Assignment 4

The context of this piece is the year 2009 in an airport. One year after a very controversial presidential election in which a lot of raunchy comments were being aimed at President Barack Obama. The context of this article relates to the purpose which is for readers to reflect on the way they view people they don't know and to address the things they complain about and why. In "Standing By", I believe that David Sedaris was addressing people like this. People who are judgmental and just complain because they can. 

I think David Sedaris was motivated by all of the hate surrounding him in today's society to write this piece. The most recent year he referenced to in "Standing By" was 2009., which was one year after the 2008 presidential election in which President Barack Obama won. A lot of people were being mean, hateful and judgmental to the president without even knowing him and what he's all about.

Almost everyone has judged someone based off of their appearance or have been judged based off of theirs. David Sedaris knows that this piece will touch the readers because they can relate. He wants the reader to reflect on their ways when it comes to people. I think Sedaris is trying to accomplish the goal of stopping judgments and hateful and spiteful remarks about people and just being positive and noticing the good in people before pointing out their flaws. Along with being judgmental, I think Sedaris wants the readers to reflect on complaining. In the piece "Standing By", a lot of people were just complaining about the airlines and blaming the workers because they can, which is what people do in today's society now; complain and blame others because they can. I think he wants the people who read this article to look at themselves and stop being so judgmental to people and complaining and blaming others for reasons that they are mad.

We live in a very judgmental society. The setting of this piece was at an airport which is very diverse, so there is a lot of judging going on there. Since he's writing in 2009, he's witnessed a lot of hateful and judgmental comments in the previous months due to the 2008 presidential election. I think he tried to accomplish his goals for this piece through a magazine article because people were probably tired of reading the newspaper and seeing politics and people judging President Barack Obama's first month. People wouldn't suspect an article with a meaning behind it an a purpose like this.

Assignment 3

I believe David Sedaris might have composed this text to show how hateful and judgmental people can be and not even notice it. I think Sedaris wrote in a sarcastic, witty tone so the reader can feel the emotions he was feeling when he was thinking and reacting to certain things because we all tend to feel the same way while annoyed...

I feel that the overall purpose of this text is to show how judgmental and hateful people are and he uses an airport as the setting because of it's diversity.

David Sedaris raised the idea of if airline industries are turning us into monsters or just shows the real us. "But what if this is who we really are, and the airports just a forum that allows us to be our real selves." (Sedaris 277). Sedaris kept mentioning an "Adolf Hitler" being paged over the intercom in the airport. I think he brought this up because people, being so judgmental, would judge that person off of their name and assume things without even knowing him. And his name probably wasn't Adolf Hitler either. That's just what people may have assumed.

I think David Sedaris wanted his readers to reflect on the way they judge people without even knowing them and complain just because they can. I think he used his experiences as examples to put us readers in the mindset of a judgmental person, then he brings up the idea of the airlines creating monsters or exposing and revealing them, which puts us in the mood to reevaluate ourselves.

Works Cited:

Sedaris, David. "Standing By". First Year Composition Reader. Boston: Pearson, 2011. 275-277. Print.

Sedaris' "Standing By"

"Standing By" is about David Sedaris, who missed his connection flight and was directed to the customer service line. He kept flashing back to experiences he had in airlines on the airplanes or in the airports. He began the text with a lot of complaining, but as the story continued he encountered a lot of complainers and judgmental people. Listening to the hateful and mean things people were saying while waiting for their delayed flights or to speak to a customer service representative, Sedaris began to reevaluate himself and his complaining questioned does airlines turn people into monsters.. or just reveal them?

Works Cited:

Sedaris, David. "Standing By". First Year Composition Reader. Boston: Pearson, 2011. 275-277. Print.

Assignment 2

I expect for this class to push me as a reader and as a writer..

I expect for this class to push me as a reader by helping me analyze pieces on a more critical level. Instead of just summarizing pieces, this class will help me analyze and dissect pieces to find out the purpose of why an author composed something, who their target audience is and what he/she wants the reader to think, feel or do after reading their work.

I expect for this class to push me as a writer by helping me expand and go into detail with my writing. I'm so used to getting to the point and not being able to go in deeper with my thoughts.

Seeing that this will be my second time taking English 101..

I already know what to expect about this course and the main things I need to focus on. From meeting with my course instructor more frequently to putting more time and effort into my working portfolio.

I think being a writer in English 101might relate to being a writer in other situations because you will be able to use the skills you've learned in English 101 all writing you do.