Rules for writers Chapter 48

     Generalizing when making an argument in your writing is not an effective way to get inside your readers head. In order to legitimately create a reasonable argument you must steer away from being completely biased. A good writer can explain both sides of an argument but still stay true to their side of it. Being fair and reasonable is a big part of it.
     There are many different ways to generalize but one that stands out to me is is assumptions which could miss-lead the reader. The way the writer explains the opposing argument tells a lot and also the level and credibility of their sources. This is a good way to tell if the writer is being biased and too extreme.
     Using the readers emotions in your gain can sometimes be used unfairly and I believe I have done this in the past. After reading Hacker's take on argumentative writing will help me write my next relevant essay. I will try to clearly explain both side while I still get my message across. Multiple chapters in Rules for Writers sound repetitive but are very different also. I understand with repetition comes knowledge and mastery. If you want to write good you need to try try try again.

Happy Endings, Obituary, and Oompah Loompah

     The way the author uses humor is pretty interesting. Humor is always in one way or another at someones expense. In the case of her stories the humor is at Lovey's expense. The author used families as a way to amuse the reader through banter between its members.
     In the first story a part that was funny to me was when the preacher thought he was getting through to them but really they were showing emotions because of they're game they play. They would make up endings to the Shirley Temple show. She was never able to see the real endings so from I understood her and grandpa would make them up.
     In the second story the humor was darker. The author joked about the level of intelligence of main characters including Lovey once again who was the victim of the jokes. Her fake obituary read something like "Lovey was stupid stupid stupid" in a humorous manner. It was making death funny in a weird way. It made me think of this quote my mom once told me "Death is completely okay and safe". I also recently witnessed a death in my family so it was hard to see past the obituary talk and see the humor in it but i understood the use of dark humor.
      In the last story once again it was at Lovey's expense and dealt with family. Her mom gave her a perm that was too tight and she looked like a oompah loompah and got that nickname at school. That was a reoccurring theme as well Lovey getting heckled at school. Lovey was the brunt end of majority of the humor in these stories. 

Rules for Writers Ch. 47

     In chapter forty seven it broke down how to get the reader on your side. By the end of your essay you want your reader to either change their mind or even make them biased in your favor. To do this you have to have concrete details to back up your examples and instances. Whether your argument is of good nature or not if you correctly use solid information and in combination with citations use should be able to get them on your side. Sometimes its good to babble but not in this type of debate or argumentative essay you want to be clear, precise, and focused and to do this some extensive research on the writers part is probably required.
     I have a tendency to change me tense of writing and by that I mean, sometimes I go from second to third person point of view which could really mess up my chances for winning over the reader. Besides an analytical essay I find it challenging to write an essay with a focused argument. I want to be a better researcher on my topics and I will focus on it and thats how I plan to use this info from chapter forty seven. Im going to buckle down and concentrate on the research aspect.

Integrity & Honesty

     To achieve integrity its harder than just being honest. To have integrity you must above and beyond honesty. Integrity is like your skin it will always be with you and being stripped of it would hurt. honesty is like your hair it can come and and be changed constantly
 You could move to a new town or country and lie all you want and no one would know but your integrity would shine right through and thats only if you have any.
    To acheive integrity you must be true to yourself and others and have morals and goals and follow through with them. Also you might want to listen to that little voice in the back of your mind its called a conscience and for the average non criminal human being it usually is on the right path. Lying will infringe on your integrity but wont destroy it. To compromise your integrity you got to be cruel to fellow human beings and have a pattern or habit of lying to yourself.

Relation To A Character

Home

            The story Coming Home Again written by Chang-rae Lee felt like it was written directly to me in many ways. It spoke of a family and relationships and within it including love, regrets, frustration, and change. My story doesn’t exactly directly parallel it but it definitely had some similarities.

            About six years ago my grandfather passed away. He lived in Florida with grandma and she was his primary caretaker he wasn’t in bad shape or anything but she would do laundry, cooking, and organizing all aspects of their lives. So when he passed away she felt kind of useless and lonely so we moved her out here in California to live with me and my dad. I was living on my own in Santa Rosa but when she moved out here but I moved back home to help with family. The majority of the time while she was here she was doing pretty well. She went to her luncheons every other Monday and she also loved going to the River Rock casino every Tuesday for senior day. She also enjoyed cooking and taking care of family very much.

            During her time with us in California she taught me how to cook some of her favorite dishes and the recipes were not written down or recorded in a physical manner but the were in her mind. She didn’t have the best memory but some things she never forgot. She taught me how to make matzo ball soup, a family recipe for brisket, and some potato pancakes or latkes. The time we shared in the kitchen was priceless and it meant a lot to both of us even if she was a tough little lady from Brooklyn and she wasn’t always patient I knew she only meant well in her words and actions. As time went on she would get sick for a month or so but then make a full recovery. It wasn’t until the last six months she was here that her health really began to decline.

            She was always on oxygen but it wasn’t until this time that she started taking liquid medication and began losing her appetite. At night I could hear the rhythmic sound of her oxygen machine and with each pump of the machine I would envision that it was her lungs and when it would take a long gap between pumps I would get silent and still until I heard it again. Near the end of her life she would call out the names of passed loved ones as if she was getting closer to them or could feel their presence. The name calling would disturb me because I thought she was in distress or sad but when I would go check on her she was sound asleep laying in bed peacefully. It was when she got sick the role change completed its transformation from her being a caretaker to me and my dad taking care of her. It was hard for her she didn’t want to let go and change was a very hard thing for her to deal with. In fact she completely fought change and acted tuff about it but I believe she was sad and depressed. She would come in the kitchen as we would be preparing and cooking food and she would begin to get bossy and demanding but I took it with a grain of salt out of respect and love. In Jewish families the grandmother or bubby as I would call her is the matriarch of the family like in a herd of elephants. She was the strongest woman I have ever known besides my mother.

            She had always felt as if here in California with us wasn’t her home. The only time I had felt as if she could call it her home was when she was teaching me and telling me how to cook and take care of things in the kitchen. As if the kitchen brought her back to life a little bit or maybe it was the bond we had it made it feel like she was home.

            This feeling represented home much more than the physical structure with lived under. Just like in the story told by Chang-rae Lee home wasn’t an actual location it was the act of sharing time and space with loved ones. The kitchen and bond we both shared was home to her and me as well. Change is inevitable and she fought it most of the time except when cooking she was comfortable in the kitchen. But she didn’t accept change until the time she passed away. Now that she is gone the house feels very empty. I still listen for her oxygen machine but it is never on anymore. Like a life-force was ripped away from us and left us with an empty room but I know she is in a happier place and doesn’t have to suffer anymore. The bond in the kitchen though still remains I know she is with me. So please accept change or it will leave you behind. 

Rules for Writers ch. 4

     In chapter four it focuses on paragraph development and different patterns of organization. In order to have a effective and clear essay you want to start your paragraphs with a good topic sentences and you want the following sentences to stick to that main point. Developing the main point is crucial to persuading your reader to think about your topic in such a way that you alter their process of thought.

     The other part of chapter four explains the use of different patterns of organization. There are quite a few but my favorite is description. Descriptive words really stimulate the brain and can even give you vivid images in your mind or activate your other senses. I would like to use other patterns though because I'm comfortable with descriptive essays so I think I should try a different pattern once in a while so I can activate my brain so I can learn something new and very useful. A analytical essay seems to be the biggest challenge for me.

Shooting Dad

     The significance of this title is that her father wanted to cremated and shot out of a cannon because he loved his art so much. He wanted his family to take his ashes and the homemade cannon into the mountains and make a ceremony out of it. In the ceremony I believe that he wanted all the things he loved to be apart of it.
     On the other hand the other significance of the title is that she finally decided to be apart  of a shooting session in the mountains but she was filming him on camera using his new cannon. Filming being another word for shooting.To me it was more significant that he wanted his ashes to be shot out of a cannon and the shooting of the film would be the runner up.