In class: Discussion of the material. Everyone is expected to contribute, using reading points to support your opinions. You are encouraged to bring in outside information. Homework grade for the completed reading and underlining; classroom participation grade for the discussion.
Homework for Monday November 5: oral traditions. Class handout / copy below. Please answer the questions in complete sentences on a separte sheet of paper. You may, of course, send them ahead typed.
Homework for Tuesday / November 6: Ann Bradstreet poem and accompanying questions. Class handout / copy below. Please answer the questions on a separate sheet of paper. This is a more involved assignment; so I suggest you do not wait.
Homework for Wednesday / November 7: learn the Rhetorical Triangle and the meaning of logos, ethos and pathos.
handout / copy below. Expect a test tomorrow on this material, as it is fundamental for both the classwork and your writing.
Homework for Thursday November 8: finish reading Sinners in the Angry Hand of God and answer the accompanying questions. copy of both below.
Oral Traditions
Oral tradition refers to the process of passing down sayings, songs, tales and myths from one generation to the next by word of mouth. Native Americans did not have a written language, through they occasionally recorded myths or historical events in pictographs engraved on wood or hide or in symbols painted on strings of beads. Therefore, members of a tribe memorized the tribal literature and communicated it orally to the next generations. In some tribes, the person who had the best memory became the “keeper” of the tribe’s history, songs and myths.
Indian poetry began as songs chanted to a regular beat. Sometimes complicated melodies accompanied the words. To help the singer remember the poem or song, lines were often repeated, sometimes with a slight variation in the second line. Each line usually contained the same number of accented syllables or beats. Certain images and comparisons wer also used so often that the listeners expected to hear them in tribal songs.
The following songs survived for generations in the oral tradition. As you read them, listen to the rhythm and look for repeated lines and images.
From The Houses of Magic: deer Pima
1. Down from the houses of magic,
Down from the houses of magic;
Blow the winds, and from my antlers
And my ears, they stronger gather.
Over there I am trembling,
Over there I am trembling,
For bows and arrows pursued me,
Many bows were on my trail.
2. I ran into the swamp confused,
There I heard the tadpoles singing,
I ran into the swamp confused,
Where the bark-clothed tadpoles sang.
In the west the dragonfly wanders,
Skimming the surfaces of the pools,
Touching only with his tail. He skims
With flapping and rustling wings.
3. At the time of the white dawning,
At the time of the white dawining,
I arose and went away,
At Blue Nighfall I went away.
4. The evening glow yet lingers
The evening glow yet lingers;
And I sit with my gourd rattle
Engaged in the sacred chant,
As I wave the eagle feathers
We hear the magic sounding.
5. Pittable harlot that I am
My heart glows with the singing
While the evening yet is young.
My heart glows with the singing.
6. Now the swallow begins his singing;
Now the swallow begins his singing;
And the women who are with me,
The poor women commence to sing.
The swallows met in the standing cliff,
The swallows met in the standing cliff;
And the rainbows arched above me.
There the blue rainbow arches met.
7. In the reddish glow of the nightfall,
In the reddish glow of the nightfall.
I return to my burrow
About which the flowers bloom.
With four eagle feathers,
With the four eagle feathers,
I stir the air. When I turn
My magic power is crossed.
To think about…
1. Summarize the narrator’s movements What
does he do at “the time of the white dawning”?
2. The Pims, as well as many other Indians, considered
the deer to be a sacred animal. (a) What qualities of
make them appropriate for being considered sacred?
3. How does the way in which most people regard deer
differ from the Pima view?
4. What does this difference suggest about the contrasts
between Pima society and today’s society?
Tuesday's work:
Here followes some verses upon the burning of our house, July 10th, 1666.
Here followes some verses upon the burning of our house, July 10th, 1666.
For sorrow neer I did not look,
I waken'd was with thundring nois
And Piteous shreiks of dreadfull voice.
That fearfull sound of fire and fire,
Let no man know is my Desire.
I, starting up, the light did spye,
And to my God my heart did cry
To strengthen me in my Distresse
And not to leave me succourlesse.
Then coming out beheld a space,
The flame consume my dwelling place.
And, when I could no longer look,
I blest his Name that gave and took,
That layd my goods now in the dust:
Yea so it was, and so 'twas just.
It was his own: it was not mine;
Far be it that I should repine.
He might of All justly bereft,
But yet sufficient for us left.
When by the Ruines oft I past,
My sorrowing eyes aside did cast,
And here and there the places spye
Where oft I sate, and long did lye.
Here stood that Trunk, and there that chest;
There lay that store I counted best:
My pleasant things in ashes lye,
And them behold no more shall I.
Under thy roof no guest shall sitt,
Nor at thy Table eat a bitt.
No pleasant tale shall 'ere be told,
Nor things recounted done of old.
No Candle 'ere shall shine in Thee,
Nor bridegroom's voice ere heard shall bee.
In silence ever shalt thou lye;
Adieu, Adeiu; All's vanity.
Then streight I gin my heart to chide,
And didst thy wealth on earth abide?
Didst fix thy hope on mouldring dust,
The arm of flesh didst make thy trust?
Raise up thy thoughts above the skye
That dunghill mists away may flie.
Thou hast an house on high erect
Fram'd by that mighty Architect,
With glory richly furnished,
Stands permanent tho' this bee fled.
It's purchased, and paid for too
By him who hath enough to doe.
A Prise so vast as is unknown,
Yet, by his Gift, is made thine own.
Ther's wealth enough, I need no more;
Farewell my Pelf, farewell my Store.
The world no longer let me Love,
My hope and Treasure lyes Above.
Text notes:
Line 5: fire and fire, Fire! and Fire!
Line 11: beheld a space, watched for a time
Line 14: I blest his name that gave and took, see Job 1:21
Line 24: Sate, sat
Line 40: Arm of flesh, see 2 Chron. 32:8; Isa. 9:18-20; Jer. 17:4-7
Line 42: Dunghill mists, see Ezra 6:9-12.
Line 43: House on high erect, see 2 Cor. 5:1; Heb. 11:10
Line 48: Enough to doe, ie. enough to do it
Line 52: Pelf, property, possessions
Line 54: Treasure lyes Above, see Luke 12:34
Upon the Burning of Our House
July 10th, 1666
- What does the speaker do when she can no longer look at her burning house?
- What does the speaker see when she passes by her house?
- In the end, where do the speaker’s “hope and treasure” lie?
Interpreting
- Why does the speaker bless God as her house is burning down?
- With what emotions is the speaker filled when she passes by the ruins of her house?
- To what is the speaker referring when she speaks of the “house on high”?
- On the basis of this poem, what generalization would you make about the Puritan attitude toward worldly goods?
- What is the theme of the poem?
- Point out three basic, plain words referring to everyday items.
- Point out three examples of more vivid, colorful words.
11. Find a line that is a direct example of Puritan beliefs.
Logos, ethos, and pathos are important components of all writing, whether we are aware of them or not. By learning to recognize logos, ethos, and pathos in the writing of others and in our own, we can create texts that appeal to readers on many different levels. This handout provides a brief overview of what logos, ethos, and pathos are and offers guiding questions for recognizing and incorporating these appeals.
Aristotle taught that a speaker’s ability to persuade an audience is based on how well the speaker
appeals to that audience in three different areas: logos, ethos, and pathos. Considered together, these appeals form what later rhetoricians have called the rhetorical triangle.
Logos appeals to reason. Logos can also be thought of as the text of the argument, as well as how well a writer has argued his/her point.
Ethos appeals to the writer’s character. Ethos can also be thought of as the role of the writer in the argument, and how credible his/her argument is.
Pathos appeals to the emotions and the sympathetic imagination, as well as to beliefs and values.
Pathos can also be thought of as the role of the audience in the argument.
Questions to help you recognize and utilize logos, ethos, and pathos
The following questions can be used in two ways, both to think about how you are using logos, ethos,
and pathos in your writing, and also to assess how other writers use them in their writing.
Logos:
Is the thesis clear and specific? (for help with thesis statements, see the Revising Thesis Statements handout)
Is the thesis supported by strong reasons and credible evidence?
Is the argument logical and arranged in a well-reasoned order?
Ethos:
What are the writer’s qualifications? How has the writer connected him/herself to the topic
being discussed?
Does the writer demonstrate respect for multiple viewpoints by using sources in the text?
Are sources credible? Are sources documented appropriately?
Does the writer use a tone that is suitable for the audience/purpose? Is the diction (word choice)
used appropriate for the audience/purpose?
Is the document presented in a polished and professional manner?
Pathos:
Are vivid examples, details and images used to engage the reader’s emotions and imagination?
Does the writer appeal to the values and beliefs of the reader by using examples readers can
relate to or care about?
One Final Thought
While the above questions can help you identify or utilize logos, ethos, and pathos in writing, it is important to remember that sometimes a particular aspect of a text will represent more than one of
these appeals. For example, using credible sources could be considered both logos and ethos, as the
sources help support the logic or reasoning of the text, and they also help portray the writer as
thoughtful and engaged with the topic. This overlap reminds us how these appeals work together to
create effective writing.
Thursday's
work:
Excerpts from
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God - sermon given in 1741 by Jonathan Edwards
I. There is no want of power in God to cast wicked men into hell at any moment. Men's hands can't be strong when God rises up: the strongest have no power to resist him, nor can any deliver out of his hands.
He is not only able to cast wicked men into hell, but he can most easily do it. Sometimes an earthly prince meets with a great deal of difficulty to subdue a rebel, that has found means to fortify himself, and has made himself strong by the numbers of his followers. But it is not so with God. There is no fortress that is any defense from the power of God. Though hand join in hand, and vast multitudes of God's enemies combine and associate themselves, they are easily broken in pieces: they are as great heaps of light chaff before the whirlwind; or large quantities of dry stubble before devouring flames. We find it easy to tread on and crush a worm that we see crawling on the earth; so 'tis easy for us to cut or singe a slender thread that anything hangs by; thus easy is it for God when he pleases to cast his enemies down to hell. What are we, that we should think to stand before him, at whose rebuke the earth trembles, and before whom the rocks are thrown down?
II. They deserve to be cast into hell; so that divine justice never stands in the way, it makes no objection against God's using his power at any moment to destroy them. Yea, on the contrary, justice calls aloud for an infinite punishment of their sins. Divine justice says of the tree that brings forth such grapes of
III. They are already under a sentence of condemnation to hell. They don't only justly deserve to be cast down thither; but the sentence of the law of God, that eternal and immutable rule of righteousness that God has fixed between him and mankind, is gone out against them, and stands against them; so that they are bound over already to hell. John 3:18, "He that believeth not is condemned already." So that every unconverted man properly belongs to hell; that is his place; from thence he is. John 8:23, "Ye are from beneath." And thither he is bound; 'tis the place that justice, and God's Word, and the sentence of his unchangeable law assigns to him.
IV. They are now the objects of that very same anger and wrath of God that is expressed in the torments of hell: and the reason why they don't go down to hell at each moment, is not because God, in whose power they are, is not then very angry with them; as angry as he is with many of those miserable creatures that he is now tormenting in hell, and do there feel and bear the fierceness of his wrath. Yea, God is a great deal more angry with great numbers that are now on earth, yea, doubtless with many that are now in this congregation, that it may be are at ease and quiet, than he is with many of those that are now in the flames of hell.
VII. It is no security to wicked men for one moment, that there are no visible means of death at hand. 'Tis no security to a natural man, that he is now in health, and that he don't see which way he should now immediately go out of the world by any accident, and that there is no visible danger in any respect in his circumstances. The manifold and continual experience of the world in all ages, shows that this is no evidence that a man is not on the very brink of eternity, and that the next step won't be into another world. The unseen, unthought of ways and means of persons going suddenly out of the world are innumerable and inconceivable. Unconverted men walk over the pit of hell on a rotten covering, and there are innumerable places in this covering so weak that they won't bear their weight, and these places are not seen. The arrows of death fly unseen at noonday; the sharpest sight can't discern them. God has so many different unsearchable ways of taking wicked men out of the world and sending
Closing:
And you that are young men, and young women, will you neglect this precious season that you now enjoy, when so many others of your age are renouncing all youthful vanities, and flocking to Christ? You especially have now an extraordinary opportunity; but if you neglect it, it will soon be with you as it is with those persons that spent away all the precious days of youth in sin, and are now come to such a dreadful pass in blindness and hardness.
And you children that are unconverted, don't you know that you are going down to hell, to bear the dreadful wrath of that God that is now angry with you every day, and every night? Will you be content to be the children of the devil, when so many other children in the land are converted, and are become the holy and happy children of the King of kings?
And let everyone that is yet out of Christ, and hanging over the pit of hell, whether they be old men and women, or middle aged, or young people, or little children, now hearken to the loud calls of God's Word and providence. This acceptable year of the Lord, that is a day of such great favor to some, will doubtless be a day of as remarkable vengeance to others. Men's hearts harden, and their guilt increases apace at such a day as this, if they neglect their souls: and never was there so great danger of such persons being given up to hardness of heart, and blindness of mind. God seems now to be hastily gathering in his elect in all parts of the land; and probably the bigger part of adult persons that ever shall be saved, will be brought in now in a little time, and that it will be as it was on that great outpouring of the Spirit upon the Jews in the apostles' days, the election will obtain, and the rest will be blinded. If this should be the case with you you will eternally curse this day, and will curse the day that ever you was born, to see such a season of the pouring out of God's Spirit; and will wish that you had died and gone to hell before you had seen it. Now undoubtedly it is, as it was in the days of John the Baptist, the ax is in an extraordinary manner laid at the root of the trees, that every tree that brings not forth good fruit, may be hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Therefore let everyone that is out of Christ, now awake and fly from the wrath to come. The wrath of almighty God is now undoubtedly hanging over great part of this congregation: let everyone fly out of Sodom
Please respond to the following questions pertaining to Jonathan Edwards’ sermon.
1. Why do you think Edwards begins his sermon with a vivid description of Hell?
2. Describe God's wrath. Use specific text in your response.
3. How does this impact the speech?
4. What is the purpose of the sermon?
5. Do you think the approach Edwards takes would be effective in today's society? Explain your answer.
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