Cuckoo's Nest #3

1. Can the Chief really be labeled "crazy?" Why or why not?

• In some aspects, "crazy" would not be an accurate term to describe Chief. He is in the hospital because he refused to talk and to speak. This manifestation occurred after Chief was ignored as the white men were plotting to take his land. He still has the ability to think on his own, to speak, and to hear. However, the Chief experienced hallucinations, mainly visual, in the first part of the book. That would nearly be enough to diagnose him with a schizophrenic label. We are never truly told what Chief has, but we see the disappearance of these hallucinations toward the end of the book when McMurphy's influence has taken over the patients. 

2. How does this book reflect views of women from the 1960's?

• Cuckoo's Nest displays the Nurse as a controlling, manipulating, influential womanly figure. She could represent the corrupting influence of power that strong communistic governments hold, but her influence also stems over to the power of women at the time the novel was written. It was seen women in the government would cause oppression, debilitation, and dehumanization. As much as she tries, she cannot conceal the obvious sign of her womanhood - her large bossom. 

3. In the end, which character achieved the most success? The Nurse or McMurphy?

• We still see the Nurse as on obtrusive figure, but McMurphy has completely shattered her power. She will never again regain the influence she once held in the ward. Because of this, McMurphy has achieved the most success in the hospital. He sacrificed himself to the good of the other people, allowing everyone to escape or be set free.

4. What is the significance of the fog, and why was it reoccurring?

• Because this is a mental institution, we know that the patients are heavily medicated by the Nurse. During the 60's, pharmaceutical companies also chose to use these patients as experimental drug testers, often giving them unconstitutional amounts of medication.  Chief was experiencing the fog more often during the first part of the book where we know the Nurse was continuously handing him pills to take. As he begins to think for himself and stop taking the medication, he can think more clearly and rid himself of the medically-induced fog the nurse created.

Cuckoo's Nest #2

The conflict between Big Nurse and McMurphy is in full swing at the end of "Part One." Who is getting the best of their rivalry at this point? Why do you say that (specific evidence)?

What is your perception of the Chief at this point in the story? Why? And how has the presence of McMurphy changed the Chief's character or his narration (be specific)?

Who are you rooting for at this point in the story and why?
1. By the end of Part 1, McMurphy is getting the best of Big Nurse in their argument. "But she doesn't blow up, not right off, not until about an hour later" (page 124). After they are done arguing, Big Nurse must keep her cool and remain calm in front of the patients. However, McMurphy's rebuttals are finally getting to the Big Nurse and remaining constantly collected is proving to be extremely difficult.
2. At this point, Chief is being "lifted out of the fog" by McMurphy. His personality and thoughts are consequently changing because of his interaction with McMurphy. Soon enough, Chief starts to think of the people around him as insane instead of his fellow peers. "If somebody'd of come in and took a look, men watching a blank TV, a fifty-year old woman hollering and squealing at the back of their heads about discipline and order and recriminations, they'd of thought the whole bunch was as crazy as loons" (page 126).
3. At this point in the story, I am rooting for McMurphy, just as the author expects the reader to. I think McMurphy is crucial to the battle against society and conformity, and McMurphy represents the counter-culture urging people to break free from the holds of society. McMurphy is slowly but surely influencing and changing the atmosphere of the mental hospital, challenging the woman who usually enforces strict order and discpline.

OFOTCN #1

Having talked about hero, antihero, and villain in class, I am sure that you are completely clear on what all three are. And knowing that, you also are aware that how you classify chraracters into one of these categories is a very personal thing.

Chief Bromden: I assume Chief to be an antihero. He is dumb and deaf and without those abilities, he will probably fail realistic to grow as a person if he is stuck inside his own world. We all hope for Chief to regain himself, but this will be a very difficult task when he is alienated from everyone else because of his label of a Chronic. "They got enough of those things they call pills down me so I don't know a thing" (page 8)

McMurphy: McMurphy already appears to be the protagonist. Following common story lines, he will be the villian. He is out of place in the institution, almost seeming happy. "Yet he looks like he's enjoying himself, like he's the sort of guy that gets a laugh out of people."

Nurse: The nurse is the woman who helps everyone and monitors the patients. She seems to slowly dehumanize each person that is taken in, so I would classify her as the villain. "Right as your balls. No, that nurse ain't some kinda monster chicken, buddy, what she is is a ball-cutter." (page 54)

Gatsby 3

Create four open-ended questions - two interpretive in nature and two evaluative in nature - that have to do with the novel The Great Gatsby. These should address a wide array of ideas and themes from the book. You also need to come up with a one paragraph answer for each of your questions. These questions can be something that you don't know the answer to, but are willing to speculate about, or they can be questions to which you think you know the answer and feel very strongly about. Either way, these questions should be thought-provoking and their answers should show evidence not only that you've reasd the text, but that you understood it on more than a literal level.


I 1. How does wealth determine status in Gatsby and what do you think Fitzgerald is implying by this?

• In Gatsby, wealth seems to be the judging factor for everyone in the upper class. If you are not wealthy, you are not worthy. Gatsby worked his way up from a very average man to a rich one. When he was poor, the women he loved would not marry him. As he gained success and money, he was able to obtain Daisy. Fitzgerald is implying that with wealth comes happiness, whether it is genuine or a false sense of the feeling. 

I 2. How is honest (or the lack of) prevalent throughout the story?

• As Nick is introduced, he prides himself in being completely honest. Through the book, we see Nick having biased judgments on the characters that come through. By the end of the book, Nick has been dating Jordan, who is extremely dishonest. She has cheated several times with Nick and they finally split due to her dishonesty and cheating. Daisy is not honest with Tom about her affair, and Tom is not honest with Daisy about his affair. 

E 3. Is it fair to say that based on the characters from Gatsby we are driven by our dreams from the past?

• Gatsby is continuously searching for ways to reconstruct and fix his past. Fitzgerald was a man who lived an extravagant life, but he was barely able to afford the luxuries he indulged in. He was constantly trying to live the wealthy lifestyle he dreamed of and the family he came from. We can probably interpret this and conclude that Fitzgerald implies we are constantly looking for ways to relive the past. We can never move onto the future without satisfying the past first.

E 4. What is the importance of Gatsby and the American Dream to Fitzgerald's view of the American Dream?

• Gatsby worked himself up from a lowly soldier to a highly-regarded man with status and wealth. Fitzgerald was born into an upper middle class family, but as he grew older he was not able to completely indulge in the wealth he was born into. After he married Zelda, they consistently threw lavish parties that constantly kept them tight on money. Fitzgerald was constantly striving to obtain something he could not have, implying the American Dream was a failure. Gatsby was the same way in that even after he built himself up to wealth and status, he was not fully happy. He still died a painful death without the woman he thought loved him.

Gatsby #2

Fitzgerald does a fantastic job of revealing details to us a little at a time, allowing us to pass and change judgment as the story progresses. Address the following questions in relation to the development of Jay Gatsby: 1) What is the purpose of Meyer Wolfsheim as a character? How does he affect the way we see Gatsby? 2) What does the backstory about Jay and Daisy's past do to our impressions of Gatsby? 3) What does the story of the rest of Gatsby past due to our impressions of him? 4) How does your overall impression of Gatsby change over these three chapters - do you like him more, less, and why?

1. Meyer Wolfsheim is almost known as the accomplice to Gatsby when he first started out making money. He is the character that allows us to see into Gatsby's questionable past and we start to wonder whether Gatsby is genuine or not.
2. Gatsby's relationship with Daisy shows us that he chooses to live in the past. He states he feels "married" to her, so he continuously tries to return to her with no luck. When he finally meets her again, Gatsby is able to satisfy his dream of being with her. His feelings in the one moment when he realized he liked Daisy stuck with him forever, never letting him leave the past.
3. With Gatsby's past, we realize he is not always telling the truth. Yes, he is an Oxford man, but it is because he attended Oxford for 5 months thanks to the military. How can we trust the small things Gatsby says? We realize he is much more of a common man than we hold him to be.
4. I started to think less of Gatsby. At first, I felt he was a mysterious character and I was entranced by his presence in the book. After learning about his past, I wanted to resent him. I wondered why he wouldn't tell the truth and stretched the small lies.

Jelly Roll Morton "Black Bottom Stomp"

1. This msc sounds upbeat, happy, and lively. I can see people happily dancing to it at Gatsby's party, smiling and laughing. It would add to the pleasant and sophisticated feel of the party.
2. The mood is joyous and happy. It is upbeat, the melody is sort of higher pitched, you hear drums, you hear some flutes, and even possibly a trumpet.
3. Activities with this song wuld be dancing, laughing, socializing, and maybe being in a hurry. It seems very modern for its time and it not fit for close, intimate contact. This would be a party where people come to dance and not really get to know the other people at the party.

The Great Gatsby Chapters 1-3

Having talked about hero, antihero, and villain in class, I am sure that you are completely clear on what all three are. And knowing that, you also are aware that how you classify chraracters into one of these categories is a very personal thing. 

Looking at first three chapters of The Great Gatsby, make some predictions about these characters and (unlike Nick) classify them into one of the three categories - hero, antihero, and villain. Give ample reasons for your classification, with support for the text (that means quotes...and page numbers).

• Nick Carraway appears to be the main character and most likely an antihero. He is honest, nice, and relatable. "In that consequence, I'm inclined to reserve all judgments, a habit that has opened up many curious natures to me and also made me the victim of not a few veteran bores." (ph 1) Nick is the person you would go to when you needed someone to discuss your personal issues with, that fine confidant everyone wishes to have in their life. It seems he will become an antihero because he doesn't seem to have an distinguishable heroic characteristics. 
• Tom Buchanan resembles a villain in my eyes. "He had changed since his New Haven years. Now he was a sturdy straw-haired man of thirty with a rather hard mouth and supercilious manner." (pg 7) The word supercilious gives off a negative vibe - who wants a stuck-up, conceited man to become the hero of the story?
• Jay Gatsby is a hero or an antihero. He is admired by all and shows no signs of malicious or evil behavior. He is the character we all anticipate to be brought back into the plot once he momentarily disappears. "He smiled understandingly - much more than understandably. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may across four or five times in a life." Gatsby is continuously idolized and therefor the reader ultimately wants nothing more than Gatsby to be the hero of the story.

Justin Bua

Justin Bua's style is quite dramatic, dark, and abstract. The figures appear almost inhuman like. He uses many dark colors that are close together on the color wheel in the background with contrasting colors in the foreground. You feel sort of doomed when you see his paintings; they are clearly not giving off a happy vibe. The paintings look distorted, almost like something is wrong.

3. FOR THE BLOG write a contrast paragraph on the effectiveness of the two death penalty essays. Which of the two - Mencken or Kroll - do you find to be more effective in persuading you and why?


While Kroll and Mencken are arguing about the same topic, they are most definitely not arguing for the same side. Mencken uses a straightforward, logical, credible approach to persuading the reader into going for the support of capital punishment. Kroll uses a heavily emotional, firsthand account to give the reader a describe view into why the death penalty should not be carried out as it is. After reading both articles, I felt Kroll's use of pathos to persuade me was much more efficient in his argument. In paragraph 23, the sentence "He writhed for seven minutes, his head falling on his chest, saliva drooling from his open mouth." Kroll doesn't come outright and say he is against the death penalty, but instead he uses certain words with negative connotation to make us feel as if the death penalty is horrible. If Kroll was for it, we would realize if he described the murder with a certain tone of happiness or sadist voice. After we read sentences like the one above, we get a sick feeling to our stomachs. Kroll's pathos approach was effective in arguing the validation of his point to me, someone who is easily persuaded by emotion and feeling.

Sixteen Military Wives

1. This song is about the wonders that America can accomplish. It also discusses how many people are involved, but not everyone is fully into the situation.
2. The theme is this song is that America is not the huge, involved, invincible power it is made out to be. "Seventeen company men/out of which only twelve will make it back again" in tandem with the chorus, "cause America can/cause America can't say no" is saying that we take so much pride in these patriotic things, but they really aren't doing good for us. The death of these men will hurt the wives, but we justify it by saying it is in the name of America. "Eighteen academy chairs/ out of which only seven really even care" is discussing how there is a big celebration admired by the majority of America, but the people involved in the event barely even care about what they are presenting. The song is trying to get us to realize saying America can, America says it's so is not a valid excuse, we must stop doing things for the outward appearance. The cannibals, the lower class of the nation, often go unnoticed by eventually consume what they are being told by the people above them in the social hierarchy, like the military wives or the celebrities.

Race for the Prize

The theme of this song is that perseverance may not always bring you the desired outcome. During the song, "theirs is to win/ if it kills them" is repeated during the chorus. It refers to the scientist who are continuously fighting for the top. In the end, it changes to "theirs is to win/ it will kill them." It is saying this perseverance may not bring the people to their ultimate goal or dream, but instead be the death of them. The tone of the song is ominous and freaky, almost symbolizing and referencing an eerie death. Some people felt the song was calm, but I was unable to get past the spooky undertones.

Patrick Henry Fallacy

1) write a quote from the speech that commits a fallacy. 2) Tell what fallacy it commits and explain why it is guilty of committing that logical flaw. 3) Explain why a speech that blatantly commits so many fallacies can still be so effective and so famous.  


1. "For my own part I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate." (paragraph 2)
2. This quote reflects the excluded middle fallacy. Excluded middle leaves room for only two options, having no third option available. Patrick Henry is stating the country can either be enslaved or be free; he is not giving any other options to the situation. This creates a very dramatic situation that people are more likely to pay attention to. When they realize they can fight for one or submit to the other, their feelings become intensified and they end up agreeing to the point the author is trying to make.
3. If a speech can effectively stir the feelings of people, it will be successful in convincing the audience of whatever the message may be. Most fallacies mess with how people think or feel, or target logos/pathos. Fallacies tend to be dramatic and catch people's attention, drawing them into the speech and giving special thought to the issue at hand.

Duck & Cover

The overt message is to duck and dover when you see an atomic bomb or when you hear an atomic bomb warning. It also tells you to obey civil service officers.
The unintentional covert message is that the government can keep you safe.

This is partly informational and persuasion; it is informing you what to do during atomic bombs and persuading you to do it for your safety. This is propaganda in a way because we know in the back of our minds that ducking and covering will not protect us. This is keeping our fear and naivety. It presents the fact that the government can keep us safe in times of fear.

Destination Earth

What is the overt message in this ad? How do we know this? What is the covert message in this ad? How do we know that? How is this propaganda (include and be specific about how it uses the specific types of propaganda we have read about)?


The overt message in this ad is the USA is better than other countries or places because of the freedom involved with supply and competition. We are also convinced oil is good for us.
The covert message is that the petroleum companies are doing good for us. It is trying to also convince us to be afraid of communism because they do not have a free economy like we do. It is holding the USA over everyone; the martians came to our country and were amazed at how we functioned. The video took no note of any other country or place other than the United States.
This is propaganda because it leaves you with a lasting, underlying message. The message is that the USA is better than other places like Russia because of our free market. We have supply and competition, which allows for a happy country. They are also trying to convince us the oil companies are doing more good than harm. 

The Clash - Clampdown

Look at the lyrics to this song. What are they about? How do you know (what is your proof from the song)? What musical elements (volume, tempo, instrumentation) helps to push your lyrical interpretation of the song? Find me something in the song that relates to propaganda, persuasion, deception, rhetoric, or argument and explain it. 


The lyrics to the song are about persuading people to the extent of total control. The people have successfully fallen pray to the persuasion techniques, "working for the clampdown," and sacrificing their time "the judge said five to ten but I say double that again."
Musical elements that help push the message are the constant, repeating beat. This could perhaps symbolize the individuality lost once everyone is persuaded into believing something. 
"They put a poster saying we earn more than you" relates to propaganda and persuasion, covertly convincing people they must obey and work hard to be parallel or above everyone else.

Propaganda, Persuasion, Rhetoric, and Argument

1032.Many slogans and catchphrases are so general and abstract as to be practically meaningless to critical perception.... if they are taken merely at their face value, they can easily become a substitute for analytical thinking and serious argument, thus preventing meaningful debate. WILLIAM E. TANNER & J. DEAN BISHOP, Rhetoric and Change, 1985.

• Explained: A critical aspect of propaganda is to let the viewer interpret them as they choose to do so. There is a certain thought created when the propaganda is made, but there is no outright covert message. Instead, there are several ways to inspect the information and mold it to your own beliefs. This is why propaganda can be so effective; people have room for personal interpretation. It imposes an argument that you can always find a solution to because you are creating it yourself. For example, take old Russian communism propaganda. They made communism seem appealing and urgent, covertly encouraging people to blindly agree with communism. People could create their own reasons for the decision; communism will save us, communism will protect our country, etc. 

1050.The most powerful forms of social control maybe found not in dramatic coercive situations, but in everyday institutions that shape our lives: family, community, school, church. SARAH TRENHOLM, Persuasion and Social Influence, 1989.

1062.A man who wishes to impose his opinions on others is unsure of their value. He has to uphold them by all possible means. He adopts a special tone of voice, thumps the table, smiles on some and browbeats others. In short, he borrows from his body the wherewithal to bolster up his mind. PAUL VALERY (1871-1945), Bad Thoughts and Not So Bad, 1942.

1071.[H]uman beings are extremely sensitive to coincidence. We are fascinated and bewildered by events that come together despite seemingly impossible odds. Their very improbability leads us to search for their deeper significance. STUART A. VYSE, Believing In Magic: The Psychology of Superstition, 1997.