AP Language

Frederick Douglass  was an African-American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. Before many of his greatest and well known successes Douglass was a slave. After being brutally beaten and worked to exhaustion by the man he was rented out to as a slave, Frederick Douglass runs back to his "master" to complain and hopefully remedy the situation.Disobeying the head person in charge isn’t good from a slaves perspective. There’s a high chance they may die or suffer horrible consequences. Throughout history there have been many individuals who didn't stay quiet and they did whatever they could to stand up for what they believed in and fought for what was right. Following the rules wouldn't get you to that outcome.There are certain times in life where going above a figure of authority is the right thing to do. Frederick Douglass was one who was brave enough to s.peak up He went to his old master to let him know that he has been brutally beaten. H...

Slavery is something so significant that cant be forgotten. It is very impactful, s uch an experience can leave both a physical and emotional scar on a person.   Ripping away the love that only a mother  can give is something that can never be unrememberd.  Sarah Gudger a 121 year old slave describes to us one of her last memories of her mother in an interview. Sarah was born into slavery last day she saw her mother she knew she would never see her mother again. As a slave you don't have control,you don't have anything but your family so being taken away from them literally leaves you with nothing. Sarah States that the "stars don't shine as bright" as they used to and  Slave masters were aware families create comfort so  they separated them in order to keep their slaves fear stricken and uncomfortable. As a result, this killed any hope among most slaves lives such as Sarah Gudger.  Sarah's mom would always say that when stars fall a lot of people were go...

  William Edward Burghardt "W. E. B." DuBois was an American sociologist, historian, civil rights activist, Pan-Africanist, author, writer and editor. Web Dubious believed that you should "noblesse oblige" in order to respect those around you while maintaining self pride. his claim applies to many peoples lives because for example you have a job or go to college you have nobleese oblige to whoever is mentoring or supervising. its good to noblesse  oblige  because it teaches you to pick your battles wisely, so when you do speak the truth you are more likely to be heard and respected.      In life we are taught to respect those around us especially those superior to us and at times in can cost us our dignity. Web Dubious enlightens us on how how to differentiate the times when we should and shouldn't stand up for ourselves and or something we believe in. At times we have to evaluate whether whats really at stake, our ego or something bigger then just ...

  Mary Anne Evans also known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. George Elliot wrote about real situations and how to deal with it accordingly. shes a person who adamentely believes that "important work of moving the world forward does not wait to be done by the perfect man". This world would not be the perfect place we all want it to be if we place all the responsibility in one person's hands, that's how we gain abuse of powers. We must take some of the responsibility in order to move the progress we want forward by protesting, getting involved and making an effort to make a difference. Things won't change if we just sit around complaining instead of getting up and doing. Just like Frederick Douglass said " I pray for 20 years but receive no answer until I prayed with my legs". In other words we must take the initiative instead of rely on others to mak...

     Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet influenced by the dark romanticism movement who  lived much of her life in reclusive isolation.  Dickinson strongly believes that everybody has a dark side and t hat we should be more afraid of our ideas and thoughts instead of any external beings.  E mily often reflected sadness in her poems and  believes that mental trauma in the brain has a more powerful affect then physical trauma. However, they are just some things the mind can not conjure up that the outiside world can.         The outside world has a stronger impact on the mental trauma within us. Those who get raped or involved in war have deep trauma that only can be inflicted by an exterior circumstance or being. These aren't hardships that can be made up in order to inflict some morbid torture on one self, but inflicted by the harsh realities of life. Most victims of such travesties can never bounce back from the horr...

    Ralph Waldo Emerson is an  American essayist, lecturer, and poet . Emerson believes people should speak their minds with harsh words today and tommrow even though it contradicts everything you said that day.  Speaking your mind helps others to understand what you stand for and your beliefs, however many people's beliefs can be very controversial can cause havoc if not said in a respectful manner. I believe people should speak their mind but with limit, some things are better left unsaid.      As humans and US citizens we are each entitled to our own opinion and have our freedom of speech, however some people don't know how to say things without offending others. People like Donald Trump, he uses very blunt and offensive language when speaking about others. When he spoke about Mexicans h e sai d  “They are not our friend, believe me,” as well as speaking about North Korea.  This not only offends but it triggers people and countries to a ...

    Dalai Lama is a the spiritual leader of Tibet. Of the many inspiring quotes Dalai shares he also frequently speaks about contentment. Lama believes that if you practice contentment you will believe you already have everything you need, because if you don't you will "never be content and always want more." In this situation I believe that people should work hard to get to where they are "content". In the United States people are never content with what they have.      Contentment is when someone is satisfied with what they have. However in the United States the nation is full of competition. “No achievement is good enough”. People should work very hard until they are satisfied with how their life is. I do agree that most Americans are unhappy/ unsatisfied because life is challenging and everyone has a different interpretation on what they consider their American Dream to be.     Many people can be content with being alive, healthy, having ...

       Cotton Mather is remembered as one of the most  influential Puritan  ministers of his day. Mather wrote many  reports based upon his studies and observations of witchcraft.  In the late 1600s Salem, many suspicions on witchery arose. Puritan Society was consumed with the thought that any entertainment such as Poetry, dancing,etc  entertainment was an act against god.        Any form of entertainment was the work of the devil and participating in these entertaining activities made you a devil yourself. He states that we should protect ourselves before we are manipulated by the devil " Beware of a boundless and sickly appetite". T hroughout the quote Mather uses imagery to make us readers picture what "witchcraft" looks like. Participating in any form of entertainment make you vulnerable to the " dangers you may incur".         Cotton Mather uses an analogy where he compares  listening to ...

        John Withdrop is a Puritan who came to America to establish freedom. He was a fierce leader and led his people with a iron fist. In the prompt " City Upon a hill" he was very clear on how he wanted his people to live their lives as an example to other puritans as they are a "city upon a hill".  Puritans were people who wanted to reform or purify their church, they focused  on religion and following God's plan.         Withdrop says since they are a "city upon a hill" they should live their lives better then everybody else so that they can stand out in gods eyes because " eyes  of all people are upon us" Puritans are  prohibited in commiting any acts of sin or else they shall be banished from the new land. They lived their lives so strictly, and centered around god's word. Puritans believe they are natural born sinners so they  devote their lives proving ethical charecter in gods eyes. Withdrop basically says ...

     Black elk was very comfortable sharing his visions with a John G. Neihardt although for his tribe he would be considered a betrayal. These visions are a very sacred aspect for his tribe and for native culture, therfore his tribe didn't want "outsiders" to know any of their native stories because they believe they weren't going to be understood how they understand it. Black elk shared his visions in which he is guided by 6 gods which grant him gifts of knowledge in which he is told to use these gifts to encounter problems in the real world to make the world a better place. I believe he shared his stories to this outsider so more people can know about his culture. Black elk is trying to give us more information of his culture, and spread knowledge on his experience.

            Wooden Leg  was a northern cheyenne warrior who fought against custer at the Battle of  the Little Big horn. Wooden legs culture believes in respect and value towards animals and nature. He lived in a reservation and was taught new things .Wooden Leg became a mixture of American Culture and Native culture when he converted to christianity because of his belief that it wasn't much different from Native Culture.          Wooden leg appreciates and valued his culture. He believes that uprooting nature is wrong as he says so "it is wrong to tear loose from its place on the earth anything that may be growing there".  Wooden Leg stated that when something is cut off completely, the person responsible acted out of sadness and should pray for forgiveness". Even though Wooden leg has adapted to American ways he never fully commited those ways because its wrong.           Throughout the ...

       Chief Joseph was the leader of the one of the largest tribes the Nez Perce. He faced with white settlement in tribal lands of Oregon. Many believe he died of a "broken heart" but he will always be remembered for leading his people on an epic flight across the Rocky Mountains.He didn't want his people to be subjected to oppresion by the colonizers, so he led them on a journey to Canada's border. On this journey they had to combat with them for the majority of the way, until he was eventually exhausted of the will to carry on and goes on to elaborate more on this feeling, in this speech.       Chief Joseph asserts that he is tired of fighting  " I will fight no more forever".  Then chief joseph starts listing all the reasons he is surrendering such as they  have no blankets, little children are freezing to death, they have no food,etc. "Hear me, my Chiefs! I am tired; my heart is sick and sad". Due to the dissray of his people C...

     The people  who first discovered and lived in the Americas were called Native Americans. Native culture was wiped out when Europeans came to this country and labeled them as  "Savages". Native Americans survived in uncivilized conditions. John Lame Deer asserts natives were not "savages" but in fact more advanced.      John Lame Deer is insinuating that before the Americans ( White people) came to their land they were civilized. For them the value of a human being was not determined by their wealth. " We had no written laws laid down". They were too uncivilized and didn't give importance to wealth, private property, etc. When someone was too poor to buy something they would be given it as a gift. " Without a prison, there can be no delinquents." They didn't need to have a prison because anything they needed would be given to them as a gift, their was no need to steal. John also states that the white men make them believe that wit...

            In the book Between the world and Me fear distorted Coates's life and his way of looking at the world through past experiences he had to deal with while growing up.  Coates grew up in Baltimore surrounded by gangs and had to watch out for other things that can put him in danger of losing his body, while his son has had an easier experience.The experiences Coates went through at a young age and the lessons he was taught by his mom growing up affects how he sees the world around him. with negativity and has his mind set that there isn't a lot of opportunities for the black community. For Coates's The American Dream is not realistic because the idea of achieving great things isn't emphasized realistically. Fear is palpably described in the book, the fear isn't inevitable for Ta'Nehisi son because he hasn't lived a life like his father has, however for Ta'Nehisi the fear is inevitable because his history of his past is always there. Ta' Ne...

      Curtis Mayfield produced some of the best and most influential music in America. He wrote songs from "people get ready" to " little child running wild". The funk musician recreated the original billboard into his album cover. The recreation of the billboard suggests the American Dream is just a false advertisement to get people to come here.      The original billboard portrays the perfect idea of the American Dream. White man driving, cheerful white wife in passenger seat, two white children in the back seat, white dog, on a bright sunny day. The original billboards caption is " There is no way like the American Way". Mayfield's recreation in his album shows a darker skin man driving, with a gloomy wife, two cheerful children in the back seat, on a not so sunny day. Mayfield's album shows a variety of black people in black and white facing and walking the other direction. The caption for the recreation is " There's no place lik...

         Roses are a very beautiful type of flower. The rose usually symbolizes beauty, hope, and new beginnings while the stem and thorns of the rose expresses loss and defense. Tupac states that when people see a rose grow from concrete trying to survive they will be amazed  ," you would marvel at just seeing a rose grow through concrete."  however once its a ghetto kid they will always bring back the dirty stems and how they are still leaning crooked to the side. This sentence basically means that no matter how much you try to come up, society will always try to find the negative and not see that the ghetto kid is trying to rise above that.       In the "Rose from Concrete" Tupac uses imagery of a rose growing from concrete to compare a ghetto kid growing out of bad circumstances to a rose immersing from concrete. Tupac uses an analogy to compare himself to a rose. The rose is a metaphor that symbolizes the strength and pers...

     Being born in this country automatically gives you the many rights enlisted in The Bill of Rights. These rights include things like freedom of speech, press, religion, sexual orientation, etc. All of these rights have a purpose to limit government power. Brad Blum the CEO of Burger King wrote "Burger King Bill of Rights" to promote his food by generating the same idea the Bill of Rights does to make Burger King seem like the perfect place.      Brad Blum immediately grabs the readers attention by saying " You have the right to have things your way".  The idea is to advertise by repeating  "you have the right" throughout his ad to make Burger king seem like the ideal place, however these rights only comes when you are a paying customer at Burger King . The quote " You have the right to stand up and fight for what you believe in." is similar to the first amendment in the Bill of Rights. By giving us these "Burger King" rights he w...

       John Green a very famous, American author, creator of  "The fault in Our stars" and "Paper Towns" has a different evaluation of what he considers the American dream to be. The American dream is when you have the opportunity for prosperity and success, that " life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement" as stated by James Truslow Adams.  John Green thinks this so called  American Dream is unrealistic or dead.     In  John Green's quote in Let it snow: Three holiday romances he delineates this " American dream" with insane topics such as the quote " They had a dream that one day amid the snowy hilltops of western North Carolina, their son would lose his virginity to a cheerleader in the woman's bathroom of a Waffle House just off the interstate". A cheerleader, white cheerleader, popular, rich, blue eyes would be the perfect epitome of the class...