"Black Men in Public Spaces(1986)," is a narrative essay written by Brent Staples which explores the phenomenon of racial profiling.  Staples uses personal incidents in his life in which he has been racially profiled by others as a criminal because of his race.  The authors intended purpose is make others more aware of their own social prejudices against others.  Staple's intended audience is everyone, he mentions how all races, classes, and sexes seem to hold these stereotypes.


      While I understand the point that the writer is trying to make in his essay, I could not help but come to the understanding that we all are profiled to some degree.  Whether it is based on a person's race, religion, sex, or age, there are always negative connotations associated with some aspects of a person's life.  Profiling seems unavoidable, it has existed since probably the dawn of time.  All groups of people seem to hold prejudice and stereotypes of others who are outside of their "group."


     Staples focuses on his own personal experiences with racial profiling on blacks.  The text begins when he is a young college student and experiences his first case of racial profiling.  He writes about how he becomes sort of familiar with other people's perception on him.  Because of this, he tries to make himself less threatening to others.  Though he writes on the topic of racial profilling, he does not really seem to use words like racial, prejudice, or stereotype in the text, that would make others believe he was painting himself as a victim. 


    
    

Thirty Eight Who Saw Murder Didn't Call The Police: A Shocking Story

"Thirty Eight Who Saw Murder Didn't Call The Police", which was written by Martin Gansberg, is an unfortunate and shocking story about a woman who was stalked from her workplace back to her home. She worked at a local bar and was the target of a man's fatal attack. She was stabbed multiple times by this stalker and was brutally murdered. During the first of his stabs, she yelled out desperately for help, but to no avail. The THIRTY-EIGHT people who lived in the same apartment building did not react and brushed it off as a simple argument between a couple.

When I read this story, I was shocked. How in the world could 38 different people not dial 911, or even check to see what was happening? Any one of those 38 people could have saved her life. She could still be walking around among us today. But no, they decided to ignore it and continue with what they were doing inside their homes. This event represents how many Americans are used to such situations and brush it off like it was nothing. Violence and crime are so common in that area that they did not even care to help out.

I believe Gansberg wrote this story to get people to take action. He wanted justice for this woman and wanted this kind of crime to end. People should be more aware of their surroundings. If you hear screams for help, go help them or call the authorities. It does not hurt to dial 911 in an emergency situation.

Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain,”(1998) is an informative essay written by Jessica Mitford, which explains the American embalming procedure.  Mitford develops the essay by explaining step by step the embalming process undertakers perform on deceased bodies.  Mitford’s purpose is to explain to others what goes on behind the scenes before a funeral is held.  Her intended audience is everyone, since we all will eventually have to experience some kind of burial process.

    As a self-admitting necrophobe, reading Mitford’s essay was a bit much to process and take in.  I literally felt sick while reading.  The embalming process to me has no logic. I have never had the desire to be buried or experience the embalming procedure.  It is not like the person who is dead knows what is going on anyway.  I try to avoid anything having to do with death, so having to read an assay based on corpses was quite morbid.

     The text reminds me why I try to avoid anything having to do with death.  I do not think I could ever partake in a career where dealing with dead bodies was a necessity . I really did not enjoy having to read this story, and I hope I will not have to in the immediate future.

My Response to How to Mark A Book

            

    Mortimer Adler’s essay, “How to Mark a Book”, (1940) defines a clear and logical way of marking up a book that will help a person not only have a book to read but have a book they respect and understand inside-out. Adler’s essay is merely made up of self-examined ideas and the thought process of humans while reading. The sole purpose of this essay was to not only inform his audiences but to also teach them in order to later have a new found respect for whatever they may read in the future. The intended audiences of the essay are people who are in a more mature stage of studies.

            I automatically connected with Alder’s idea because I’m one of the many college students who try to find a variety of ways to better understand any material I may be studying. The way he explained the art of marking a book helped me see the passion and pure knowledge of how much help this could provide a person. I was personally drawn towards this because it gave me a general idea on how to study to where I will not only just read over the context but I will have a full knowledge of whatever I’m studying. Although people may use different study methods, I do believe that they all fall back to Adler’s idea of marking the book and seeing its true soul.

            They way Mortimer Adler brought this essay together was ingenious. Every explanation not only helps one understand it but it will stick with them after reading. Like most people, I’m one who reads and, in the end, has to go back and read again to gain any kind of knowledge. Adler states in paragraph four, “I am arguing that book, too, must be absorbed in your bloodstream to do you any good.” What Adler clearly means is, until one takes the literature and really makes it a part of themselves, they will never fully acknowledge the true meaning behind it.

That's How I Roll

      "That's How I Roll" was written by Ginny Donaldson for her English 1101 class in 2009. This informative essay describes how and why slang is created and used. Many phrases, such as "That's How I Roll", are used throughout the United States. This kind of slang is widespread and is mutually understood by most Americans. Donaldson poses a question. Why and how is slang created?

      Donaldson uses sources, such as the Urban Dictionary, Google, and Buzzle, to describe her thoughts on this subject. Slang seems to develop everyday. Once new slang is created, most of the old slang becomes obsolete and forgotten. Some slang stays longer than others because they are "sticky" or well-remembered. Radical, hip, and gnarly are examples of slang words that are rarely used now but were commonly used years ago. New slang pops up from many places, such as the Internet or everyday conversation.

      This essay reminds me how I use slang everyday and don't even realize it. Most people feel the same way. Slang phrases are used so often that they receive a spot in the official dictionaries. Throughout any regular day, people like me will use slang words and phrases so much that it becomes part of everyday language. Each day, new slang is added to our repertoire.

My Thoughts on "Why Leaves Turn Color in the Fall'

                              
  "Why Leaves Turn Coloe in the Fall," (1990), is a poetic, scientific essay written by Diane Ackerman, which explains why leaves turn color in the fall.  Ackerman develops the essay by gradually explainig the process  of what causes leaves to change color in the fall.  Ackerman's purpose is to explain the scientific process of  leaves changing colors in a poetic fashion, in order to teach others why the process happens.  Her intended audience is individuals, who although might not be interested in science, are probably fans of poetry.

      I had a hard time reading Ackerman's essay for a long period of time.  Perhaps, the writing style is simply Ackerman's way of writing poetry, it sometimes felt as if Ackerman was doing a little too much in the form of her writing.  For a poem, the essay did not seem to flow gracefully.  Maybe an essay such as this is intended more towards people who enjoy life sciences and can identify more with the subject matter.  As someone who enjoys reading pretty much anything, it was strange to come across a text that had me mentally exhausted after the first two paragraphs.

     The text just did not seem to flow, it seems that when I tried to immerse myself in the essay, I would come across something that made me do a double-take.  Instead of being able to read along and follow the essay, I found myself having to stop and look up the definition of a word in the text.  Even though, I can see how Ackerman used her poetic and scientific knowlede while writing this essay,  I am not so sure that the two blend together very well in her poem.

My Thoughts on "Spanglish"

"Spanglish," (1998) is an article written in TIME magazine by Janice Castro, Don Cook, and Christina Garcia.  The three authors explore on the fact that Spanish is increasingly being used in American society. Castro, Cook, and Garcia develop the essay by using a mixture of both English and Spanish to help the reader understand not only what Spanglish is, but why someone might speak Spanglish instead of English. The writer's purpose is to show others how both the Spanish and English languages have been influenced by each other in America.


Castro, Cook, and Garcia write on a phenomenon that has only increased since 1998.  There are now currently more Spanish speakers in the United States than speakers of Chinese, French, Italian, Hawaiian, and the all of the Native American languages combined.  There are about 35,000,000 people in the United States who speak Spanish as their primary language at home. The influence of English on American Spanish is also very important. In many areas where there is a influx of Spanish immigrants, it is common to mix Spanish and English, thereby producing Spanglish. The new generation of American Hispanics want to preserve knowing and Spanish as equal to knowing English.


The authors of "Spanglish," were not trying to give an opinion on the matter of whether or not one should only speak English when one immigrates to America.  They were simply stating that when you have an influx of foreign speakers, it is almost impossible to expect everyone of them to simply forget their language and culture that preceded their immigration.  Both languages, Spanish and English seem to be expanding off of the other in America.  I believe this was the authors intent, to show how both cultures are trying to learn and cultivate a connection with each other.