Jaci Illuminati Owen-Bigler

Blog 1, Learning Outcome 2

     The gap between 1964 and 2011 doesn’t seem like a big one, what’s 47 years?  In his moving and inspiring book, Why We Can’t Wait, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. bridges the void between past and present with his impeccable diction and ability to demonstrate human traits that we still exhibit today.  One of the biggest changes we’ve experienced since the turbulent 60’s is the use and connotation of the word, “nigger.”  Dr. King writes, “The Negro in Birmingham, like the Negro elsewhere in the nation, had been skillfully brainwashed to the point where he had accepted the white man’s theory that he, as a Negro, was inferior.”  Dr. King also writes, "Negroes are human, not superhuman."  This sentence goes to show that blacks were no different then any other race, except for the fact that they were fighting for their freedom and winning it, but it was never just handed to them.  The word “Negro,” the root of “nigger” was a word of such negative feelings, used to make African-Americans feel secondary compared to whites at the time.  The word dates so far back, to the days of slavery, when blacks working in cotton fields were called, “niggers” and nothing else.  It’s easy to see how such language was used to condemn people and make them feel inferior to others, but the part that’s a little more complicated, is how the word and world has evolved.  Nowadays, the word “nigger,” and its spinoff, “nigga,” are used as endearing terms, something to describe a brother or close friend.  Its crazy how a word, one that in Dr. King’s book and one that used to be so degrading is now used as a term of friendship.  Language changes so massively from one generation to the next.

Blog 2, Learning Outcome 3

     In Miguel de Cervantes’ timeless piece, El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha, we learn of an elder who has lost his wits due to Schizophrenia, and now, after reading countless tales of knights and the like, also believes he is caballero.  Here, you can find the link to this piece which was originally written in Spanish and has been translated for all to enjoy, http://mgarci.aas.duke.edu/celestina/EDICIONES-BILINGUES/INGLES/DQ-1-01.HTM. The story’s first volume was written in 1605, with the second following in 1615, both were written with an extreme awareness of language, which was greatly shaped by the culture of that era.  At the time, knighthood was something very trendy, everyone wanted to be a knight, write about being a night, or marry a knight, which is why Cervantes made it his mission to include other author’s works in his own.  Cervantes writes, “He approved highly of the giant Morgante, because, although of the giant breed which is always arrogant and ill-conditioned, he alone was affable and well-bred. But above all he admired Reinaldos of Montalban, especially when he saw him sallying forth from his castle and robbing everyone he met, and when beyond the seas he stole that image of Mahomet which, as his history says, was entirely of gold.” Cervantes’ story is not the only thing shaped by the caballero culture of that time, but the title character, don Quijote, also tries to compare himself to other knights from that era and previous ones.  Cervantes also follows the caballero code of the time, equipping don Quijote with all the traits any knight would have, including courtesy towards all women, having a damsel who he constantly dedicates his battles to, having a sidekick, fighting wrongdoers, and being honorable.  In the story, as don Quijote is deciding who shall be his damsel, Cervantes writes the following, “So then, his armour being furbished, his morion turned into a helmet, his hack christened, and he himself confirmed, he came to the conclusion that nothing more was needed now but to look out for a lady to be in love with; for a knight-errant without love was like a tree without leaves or fruit, or a body without a soul.”  Readers of this piece always enjoy the fact that it is greatly shaped by the culture of that time and that the language is directly affected by the costumes of that era.

Blog 3

          Jimi Hendrix once said, “I’m the one that’s got to die when it’s time for me to die, so let me live my life the way I want to.”  I couldn’t agree more.  Who are you to tell me what to do?  Who are you to hold me back?  I understand that there are limits, sure, we can’t all go out and trip on acid for days at a time, but what’s a little experimenting?  Not that I’m into that.  Me?  I want to zip line through the Costa Rican rain forest and ride the Eurail as far as it will take me, it’s my life.  Make a bucket list, then do everything on it, who are they to stop you?  They tell you to obey the Man, so you think you need to stick up to the Man, forget that, you need to be the Man; the leader of your own life.

     In my paragraph, I used the technique of rhetorical questions.  By using this technique, I make the audience really think about the topic at hand; think about all the possibilities of their lives if they lived without boundaries and without fear.  The rhetorical questions not only prompt the reader to think about my life, but also their own.  By saying, “Who are you to tell me what to do?” the audience is able to ask themselves who is stopping and limiting them.  Rhetorical questions really draw the reader in to the specific piece, giving them something to think about as it applies to their own lives and situations.