Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech analysis

            For a class assignment, I had to read and analyze Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech. In his speech, Martin Luther King is trying to open the eyes of America and see that people of color are truly not free. His vision for America is that we will rise to our fullest potential, and all people despite their ethnicity  would be united as one. To help convey his powerful message, Dr. King uses strong emphasis, metaphors, similes, repetition,allusion, and themes.

   His major themes were equality, justice, dream, freedom, and unity for all people. Dr. King alluded to Abraham Lincoln, who emancipated the slaves, the Constitution, and Declaration of Independence. The Constitution and Declaration of Independence were two important documents that were written to insure that all men would be entitled to the rights of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. He also uses biblical allusions, and  metaphors like "the quick sands of racial injustice" and "high plane of dignity and discipline". He use repetition to provide emphasis on phrases such as "I have a dream", "We cannot be satisfied", "Go back to...[state]", and "Let freedom ring". Martin Luther King dream was to fulfill the ultimate American dream, and in order to achieve that dream, themes such as unity, equality, and freedom has to be evident.   

-Monie
        

My Analysis Summary of "I Have A Dream"

     The speech took place at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington,D.C. and was given by Martin Luther King Jr.In his speech he used metaphors,similes,a little personification, and allusions to describe the treatment of colored people by whites and the actions that colored people had to take to right the wrong.He mentioned four documents,one being a song:The Declaration of Independence,the Emancipation Proclamation,the Bible, and the song America:My Country 'Tis of Thee.His unspoken message in mentioning and quoting from the documents is quite clear:It wasn't equal in America as three out of the four documents claimed.The themes of the speech are equality,the four documents;their message,his dream,freedom and segregation.

     King used repetition when mentioning specific states in the South:Georgia,Mississippi,Alabama,and South Carolina.Those were some of the most racist states back then.He also mentioned California,New York and New Hampshire to convey that his dream included all states,from the Pacific coast to the Atlantic coast.King's uses the Declaration and Proclamation because they are both documents promising freedom,justice and equal rights to all people--white or otherwise.He describes slavery and people being in mental chains and implies that the documents weren't being taken into effect.

     The purpose of this speech was:to inform people that living together peacefully as friends and family was possible;To expose the cruelties against colored people and people of different religions;To put the idea of freedom,equality and a future with no segregation in peoples' head.

Zuranica

"Facebook founder returns to Harvard to recruit talent" by David Keppler--Article Analysis

              In the article,"Facebook founder returns to Harvard to recruit talent", by David Keppler, the word that is significant is "recruit". The word, "recruit", is significant because it is the reason Mark Zuckerburg came back to Harvard. The article state "He [Mark Zuckerburg] returned Monday with triumphant message: He's hiring." Mark Zuckerburg needs people to help him create a legacy. He told the audience at Harvard that what he has done is only the beginning, and now he is trying to reshape different products and industries. Aaron Perez, a student at Harvard, talked about how Zuckerburg inspired him to pursue computer science, and is encouraged that companies are hiring computer programmers in the midst of an economic crisis. Zuckerburg also went to MIT to recruit as well. The article's main purpose is to inform people about Zuckerburg's recruiting at Harvard.

-Monie

P.S. To view the article, go to http://news.yahoo.com/facebook-founder-returns-harvard-recruit-202820284.html

            

"It's not an iPhone 5,but so what?" by Rachel Metz -- Article Analysis

Directions:Explain whether the author's choice of words and phrases effectively describes his/her purpose.In your response,use words and phrases from the passage that support your explanation.

     In the article "It's not an iPhone 5,but so what?" by Rachel Metz,you can clearly understand her purpose.The purpose of the article is to tell readers that despite the iPhone 4S's name lacking a 5,it's still a great phone and has improved since the iPhone 4.
     There are plenty of words and supporting her purpose.In the beginning of the article,she stated that "...with a faster processor,new software,a voice-activated personal assistant and a souped-up camera,it's a major improvement."She also says "if you're sporting an older model such as the 3GS or considering making the leap to an iPhone...it's an excellent excuse to buy one.
     The author was also very enthusiastic when describing Siri,the voice-activated personal assistant."I was able to speak as I normally would...She's also a dictation dynamo,transcribing emails and texts much better than a phone running Google Inc.'s Android software.
     To conclude her article her article she wrote "If you don;t have an iPhone,however,the 4S is a great one to get,even if its name doesn't include a '5'."

Zuranica

Reflection on Diary Of A Young Girl: Anne Frank

        

            While reading Anne Frank’s diary, I noticed that Anne found the brightness in every situation despite the grimness of the condition she was in. Even though she isn't in the greatest predicament, she finds something good. For example, she said "As long as you look can fearlessly up into the heavens, as long as you know that you are pure within, and that you will still find happiness (she found it in God and nature)". She started writing in her diary because she had no one to confide in, and the ironic thing was that she stated “who will be interested in the unbosomings of a thirteen- year- old schoolgirl”.  Now, her diary is read by millions of people worldwide. She talks about how she feels about her experiences such as boys, family, puberty, and her joy and sorrows, which shows that she is like any other teenage girl. She is very mature-minded for her age, although it comes across wrong. She feels that she isn’t fully appreciated by the people around her just because she is the youngest.

           Anne Frank is very honest in her writing and is introspective. She's also a great critic of other people. In her diary, Anne tries to understand human nature and the personalities of people around her. For example, she does a very critical assessment of her mother. She views her mother as a person who lacks sympathy, and the important factors that she thinks a mother should have. Anne matures greatly during the years she stayed at the Secret Annexe. At the beginning, she said she suffered "from moods that kept my head under water...and only allowed me to see the thing subjectively without enabling me to consider quietly the words of the other side...", which also shows how honest she is about herself. Anne become more mature and allowed herself to be more aware of the other person's feelings. Anne is becoming aware of the feelings that are occurring while she's going through puberty. Instead of longing for female companionship, she strongly desires male intimacy(specifically Peter). She also undergoes her menstrual cycles which she views as a "sweet secret". Toward the end of the book, Anne assesses herself by looking at herself before she lived in the secret annexe, in 1943, and in 1944.

             In 1943, she was writing about how miserable she was and who made her feel this way. She was confused on how everyone changed so quickly. She became depressed due to the harsh remarks towards her,and resorted to Kitty. In 1944, she is focusing more on her inner self and finding  beauty and hope in a world full of ugliness and despair. She talks a little about politics and what is happening outside. She disagrees with her mother's advice on thinking about all the misery and being thankful you are not sharing it. She looked to the very thing people take for granted: sunshine, nature, air, and the green grass to find happiness in herself, and refuses to perish in misery. She talks about her ambitions to become a journalist and a famous writer. In a sense, she achieved that goal by writing in her diary and as a result she became a famous writer. She has a clear perspective of how she has evolved, and struggles with her identity. Her very last diary entry was about her fear of showing her "deeper" self( the Anne who you see when she confides in Kitty), instead of the girl who laughs and jokes around. I have had the privilege of seeing the "deeper" side of Anne Frank, and encourage you to find out about it, too.

Monie

Anne Frank:The Diary of a Young Girl

        This book isn't actually a book.It's a diary,a memoir of a young Jewish girl who felt she didn't have someone to really talk to,so she wrote to Kitty,the name she gave her diary.She got Kitty on her 13th birthday and wrote in it for the next two years of her life.The year was 1942 and World War II was one of the main subjects she talked about.It was a hard time for her.Her friends were leaving school and going into hiding.Jews were under strict rules.And then Jews were being taken away to camps where the unspeakable happened.When the Schutzstaffel or the S.S.,a unit of the Nazis,came for Margot,Anne's sister,the Franks packed up and left there home,spreading the rumor that they had left the country only they went into hiding.There hiding place was dubbed the Secret Annexe and that was where the Franks,the Van Daans,and Mr.Dussel stayed for the next two years.
        During the two years that they stayed there,the families had to get used to each other and it's always hard being forced to live in a tight place with someone else.If you share a room with a sibling you can relate.The regular fussing over what belongs to who and aggravating,sleep-depriving snoring.Anne found it especially difficult.She was close with her father but that was it.She and her mother had always had a rocky relationship,but in the Secret Annexe the relationship pretty much dissipated and was replaced with polite indifference.Anne felt everyone was always against her."Why couldn't she be more like Peter(the Van Daans son)and Margot?"Anne wrote that everyone said.And she didn't really like Mrs.Van Daan and Mr.Dussel.Anne had a temper and wrote quite frequently that she would like to slap those two.She felt criticized and that too often she was being compared to her sister.She couldn't understand why they couldn't just accept her as she was,but,Anne was mature and dealt with it it.
         By 1944,a lot of things had changed in the Secret Annexe,especially Anne.She had changed emotionally as well as physically.Her and Peter became good friends,very close,talking a lot about their parents,the War,and the books they read.She and her father grew a little apart and weren't so close as they once were.The War affected not just the outside world,but,also,the Secret Annexe inhabitants.Food supplies were low and air raids were frequent.As Anne's diary came to a close,you could really tell the difference that had happened within her,that she was more mature and independent and intellectual.Her diary ended on a good note and even though she is dead now,her diary left behind a piece of her and she has shared something great with the world.

Zuranica