Advanced Reading, Writing, and Grammar

Dear all,

Here is your homework for the weekend. 

Saturday 

1) Post your response to Monster on purpose, tone, main ideas, and evidence and write comments on 2 classmates’ responses.

2) Join your grammar blog and begin collaborating as a study group.  Share links and materials, create assignments, complete and check them together.  Continue into Sunday.

Sunday

3) Post a speculative response to any connections you see between Turner, Crevecouer, and Shakur.  Write comments on 2 classmates’ responses.

Have a great weekend.

Eric

Although I prefer to read classical writers and never have been interested in such kind of genre like “Monster Kody Scott”, I have found the autobiography of Sanyika Shakur very attractive. From the first lines I could not stop myself to read the story about early “feats” of young gangs. The world of violence and ferocity always provoked in my mind curiosity and wish to understand people’s behavior. Here Sanyika explanes his impulse for choise of being a Monster. His environment served a reason and created favourable conditions for growing a vicious perception in his soul. His and his friends most important values were power, control and reputation. The writer eloquently reveals gangs’ agressive attitude towards enemies. Each narrated fragment create vivid scenes, as episod with his mother. His text is rich in specific expressions and remarks. The book seemed so interesting to me, that I have found information in Internet and was pleased to learn that Sanyika eventually changed his life principles and after revaluation in jail become a “crusader against the causes of gansterizm”. The “Monster Kody Scott” is the story of transformation of a main heroe from young killer to a mature man.

#2. American exceptionalism is strong belief of the first settlers that they create a new country with own unique way with democracy, indvidualism and form of admisnistration. People from Europe influenced by new conditions and understanding new roles as a pioneers, heroes, used a chance to establish a different type of government, independant from religion.

#3. The Western collonization is a determinative charcteristic of American history. The frontier process was not just a displacement or destruction of aboriginal civilization, it was a conflict of barbarian and settler and the result of events that occured on the new land, was a profound changes of both sides. A new Euro-American civilization was established on this continent. Aboriginal America in its term in territorial, demografic, social and cultural relations became a marginal.  All these events became a presuppositions for “Americanization”.

 Asel

The process is when the immigrants turn into Americans. This process proceeds in a few levels and it is easy. These levels are: race mixture, no specific national characteristics, liberty.

John

He said that the Americans have ideas such as individualism, Independence, liberty, political awareness; that makes them unique. his evidence based in anecdotes and examples.

John

The frontier thesis is the border between wildness and politeness. The frontier built up the whole nation and helped to develop idea, such as: individualism, liberty, Independence.

John

This essay from Frederic Turner is about his frontier thesis in America. The first American frontier came from the European frontier and started from the Atlantic coast. As the nation continuous expanding the basic frontier break into smaller frontiers.

Also there was antagonism between the frontiers.As a result, the different classes of immigrants came up. The pioneers, those who purchase land and the men of capital. One of the situations that is going to extinct was the separation between slaves and free.

The frontier was a production of individualism and from that process American nationalism and Independence rose. But the frontier worked against the separation of the Atlantic coast into smaller parts. At the end the American frontier had influenced the east community and religion. And after all when there was no more need of the frontier, the frontier was gone.

John

I think that the theory of Frontier explains the prerequisites and base conditions for successful colonization of West, which as result has become determinant characteristic of American history. It was a great epoch of developing new areas, when first travelers, fish men, traders generated a process of cooperation of two different civilizations that has brought to a westward expansion.

At the beginning the settlements were in the limited areas, but opening new frontiers led to the establishment of a new country. According to Turner, the phenomenon as the “frontier” was not only a new foremost line of a border but also a historical break that included whole process of Americanization of European settler, replacing him from “the railroad car to the birch canoe”. On the free territories, the places where settlers dissatisfied by oppressions of exploiters from their native lands, were engendered a new nation. Thus, the American frontier created new, different to European, traditions, ideas, values, social and political institutes and own mentality.

Asel

To answer to this question is not easy. First of all, it is always hard to critique ourselves in any skills. For me especially in writing, because I am not a professional one in this realm, more over, I am an architect, specialist, whose work relates mostly to technical field. However, my specialty needs also creative search. You should excuse me for my evaluating through architecture, since I’d studied at a first course, professors inspired me with the idea that once I will receive diploma, my whole life will be reflected in the light of architecture. They were right. So,… As the writer starts his/her work with first words with a white list behind him, the architect makes first line, drawing his thoughts, dreams and … projects. Such connection with creative work makes me closer to writing ability.

My adherence to deeply analyze everything and try to find the source everywhere brings me to antiquity. From that great time today humanity has only ruins of buildings and scripts made by first people. Writing skills helped people to leave information to next generations. That is one reason of many why I value writing skill.

Writing helps people express themselves.

………

My first writing experience started when I was a 6-year child. I dreamed about beautiful house for my dolls and always asked my parents to buy me one. The house was in my imagination, I just decided that my dolls needed a house that all.

Mother didn’t pay attention to my desire and I decided to write a petition. It was very emotional and funny letter where I tried to explain how much I needed this house. i think that moment my mom didn’t know how to react to this written request, whether to lought or run and find me a house. In my native town parents could not find it and they had to order from another city. Finally, my dolls got such a welcome dwelling. At that moment I firstly understood the power of writing skills.

In the school I faced with writing tasks seriously. In literature classes the teacher expected from us an essay for each novel, story, poem. Essay had to be a sort of mix of response, summary and analyze. Mostly there were works of Russian classical writers. Fifteen – twenty years ago there was still a school program according to which pupils had to learn the humanities like literature, history and other subjects through the strict opinion that proved the Soviet regime. Our teachers taught us to read between the lines that the great writers of 18-19th centuries already predicted the October Revolution. Our essay had to support this idea. It was hard and usually I began my works with this kind of draft…”The writer already knew that …. and predicted the revolution….”. Demanding from us to write essay according to this pattern, the teacher also asked to evaluate the works and discuss the main heroes, their thoughts and behaviors. Before writing we had to study a great number of works of significant critics of that time. I spend a lot of time in writing these assignments. Firstly, that writing tasks seemed to me very boring and useless, but then I understood that it helped me to improve my writing skills. It became a strong fundament to my further development as a writer.

The second prerequisite was my mother’s work. She is a librarian and if other parents encourage their child to read the books, my mother inculcated in me a taste for poetry and novels. In evenings we loved to drink a tea and discuss books.

With this experience I developed analytical approach not only to books, but to any event. That helped me to write.

I need to finish it.Asel