Women Writers

Based solely on our reading in this class, it would appear as if women writers deal with less serious issues than male writers, but when novels from both sexes are stripped of their critic's ribbons, it becomes clear that the majority deal with social dilemmas, and the only perceivable difference is in the context. In the Bean Trees, Kingsolver used snide humor to deal with such dilemmas as large as the repercussions Native Americans have faced as a result of American imperialism, and in Farenheit 451, Bradbury used symbolism and irony to warn people of technology's power to enslave us; Both are very serious issues, and many parallels could be drawn between the two.

Podcast about Thoreau

1. What is the host's view of Thoreau?
He believes Thoreau's works to be the founding script of the United States.

2. What is Kathryn Todd's view of Thoreau?
She feels that he has almost no concern for community or partnership.

3. What are the advantages of living your life like Thoreau? What are the disadvantages?
Living like Thoreau will teach you to criticize, to examine, to question everything, and by doing this, you may learn from your mistakes, but at the same time, if you think of the past negatively, you may lose valuable ideas that it has to offer. The key is to examine life and decide for yourself what is right and what is not.

Civil Disobediance

Currently, I am very displeased with the United State's foreign policy. It should be kept to a minimum. If we just took a step back, and focused on our own problems, our ethics, instead of criticizing other countries for aggression, imperialism, torture, environmental harm (because we share many of their procedures in that regard), then the United States may become, once again, the most free and respected nation in the world.

The key to this amount of change is a low, minimum amount of effort, by a large amount of people. Simply having your opinion heard may seem like a small step, but voicing it raises awareness, and the government will not be able to ignore the people. If they do, we must prepare ourselves for a great change, be that revolution or civil protest; if the government resists our will, we must find a way to overthrow the government.

Google Jockey

Henry David Thoreau - He strongly opposed the Mexican-American War. He protested by not paying his taxes, which went towards what he thought was an unjust war.


Do the Right Thing - The movie deals with social oppression.


Seattle 1999 - "Boldly confronting capitalist opression"



Cindy Sheehan - She's a political activist. Her son died in the Iraq War and ever since she's protested the war.

Renegades of Funk

In the song Renegades of Funk, Zach de la Rocha talks about how people like Thomas Paine and Malcom X both contributed to social justice in their respective time period. He admires their dedication, boldness, and leadership.

The Last Meow - Activity 9

Activity 9

• Reread the first paragraph of Part 1. What words does Bilger use to
compare Lady to a movie star? Why does he make this comparison?

"and ravishing, like a queen of silent film with one last swoon left in her."
To add to the dramatic effect.


• Now read the second paragraph. What words does Bilger use to
describe Shawn Levering? What point is Bilger making about
Shawn?

"His face was freckled and ruddy, his forearms thickly cabled."
The person you least suspect can be something totally different.

• Now read the third paragraph. Identify the medical terminology in
this paragraph. Why does Bilger use it?
chronic renal failure, dialysis, transplant, biopsy.

• What do Lady, Shawn Levering, and Cathy Langston represent?
What problem or issue do the first three paragraphs suggest that
“The Last Meow” is going to explore?

That Lady is going to die if nothing is done and how much her owners care about her.

• Look at the first paragraph of Part 2. Each sentence is quite long
except the last. What is the effect of ending the paragraph with,
“The ferrets are called Larry, Mo, and Curly”?

Suggests that they will be spoken about later.

• What is the purpose of the parentheses in the third sentence?

inserts info without making it run-on

• Why does Bilger give us a long list of examples of animals treated
in the exotics unit?

give info

• How are the paragraphs in this article different from paragraphs
in a newspaper article?

newspaper? more info-y than inserting emotion.

Last Meow Part 1 Questions

Section 1:
1) Lady has chronic renal failure which will require dialysis and a kidney transplant, a procedure worth $15,000.
2) Shawn is a compassionate mechanic. I know this because Bilger set aside a whole paragraph to describe him.
3) Cathy is a good samaritan.
4) Shawn is willing to pay for Lady's treatment because both himself and his wife had had many procedures for themselves in the past. If I had known this before reading that his cat was sick, I would never have doubted that he would pay for her treatment.

Section 3:
1) Shawn and Karen are sympathetic, helpful people, despite their many setbacks, and have proven that love can surpass the boundaries of species.