Thomas C. Stark January 26, 1998 English 101 Sean Brumfield
The Thessalonians?
I remember the smell of the freshly painted walls like it was yesterday. That sharp, clean smell will keep any nine-year-old awake. I wonder if every third grade class has that light yellow color about it? It was a happy color, for a lot of kids it probably increased the dosage of Ritalin by half. I was what you would call a troublemaker being saved in a Christian private school. Yes, I was the kid who gently poked Amanda in the rear end with the pencil. I was the same kid who beat up the school know-it-all for at first throwing grapes at my fellow students and then throwing stones at them. No one had stuck his neck out for me when I went to the principal's office that time. I was faced with a suspension, basically because I had a stack of detention papers on her desk a foot high. After being out of school for a week, it was great to be sitting in class with all my peers. The assignment I was given was still in the back of my head. I had gone over the Old Testament and New Testament again and again with my nanny, Beverly. I hated the Bible, and she knew it. She would say, "Oh Thomas, You shouldn't swear about the Bible." She had about the best sense of humor I knew anyone to have. I would ask her if there were a god, why would he make her so big. And she would reply, "Well, God loves some of us a whole lot; he even built Church's Chicken just for me." What I was learning at such an early age is that not everyone really enjoys everything presented to them (being fat or having to learn the books of the Testaments in order), but, that the best thing to do is to accept and move on. My palms were sweaty and I could feel the gas swelling up in my stomach as it usually does when I get nervous. My project was up next after Amanda. I remember hearing Amanda rattle off, "And Noah saved all the animals from expinction." She would always confuse her "P's" and "T's." "And now class, Thomas has prepared an oral presentation of all the books of the Old Testament and the New Testament." I stood remembering that at least I wasn't obese. I was rattling them off with no hesitation," Genesis, Exodus..." there was no stopping me. I was done with the Old Testament and next was the New Testament,"...Philippians, Colossians..." I was missing something. I knew it, but I didn't have time to stop. When I was done, she rewarded me for doing a great job, but marked off points for missing Thessalonians I and Thessalonians II. Later that day it kept bugging me that I had forgotten the Thessalonians. I kept wondering who they were. It was a high point in my experience in literacy. That I wanted to learn about these people bad enough that I leisurely opened the bible and researched on my own free will about these people, the Thessalonians. There was no test, no paper, no memorization, but there was a curiosity. I think there has to be a want and desire for information, for a person to really be literate. An urgency for information is a necessity. It ended up that the Thessalonians were very loving people, but very boring because they never did anything fun.
Thomas C. Stark January 29, 1998 English 101 Sean Brumfield
Contacting the Human Touch
In "The Terrifying Normalcy of AIDS," the author, Stephen Gould, expresses the message of EPCOT Center. It reveals to the public that progress through technology is the solution to all human problems. In the real world, it is not the solution to human problems, but a deterrent from human truth. This reality is confirmed in the story, by Carl Sagan, Contact. Society is all for technology only if it gets the answer it wants. Nature does not always allow us to find the answer. As a result, society likes to find a scapegoat to justify the failure of technology. Another symbol much like EPCOT Center is the transit system built in the Nineteen-Ninety-Seven blockbuster film, Contact, directed by Robert Zemeckis. Stephen Gould conveys the human viewpoint on AIDS to be discriminatory and "an irrational or diabolical plague with a moral meaning"(779) He writes that we place too much emphasis on human progress and not enough on the biological processes of human beings and mortality. He refers to the EPCOT Center theme park as a symbol for our belief in technological advances and no human understanding. It is ironic that EPCOT presented several exhibits in admiration of the space shuttle as a metaphor for technological advancement, and later the Challenger disaster represented just an overall uneasy feeling of dismay. The author states, "it is our own moral stupidity that has caused us to lose precious time"(779). The disease was put on the back burner because moralists argued it was a disease for minorities of life style (needle users), of sexual preference (homosexuals), and of color (Haitians)(779). The author clarifies that viral diseases are preventable in principle. By putting too much faith in technology and the progress of man, we are not understanding nature and all of its evolutionary plans for us. EPCOT is a centerpiece for man's satisfied attitude that medicine will create a cure. Palmer Joss, a theological character from the film Contact, expresses about science,"The motive is the search for truth and men deify it at the expense of human truth." He discusses that in the search for meaning in the age of reason, it seems that we lose touch with ourselves trying to fill holes. We seem to use technology to surf the Web, shop at home, and look for meaning. As a result, we feel emptier and more cut off. Ellie Arroway, a communications scientist from the film, feels that there is no God, but that we created him to feel less alone. Her search for proof and progress is more important than any human understanding. She asks, "Why would an all powerful god create the universe and not give any proof?" And Palmer Joss replies, "Did you love your father? Prove it." There are some things technology just can't prove. We have too much faith in its capabilities and not enough faith in ourselves. The big corporations in the film pour billions of dollars into contracting to build the transit system to send a human to another solar system, Vega. The first transit system was destroyed by a religious terrorist who tried to vendicate his faith. With the second transit system society still didn't get the results it wanted. The scientific data from the video tapes kept repeatedly showing Ellie's transport pod going from the top of the system straight down to the water. During the court room testimony about what actually happened, she was labeled scapegoat for the technological failure. She was told to withdrawal her testimony that she went through the different sets of wormholes which were unseen by man or camera. She admitted that she would react the same way as those judging her, but that she was given a vision outside of what technology sees. She said that we are greater than ourselves and none of us are alone. If everyone felt that awe and humility, then there would be no emptiness. The people outside the courtroom accepted her accounts on faith. It's as if the transit system was built to bring ourselves back to us. It was wrong for the others to expect so much from a tool, but there was eighteen hours of static recorded. A real understanding of human processes and needs are invaluable to our survival. An example of understanding the human processes is the important teaching of the use of condoms going on in Africa now. This has actually been reducing the rate of infection of AIDS throughout many of the communities there. People spending less time in front of their computers and televisions, and spending more time with their families and friends would fill those holes that Palmer Joss talked about. A computer or machine can only do what you tell it to do. It is not capable of understanding, identifying, teaching, or sharing. If we put too much faith in a machine, then really all we deserve is eighteen hours of static.
Works Cited
Gould, Stephen J. "The Terrifying Normalcy of AIDS." The Norton Reader. Linda H. Peterson, John C. Brereton, and Joan E. Hartman. New York: Norton and Company, 1996. 777-781. Sagan, Carl. Contact. Dir. Robert Zemeckis. Perf. Jody Foster and Mathew McConaughey. Warner Brothers, 1997.
Thomas C. Stark February 13, 1998 English 101 Sean Brumfield
A Neo-Aristotelian Rhetorical Analysis of Chief Seattle's "Letter to President Pierce, 1855"
Rhetorical Exigence Chief Seattle wrote his letter at a time when white settlers were agressively invading his world. In Indian Treaties: Two Centuries of Dishonor, Brevet Brigadier General Hitchcock commanding the Pacific Division wrote: The whites go in upon Indian lands, provoke the Indians, bring on collisions, and then call for protection, and complain if it is not furnished, while the practical effect of the presence of the troops can be little else than to countenance and give security to them in their aggressions; the Indians, meanwhile, looking upon the military as their friends, and imploring their protection(117-118). It is interesting to note that the sentiment of the military was different from that of the settlers at the time of expansion into the Northwest Territory. In 1853, Lieutenant Jones serving under General Hitchcock wrote: "The practice which exists throughout the Territory, of settlers taking from them(the Indians) their small potato patches, is clearly wrong and should be stopped"(118). The motive was the settler's greed for land(118). The United States government in 1850 offered settlers three hundred and twenty acres of land, with an equal amount for his wife if married, as an inducement to move to the Northwest Territory(118). There were no treaties nor agreements with the Indians for Stark 2 cessions of their land until land had already been taken(119). Chief Seattle wrote the letter to convince President Pierce that white people were destroying his race and to prove that his people were not savages. The rhetorical exogence of "Letter to President Pierce, 1855," was to get the message across to the federal government that the more violent and brutal the white men are to the red men and nature, then the more harm they will bring on themselves. According to Ruby and Brown's A Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest, Chief Seattle gave his 1854 Treaty Oration after Governor Stevens of Washington had badgered him to sign a treaty. This obviously didn't stop the government from forcing him to sign another treaty and kicking him off his land(73). In 1855, Chief Seattle signed the Point Elliott Treaty which forced he and the rest of the Duwamish Tribe to leave the city of Seattle(73). Even after being kicked out of the city named after him, he peaceably wrote his letter to the President(73). Rhetorical Context The letter was directed to President Pierce. From what is learned by Per-Olof Johansson about Chief Seattle's friendship with his doctor, Henry A. Smith, it was delivered to the President by him. The letter's audience was not only the President but many government officials, such as Governor Stevens, according to Per-Olof Johansson. Chief Seattle is read today by many environmentalists such as the article from Omni titled "Talk is Chief: When Seattle Spoke, were Environmentalists Listening?" As well, many college students read the letter from The Norton Reader. Rhetor Stark 3 The rhetor, Chief Sealth, was born, raised, and died in Kipsap County just west of the city named after him according to Micheal Tennent. From the web site, Chief Seattle's original name was Chief Sealth, and he demanded great respect from his people. Micheal Tennent writes, "His people hunted, dug clams, constructed bird weirs, picked berries, and fished." According to Ruby and Brown's, Indians of the Pacific Northwest, as a warrior in the early forties, he killed ten men and captured their women and children because these Owni killed his cousin, Almos(152). He became a peaceful man with age. In later years by December 1854, he gave his most famous speech, the "Treaty Oration," from Nicholas Clifford. He said, "Chief Seattle gained control of six of the local tribes and continued the friendly relations with the local whites that had been established by his father." Ethical Proof Chief Seattle was considered to be Duwamish since his mother, Scholitza, was the daughter of a Duwamish chief and the line of descendancy passed matrilineally. His father was a Susquamish chief who lived on the islands across Puget Sound, according to Nicholas Clifford. Chief Seattle's ethos is hereditary, as well as earned. He was a respected warrior as well as a statesman for the tribes in the Seattle area, who time and again made peace with the white settlers, out of Indians of the Pacific Northwest(152-153). Pathetic Proof Throughout "Letter to President Pierce, 1855," Chief Seattle uses pathos to describe the white man's neglect,"He leaves his fathers' graves, and his children's Stark 4 birthright is forgotten"(678). He uses pathos to describe a neglect of the Indians' feelings, "The sight of your cities pains the eyes of the red man. But perhaps it is because the red man is a savage and does not understand"(678). The most emotional use of pathos is when describing the last of his days,"A few more hours, a few more winters, and none of the children of the great tribes that once lived on the earth, or that roamed in small bands in the woods, will be left to mourn the graves of a people once as powerful and hopeful as yours"(678). And finally he tries to understand the white man through pathos, "...what he describes to his children on the long winter nights, what visions he burns into their minds, so they will wish for tomorrow"(679). Logical Proof In "letter to President Pierce, 1855," Chief Seattle uses logos in such statements as, "If all beasts were gone, men would die from great loneliness of spirit, for whatever happens to the beasts also happens to man. All things are connected"(678). He describes with logos, "When the buffalo are all slaughtered, the wild horses all tamed, the secret corners of the forest heavy with the scent of many men, and the view of the ripe hills blotted by talking wires, where is the thicket? Gone"(678). So desperately he wants answers about the white man, that he says, "The white man's dreams are hidden from us"(679). It is very clear in his logos that he wants understanding. Lexis Chief Seattle uses very dynamic diction, "...for he is a stranger who comes in the night and takes the land whatever he needs"(678). Because the letter is so short, the
Stark 5 diction runs smoothly the whole way through, without getting general. It is very to the point and concise, It is very thought provoking because he asks so many questions(678). Organization The letter is organized in the classical style with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion, despite it being so short(678). It is more inductive in it's style because he gives the answers to the questions he asks. He does not want the reader to deduce opinions other than the red man's point of view. The letter is a cross between an expository and an argumentative essay. It is flavorful but at the same time is showing how foolish the white man really is, "The whites, too, shall pass-perhaps sooner than other tribes"(678). The rhetor not only foreshadowed the Battle of Seattle 1856, but answered his own questions about the white man(678-679). Conclusion The letter itself was ineffective in regards to getting his land back peaceably. Chief Seattle stayed out of the Battle of Seattle and remained peaceable to the white settlers, in Indians of the Pacific Northwest(152-154). After the military and settlers gained the town back, so much of the land was divided up amongst the settlers that the government began claiming water rights, "Because the water goes with the land" in Indian Treaties(119). Some Indian nations went to court and only gained 50 percent of the fish catch, to satisfy the sports fishermen and commercial fishing interests(119). The Duwamish Tribe which was Chief Seattle's tribe never gained any fishing rights. In 1974, the decision denied those rights because of lack of acknowledgement and their landlessness, from A Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest(74). Stark 6 Furthermore, they are treated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs as either Suquamishes or Muckleshoots-not Duwamishes(74). If identified as members of the Duwamish Tribe, they could not receive the services of the BIA and the Indian Health Service(74). The Duwamish now reside at the Port Madison Reservation with the Suquamish Tribe(74). The tribe has established a nonprofit corporation to facilitate retention and reclamation of tribal culture and development of self-determined projects, from Waterborne: Gift of the Indian Canoe. "This wood wants to be something and I'm trying to make it something it wants to be. Everything has spirit," was a very symbolic quote from the film for the return of the tribe, Waterborne.
Works Cited Clifford, Nicholas. "Chief Seattle." Online Internet. History@ibm.gwdg.de. 11 Feb 1998. Costo, Rupert, Indian Treaties: Two Centuries of Dishonor. San Francisco: The Indian Indian Historian Press, 1977. Johansson, Per-Olof. "Chief Seattle's Speech??" Online Internet. Perolofjohansson@online.pol.dk. 11 Feb 1998. Marsa, Linda. "Talk is Chief: When Seattle Spoke, were Environmentalists Listening." Omni. V15N3(Dec 1992): 18. Seattle, Chief. "Letter to President Pierce, 1855." The Norton Reader 9th ed. Eds. Linda H. Peterson, John C. Brereton, Joan C Hartman. New York: Norton, Inc, 1996. Ruby and Brown, A Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest. University of Oklahoma: Norman and London, 1986. Suquamish Museum. Waterborne: Gift of the Indian Canoe. The Suquamish Tribe. Current Rutledge. Seattle, Washington, 1989. Tennent, Micheal. "Chief Seattle, Kitsap County History." Online Internet. Mtennent@ix.netcom.com. 11Feb 1998.
Thomas C. Stark March 2, 1998 English 101 Sean Brumfield
Real Justice in the City of Angels
I stayed a few nights in the city of angels, Los Angeles, right after I got out of the Marine Corps. On a hot September day, I remember turning on the television to see that two ex L. A. police officers gunned down two bank robbers, on Van Nuys Blvd. It gave me some security to know that these two men risked their life and law suits to do what was right. Today, justice is still as important for L. A. as it was in the 1950's. The theme of doing the job for justice, even if it means paying for the consequences, is clearly executed in Curtis Hanson's L. A. Confidential. The beginning of L. A. Confidential is introduced by the editor of a 1950's magazine titled Hush-Hush. At his typewriter, Sid Hutchins reports on the local crime waves and what the police do out on the streets. He gives a dramatic, untarnished image of the L. A. P. D., as the criminals are given their death sentences. He introduces the characters throughout the story as tough, rugged soldiers fighting to keep the streets innocent. The reporter accomplishes his goal of keeping the public in the dark, as I find out what the police department along with the media are really like. The first character introduced is Officer Bud White, as he handcuffs a man to his own porch during a domestic dispute. He is a strong, rugged man who has a thing for protecting women. His mother was beaten to death by his father. He doesn't rat out people, but he does beat the crap out of them if he is crossed. He muscles people for answers and uses those answers for prosecution, arrests, and justice. Lynne Brackin is connected to Officer White both sexually and emotionally. Lynne Brackin is a prostitute who looks a lot like a famous movie star. She works for Pierce Patchett, a man who makes deals with Captain Dudley Smith to blackmail officials and keep the heroin business alive. She wants to go back to Arizona where it is peaceful. In the end, she takes Officer White there. The beautiful and very sexy Miss Brackin does a fine job at supporting her lover, Officer White, even after sleeping with his rival, Lt. Exley. The second leading character, Lieutenant Ed Exley, is introduced as working on Christmas so the married men can spend time with their families. He is innocent and idealistic. During "Bloody Christmas," he is promoted to Lieutenant as he rats out his fellow police officers. As he gains more power, he finds himself doing those things that he used to look down on. His father was a policeman killed by a purse snatcher, "Rolo Tumasi." He has a genuine want to be a good policeman. This is most apparent toward the end when he shoots Captain Smith in the back and raises his badge to signify that he is an officer. Sgt. Jack Vincennes becomes associated with Lt. Exley when they both snitch on old timer cop Dick Stensla for the "Bloody Christmas" beatings. Sgt. Vincennes had a lot to lose by not snitching, such as his show, "Badge of Honor." He goes around L. A. setting up crimes so he can get his camera crew out at the time he is going to make a sure bust. He gains a want to do real work when he learns about Lt. Exley's reason for being a good cop. He is killed by Capt. Smith when he learns more than he should. He is a very good supporting character to Lt. Exley who is friendless. The third leading character, Capt. Smith is introduced as describing what it takes to be a detective. He describes the harsh realities as having the nerve to shoot a man in the back and planting evidence. He is a very angry man at his core. He slaughters the people at the Night Owl, wanted Lt. Exley and Officer White to kill each other, has a heroin drug ring, has control over the D. A., and killed Lt. Exley's father. He uses Sid Hutchins along with Pierce Pachett to blackmail officials with prostitutes. He is a greedy man who is probably building Santa Monica Blvd. so he can have more control over the flow of his heroin. He is shot in the back by Lt. Exley deservedly. Sid Hutchins associates himself with both Sgt. Vincennes and Capt. Smith. He supports Sgt. Vincennes with the show,"Badge of Honor." From sociology, he is perpetuating the police system as well as his own business, reporting. He would actually set up a crime in such a place as to capture the Hollywood sign in the back ground. He photographs high officials sleeping with prostitutes as a part of Capt. Smith's plans. He is killed by Capt. Smith who is busy tying up his loose ends. Sid Hutchins is a great narrator but gets a little too involved. The plot of the story is thick and rich with mystery. An innocent, newly appointed Lieutenant detective of homicide, Lt. Ed Exley, slowly walks through the scene of the crime at the Night Owl. The camera work is impeccable as I viewed the blood stain on the wall, the steaming skillet, the dead cook laying next to the ovens, the blood streak on the floor leading to the back storage room, and finally the many bloody bodies in the room. As the story unfolded, the massacre at the Night Owl not only included a model, Susan Lefforts, but a former L. A. police officer, Dick Stensla. The killing of Dick Stensla arouses excitement in the story as we find Officer White wanting to claim justice for Stensla's death. In Officer White's anger, he takes a revolver to the mouth of one of the three suspects and begins pulling the trigger, until the suspect reveals his boss. Bud White goes to the man, kills him and plants a gun. Lt. Ed Exly thinks this act foul at first, but later finds himself killing the three suspects who had escaped from custody. He wins the Medal for Uncommon Valor and says nothing when he realizes the suspects were innocent. He gets hot on the trail and learns through old files that somehow Dudley Smith, Leland Meeks, and Dick Stensla are connected. The moment of clarity for both Officer White and Lt. Exley is when Officer White finds out Lt. Exley has been sleeping with Lynne Brackin. They were both set up by Capt. Smith to kill each other. These scenes add strong dialogue and effectual violence. Lt. Exley does a good job at tying everything together for the viewer, in the end. He brought out the relationship between Capt. Smith, Stensla, and Meeks. He exposed Capt. Smith for using Meeks as a hit man and Stensla for killing Meeks over the heroin. Really, there are no heroes. But if they were going to make Capt. Smith a hero for the public, then Lt. Exley was going to receive another medal. Justice was served and the good guys won. This movie is challenging, but it shows what is underneath the surface.
