Rhetorical Analysis of the Declaration of Independence Essay Example

Rhetorical Analysis of the Declaration of Independence Paper Thomas Jefferson, Founding Father and the third president of the United States of America, in his letter â€Å"The Declaration of Independence† (1776) argues that the thirteen colonies must demand freedom from Great Britain. To support his conclusion, Jefferson makes changes in between his rough draft and final draft in punctuation, grammar, and the overall connotation of his words. Jefferson’s purpose is to establish America’s Independence from Great Britain in order to earn their Rights of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Jefferson’s audience is not only King George the Third, but also the people of America. In Thomas Jefferson’s letter â€Å"The Declaration of Independence†, he uses the changes from his rough draft to his final draft to formalize and to make the document more professional, while keeping it simple. The changes that made the document formal included: punctuation, grammar, connotation, and the capitalization of words. The punctuation and grammar made the document proper. The connotations, or an idea or meaning suggested by or associated with a word or thing, improves the sentences. The capitalizations of words emphasized how important the words were. One significant change is the capitalization of words. The rough draft does not capitalize words like â€Å"Nature†, â€Å"Laws†, and â€Å"Systems of Government†. The final draft capitalizes these words because they need to be emphasized and noticeable because they are very important. The rough draft does not make the words look significant. Another significant change was the connotation. We will write a custom essay sample on Rhetorical Analysis of the Declaration of Independence specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Rhetorical Analysis of the Declaration of Independence specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Rhetorical Analysis of the Declaration of Independence specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The rough draft had the phrase, â€Å"We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable†, and while the final draft states â€Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident and undeniable†. The word â€Å"sacred† transformed to â€Å"self-evident†, this is one form of connotation. Connotation is an idea or meaning suggested by or associated with a word or thing. The connotations in the final draft improve the sentences in â€Å"The Declaration of Independence†. The grammar and punctuation (improves the final draft) by making it more formal. Punctuation and grammar makes the document easier to understand. There are many run-on sentences. â€Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal and independent†¦their safety and happiness† is a long run-on sentence. In the rough draft it states â€Å"he has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns and destroyed the lives of our people†, but in the final draft it adds the comma after â€Å"towns† to emphasize and make the sentences proper. These additions made this document become professional. In conclusion, the changes that took place in between the rough and final draft made the letter look advanced and well qualified. The punctuation and grammar improves and makes the letter proper. The capitalizations emphasize that the words are important. The connotations improved the letter, but overall the changes were a positive thing towards â€Å"The Declaration of Independence†. The document affected everyone, all over the United States then, and now, with the addition of the British.

The non-diegetic sound Essays

The non-diegetic sound Essays The non-diegetic sound Paper The non-diegetic sound Paper Focus on how narrative and Genre features create meaning and generate response in a sequence from The Day The Earth Stood Still of no more than 15 minutes. This essay will discuss the history of science-fiction film, to establish common genre-conventions and finally apply genre and narrative conventions to The Day The Earth Stood Still. Genre and narrative come from expectations made by the audience and they offer comfort and reassurance because they help the audience to know what to expect and how to understand the film. Genre conventions take into account many aspects of a film including sound, actors, style, and form but mainly it deals with the films iconography i. e. the props, costumes, and settings. Narrative deals more with how and why the characters move the plot on, for example Propp said there are eight character types in every film, I will show this in more detail later. Fritz Langs Metropolis, made in 1926, can be seen to be one of the earliest science-fiction films that gained respect from audiences worldwide. It featured a mad scientist who created an evil robot in the form of a beautiful saintly girl. The science-fiction films of the 1950s, when The Day The Earth Stood Still was made, were generally low budget and therefore in black and white. Most of the scenes were shot at night because it is a cheap way of creating a spine-chilling effect. They generally had alien aircraft in them. The Invasion Of The Body Snatchers was directed by Don Siegel in 1956 and is a good example for all these common themes-as it was shot at night, under a low budget and in black and white. The Day The Earth Stood Still was made in 1951. The plot tells the story of an alien landing in Washington. The alien causes panic and the police try to capture him. However, the alien actually comes with a very important plea of peace-as he finally tells the nation, If you threaten to extend your violence, this earth of yours will be reduced to a burnt out cinder. Your choice is simple, join us and live in peace, or pursue your present course and face obliteration. The film was directed by Robert Wise and was his only science-fiction film. He mainly did musicals and is best known for directing The Sound of Music in 1965. The two stars of the film, Michael Rennie and Patricia Neal, were not very well known when this film was made. However, Michael Rennie had had minor parts in many movies including The Wicked Lady in 1945. This film was made in the heart of the cold war, a time when, in America particularly, anti-communist views were held strongly in the West. The McCarthy witch-hunts of communists in public life and the arts led to the blacklisting of many writers, actors and directors. There was such a fear of communism at this time that this films anti-war message could have been seen by some as being unpatriotic. It was thus a very brave film to make but, thankfully, Robert Wise wasnt black listed and went on to direct many more classic films. The film carries its message on today, when after September 11 it is hard for Americans to argue against a possible war against Iraq. The best art has always carried messages that can be read by all people at all times. The extract I have chosen to study out of The Day The Earth Stood Still is near the end of the film. It starts with Klaatu and Helen on the way to the spaceship where Klaatu is going to make his speech. Klaatu tells Helen that Gort has the power to destroy the earth if he isnt there to stop him, but Klaatu is then shot by the Army and presumed dead. However, thanks to Helen, Gort saves his life in time for Klaatu to make the speech. Like many 1950s science fiction movies this extract is set at night, to try to create a tense atmosphere. The non-diegetic sound is very mechanical, reinforcing the idea that this film is part of the science fiction genre. It also has a trembling effect and some very sharp staccato notes to create the tension felt in this extract. The music is only played when Gort is in shot emphasising his mechanical nature. The spaceship is made out of smooth shapes, and man-made materials, for example plastic and metal. This emphasises how much more advanced the aliens are than the humans as they are using materials we know very well to create something that we couldnt achieve at that time. The effects of the electric doors and the platform dissolving into itself add a futuristic effect to the spaceship. The figure of Gort is the main icon that shows this extract to be a science fiction film. His costume is silver, a colour that is connected to metal and therefore robots, and in place of his eyes is one bright light. Gort can be seen as similar to robots that appear in later films. For instance in West World, made twenty years later, the robots have the power to kill us quicker than we can kill them, and in Terminator the robots are gaining complete control over the world. This parallels the way in which in DESS the other planets have given complete control to Gort and his kind. Fear is an important aspect of any science-fiction film; and in this film Gort provides the main element of fear. Even Klaatu says he fears his power, Im afraid of what he might do if anything should happen to me Theres no limit to what he could do, he could destroy the earth.

Slavery Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Slavery - Research Paper Example Africans who were thought to have resistance to tropical diseases were outsourced to work on these areas with poor or no pay. In history, personal account on what happened in particular is usually the most reliable source. In such a scenario, individual’s personal account can be used to complement other form of literature that already exists. In several states of America, a personal account on what happened in period of slavery and period after has been taken from several people who gave first hand information on various ordeals that they went through. This paper seeks to analyze several individual accounts on slavery in Texas State. During this period, slaves did several jobs that were either in farms or in household.  The role of women was concentrated at home area while men work was majorly on farms. A personal account of Mary Armstrong gives us a proper description of the kind of work they were doing during the period of enslavement. Domestic chores included watering flo wers round the house without spilling a drop of water to unintended area. Additionally, the role of women was to take care of their master’s children and cleaning household things such as utensils. Women also played a significant role in the kitchen, as they were trusted cooks as Ellen accounts of Aunt Rachel. Based on Ellen Betts account, some women could also cut canes all day until midnight. Some women who were not fed properly could eat food that belonged to master children when left under their care. Men at some time acted as houseboys. Sterlin work was to lure the master to sleep and could take care of dining activities. Men could also take children to and from school. Moreover, Will Adams says that niggers were given a subordinate role. Majority of slaves had no skills and hence could not seek a formal employment1. Some slave owners showed some form of leniency when commanding the slaves on various chores while other slave owners mistreated their slaves with no mercy. Individual account gives an insight to various form of treatment that they went through in the period of slavery. Firstly, Armstrong talks of how mean the slave owners were at their time. This is because Cleveland’s were always beating their slaves. Moreover, the slaves were expected to perform chores to perfection, failure to which led to punishment. Armstrong’s sister was beaten to death at an age of nine month. This was a high level of inhumane act at this period of slavery. The little sister was beaten until blood oozed from body. Armstrong claims that Olivia treatment was lenient to the slaves. However, Armstrong says that slaves were forced to work on plantation during cold winter where wheat, barley, oats, and fruits were cultivated. Slaves were also sold to other plantation owners without their dues being paid which was illegal but slave owners disregarded this law. Moreover, family’s members were separated from each other when being sold to other slave traders. Husbands, wives, and children were sold to different traders. Since slaves could only be sold when strong and healthy, some slave traders who gave little food to slaves rubbed salt and vinegar on them to make it appear as if they had been fed good and were strong and healthy. Ellen says that slaves were accorded the same respect as dogs and cats and were therefore