McGuffey Readers

“You” and “unique” creates a sense of flattery, making it seem as though the siren is opening up and getting more comfortable with the reader. Consequently, the speaker of the poem, or the siren, made the audience feel special and needed. This, in turn, provoked the audience to become too engaged with feeling vital and dominant that he or she did not realize that the siren was actually…

In the beginning of the novel, the unnamed protagonist, a young black man graduating high school addresses his graduating class with a speech. Instead of saying “ social responsibility”, he accidentally says “ social equality” and is immediately asked for clarification from his white audience who are shocked about the comment. On page 31 the the narrator recalls “the laughter hung smokelike in the sudden stillness” and the men asked if he was being “smart”. The narrator later apologizes for the…

In the text, Night, the poem, First They Came For The Communist, and the allegory, Terrible Things, there is a common theme between all three of them which is, “Just because a situation isn’t happening to you, doesn’t mean it won’t happen to you at all.” Throughout these three sources, this theme has been shown to be the one thing that they are trying to tell us. This can be called the shared theme because in all three of the sources, there have been bystanders who had to watch as others were…

In this day and age, who wouldn’t want to be able to be given the opportunity to have three wishes granted to them? One might think that this would be an easy decision, however, if only three wishes could be given, how would one determine what desire is of utmost importance to them. The decision regarding what to wish for would require much thought and consideration otherwise it could result in a dangerous and serious consequence. In both “What, of This Goldfish, Would You Wish?” and…

relays no insight, no evidence to the father’s thought process. The water becomes the differentiating point between the father’s claim and his son’s statement. For the reader, the boy’s reasoning lends him more credibility, and, through its ability to supply evidence, the water turns into the means that allows both the boy and the reader to decipher faith from…

There was once somebody that was so annoying that somebody paid to take them away. "The Ransom of Red Chief" by O. Henry tells a story of a boy and his kidnappers in Summit, Alabama. Johnny, Bill, and Ebenezer's thoughts, feelings, and actions were so tremendously ironic that it made the story humorous and unique. Johnny Dorset did not behave the way one might have thought throughout the story. Firstly, he did not want to go home. When asked if he wanted to return home, he said, "'I don't have…

repetition giving the reader the beauty of a poem coupled with the sadness of everyday office life. Roethke wants the reader to feel the sadness oozing from the office worker and he does so with clever repetition, alliteration and strong personification. "Dolor" by Theorore Roethke is a sorrowful yet gripping poem that depicts…

Jay Heinrichs Insight Into the Art of Persuasion In the book, Thank You for Arguing, Jay Heinrichs provides the reader with several rhetoric techniques used in order to construct an effective argument and pass along a logical defense. Throughout this piece of literature, Aristotle, Lincoln and Homer Simpson take part in a huge role which teaches the reader about the art of persuasion, which in Heinrichs eyes, has been lost in today’s world due to the lack of people understanding its true…

Another way the theme is shown throughout both books, is through contrast in characters. In The House of the Scorpion, two contrasting characters are Celia and El Patrón. Celia is a kind chef, who raises the protagonist of the story, Matt. Celia is not rich, but cares for and loves Matt like he is her own son. Together Celia and Matt are happy, but not wealthy. Due to this, Celia must sneak food and other supplies from the Alacráns to give to Matt. “...feel happy...they wouldn’t notice if I took…

“The thousands of people who died daily in Auschwitz and Birkenau, in the crematoria, no longer troubled me. But this boy, leaning against the gallows, upset me deeply.” The two hangings described in Night appeared exceptionally similar but were in reality drastically different. Both of these hangings executed those who were found to be guilty of a crime. In addition, the prisoners of the concentration camp were forced to witness both of the hangings. The prisoners likewise were ordered by the…