Cabeza De Vaca Lit. response

Chelsey Wilkins 8/30/09




This article was about a man around during the times that Christopher Columbus was exploring. The article was about Alvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca. First the article started as maybe a narrator telling the background of Cabeza De Vaca, which was appealing to ethos by saying like hey listen to this guys story he knows his stuff he was located in the very next town. The article also noted that he was a descendent of a war hero who used the cow’s skull to mark a route through an unguarded mountain pass so he was maybe well known in the community. Cabeza De Vaca told us all about the cruelty of the towns, like how they didn’t eat for days and those who couldn’t keep up were left to die. However as the story went on instead of it sounding like a narrator telling the story it began to written in first person which I thought was to draw his audience in by appealing to pathos. No longer was it h experienced this or he felt this it was more of I didn’t eat for days or I felt this way which made the article become more realistic and understandable. Then the article went on and told us about his experiences with the natives and how they ate very little. Among his whole journey Cabeza De Vaca’s main goal was to remember what he had encountered while on his journey. Not only the hard times he faced but the people he met, their barbaric ways, and the cultural ways. This type of determination made me kind of respect him more because no matter how rough things became he didn’t forget his goal. It also made me visualize some of the characteristics he might obtain such as a strong devoted man who keeps his word. Maybe a man who carries himself well and doesn’t disrespect others. I also noticed how he managed to remember what happen down to the very last detail. For instance, when he talked about the Indians he settled with he mentioned not only their behavior but from month to month how they survived. Also how most of them were naked all times of the day and slept under deer skin. The story was very factual and used good diction to appeal to imagery.

Lit. Response(Iroquois Creation Story)

Chelsey Wilkins Two-page Lit. Response



The article “The Iroquois Creation Story” was a legend of our creation told by Davis Cru sick. However, the story is considered a myth because there is no evidence and it is also suggesting the supernatural which I believe isn’t possible. To begin the author of this article tried to appeal to ethos early in this article by telling the background of the story teller. Maybe the author was trying to tell us like hey he was here at the time in the town so his opinion on what really happened matters. Another way Crusick appealed to ethos was by stating that he was a Tuscarora, which completed the sixth nation of the eighteenth century. Crusick’s story contained many things about monsters as if they exist. Now the article mentioned how there was supposed one world with light at the top and the lower world is in darkness which is reasonable because no one knew the exact position of the sun yet they say a woman survived these hard turmoils while sinking to the lower part of the world which is unrealistic. The author did offer some forms of imagery by describing what the “good mind” did with his parent’s body pieces. The story suggest that our sun is made of the :good mind’s” parent’s head which once again comes out to be fictional. I don’t really think he considered his audience to be children who believe in god but maybe older students who desired to know the truth about their origin. The purpose of the article is to give our fellow Americans an idea of where they descended from, how the place we call home became this way. I personally evaluated the essay and believe it’s all a myth because there is no evidence nevertheless detailed examples or explanations. The Pima article about the origin of the world was actually believable. The author used a natural cause as a reason why the world began. Now the last article about the origin of the world didn’t really appeal to ethos at all. They stated that there was no water, no land, no sand, no grass, and no nothing at all then where did it all come from. The article mentioned a man with a crazy name: Ju-wert-a-Mah-kai I mean nice name but no one is aware of who this doctor of love is or where he came from nevertheless how he occupied the title he has. This part of the article seemed unrealistic as well because if there is nothing on earth at all what does this being eat or drink? Human beings have specific needs that require more than just food and drink which pulls the story back towards the supernatural. The story claims that earth was created out of the palms of a beings hand. I believe the author could not have been considering his audience because to me this story sounds fictional and unreasonable.

Simile

A pine tree tree like a nailed cat.