Journals & Co-op Quizes

In the poem "If We Must Die" by Claude McKay, the author writes elegantly about a single moment in a story where a group of people are being pinned down by attacking forces, telling the people to not go out without a fight but if they are to die to die with nobility to die trying to save their lives. Her writing is so marvelous that in so few little words she is able to encompass the emotions of the moment. Although in a few words she is able to immerse the audience in the present moment and give gravity to the situation the character finds themselves in. She makes indirect references to common knowledge that anyone could understand, "let us not be like the hogs Hunted and Penned", she is talking about the invading army hunting them down and entrapping them, this way of writing illustrates the force of the invading army, by alluding to animals being caught and penned, something everyone knows about. she continues here allegory saying "round us bark the mad and hungry dog" which again shows the furiousness of the invading army, with the hogs and an innocent contrast. she established the evil of the invading army now gives a hope-like attitude saying that if they are to die, to die in grace, to die with nobility, which contrast with the allegory of the pig being harassed by the dog. Instead, she says to be like a kinsman fighting against monster, as not die in vain. This is a great way to rile up they forces against the wickedness that surrounds them. She says that they will face "outnumbered ... the Murderous, cowardly pack ... dying but fighting back!" this is a powerful line, that gives hope, it sends the final message, and it is a call to action. a call to action to not give up, and to die in vain, but to go out fighting, giving everything that you got. they a going against people without their heart wicked, yet full of cowardice they may win the battle, but they can die knowing that they did everything that they could do, and how know there have been many times where the underdog has won due to this morale. Because of this poem they are willing to give everything that they have in order to fight for what they believe in, which is the definition of courage. in conclusion the poems do a really good job of illustrating the evil of the forces that are trying to overtake the community with a well written allegory, and illustrates the purpose of going out without surrender, giving everything there all fighting for what is right against wickedness even if it leads to their death, allowing them to have true courage in the face of evil.

My biggest takeaway on reading effectively is to make sure that you pay attention to the details. when you pay attention to details you are able to fully understand what the author is trying to get at. you are able to see their argument for what it is. if you pay enough attention, you will be able to see their flaws in reasoning and yours. when you read effectively you are able to expand you mind by the conditioning of truth. To read critically is to put you self in the mess of the situation described in the text. you begin to see how the text affects you in a real way. what is the implication if this is true? How does this open my eyes to see how others see? what is something that I need to change in my life? This is exaggeration, but to make a point: to read critically is to examine the text through your critical lens. I think the biggest technique that you can implement in you reading routine is to play devil's advocate with the things that you believe and the things that you don't. you open you self to the opinion of others allowing you to get a better grasp on the reality of the argument. To practice this when reading slow down and reflection on what you read, see what is clashing between you and the text. Embrace the clash, the right will win. I think just pausing is an effective technique because it allows me to actually know what I am reading; it helps me to make better sense of the text. Some ineffective methods of reading for me are skimming the text, it is so hard for me to fully grasp what the text is trying to say. I end up spending more time of the reading because I have to go back and find where I misread something or was mistaken, it worked for some people but not for me. I think my ideal reading space is the Zimmerman library, in the reading rooms, it is perfectly quiet and allows me to focus.