Questions for Draft 1

Was there any part of the draft that was hard to understand or was lacking explanation?
Were the topics of the thesis explained in detail? Was something left out?
Was there anything that stood out that could have been expanded on or anything that could have been left out?

1st Main Point

Blakely does a good job of establishing and reestablishing her ethos and the reader’s pathos throughout her article.  She first establishes her ethos by introducing herself and her main topic, her son.  She introduces herself as a single feminist mother, instead of just a single mother so the reader is introduced to, and can sometimes relate, to some of her views. She introduces her oldest son ‘Ryan’ as the high school senior who is on the schools wrestling team, and later informs the reader that he is a captain on the team, letting the reader know that he is one of the higher ranked teammates, who other lower classmen teammates look up to.  She continually reestablishes her ethos by using different stories and examples relating to her son and their experiences as a mother and maturing son, which coincide with the pathos of the reader.  The reader’s pathos is established through her introduction of herself as well.  Some women can relate to being a single mother of children and some mothers can relate to being mothers to high school students who wrestle.  All mothers can somehow relate to the article because like Blakely most mothers have the same nostalgic feeling she does about the youth of her son and come to the same realization when their own children grow and change into a strong and independent being. 

SWA#7

Tiana Langer

English 102-028

09/15/2011

Essay 1, Outline

Title: A Rhetorical Analysis of ‘A Wrestling Mom’

Thesis:   In the piece, A Wrestling Mom, Blakely appeals to the reader’s pathos while establishing her ethos through her experiences with her son during his senior year of high school, while also illustrating the bond of love between two people, and the symbolism and effect of words and language.

I.               Establishment of Ethos and Pathos

a.     Background information on herself and sons

                                               i.     Single mother

                                             ii.     feminist

                                            iii.     Sons have had many different role models

                                            iv.     Sons passion for wrestling

b.     Introduction of her oldest son ‘Ryan’

                                               i.     In his senior year of HS

                                             ii.     Is a captain on wrestling team

1.     ‘close fraternity’ of teammates and coaches

2.     dedication

c.     The many stories of her relationship with her son

                                               i.     the car ride after a victory

                                             ii.     Her son’s enragement on golf course with relatives

                                            iii.     When her son was taken to the Hospital

                                            iv.     The analogy of the shoelace

II.             Bond of Love Between Two People

a.     Open admiration for her son

                                               i.     Pg 263, sentence 1.

                                             ii.     His warm up ‘dance’ pg 264

b.     Realization of growth and separation

                                               i.     Her son’s invitations

1.     wanted to introduce to his mother who he had grown to be

                                             ii.     the end of the intimacy shared

1.     the lack of need from his mother

2.     the reference to Robert Bly

a.     ‘single mother’s close relationships with sons often make it difficult for them to come to terms with the aggressive and competitive parts of themselves’

b.     Some truths that men must learn from other men

                                            iii.     Realization of Strength

1.     results of growth and observation of power

a.     seen the effects of training

b.     seen it used during a match

c.     his capacity to use his strength

2.     the conflicting views of a person’s power

a.     his love for it

b.     her regret of it

3.     How it would effect his future relationships

a.     With women

                                                                                                     i.     Fear

                                                                                                   ii.     ‘collateral’ damage of violence

III.           Symbolism and Effect of Words and Language

a.     Use of language

                                               i.     Location, and personal views

1.     locker room, line of work

2.     personal views of certain words

a.     can be offensive

b.     Definitions and interpretations

                                               i.      ‘fairies’

                                             ii.     ‘PAIN’

                                            iii.     ‘Captain’

c.     Symbolism of Words

                                               i.     Importance

                                             ii.     Sexual Orientation

Conclusion:   Blakely touches the facts that as the people we love change, whether they are our children or friends, we must accept who they become as they grow, and be aware of how we use our languages in certain situations.  In some situations words that are offensive are used to express dominance, but like Blakely said, “if we would only be less careless with our language” we could stop wars and conflicts and essentially make our world a better place for those we love.

A Wrestling Mom

Blakely makes several arguments in her piece. Her main one is about the bond of love people share and how a relationship changes as the people change. Another is words and language and how they matter no matter what way we use them. Blakely uses her own experiences with her son to build her argument as well as her ethos and pathos. She explains how their relationship changed as her son was in his senior year of high school, and uses stories about her son to build each topic she comes in contact with. 

SWA#5

Goodman’s main claim in “Womb For Rent-For a Price” is that the new technology that makes surrogacy possible is unethical and becoming more of a marketable attribute for young women.  She expands on that in society it is becoming more and more acceptable for women to carry other people’s offspring for them.  She brings up the subject of women in third world countries carrying children for people is bringing out a global “baby-making” industry. 

Goodman appeals to pathos by incorporating two stories about the surrogate mothers.  She explains that the money that the women receive, $5,000 to $7,000 a birth, is almost 10 years worth of wages that the same woman would earn at their normal job crushing glass in a factory for $25 a month.  One woman she explains used the money to fund her son’s heart operation, while another raised her daughters wedding dowry.  She also explains that she does not make light of the infertile couples that want children but is more explaining the surrogate mothers view of the child they carry, and the views they have when the child is not even partly theirs. 

I decided to answer the question on kairos.  I believe that Goodman was motivated to write this particular piece as a response to the increase in popularity of surrogacy. She focuses mostly on the surrogate mothers and where they live in third world countries.  She also explains that some of the women are illiterate and instead of signing their name they use a fingerprint.  This makes me feel that she is only pointing out the dark side of surrogacy. Some families turn to surrogacy, as a last resort as she said, but continues to say that the surrogate mothers believe that the child they are carrying is not theirs because it has none of their DNA. 

I feel that Goodman made a problematic point when she said that surrogacy comes close to selling ourselves into slavery or just selling our children.  On one end the surrogate mothers are giving people who want children their desire and they are compensated through a contractual agreement.  In no way is that near slavery.  It is a woman’s decision if she wants to become a surrogate mother, and each woman has different circumstances for choosing surrogacy no matter what color their skin. 

Catherine Beecher

After shortly researching Catherine Beecher, I found that she was raised in the period of the "cult of domesticity". She was educated until the age of 10 and taught herself the other subjects that she could not learn in her schooling.  By 1824 she believed that her mission was "to find happiness in living to do good".  She opened her first private school for young ladies in Connecticut. She went with her father and helped start up the Western Female Institute in Cincinnati.  She is recognized as a promoter for the higher education of women, and was a teacher, lecturer, and writer.  She wrote on the subjects of education, domestic economy, and women's health.
With her growing up in this time it is easy to see that in her writing in the Carolina Reader is a bit biased based on the time she was writing it.  It is aimed towards young women who are supposed to be starting families and taking care of their households. While today women of her targeted age group are in school and college.

SWA#4

In Catherine Beecher’s “On Preservation Of A Good Temper In A Housekeeper” she depicts a ‘housekeeper’ as a woman who is “habitually gentle, sympathizing, forbearing and cheerful” so that she makes it easier for the staff under her to do the right things without the constant fear of reprimands. The housekeeper should always strive to have an “equable and cheerful temper” so as not to make her household a somber shade in the minds around her.

            The consideration Beecher gives the women of households is to approach their duties as dignified, important, and difficult. She says to look at it as if destinies of those generations after hers will be affected by any decision she makes, and to approach problems as if that were true always. A housekeeper should also feel that her duties are difficult to meet and overcome so that she never underestimates her duties.  The third is that a housekeeper should always expect her best laid plans to be interfered with. She should always expect that something will go wrong and that she should keep “her mind girt” so that she can “meet such collisions with a cheerful and quiet spirit.” A housekeeper should form all plans and arrangements in consistency with those around her.  She should be able to know her limits so that she would not embarrass herself and her family and not wind up disappointed.  An important one was that system, economy, and neatness are valuable.  Such that children should be brought up in an environment where they can “learn to meet the crosses of life with patience and cheerfulness.” Lastly was that a housekeeper should refrain from using angry tones of voice. A calm voice with determination will get a better response then those that use angry tones to get prompt obedience.

            When Beecher refers to a ‘Mistress’ this normally refers to a larger household with staff, with the mistress as the mother of the children.  Also when she says such things as ‘family state’ or ‘domestics’ I believe she is talking about a larger family with a staff beneath the mother. In these cases the housekeeper is depicted as a helper instead of the woman of the household.