WARRANT: Sounding like oneself will give a writer's work more depth.
One of Vonnegurt's rules on how to write with style is " Find a subject you care about". I agree with this statement because if you do not write about something that you have a passion for or are interested in, your writing will show that you do not care. If you write about something you like, it will be easier to write many things about that subject than it would be when writing about something that you do not care about. It will help an individual's writing when following this rule on how to write with style.
CLAIM: Sounding like yourself is a good thing to do when writing.
DATA: Sounding like yourself makes the writing more important.
WARRANT: Sounding like oneself will give a writer's work more depth.
One of Vonnegurt's rules on how to write with style is " Find a subject you care about". I agree with this statement because if you do not write about something that you have a passion for or are interested in, your writing will show that you do not care. If you write about something you like, it will be easier to write many things about that subject than it would be when writing about something that you do not care about. It will help an individual's writing when following this rule on how to write with style.
The Overture Analysis
In the Crucible's overture, the history of how the Salem Witch trials came to be and the mindset of the Puritans of that time are revealed. The Puritans are full of fear. They believe that God's wrath is upon them and is punishing them for every single bad thing that they do. Out of paranoia, the Puritans come to accuse others of Satanist practices to get rid of the "surrounding evil in the society". Anything that is slightly edging away from normalcy is considered wrong or suspicious. Miller gives us information regarding the ways on why the witch trials came to be a hysteria. Because the Puritans were mainly focused on their religion, they wanted to get rid of anything that was not holy. Creating the witch trials allowed the people to accuse others of wrongdoing and also allowed the people of the colony to admit to their own sins as well.
In the Crucible's overture, the history of how the Salem Witch trials came to be and the mindset of the Puritans of that time are revealed. The Puritans are full of fear. They believe that God's wrath is upon them and is punishing them for every single bad thing that they do. Out of paranoia, the Puritans come to accuse others of Satanist practices to get rid of the "surrounding evil in the society". Anything that is slightly edging away from normalcy is considered wrong or suspicious. Miller gives us information regarding the ways on why the witch trials came to be a hysteria. Because the Puritans were mainly focused on their religion, they wanted to get rid of anything that was not holy. Creating the witch trials allowed the people to accuse others of wrongdoing and also allowed the people of the colony to admit to their own sins as well.
Plato and Edwards Analysis
Plato has an allegory of a cave. He mentions that a shadow on a cave wall is seen by a prisoner his whole life and when he finally turns, he sees the amazing light. Because the prisoner is enlightened when he finally turns to see the brightness, I think that it is symbolic of new beginnings and rebirth. Edwards created a sermon that is called "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God". Mr. Walters read some of his sermon to us in class! :) Edwards gives his audience something to worry about because he mentions that God will choose when their foot slides from the path and into darkness. I noticed that both speakers/ authors use repetition a lot to get their point across and to make sure the listeners are paying attention.
Plato has an allegory of a cave. He mentions that a shadow on a cave wall is seen by a prisoner his whole life and when he finally turns, he sees the amazing light. Because the prisoner is enlightened when he finally turns to see the brightness, I think that it is symbolic of new beginnings and rebirth. Edwards created a sermon that is called "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God". Mr. Walters read some of his sermon to us in class! :) Edwards gives his audience something to worry about because he mentions that God will choose when their foot slides from the path and into darkness. I noticed that both speakers/ authors use repetition a lot to get their point across and to make sure the listeners are paying attention.
Thomas Paine’s Common Sense Rhetorical Analysis- word count is 517
In his book Common Sense, Thomas Paine uses persuasion to get his point across and logical arguments to support his claims. He justifies the views and thoughts that are being discussed concerning the actions of American people. The audience that this writing is intended for is the belligerent and suffering colonists. Paine wants them to realize that they need to take a stand, stop being pushed around by the British, and to separate from their parent country. Thomas Paine is very composed in his writing because he urges the American people to understand that breaking away from Britain is the right and simple thing to do. Paine’s argument mainly articulates a fallacy. He is saying that the American people need to choose between going to war against their leader, Britain, or fall into a life of submission and defeat. When looking further into the text, we see that Thomas Paine has several logical points in his book. Although he gives the reader these logical points, he occasionally bases his argument on a fallacy.
Thomas Paine starts out by saying, “In the following pages, I offer nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and common sense” (326). This appeals to Paine’s credibility and ethos. He does not want to make it seem like he is self-centered, so he makes it seem like the words that he is saying comes naturally because it is the simple truth that everyone should know. Paine makes himself seem to be a person of understanding, willingness to listen to others, and humbleness. Thomas Paine also argues that the conflict in which the American people are in right now is something to be dealt with immediately because of its seriousness: “Volumes have been written on the subject of the struggle between England and America” (326). Thomas Paine makes the conflict between the two countries seem like a really big deal. He makes the audience feel like their individual actions are important. By lifting the ego of the common people and making it seem like their voice and ideas can change the world, Paine successfully gets his point across to the reader and audience.
In the end, Thomas Paine assaults the views of the government of the British people. He says that change needs to happen because they are currently being suppressed by British monarchy power. He uses a logical fallacy by saying that the lack of contradiction from those against separation hasn’t come to the general public. This must mean that the arguments for the separation of British and America are correct and justified. He also uses religion to persuade the colonists to join him in the separation. He claims that it is the right and duty of the Christians to break off from the corrupt power. Thomas Paine realizes that to get his argument across, he must utilize his rhetoric to convince the colonists of secession. Paine speaks as though he and the audience are about to go through something and that their decisions are crucial in whether they come out of this problem successfully or horribly.
In his book Common Sense, Thomas Paine uses persuasion to get his point across and logical arguments to support his claims. He justifies the views and thoughts that are being discussed concerning the actions of American people. The audience that this writing is intended for is the belligerent and suffering colonists. Paine wants them to realize that they need to take a stand, stop being pushed around by the British, and to separate from their parent country. Thomas Paine is very composed in his writing because he urges the American people to understand that breaking away from Britain is the right and simple thing to do. Paine’s argument mainly articulates a fallacy. He is saying that the American people need to choose between going to war against their leader, Britain, or fall into a life of submission and defeat. When looking further into the text, we see that Thomas Paine has several logical points in his book. Although he gives the reader these logical points, he occasionally bases his argument on a fallacy.
Thomas Paine starts out by saying, “In the following pages, I offer nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and common sense” (326). This appeals to Paine’s credibility and ethos. He does not want to make it seem like he is self-centered, so he makes it seem like the words that he is saying comes naturally because it is the simple truth that everyone should know. Paine makes himself seem to be a person of understanding, willingness to listen to others, and humbleness. Thomas Paine also argues that the conflict in which the American people are in right now is something to be dealt with immediately because of its seriousness: “Volumes have been written on the subject of the struggle between England and America” (326). Thomas Paine makes the conflict between the two countries seem like a really big deal. He makes the audience feel like their individual actions are important. By lifting the ego of the common people and making it seem like their voice and ideas can change the world, Paine successfully gets his point across to the reader and audience.
In the end, Thomas Paine assaults the views of the government of the British people. He says that change needs to happen because they are currently being suppressed by British monarchy power. He uses a logical fallacy by saying that the lack of contradiction from those against separation hasn’t come to the general public. This must mean that the arguments for the separation of British and America are correct and justified. He also uses religion to persuade the colonists to join him in the separation. He claims that it is the right and duty of the Christians to break off from the corrupt power. Thomas Paine realizes that to get his argument across, he must utilize his rhetoric to convince the colonists of secession. Paine speaks as though he and the audience are about to go through something and that their decisions are crucial in whether they come out of this problem successfully or horribly.