“Mother Tongue” Response Questions

1. The expression used in Amy Tan’s title, “Mother Tongue,” is also used in paragraph seven.

What does this expression generally mean? What does it seem to mean in this essay?

This expression generally means how she speaks. In this essay it is basically how she only understand what and how her mother speaks, which goes back to the shows she watches.

2. Tan uses dialogue throughout the essay…why do you think she does this? What purpose does

it serve? Which sentences of dialogue do you find particularly effective, and why?

I think she use dialogue to help us see how someone talks. It helps give us more insight. One dialogue I like was when she was acting like her mother and how she translated what her mother said into a lot smoother words.

3. In what ways did outsiders (like bankers and waiters) make judgments of Tan’s mother

because of her language? Do you think the judgments where deliberate or unconscious on their

part? Explain.

She felt outsiders treated her mother poorly just because she didn't speak perfect english. I think the judgments were not deliberate just probably little shorter tempered because it was hard to understand her.

"How Do We Find the Student...?" Blog

In this world today there is not one person who is exactly the same as another person. There are so many people out there it would be almost impossible to find two people who were exactly the same and that is what makes this world so unique. To me this is a very good thing; because if people were to alike this world would be a very boring one.

I grew up in a small to medium size town I would say. Our school was more on the smaller side I guess you could say. I graduated with around one hundred and twenty five people or so and our class was actually one of the bigger ones. That may sound small but our school had all kinds of personalities in it just like any other school.

There is of course the motor heads. These are the guys and occasional girl who just absolutely just love cars and motors. These kids are the ones who will maybe go to school for two years and then plan to work on cars and cars only and who am I to say that is not important. We need those people in our world to if we didn’t have these people what would you do when your car wouldn’t work, so these people are just as important as the doctors in a way.

There is the class clown who nobody takes serious. This could be boy or girl. They usually do pretty good in school but nothing to extraordinary. The thing about these people is that they actually turn out to me on the more successful side once they finally grow up. They were a clown but that does nothing but help their career excel.

There is the wide guy, who puts more effort in finding loopholes than just doing it the normal way. This person is usually average on general knowledge, but very high in common sense. This person very well could end up any where from jail for a scam, in a factory, or leading a multimillion-dollar company. These people usually get along with everyone.

There is the silent one who you barely know exists and that not because you are to good its just simple because they want it like that. They usually just keep to there selves and like it like that. They usually are about average in school and have zero athletic ability, so they spend most of there time sitting in library or cafeteria. They usually have no ambition to go to college they see that ass pointless and a bunch of preppy kids finding an excuse not to get a job for another four years, so you will usually see them at your local gas stations or local factories and again nothing wrong with that.

There is the preppy- all-star, who is hated and loved the most at the same time. He usually is arrogant cocky and loves all the attention. He thinks he can get any girl he wants with ease and usually can. He also does not associate with many underclassmen unless you’re a pretty girl. He usually gets what he want when he wants and loves getting everything handed to him. Then when he goes off to college he realizes there are tons of guys just like him out there and can not take and ends up going home working in factory and starts a family at young age. As he gets older and older he strays from the spotlight and just sits in stands at every sport event wishing he could go back in time.

There is the runner-up, runner up being the guy just below the supposed preppy all-start. He usually is a best friend with the preppy all-star, but normally more people actually like him than they do the all-star, but he doesn’t know it. He is usually well like by all his peers and teachers. They all see him as the all around nice guy. He usually goes on to excel after high school and college. He moves a way and is a very humble and very successful individual but does not forget were he came from. He actually normally grows old and moves back to the old town to make sure everyone and everything is still going smoothly.

There is the band geek; the leader of the band and that is about it. They usually have a stranger personality but unique in there own way. The bands kids all are usually pretty good in school. Good portions of them attends college and do very well in life. Some come back and other moves away.

High schools are made up of all kinds of different personalities. I don’t see that as a bad thing at all because if we all were the same it would be pretty boring. That is why I am very proud of were I am from and who I went to school with I don’t feel like there is not one individual that I graduated with that I would be ashamed to say I knew them. I plan to attend every reunion no matter what.

“How Do We Find the Student…?” Response Questions

1. This essay appeared in The Chronicle of Higher Education, a weekly publication for college

and university professors and administrators. How do you think this audience influenced Baker’s

analysis of types of students? What about his tone and language?

I think writing for a college magazine that is mainly read by professor and administrators influenced him greatly to write about this. I think his tone is a more serious one but at the same time also kind of laid back to.

2. Baker deliberately creates, rather than avoids, stereotypes to establish exaggerated

representatives of types…do you think his classifications are fair? Do they accurately reflect the

whole spectrum of students? Why or why not?

I think his stereotypes are all very close and we all could understand who he was talking about and yes it is very fair. I feel like it does reflect the spectrum of students very accurately I could picture someone for every type he described. I thought he was very on point.

3. This article was published in 1982: How well have Baker’s classifications held up to present

conditions? How closely do they mirror the student population at USI? Explain your answer.

I think Baker is still very on point with his types of people. I think he hit a type for at every college. I feel every college as the same type of kids we just don't really think about it.

"Why We Crave Horror Movies" Blog

As most kids my age could attest that we all have watched are fair share of TV and I will not lie I fit into that group also. I have watched TV my whole life. I mean it has just always been around, so why not. I don’t think everything on TV is bad either there are lots of good show out there and yes maybe we would be better of reading but were not.

My childhood was no different then any other normal childhood. I first began watching cartoons. I can remember it as if it was yesterday I would always be sitting at the babysitters every morning watching the same thing the Flintstones. That of course was my first cartoon I was into. Then after the Flintstones came the power rangers and the ninja turtles. I absolutely loved them both. I know some people see those shows and violent and not suited for children, but every episode did have a good meaning even though I will admit I did not know it at the time but they did. They all incorporate the core values of being nice to others not stealing, and the bad guy of course never wins. The shows did of some good to them. I can remember a episode of power rangers were they took there day off and helped the homeless and fed them, so these shows must not be to bad if I can remember that fifteen years later.

The next TV shows I started getting into after the cartoons was of course the family shows. I forgot to mention we live in the country so for a good while we only had around five of the basic channels, so I did not have a lot to pick from. That might have been good though I will say I was outside a lot more than normal kids, but I still got my fair share of TV watching in. Now on to the family shows I watched. I think the next shows I started to enjoy would probably have to be full house and home improvement. Both these shows were about family and they talked about how all family’s have the same type of problems. They showed us that were not crazy for having the problems all normal family’s have. These show also taught us that yes we will have problems but in the end our parents are probably looking out for our best interest. These shows always had a serious part and made sure the lesson learned was recognized but the also were very funny shows to. These shows were the type of shows a family could sit down and watch and enjoy the evening together. I to this day still watch these show if I see it on so they must not be too bad.

My next stage of shows was around my junior high days of finding my self so I guess these shows of course are not nearly as good for everyone as full house and home improvement. This was the time I started watching stuff on MTV, VH1, ESPN, USA and TBS shows. Shows such as TRL and fresh prince of bell air, sportscenter, and shows like that. We obviously stepped up in the world and finally got cable, forgot to mention that. My favorite show in junior high had to be sportscenter, basically anything on MTV and VH1. These shows were just the cool thing to watch so I did and I enjoyed them. I will admit some shows on MTV were a little risky, but hey got to grow up sometime. I feel like it was better to see and learn certain stuff that way other than having to experience it first hand. I actually took a lot of it in and learn what not to do and what to do. What was good and bad. For all those people out there that just thing all we watch is trash and some of it might be, but what those people don’t know is that we of course are taking it in and making mental notes. These shows that are a little more worse than others always have a disclaimer warning you certain things they are about to show may offend you. When you see that you decide then do I want to watch it or not. I don’t feel like anybody is forcing anybody to watch these show. I to this day still basically watch the show I watch when I was in junior high. I feel yes we maybe shouldn’t be watching as much tv as we do but I also think at the same time I would not know some things that are good things to know if it were not for TV and I don’t think TVs are going any where so better just get use to it and choose what you watch wisely.

“Why We Crave Horror Stories” Response Questions

1. Does this essay have an explicitly stated thesis? If so, what is it? If you believe the thesis is

implied, state it in your own words.

I do no think the author really explicitly states the thesis. I feel like he implies the thesis with his title.

2. Besides cause and effect, what other modes of writing that we’ve studied (comparison and

contrast, definition, description, illustration, narration, and process) does King use to develop his

essay? Provide examples from the essay for each mode you list.

I feel like illustration is a big one that he uses. Especially when he states certain things in such great detail such as If we are all insane, then sanity becomes a matter of degree. If your insanity leads you to carve up women like Jack the Ripper or the Cleveland Torso Murderer, we clap you away in the funny farm (but neither of those two amateur-night surgeons was ever caught, heh-heh-heh); if, on the other

hand, your insanity leads you only to talk to yourself when you're under stress or to pick your nose on the morning bus, then you are left alone to go about your business...though it is doubtful that you will ever be invited to the best parties.

3. The last paragraph of this essay is a single sentence. Why do you think King chose to write

such a short concluding paragraph? What effect does it have on the reader?

I feel like yes it is only one sentence but it is a sentence that says a lot and as a reader it put a good lasting impression on me. Therefore the effect was good.

"I Want a Wife" Blog

I am very far from this but I would really love for my life to become this. I am a member of the United States of America society. I am also I member of the under paid society so that is why I would love to have the perfect life.

I would love to start college all over and average a 4.o grade point average though out my whole college career. This would help me have the perfect life. I would love to date all the prettiest and smartest girls though out college it would definitely be the perfect life. I love to have the biggest and best parties and they all they would be say at the same time, which would be the perfect life. Having all these big perfect parties would also lead to me having tons of great friends and a perfect life needs great friends. I would love to go four years of college and not study. I would love to have the best and most fun college internships. I would love to have the nicest cars and house in college. I would love for all the professors to love me. I want the perfect life of doing all these with out worrying about money. A perfect life would also have me as a star-athlete at the biggest and best school. A perfect life would entail me graduating with a 4.0 and having a nice desk job waiting for me when I graduated debt free.

A perfect life would have me marry the prettiest and smartest girl along with a good job. In a perfect life we would have the perfect little house. The perfect life would also have the biggest and most beautiful wedding you could imagine. We would also have all our friends and familiar there. A perfect life would let us go on a two-week extravagant honeymoon worry free no problems. In a perfect life we would never fight and always be happy without being fake. A perfect life would allow me to have a perfect job with no stress and also be very successful at the same time. In the perfect life I would work hard and important people would see that and I would get promoted, and along with being promoted I would also get a hefty bump in my salary. The salary bump would be so substantial that we would start building our dream house. The reason for us needing our dream house would be because we are now having a baby and this will not be the only one of course it would be one of five perfect kids. The kids would all be very perfect in everyway. The kids would be very smart and very athletic at the same time. In a perfect life I would have three boys and two girls. In a perfect life if would of course alternate boy girl, boy, girl, boy. The oldest boy of course would be all there role models. The boys would play every sport basketball, baseball, and football. The boys of course would excel in every sport also. In a perfect world they all would be captains on every team and every kid would look up to them. The boys would also excel in the classroom also. They all would be 4.0 students just like their mother and father. In a perfect life they all would get full rides to college were they also would excel. In a perfect life the girls would also play many sports and be cheerleaders. The girls would play basketball volleyball and be cheerleaders. They would be very beautiful and perfect daughters no attitude at all. They both would excel in school and of course be valedictorians. They would go on to college on full rides and become lawyers and doctors.

“I Want a Wife” Response Questions

1. Does this essay have an explicitly stated thesis? If so, what is it? If you believe the thesis is

implied, paraphrase it in your own words.

I feel like the thesis is very explicitly stated. I think the thesis is obviously the expectations of a wife. For example in the essay they state that

I want a wife who is a good nurturant attendant to my children, who arranges for their schooling, makes sure they have an

adequate social life with their peers, takes them to the park, the zoo, etc. I want a wife who takes

care of the children when they are sick, a wife who arranges to be around when the children need

special care, because, of course, I cannot miss classes at school. My wife must arrange to lose

time at work and not lose the job.

2. Throughout the essay, Brady repeats the words “I want a wife.” What is the effect of this

repetition?

I feel like this has a big effect on this essay. I feel like that is what they were trying to do to point out what they want a wife to do.

3. Brady never uses the personal pronouns he or she to refer to the wife she defines. Why not?

I think Brady never uses the personal pronoun he or she just to keep your mind wondering and it did do that to me.

4. The first and last paragraphs of this essay are quite brief. Why do you think Brady chose to

write such short introductory and concluding paragraphs? What effect does it have on the

reader?

I think the author maybe does this to point out how much a wife does compared to the other person in the story. They explain how much they expect the wife to do and are very brief on their duties.

5. Do you think Brady really wants the kind of wife she describes—does this ideal spouse

actually exist? Explain why you think Brady wrote this essay.

I actually don't think this is the wife Brady wants. I don't think this spouse does exist. I think Brady wrote this to show that it would be impossible for a wife to be this perfect wife, that all men think they should have.