Blog One: Learning Outcome 2: "Made in America"

It is clear that travel in America had a huge impact on the English language. When American soil was first settled on the Europeans were unable to efficiently communicate. Not only was it a long and difficult process to carry messages from America to Europe and back, but it was also a struggle to communicate messages between people on the same continent. The New World not only lacked a system that could deliver messages proficiently, but they simply didn't have the proper means of transportation. To correct this problem, new means of transportation came about, and with that came new words. Railroads were built and provided an alternative form of transportation that was far better than the uncomfortable and slow paced carriages of the time. "Even so, early trains were also slow, uncomfortable, and dangerous." The word "eyedrops" entered the language as a joke, because the hot cinders from the train would blow into passengers eyes if they had the window open. Another word that entered the language thanks to the railroads was dining car, since customers needed a place to eat while on their long voyages. With the invention of the train also came the need for railroad terms like caboose, iron horse, cow catcher, jerkwater tower, to featherbed, to ball the jack, to ride the rails, and to ride the gravy train. The need for automobile travel in America also had a huge impact on the English language and gave us many terms we use today, even if they're taken from other languages and tweaked to our liking. In Bill Bryson's "Made in America" he states, "Although early technological developments were almost exclusively German, it was the French who became the first big manufacturers and thus gave us many of the words associated with motoring- chassis, garage, chauffeur, carburetor, coupe, limousine, and of course automobile itself." Obviously a great deal of the English language was shaped and continues to be shaped by travel in America, because naturally, the invention of new things leads to the need for new words.

Blog Two: Learning Outcome Three: Cannibals All

The novel “Cannibals All! Or Slaves Without Masters” by George Fitzhugh was written in 1857. George Fitzhugh grew up in Virginia and was an American social theorist. He also was pro-slavery and wrote a few books on slavery. In the novel, Fitzhugh is arguing that slavery is a form of protection for the weak and poor. He claims that it is necessary, because otherwise, blacks would not be able to survive. http://books.google.com/books/about/Cannibals_All.html?id=ECdb7EjiBnEC
The cultural beliefs of the time period in which this was written greatly impact and shape the language and meaning used throughout the novel “Cannibals All! Or Slaves Without Masters.” During the 1850’s, the southern part of America still allowed slavery. Although it was in great jeopardy at the time, it was a big part of the culture. In Chapter 19, Fitzhugh states, “But there can be no efficient protection without enslavement of some sort.” If someone were to write a novel in this day and age and include the previous statement, it would not be accepted by many, since slavery has been abolished for quite some time now. But for this time period, it was something completely acceptable simply because slavery was a common part of southern American culture. Fitzhugh also refers to the blacks as negroes throughout the novel. In the first paragraph of Chapter 20, he refers to them as negroes when he says, “But the negro has neither energy nor enterprise, and, even in our sparser population, finds, with his improvident habits, that his liberty is a curse to himself, and a greater curse to the society around him.” “Negro” was just a fairly common word used in the language of this time. Also, in this quote, society’s view on blacks and their inferiority affected the words he chose to use to describe them. He basically calls them lazy when he says they have no energy. And he also calls them improvident, which means they are without foresight or are not sensible, cautious, or wise. The culture of the time clearly had an impact on the language used in this novel.

Blog Three: Learning Outcome One: Travel Narrative

A thin layer of dust coats the untouched books on the large, wooden bookshelves. The quiet library is filled with the aroma of books and old lady farts. The clicking of keys rings throughout the room. The only other sounds come from the ruffling of pages and the occasional whisper. The rows of grand shelves are packed with both fresh and musty, old books. The tables are packed with students who are hunched over their notes and textbooks in a last minute effort to study for upcoming finals. Those who aren't seated at a table are sitting at one of the many computers with gawking mouths. Their eyes are glued to the screens in front of them and begin to glaze over. A curly haired brunette sits alone in a corner and chomps furiously on her nubs for fingernails. A few tables over is a typical freshman boy. The only sign of a beard growing is a few hairs randomly sprouting from his cheeks. Other than that his face is covered with bright red acne, which has caused his face to resemble a pizza without the cheese. His head is resting on the wooden table top, and he runs his thin, bony fingers through his shaggy brown hair out of frustration. It's finals week; a time of pure horror for most teenagers, so of course they're stressed. What do you expect?
The audience and purpose of a written text greatly affect the structure, content and techniques used throughout the piece. The purpose of a travel narrative is to allow the reader to experience a certain place being described. In this case, a library filled with stressed out students is being described. The audience of this particular travel narrative are people who do not usually go to libraries or have never experienced the stress of finals week. In order to allow the audience to experience the library during this time period of tremendous stress, a common technique used is sensory detail. Sensory detail gives the audience the information needed to stimulate all senses so they can clearly imagine themselves at the library. Sensory detail also shows how something tastes or smells or feels without actually saying. Instead of simply saying, “The library smelled bad,” a certain scent was given, and from that the audience is able to come to their own conclusion that the library doesn’t smell the best. Another technique used to achieve the purpose is a comparison. The freshman boy’s face that is filled with acne is compared to a pizza without the cheese. This comparison wasn’t made to be mean, but to give the reader a better image of this boy sitting at the library. Since the audience is able to compare the boys looks to something else, it becomes easier to visual in their minds. Diction is also an apparent technique in the text. Rather than just saying that the girl was biting her nails, it says, “chomps furiously on her nubs for fingernails.” The use of the word chomp and nub not only give the audience a visual of what’s going on, but also allows the audience to experience the uneasy and stressful atmosphere of the library.