Dialectic Journal #3

Chapter 31-32
Chapter 31 Pg. 284:" I was a-trembling, because I'd got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself: "All right, then, I'll go to hell."

Comments and Questions

In this moment of moral courage Huck decides to do the right thing which is considered wrong in his society. He would rather go to hell than betray his friend. Huck feels in his heart that this is the right thing to do no matter what society dictates. This is mentality of reform and the mindset the nation was slowly coming to approaching the abolition of slavery.

Chapter 33-34
Chapter 33 Pg. 306: "Well, it made me sick to see it; and I was sorry for them poor pitiful rascals, it seemed like I couldn't ever feel any hardness against them any more in the world. It was a dreadful thing to see. Human beings can be awful cruel to one another."

Comments and Questions
Huck feels sorry for the Duke and King despite the way they mistreated him because they were tarred and feathered. This was a cruel punishment that was used in feudal Europe in the early modern period and the early American frontier. This is a good glimpse into Huck's character. Despite his personal experience with the Duke and King, he looks at all things very objectively and does not like to see anyone treated immorally.

Chapter 35-36
Chapter 35 Pg. 318: "No, it wouldn't do -- there ain't necessity enough for it." "For what?" I says. "Why, to saw Jim's leg off," he says.

Comments and Questions
Huck and Tom discussed how to free Jim when Tom suggests taking Jim's legs off. Tom insists on doing things dramatically, the way they are done in the books he reads. He seeks to make a fairly simple process into a difficult task that could have ended up threatening Jim's life. Tom is very self-centered and the polar opposite of Huck who is a good and moral human being.

Chapter 37-38
Chapter 38 Pg: 345 "I know how to fix it. We got to have a rock for the coat of arms and mournful inscriptions, and we can kill two birds with that same rock. There's a gaudy big grindstone down at the mill, and we'll smouch it, and carve the things on it, and file out the pens and the saw on it, too."

Comments and Questions
Tom's foolish schemes are meant to make Jim look like a hero. Though Tom knows that Jim is already free, he continues to come up with these tactics for his own amusement.

Chapter 39-40
Chapter 40 Pg: 365 "I knowed he was white inside, and I reckoned he'd say what he did say - so it was all right, now, and I told Tom I was agoing for a doctor."

Comments and questions
Though Huck speaks about color, he does not see color when looks at a person. He sees them for what they are inside. Because in his society being white was related to being morally aright he says that Jim was "white inside." Tom sees that Jim puts Tom's needs first when he is shot and treats him like a brother. In this Tom sees Jim's upright character and confers that by saying he is white - or moral- on the inside, no matter what his skin color shows.

Chapter 41-43
Chapter 43 Pg: 388 "I reckon I got to light out for the Territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she’s going to adopt me and sivilize me, and I can’t stand it. I been there before."

Comments and Questions
Throughout the book, Huck has been ahead of his time in the way he sees the world. Again in these last sentences he says that he must be the one to light the way for the rest. Twain relates that Huck is the beacon of light that the generations after will follow and a model of the mentality that will shape the upcoming years. The book ends with these lines of Huck again being adopted and civilized, just as his view of the world will soon be adopted by the nation and go from being a wild notion, to being the civilized way.

They Say I Say Assignment # 2

1. In his article "Don't Blame the Eater," Zinczenko argues that there are no healthy yet convenient alternatives to fast food restaurants for teenagers. This one way road he asserts, is winding to a dangerous spiral towards obesity and health problems for the teenagers who out of necessity are forced to consume the fruit of its poisonous tree. Zinczenko believes that these kids should not be held responsible for their unhealthy meal choices as necessity and lack of options has deprived them of any choice all together. This necessity he speaks of however, is somewhat overstated. In today's world nutritional information if available to every customer willing to pay attention. As health concerns grow among the informed populous, so do the food choices available to us. For instance grocery stores sell prepared oven roasted meats, smoked fish, or prepared sushi. Healthy snacks like raw almonds or dried fruit can be purchases in one serving size amounts for as low as a dollar each, not to mention whole fruit that can be cut up for convenient snacks on the go. Though a trip to the grocery store might mean a higher one time cost than a trip to the fast food restaurant, overall it provides a greater savings per meal in calories, dollars, and time spent. With a little effort, teenagers can make wise decisions when it comes to their nutrition. The question is, will they act?

2. The USA is very well known for having an obesity epidemic and all the health risks that come along with it. I believe that it is not only a medical problem as it is also a cultural one. For example, we see obesity affecting the lower class. Possibly because they see fast food restaurants as a means to save time and money.
Another thought is that we don't only have an obesity problem, but simply an issue with weight. Because on one hand there are the morbidly obese and on the other hand we have anorexics and bulimics. In our culture we have all these fast food chains that have low prices and flashy advertisements with appealing images of food that are every where we turn, and then we have this other side of the media that is always talking about the "ideal" body. All in all both medical problems and cultural stereotypes have an effect on our eating habits.

Chapter 16-30 Dialectic Journal

Chapter 16-17

Chapter 16 Pg. 122: "Well, then, says I, what's the use you learning to do right when it's troublesome to do right and ain't no trouble to do wrong, and the wages is just the same? I was stuck. I couldn't answer that. So I reckoned I wouldn't bother no more about it, but after this always do whichever come handiest at the time." 

Comments and Questions 

The idea of this quote is that whether you act correctly or not, your reward is the same. Therefore, what is the use of moral goodness? Huck decides to do "whichever comes handiest at the time" but ironically in chapter 31 he says he will go to hell for Jim. 

Chapter 18-19

Chapter 19 Pg. 166: "It didn't take me long to make up my mind that these liars warn't no kings nor dukes at all, but just low-down humbugs and frauds. But I never said nothing, never let on; kept it to myself; it's the best way; then you don't have no quarrels, and don't get into no trouble. If they wanted us to call them kings and dukes, I hadn't no objections, 'long as it would keep peace in the family; and it warn't no use to tell Jim, so I didn't tell him."

Comments and Questions

This quote represents the civilized part of Huck. It shows his strength to let the King and Duke stay with him and Jim. The tone of this quote is candid and gives good insight of the inner-workings of Huck's mind. We see that despite his plain language Huck is in fact wise and it is his temperament that has gotten him this far on their journey.

Chapter 20-21

Chapter 21 Pg. 182: "To be, or not to be; that is the bare bodkin 

That makes calamity of so long life; 

For who would fardels bear, till Birnam Wood do come to Dunsinane, 

But that the fear of something after death 

Murders the innocent sleep, 

Great nature's second course, 

And makes us rather sling the arrows of outrageous fortune 

Than fly to others that we know not of. 

There's the respect must give us pause: 

Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou couldst; 

For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, 

The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, 

The law's delay, and the quietus which his pangs might take, 

In the dead waste and middle of the night, when churchyards yawn 

In customary suits of solemn black, 

But that the undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveler returns, 

Breathes forth contagion on the world, 

And thus the native hue of resolution, like the poor cat i' the adage, 

Is sicklied o'er with care, 

And all the clouds that lowered o'er our housetops, 

With this regard their currents turn awry, 

And lose the name of action. 

'Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished. 

But soft you, the fair Ophelia: 

Ope not thy ponderous and marble jaws, 

But get thee to a nunnery -- go"

Comments and Questions

Claiming to also be a famous actor, the Duke recites and teaches the Dauphin Shakespeare. Although at first the Duke comes off as an educated gentleman, when he acts out the Shakespeare plays it is evident that he knows very little; mixing scenes and lines from completely different plays. His recital of Hamlet's soliloquy contains lines from Macbeth. The tone of this quote is confident.

Chapter 22-23

Chapter 23 Pg. 204: "Well, that's what I'm a-saying; all kings is mostly rapscallions, as fur as I can make out. You read about them once -- you'll see. Look at Henry the Eight; this 'n 's a Sunday-school Superintendent to him. And look at Charles Second, and Louis Fourteen, and Louis Fifteen, and James Second, and Edward Second, and Richard Third, and forty more; besides all them Saxon heptarchies that used to rip around so in old times and raise Cain."

Comments and Questions

Mark Twain shows his hatred of societies greed through the King and Duke. He shows us that society today is full of greed and concerning itself with its needs only. Huck gives this example to  keep Jim believing that they are in fact  royalty because he knows that it will cause trouble if he tells him. He realizes that the truth would bring chaos.

Chapters 24-25

Chapter 24. Pg 216: "Well, if ever I struck anything like it, I'm a nigger. It was enough to make a body ashamed of the human race."

Comments and Questions

This quote shows that Huck is not racist  It shows that he see's right from wrong. Even though the Duke and the King are both white, Huck does see their faults. They are frauds, and their skin color does not cover that. He sees that what they’re doing is morally wrong, and he’s ashamed of the human race. Huck says he is a nigger, which sounds to me like he would rather be black then be a fraud.

Chapters 26-27

Chapter 26 Pg. 235: "Cuss the doctor! What do we k'yer for him? Hain't we got all the fools in town on our side? And ain't that a big enough majority in any town?"

Comments and Questions

He is saying that the world is made up of fools so if you have fools on your side you have a lot of people that believe in you.  It shows how the King feels about people and why he is able to scam people out of their money. 

Chapters 28-29 

Chapter 28 Pg. 247: "So she done it. And it was the niggers -- I just expected it. She said the beautiful trip to England was most about spoiled for her; she didn't know how she was ever going to be happy there, knowing the mother and the children warn't ever going to see each other no more."

Comments and Questions

This quote shows that Mary is caring and is sympathetic towards the family. It also shows that Mary is not racist. Mary and Huck are the only two people in the book that are able to see that black people have the same feelings and emotions as white people.

June 24th 2013

Exercise 1: 
Many say that animals are often abused by people who have power and control issues. These people want to bully and dominate others, and animals are often the first step, as they are defenseless and cannot speak out. However, animal abusers often progress into more violent criminals. The truth is, it is important for people to understand and acknowledge the fact that animals do have feeling. Reporting any suspicious behavior about animal abuse it important as well.
Exercise 2:

In the Introduction to "They Say, I Say":The Moves That Matter In Academic Writing, Gerald Graff and Kathy Birkenstein provide templates to help basic writing become a better writer. Specifically Graff and Birkenstein argue that the types of templates they offer may be skepticism. Some students say that the templates will take away their originality. As the authors themselves put it "They do not contain the content you put into it, you are suggesting how you say it. Although some people believe that it actually gives you less originality, Graff and Birkenstein insist that even though you may think that the particular template is not giving you your own ideas, it will still help. In sum, then, their view is that it is actually easier to use the template, giving you more originality. 
I agree. In my view the rubric of the templates that the authors recommends are for beginners learning to become advanced writers. For instance,  "They Say, I Say" give you templatesfor beginners or if you are not comfortable with the material. In addition, this book teaches you how to learn to advance your writing with the various templates throughout the book. Some might object, of course, on the grounds that these templates might lack creativity. Overall, then, I believe the given templates help you understand the information.

Chapter 1-2

Pg. 6: "The widow rung a bell for supper, and you had to come on time. When you got to the table you couldn't go right to eating, but you had to wait for the widow to tuck down her head and grumble a little over the victuals, through there warn't really anything the matter with them.That is, nothing only everything was cooked by itself. In a barrel of odds and ends it is different; things get mixed up, and the juice kind of swamps around, and the things go better."

Comments and Questions

Huck had to adjust to living the way the widow did. He was not raised this way so the lifestyle was unusual for him. He felt that the widows ways were incorrect. She was very proper and he was not. They were two very different people.

Chapter 3-4

Pg.19: "Shucks, it ain't no use to talk to you, Huck Finn. You don't seem to know anything, somehow -- perfect saphead." I thought all this over for two or three days, and then I reckoned I would see if there was anything in it. I got an old tin lamp and an iron ring, and went out in the woods and rubbed and rubbed till I sweat like an Injun, calculating to build a palace and sell it; but it warn't no use, none of the genies come. So then I judged that all that stuff was only just one of Tom Sawyer's lies. I reckoned he believed in the A-rabs and the elephants, but as for me I think different. It had all the marks of a Sunday-school."

Comments and Questions

Tom is not realistic and Huck is aware that he lies. Huck is practical and mature. Tom is considered the leader of the group, Huck is the follower. This relationship can represent political leaders.

Chapter 5-6

Pg. 36: " They said he could VOTE when he was at home. Well, that let me out. Thinks I, what is the country a-coming to? It was ’lection day, and I was just about to go and vote myself if I warn’t too drunk to get there; but when they told me there was a State in this country where they’d let that nigger vote, I drawed out. I says I’ll never vote agin."

Comments and Questions

Huck's father is ranting about free blacks. He is showing his racist and ignorant attitude. Most people had the same attitude towards blacks during this time period knowing it was before the civil war. It is also ironic because the professor is black.

Chapter 7- 8

Pg. 57: "Well, I did. I said I wouldn’t, and I’ll stick to it. Honest INJUN, I will. People would call me a low-down Abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum—but that don’t make no difference. I ain’t a-going to tell, and I ain’t a-going back there, anyways. So, now, le’s know all about it."

Comments and Questions

Huck listens to Jim and is able to understand him. I think Huck knows that racism is wrong so he doesn't treat Jim any differently. The tone in this quote is sympathetic.

Chapter 9-10

Pg. 72: "His foot swelled up pretty big, and so did his leg; but by and by the drunk begun to come, and so I judged he was all right; but I'd druther been bit with a snake than pap's whisky."

Comments and Questions

Huck is showing how little he cares for his Pap, by saying he'd rather be bitten by a snake than be drunk off Pap's whisky. The tone here is apathetic. 

Chapter 11-12

Pg. 82: "You do a girl tolerable poor, but you might fool men, maybe. Bless you, child, when you set out to thread a needle, don’t hold the thread still and fetch the needle up to it; hold the needle still and poke the thread at it—that’s the way a woman most always does; but a man always does it ‘tother way.”

Comments and Questions

This quote is similar to the saying "you throw like a girl". It is stereotyping women. This is when Huck goes to the women's house dressed as a girl. She figures out that Huck is a boy and asks what his real name was. The tone of this quote is insulting toward women.

Chapter 13-14

Pg. 102: "...he judged it was all up with him anyway it could be fixed; for if he didn't get saved he would get drownded; and if he did get saved, whoever saved him would send him back home so as to get the reward, and then Miss Watson would sell him South, sure. Well, he was right; he was most always right; he had an uncommon level head for a nigger." 

Comments and Questions

Being raised in the South which was a slave owning society during that time, Huck joins in the common belief that blacks are less intelligent than whites. Therefore, he is surprised that Jim has such a "level head".

Chapter 15

Pg. 115: “En all you wuz thinkin’ ‘bout wuz how you could make a fool uv ole Jim wid a lie. Dat truck dah is trash; en trash is what people is dat puts dirt on de head er dey fren’s en makes ‘em ashamed.’ Then he got up slow and walked to the wigwam, and went in there without saying anything but that. But that was enough. It made me feel so mean I could almost kissed his foot to get him to take it back. It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a ; but I done it, and I warn’t ever sorry for it afterward, neither. I didn’t do him no more mean tricks, and I wouldn’t done that one if I’d ‘a’ knowed it would make him feel that way."

Comments and Questions

Huck plays a trick on Jim and doesn't realize how much it would hurt him. Jim says how he was so happy he could kiss Huck's feet. This is ironic because when Jim is hurt Huck says he would kiss Jim’s feet to apologize to him.

My life

Hi. I'm Katherine Andrews. I've been at U-Prep since 6th grade. I was born in Redding, California on Thanksgiving in 1996, to my wonderful parents Tamara and Adam. My mom is Georgian and my dad is American. Which makes me bicultural and bilingual. My background has been a very important aspect in my life. My church and spiritual life help me get through my hardships. My friends and family are invaluable to me, they stand by my side in everything. Music is also a big part of my life, I am passionate about singing. I find world History very interesting.

Many things have changed in my scholastic life the past year. School has always been difficult for me and before Sophomore year I hadn't tried as hard because I figured I wouldn't succeed. Realizing I was ruining my future I began doing everything I could to understand and get good grades. I was realizing how important what I do right now is to the rest of my life. Now I know I must never give up on my goals, I have to work to achieve my dreams. There was a time when I looked at it as a phase of life I had to live through, then it was a place we were shoved off to for no evident purpose, next it became a place where I could see my friends and interact with my peers, and now I realize that it is where we build our futures. 

Church gave me an understanding of life. I learned that instead of living life in hedonism I should live it in a pious and righteous way. I became a kinder and gentler person in the process of my church going. By going to church I learned that everything happens for a reason and we should be thankful for even things that seem bad at the time.

The relationship with my family has affected me in many ways. My family is the basis of my morals and my sense of right and wrong. From birth I have learned from them, everything I believe in is because of them. They are the people that would do anything for me and I would do anything for them. No matter how good of friends one has, nothing replaces flesh and blood. My family has set definite boundaries that I may not cross, occasionally crossing these lines and being punished for doing so has made me more obedient and more honest in what I do. 

Music is what keeps me going. I listen to music to let out my emotions and think about life situations. Every type of music has something good to offer, though I am not to fond of country music. The type of music I listen to depends on how I am feeling. Life would not be the same without music, I would not be able to express my feelings so freely.

Two of my biggest strengths are that I am a good observer and a hard worker. But unfortunately I am a huge procrastinator.