From watching the eulogy I learned that Ted Kennedy had a unique attitude to service. He seemed to make every bad situation better with his warm spirit. After 911 Ted Kennedy contacted and consoled each family who had lost a loved one on board United Flight 175. Ted Kennedy shared his experience with dealing with lost family members to help comfort 177 effected families. Although Ted Kennedy had a serious side, he had a joking and fun loving side as well. In the eulogy Obama tells stories of times where Ted Kennedy used his wonderful sense of humor to do good. One event that stood out to me was the time when a reporter called him one of the greatest senators of all time along with Webster. Kennedy replied, “What did Webster do?” With this unique sense of humor Ted Kennedy helped to write more than 300 bills and change the Democratic Party forever.
The use of videos and pictures during the eulogy brought Obama’s words to life and gave them added poignancy. However, the use of photographs, videos, and live shots in the church were restrained to avoid eclipsing Obama’s words. One of the first images was a happy picture of a young Ted Kennedy with his brothers, Robert and John, before they were assassinated. There were also live shots of the crowd in the church specifically showing members of Ted Kennedy’s family reacting to the eulogy as it was spoken. Obama’s final uplifting words were describing a video playing with a joyous shot of Ted Kennedy sailing with his wife at an old age.
One of the reasons that Obama is considered to be one of the world’s strongest public speakers is because of his ability to convince the audience. In the case of Ted Kennedy’s eulogy he is speaking to an audience composed of the friends and family of Senator Ted Kennedy. To help describe the achievements and lifestyle of Ted Kennedy, Obama uses rhetoric. The most used of any kind of rhetoric used during the eulogy was contrast. Obama continuously contrasts Ted Kennedy’s private life and his career as a senator. It is explained that Ted Kennedy was a serious Senator as well as a caring surrogate father to the children of his brothers. Obama also uses repetition when he repeats “we carry on”. He repeats this near the end of the eulogy. As he repeats “we carry on” his words seem to echo through the church. With this repetition Obama makes his words twice as powerful and meaningful.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Summer Reading: The Long Walk
Title: The Long Walk
Author: Richard Bachman (pen name for Stephen King)
The Long Walk takes place in the near future. The story is based around a teenage boy’s experience as he takes part in a terrifying foot race called the long walk. The long walk is made up of 100 contestants who are competing for “the prize.” The race begins in North Eastern United states and continues down the East coast. The race has no finish line. The long walk is a test of endurance, and the winner is the last man standing, literally. Throughout the race walkers must maintain a speed of at least four miles per hour. If they fail to do so they will be warned. After three warnings a walker obtains “a ticket”. At the beginning of the story the description of getting a ticket is kept vague to keep the reader thinking, but well into the book the reader realizes that being ticketed means being shot dead. However, the one boy alive at the end of the race is granted “the prize”. The description of “the prize” is also kept very vague for the beginning of the story. The reader eventually learns that the prize is one wish. Any wish. Although the prize is the ultimate incentive, the protagonist, Ray Garraty, learns that its not worth it in the end.
Garraty enters the race knowing the rules and consequences for stopping, but during his time as one of the final contestants the reader realizes how much he has developed since the beginning of the race when Ray learns how brutal and horrible the long walk really is. King’s diction is advanced, but it is still comprehendible. The diction helped create an image in my mind that helped me better understand the plot of the story. I found the dialogue to be very convincing. It made me believe that these characters were almost real, and I felt that I could relate to the feelings of Garraty. The dialogue served to highlight the descriptive narrative by expanding on the feelings of the characters.
Pg. 199: -Suddenly Curley Screamed. Garraty looked back over his shoulder. Curley was doubled over, holding his leg and screaming. Somehow, incredibly, he was still walking, but very slowly. Much too Slowly
Everything went slowly then, as if to match the way Curley was walking. The soldiers on the back of the slow-moving fast track raised their guns, the crowd grasped, as if they hadn’t known this was the way it was, and the walkers gasped, as if they hadn’t known, and Garraty gasped with them, but of coarse he had known, of coarse they had all known, it was very simple, Curley was going to get his ticket.
The safeties clicked off. Boys scattered from around Curley like quail. He was suddenly alone on the sun washed road.
“It isn’t fair!” he screamed. “It just isn’t fair!”
The walking boys entered a leafy glade of shadow, some of them looking back, some of them looking straight ahead, afraid to see. Garraty was looking. He had to look. The scatter of waving spectators had fallen silent as if someone had simply clicked them all off.
“It isn’t--“
Four carbines fired. They were very loud. The noise traveled away like bowling balls, struck the hills, and rolled back.-
This passage is one of the most important parts of the book. This is because it is when the reader learns what a “ticket” is. This passage appeals to me because this is when the storyline begins to pick up and get exciting. The first time I read this passage I forced myself to read over again and again because I couldn’t fully process what had just happened.
Pg. 431: -McVries looked up at him sleepily and smiled. “No, Ray. It’s time to sit down.”
Terror pounded Garraty’s chest. “No! No way!”
McVries looked at him for a moment, then smiled again and shook his head. He sat down cross-legged on the pavement. He looked like a world beaten monk. The scar on his cheek was a white slash in a rainy gloom.
“No!” Garraty screamed.
He tried to pick McVries up, but, thin as he was, McVries was much too heavy. McVries wouldn’t even look at him. His eyes were shut. And suddenly two of the soldiers were wrenching McVries away from him. They were putting their guns to McVries’s head.
“No!” Garraty screamed again. “Me! Me! Shoot me!”
But instead they gave him his third warning.
McVries opened his eyes and smiled again. The next instant, he was gone.
I chose this passage because I found it interesting the way King chose for McVries to die; in a calm meditative manner. The reason this passage appeals to me is because this is when Garraty finally realizes how horrible the long walk is. He just wants it to end. At this point he would rather sacrifice himself than see another friend die.
Pg. 433: - Garraty stepped aside. He was not alone. The dark figure was back, up ahead, not far, beckoning. He knew that figure. If he could get a little bit closer, he could make out the features. Which one hadn’t he walked down? Was it Barkovitch? Collie Barker? Percy what’shisname?...
A hand on his shoulder. Garraty shook it off impatiently. The dark figure beckoned, beckoned in the rain, beckoned for him to come and walk, to come and play the game.
And it was time to get started. There was still so far to walk.
Eyes blind, supplicating hands held out before him as if for alms, Garraty walked toward the dark figure.
And when the hand touched his shoulder again, he somehow found the strength to run.
This is possible the most powerful and important part of the book. This is when Garraty has won the race and he sees a dark figure in the distance. This passage appeals to me because it allows the reader to choose the ending of the book. Some people may believe that the dark figure is just a hallucination. Personally, I believe that the dark figure represents all of the friends that Ray Garraty lost throughout the duration of the long walk.
Author: Richard Bachman (pen name for Stephen King)
The Long Walk takes place in the near future. The story is based around a teenage boy’s experience as he takes part in a terrifying foot race called the long walk. The long walk is made up of 100 contestants who are competing for “the prize.” The race begins in North Eastern United states and continues down the East coast. The race has no finish line. The long walk is a test of endurance, and the winner is the last man standing, literally. Throughout the race walkers must maintain a speed of at least four miles per hour. If they fail to do so they will be warned. After three warnings a walker obtains “a ticket”. At the beginning of the story the description of getting a ticket is kept vague to keep the reader thinking, but well into the book the reader realizes that being ticketed means being shot dead. However, the one boy alive at the end of the race is granted “the prize”. The description of “the prize” is also kept very vague for the beginning of the story. The reader eventually learns that the prize is one wish. Any wish. Although the prize is the ultimate incentive, the protagonist, Ray Garraty, learns that its not worth it in the end.
Garraty enters the race knowing the rules and consequences for stopping, but during his time as one of the final contestants the reader realizes how much he has developed since the beginning of the race when Ray learns how brutal and horrible the long walk really is. King’s diction is advanced, but it is still comprehendible. The diction helped create an image in my mind that helped me better understand the plot of the story. I found the dialogue to be very convincing. It made me believe that these characters were almost real, and I felt that I could relate to the feelings of Garraty. The dialogue served to highlight the descriptive narrative by expanding on the feelings of the characters.
Pg. 199: -Suddenly Curley Screamed. Garraty looked back over his shoulder. Curley was doubled over, holding his leg and screaming. Somehow, incredibly, he was still walking, but very slowly. Much too Slowly
Everything went slowly then, as if to match the way Curley was walking. The soldiers on the back of the slow-moving fast track raised their guns, the crowd grasped, as if they hadn’t known this was the way it was, and the walkers gasped, as if they hadn’t known, and Garraty gasped with them, but of coarse he had known, of coarse they had all known, it was very simple, Curley was going to get his ticket.
The safeties clicked off. Boys scattered from around Curley like quail. He was suddenly alone on the sun washed road.
“It isn’t fair!” he screamed. “It just isn’t fair!”
The walking boys entered a leafy glade of shadow, some of them looking back, some of them looking straight ahead, afraid to see. Garraty was looking. He had to look. The scatter of waving spectators had fallen silent as if someone had simply clicked them all off.
“It isn’t--“
Four carbines fired. They were very loud. The noise traveled away like bowling balls, struck the hills, and rolled back.-
This passage is one of the most important parts of the book. This is because it is when the reader learns what a “ticket” is. This passage appeals to me because this is when the storyline begins to pick up and get exciting. The first time I read this passage I forced myself to read over again and again because I couldn’t fully process what had just happened.
Pg. 431: -McVries looked up at him sleepily and smiled. “No, Ray. It’s time to sit down.”
Terror pounded Garraty’s chest. “No! No way!”
McVries looked at him for a moment, then smiled again and shook his head. He sat down cross-legged on the pavement. He looked like a world beaten monk. The scar on his cheek was a white slash in a rainy gloom.
“No!” Garraty screamed.
He tried to pick McVries up, but, thin as he was, McVries was much too heavy. McVries wouldn’t even look at him. His eyes were shut. And suddenly two of the soldiers were wrenching McVries away from him. They were putting their guns to McVries’s head.
“No!” Garraty screamed again. “Me! Me! Shoot me!”
But instead they gave him his third warning.
McVries opened his eyes and smiled again. The next instant, he was gone.
I chose this passage because I found it interesting the way King chose for McVries to die; in a calm meditative manner. The reason this passage appeals to me is because this is when Garraty finally realizes how horrible the long walk is. He just wants it to end. At this point he would rather sacrifice himself than see another friend die.
Pg. 433: - Garraty stepped aside. He was not alone. The dark figure was back, up ahead, not far, beckoning. He knew that figure. If he could get a little bit closer, he could make out the features. Which one hadn’t he walked down? Was it Barkovitch? Collie Barker? Percy what’shisname?...
A hand on his shoulder. Garraty shook it off impatiently. The dark figure beckoned, beckoned in the rain, beckoned for him to come and walk, to come and play the game.
And it was time to get started. There was still so far to walk.
Eyes blind, supplicating hands held out before him as if for alms, Garraty walked toward the dark figure.
And when the hand touched his shoulder again, he somehow found the strength to run.
This is possible the most powerful and important part of the book. This is when Garraty has won the race and he sees a dark figure in the distance. This passage appeals to me because it allows the reader to choose the ending of the book. Some people may believe that the dark figure is just a hallucination. Personally, I believe that the dark figure represents all of the friends that Ray Garraty lost throughout the duration of the long walk.
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