"A modest Proposal" response

The speaker in "A Modest Proposal" seems to be a poor tenant who is tired of paying his landlord and thinks that it is unfair for the tenants to have to constantly pay landlords because of their social class. As I was reading this essay, I thought to myself, "this is horrible. No sane person could write about canibalism in such a serious tone, especially children." As I continued to read, I realized that this could not be so. Once I was finished reading, I researched the essay and was somewhat pleased to find out that Swift infact was not talking about canibalism, but the relationship between the tenants and landlords of Ireland in the 1700s. Swift's underlying message is targetting the landlords. The message is "look at what you are doing to the poor. You have basically "eaten up" all of our money. We will never be able to live on our own because we are never going to stop having to pay you." The children being referred to is the money of the poor. When Swift says "[...] therefore very proper Landlords, who as they have already devoured most of the Parents[...]" he is explaining that the landlords have already taken away any freedoms of the poor because they can not afford to live on their own. "A Modest Proposal" relates to the President and our tax system in 2006. Taxes have been raised significantly over the years, and many Americans blame the president, or any person with a high position in government. Taxes are taking over the income of many Americans and is bound to affect future generations.

"Recently Unearthed E-Mail Reveals What Life Was Like In 1995" respose

1./2.) This article was about an e-mail that was written in 1995. The article pokes fun at how the internet has radically changed throughout the decade. The grammar used in the 1995 e-mail is made to seem primative, versus the " advanced" use of emoticons like the "smiley face :)
3.) This article would be considered a parody because it makes fun of how humans seem less intelligent due to technological simplifications.
4.) The writing is funny because I can relate to the article. I constantly use symbols and acronyms such as "lol." A sentence that I was loling to was:
"The presence of the archaic slang verbalization 'what's up' appears to indicate that they cared about the immediate welfare of others in their closely knit community, much as we do today."

ttyl ;-)

"The Things They Carried" response

If I was a soldier in Tim O'Brien's novel The Things They Carried, I would carry a small time capsule that was given to me in camp by my counselors. There were 35 girls in my division and eight counselors. Each of us were given a small silver time capsule from our counselors which contained a slip of paper with the words "Today is where you're book begins, the rest is still unwritten." We lived by the song "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield everyday in camp. The song reminds us that although our summer has ended, it is only the beginning of our lives. Camp and camp friends are the foundation of our lives; now we must take the ball and roll with it. I would take this capsul with me because it is small and easy to hold on to. I believe that soldiers need inspiration, and that quote is inspirational to me. It reminds me to never stop motivating myself and others, because my actions can change my life. The book I am living in is never going to be finished; every day I'm living is another chapter just waiting to be written.