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Dawn Personal Response

Lilith - 1892 by John Collier

Lilith, the storm god, is known as the bearer of illness and death. One of a few biblical themes the book plays on.

Your goal for this comment is to articulate the most profound theme you found in the book and consider your favorite section or instance in the book. Cite examples, describe characters and situations, and provide a quote or two to back up your claims.

Dead Hand by David Hoffman: The Cold War Arms Race

We will listen to some of this interview in class. What connections can you make between this and course texts? How does this change the way you read Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove: or, how I decided to stop worrying and love the bomb? Did you think something like the Doomsday device was impossible before listening to Terry Gross's interview with David Hoffman?


Finally, in a few sentences, describe how the threat of nuclear war has changed since the Cold War? What aspects of the threat stayed the same?

Method: Sources of Persuasion Exercise

Letter From Birmingham Jail:
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was well versed in the rhetorical theory of Aristotle and Plato. To Aristotle, strong rhetoric (i.e., strong arguments) should have balanced appeals to the sources of persuasion. 

Pick a section of King's letter and identify where he appeals to the classical sources of persuasion: ethos, logos, and pathos. You will not have to look very hard! King's letter can be viewed as a case study for appealing to the sources of persuasion. 

Click here to view Letter From Birmingham Jail:
http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html

Also, use this as a reference to identify the sources of persuasion:
http://courses.durhamtech.edu/perkins/aris.html




For your comment:

1. List a few passages where you think Dr. King effectively appeals to ethos, logos, and pathos and explain why. 
2. Finally, write down ways you can apply King's methods in your essays for this class. How will you take advantage of the sources of persuasion? How can you use the sources of persuasion to craft arguments for your essays? How can you reference the sources of persuasion to respond to (i.e., critique) another argument such as, Casey's article or Brooks' essay?                                                                                           

Left to Right: Plato and Aristotle
-Really old rhetoricians!

Dawn - Section 1 - p. 1-43

PICK TWO OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS TO ANSWER FOR READING SECTION 1 OF DAWN. COMMENT OR ADD DISCUSSION IDEAS AS MUCH AS YOU LIKE.

What are the Novums in this novel (technologies, abilities, or phenomenon our world doesn’t share)?

1. Re-animation (Awakening)

2. Lilith’s Food, her edible bowl (4)

3. Lilith’s jaket and pants (4)

4. *Humanicide (6)

Ch 1 – Captivity

CHARACTERS

Lilith Iyapo – She remembers being 26, but she doesn’t know how long she’s been captive or how long she’s been dead prior to “Awakening” (5). Her immediate family died before the nuclear war on earth.

Sharad – A boy placed in the cell with Lilith (8). Lilith enjoys his company. Sharad learns her songs, but Lilith is slower to catch on.

Captors – “only to be captured by heaven knew who and imprisoned” (6). They introduce her to Sharad and then take him away.

Plot Summary:

Lilith Iyapo finds herself in captivity. She struggles to recount her past, and she fights to get out of her cell in vain. Lilith's family members have died and Earth has been rendered volatile to humans because of nuclear war. By the end of the chapter, Lilith Awakens with a boy in her cell who is very reluctant to interact with her. The boy, Sharad, eventually warms up to her. Her captors take her away.

Journal Prompt:

• (P 3-5) Lilith finds herself in a state of powerlessness and her “only currency is cooperation” (6). Write about a time when you felt powerless and cooperation was your only currency.

• (P 7) Being in captivity has given Lilith a renewed sense of gratitude for simple pleasures (songs, books, etc.) Write about a traumatic moment or epiphany that made you re-think your gratitude for simple pleasures such as songs, books, being with loved ones, etc. OR Write about a time you were alone for a while and it led to a re-evaluation of something or a new sense of gratitude.

Ch 2 – A Close Encounter

CHARACTERS

Oankali - “I’m not a man,” he said. “I’m not a human being.” (10).

Jdahya – explains to Lilith they are on a “ship” orbiting Earth outside of the moon’s orbit. Also tells her the destiny of Earth and the Oankali attempt to reclaim the living humans.

Lilith – She has many questions, especially “what do you want of us?” which do not get answered by Jdahya (14).

Plot Summary:

Lilith encounters an Oankali male named Jdahya whose purpose it is to acquaint her to interacting with Oankali. Jdahya tells Lilith what has happened to Earth: how they are orbiting it, how the Oankali have been reclaiming humans, and how Lilith has been asleep for 250 years (16). Jdahya tells Lilith about the Oankali’s failed attempts at Awakening humans, especially when they Awoke humans together at the same time who turned violent. Furthermore, we find out that someone is listening in from above on their conversation (17). Jdahya tells Lilith that once she is comfortable with him, he will take her outside.

Journal Question:

• This chapter describes the Oankali, Jdahya, in detail. What does he look like? What can Jdahya do that is different from humans? Describe Jdahya with your own words using similies. Refer to pages 11, 12, and 23 (Jdahya morphs from his normal state on 23, he looks human-like to Lilith).

Ch 3 – Jdahya Catches Lilith up on the Past 250 Years

Novums

1. While Oankali have male and female sexes, they also have ooloi, who are neither male, nor female and referred to as “it” (20).
2. Oankali are intergalactic “traders” of genetic material.

Plot Summary:

Jdahya continues to stay in Lilith’s cell with her and persists in forcing her to stay close to him and get used to looking at him. She learns from him that she had a cancer and it was removed by their doctors, Ooloi, who are neither male, nor female and referred to as “its” (20). Jdahya tells Lilith that they have worked with many humans before her and about a doctor who lived with them and cooperated with them until she died at the age of 113. Finally, Lilith finds out that she is 28 years old now because she had been Awake for two of the last 250 years; Jdahya reveals that “this room will be nothing more than a memory for you soon” (25).

Journal Prompt:

In discussing the nature of the Oankali as genetic traders with Jdahya, Lilith notes that "we used to do that to animals" (21). Lilith is anything but comfortable with being tinkered with by the Oankali, but they do remove her cancer for her.

• Does anything disagree with you in this situation? How do we have to trust others in this way in our own lives? Are the Oankali out of line in any way? Why or why not?

Chapter 4
Lilith Learns more about the Oankali...

Chapter 5
Lilith is taken "outside." She learns more about how the Oankali are "traders" and their expectations for her and the remaining humans.

• What event from chapters 4 or 5 did you find significant? How does the event represent a theme from Dawn?
  

Agency of Texts

Answer the following questions:


What is the agency behind a composition and how do we effectively translate that agency into words?

How does composition lead to action? What texts have inspired you to take action in your life? Why?What are some ways that a text can be particularly persuasive?
What "texts" can you cite that are good examples of agency or social/political change?