Response to each response with 120 words

Response #1)

Sara Corbett’s The Lost Boys is an essay highlighting the many struggles endured by refugees. From the complex issues that arise when trying to survive in a country that is in the middle of a civil war, to the simple struggles are encountering new weather. Corbett’s writing specifically details the tribulations of 3 young men from Sudan seeking refuge (18). The recurring theme of their childhood was hardship, as they lived their lives being deprived of civil liberties. However, the overall theme for Lost Boys is deliverance. These were boys lost in a country that was at war with itself, that found new life in a foreign land.  Each of these young men spent years within the confines of a refugee camp, with little to no hope of ever escaping that reality. The camp was not a healthy place for any stage of life development.

Sara Corbett’s The Lost Boys echoes the theme of the old hymnal Go Down, Moses. The spiritual song speaks of suffrage with the goal of liberation. Every stanza of Go Down, Moses bellows the words “Let my people go.” These words reinforce that theme of deliverance. Both the essay and the song center on oppressed people finding liberty in a foreign territory. The Lost Boys were seeking liberty outside of Sudan, while the people describe in the hymnal Go Down Moses are seeking liberty outside of Egypt. Both works also convey the story of a mass exodus from a totalitarian state. Repetition is the technique used most to convey the theme of deliverance. Sara Corbett provides several reminders of what the young men of Sudan had to endure before reaching the United States, whether it was starvation, animal attacks, or war crimes (19).  Oppressed people seeking refuge in a new land is a song of deliverance, no matter if it’s written in paragraphs or verses.

Response #2)

This week I was assigned the reading “Class Struggle 101” for reading. On immediate notice of the piece, it is evident that the main theme of this is about classism. Maybe not the kind that many of us are directly exposed to as it discusses the evidence of how university staff all too commonly are divided into white and blue collar groups with the latter needing a second job to provide for their families. In my opinion, this shares a lot with Pygmalion as both have a main theme of classism. From the start there are two noblemen toying around with the blue collar worker for their own enjoyment which, if you subtract the vindictiveness of it, would represent a theme that Class Struggles 101 confronts. The tone of the piece in question is grim, almost somber as the writer goes from one example to another to show examples of the income inequality that is present. Pygmalion has a somewhat similar tone in certain areas, but overall I would not say that there is a somber or grim tone to it, at least not one that I picked up on.

The rhetorical techniques of these two pieces of literature are not very similar, however. The article has an evidence based style, making the tone convey a tone of somber or grim attitude compared to Shaw having a tone of romance. The rhetorical techniques present, along with the form of this being almost a news article, convey a feeling and tone of trying to convey the facts.

Response # 3)

This week I was assigned to read Now We Are Five, by David Sedaris. I believe the theme of this story to be centered around the loss of a loved one. When going back through our readings I had a very difficult time finding a similar theme referring to the loss of a loved one. Eventually, I settled on the poem Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking by Walt Whitman. As far as I could tell, the theme of this poem shared some similarity to the loss of a loved one. Now We Are Fiveconcerns a man’s loss of his sister, a loved one. Out of the Cradle Rocking endlessly concerns a male birds’ loss of his female companion.

David’s story of the loss of his sister could be compared to the male bird’s song concerning the loss of its’ mate. The bird’s song and David’s story are the continuation and ending of the poem of each respective life. These two works share a similar use of pathos, in which the author is attempting to evoke certain emotions in the reader. These two poems attempt to exhibit the emotions felt by those left behind after the passing of a loved one. These two works portray a similar somber tone concerning loss and the effect on those left behind. Despite the two different forms of these works, a nonfiction story and a poem, the theme is a similar one, and achieves a similar goal in producing the desired emotions in the reader.