The Apology: Letters From a Terrorist, written by Laura Blumenfeld, details the her pursuit of Omar Khatib, the man who shot her father. Laura, thirteen years after her father was shot by Omar, writes of her encounter with the Khatib family as well as establishing a correspondence with Omar, who at the time was in prison, via an exchange of letters. Laura primarily uses juxtaposition, as well as pathos, to identify, and at times even to argue for or rationalize, the differing perspectives in the essay’s center conflict. Using this act of violence as the catalyst for her reflection on the Middle East, Laura interweaves historical information about the disputes between the Israelis and Palestinians while writing about her encounter with Omar.
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As mentioned before, Blumenfeld uses juxtaposition and pathos to disposition the reader into sympathizing with Omar, and the primary source of juxtaposition comes from the author’s insertion of Omar’s letters in the narrative. This is notably accomplished in Omar’s final letter to Laura’s father where he writes, “I would like you to know I’ve prayed a lot you … I would first like to express to you my deep pain and sorrow for what I caused you.” The essay could perhaps work with the Hamlet unit, perhaps functioning as a ‘break’ for one night in the ‘Hamlet’ curriculum. This essay, in conjunction with the Hamlet unit, analyzes the relationships of the family, notably so with the child and father. Moreover, similar to Hamlet, The Apology expands upon the warring nations, the loss of engaging in conflict, and how one’s vehement disposition or emotion shrouds reason. Hamlet notably mentions warring nations when writing of the conflict between Norway and Denmark. Likewise, Hamlet mentions the loss of engaging in conflict multiple times such as the deaths of Claudius and Hamlet …show more content…
Opening in the first few sentences with, “[t]he Germans were over this house last night and the night before that…. lying in the dark and listening to the zoom of a hornet which may at any moment sting you to death,” Woolf effectively establishes the eerie ambiance of London during an air raid. Woolf uses her narrative of the air raid as a platform for her argument on the fact that women, during the course of the Second World War, had limited roles in regards to ‘defending freedom.’ Woolf identifies how, unlike their male counterparts, women have maintained the same roles during the Second World War even to the point where a woman is discouraged from expanding beyond ‘childbearing.’ In defending her claim, Woolf questions the rationality of restricting women from aiding in the war effort through her use of rhetorical questions. Woolf uses rhetorical questions such as, ‘would we submit.’ We believe this essay would work best after the class reads Virginia Woolf’s essay, Professions for Women. Likewise, this essay would also work well during the argument essay unit as it employs the use of appeals, notably pathos, as well as rhetorical devices such as rhetorical questions. Woolf employs the use of pathos throughout her argument especially with her rhetorical questions as she establishes a the sentiment of ‘a call to action.’ The essay could also fit in
As mentioned before, Blumenfeld uses juxtaposition and pathos to disposition the reader into sympathizing with Omar, and the primary source of juxtaposition comes from the author’s insertion of Omar’s letters in the narrative. This is notably accomplished in Omar’s final letter to Laura’s father where he writes, “I would like you to know I’ve prayed a lot you … I would first like to express to you my deep pain and sorrow for what I caused you.” The essay could perhaps work with the Hamlet unit, perhaps functioning as a ‘break’ for one night in the ‘Hamlet’ curriculum. This essay, in conjunction with the Hamlet unit, analyzes the relationships of the family, notably so with the child and father. Moreover, similar to Hamlet, The Apology expands upon the warring nations, the loss of engaging in conflict, and how one’s vehement disposition or emotion shrouds reason. Hamlet notably mentions warring nations when writing of the conflict between Norway and Denmark. Likewise, Hamlet mentions the loss of engaging in conflict multiple times such as the deaths of Claudius and Hamlet …show more content…
Opening in the first few sentences with, “[t]he Germans were over this house last night and the night before that…. lying in the dark and listening to the zoom of a hornet which may at any moment sting you to death,” Woolf effectively establishes the eerie ambiance of London during an air raid. Woolf uses her narrative of the air raid as a platform for her argument on the fact that women, during the course of the Second World War, had limited roles in regards to ‘defending freedom.’ Woolf identifies how, unlike their male counterparts, women have maintained the same roles during the Second World War even to the point where a woman is discouraged from expanding beyond ‘childbearing.’ In defending her claim, Woolf questions the rationality of restricting women from aiding in the war effort through her use of rhetorical questions. Woolf uses rhetorical questions such as, ‘would we submit.’ We believe this essay would work best after the class reads Virginia Woolf’s essay, Professions for Women. Likewise, this essay would also work well during the argument essay unit as it employs the use of appeals, notably pathos, as well as rhetorical devices such as rhetorical questions. Woolf employs the use of pathos throughout her argument especially with her rhetorical questions as she establishes a the sentiment of ‘a call to action.’ The essay could also fit in