The Reseeing Process

The revision process is one of the most time consuming and challenging processes of writing. It is also the most important. No matter what kind of writer we are, professional or novice, revision is the final step of writing. It is where we re-see our writing and try to catch our mistakes and try to alter them. As a writer, there is a constant process of drafting. Writing isn’t just a first draft, but a constant work to pursue the best clear, concise, and practical writing before handing it in for final copies. As an author, you can’t just print out a book without editing it. It takes a long time and revising is the first step to make it almost perfect.

                My revision process includes various steps. When writing my essay, I am constantly revising as I write. When I get stuck on the next sentence to write, I often go back to the beginning and re read that to make sure everything sounds good. Then, I’ll continue writing from the point where I stopped at to get my thoughts flowing again. It just makes sense that when I get stuck to start back at the beginning. Then when the essay is all done, I re-read the entire essay out loud from top to bottom. If I stutter or stumble on the sentence, I reread it again for revision because there is some sort of error in there that I stumbled on. Then I check each paragraph with quotes and makes sure I properly quoted correcting using the sandwich method of Introduction, quote, and expand otherwise known as the SEER method. This helps establish clarity and if the paragraphs make sense or not. Then I check to make sure that everything makes sense and stays relevant to the thesis throughout the entire essay. Then I check to see if everything flows in content with each paragraph.  When I finally finish, I reread it one more time and make sure I kept the same consistency of effort throughout the essay. If I established this, then I feel done and will print it out for a second pair of eyes to catch my work mistakes. That helps me know where my errors are and I try to improve on that every essay I do. 

A Voice of Conviction

Jacqueline Parmegiani

Rasheda Young

English 1101

April 24, 2015

A Voice of Conviction

Imagine the feeling of standing around knowing something that is eating you alive inside and begging to be shared with the world. There’s this overwhelming feeling of shock, guilt, and unsureness of what to do. It’s called the voice of reason inside each and every one of us that tells the difference between what is right and wrong. It is one thing to know the difference and acknowledge it, however, the true art is being able to stand with conviction in front of the crowd and vocalizing these inner thoughts to the world.  In 1967 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a powerful civil rights activist and role model of many, spoke out in protest of the Vietnam War. His influential speech, Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence, projected his opinion on how people should react when they have a strong moral principle to speak out for their beliefs. In any situation it is a powerful understanding to know when it is appropriate to break silence and stand up for what is right. As Martin Luther King spoke out about his convictions, there have been many other important figures in history who have known when it is appropriate to speak out against controversial issues for example the Kent State College student protestors of Vietnam in 1970 or even the domestic violence advocates who spoke out against professional Baltimore Ravens football star, Ray Rice, who covered up an alleged domestic abuse scandal. It is appropriate to break silence mainly in context of believing a personal opinion is stronger and morally correct and should be recognized by the public eye. It is in this duty that we should know when to stop, think, and break silence like the fellow activist.

In reference to the Vietnam War, it is hard to speak out against a government that advocates the sentencing of soldiers to war. It is even harder to go against a socially accepted idea that America is in this war upon Vietnam for the good of our country. However, many people who are pro-Vietnam war are mainly people who are not physically affected by the hardships faced upon families. Many people do not even understand that this entire war was intervened by the United States after the cold war to prevent a new regime of freedom from evolving. As Dr. King Jr. had stated, “Perhaps the more difficult, but no less necessary task is to speak for those who have been designated as our enemies.” People often feel voiceless in a time of war like our fellow Americans and even those who are our enemies and become the many civilian lives affected by it.

As if war is a time to not express the truth and value opinions of others. Now-of-days politics are almost a sin to express because it introduces controversies and divides individuals without room for adjustment. However, why should a voice sit so powerless and undermined? A true valued opinion is one who speaks the impossible and breaks out from a crowd. Dr. King does not disvalue America as a whole, but examines to break the silence for the people who are afraid to talk. The message of Dr. King Jr. isn’t just behind his words, but the followers who backed him up symbolizing unity and strength in numbers.

As an entire country, we should have recognized the plans of this elongated war to be insufficient in exceeding its initial goals. “America, the richest and most powerful nation in the world, can well lead the way in this revolution of values. There is nothing, except a tragic death wish, to prevent us from reordering our priorities so that the pursuit of peace will take precedence over the pursuit of war. There is nothing to keep us from molding a recalcitrant status quo with bruised hands until we have fashioned it into brotherhood” (King Jr.). Breaking the silence for people to protest the war and voice their opinions have enhanced people to speak out for what they believe in. A country deep rooted in its history that is defined by its strength, power, and freedom of speech should feel concrete in valuing people’s opinions even so far as to help make people recognize within these truths that an end to the Vietnam War is necessary and to break silence is to become heard and recognized as a social standard.

As Martin Luther King expressed his conviction to break the silence, the Kent State protesters in Ohio were trying to accomplish the same goal. Their objective was to influence and advocate for other American’s to speak out against America’s involvement in the Vietnam War. College students took a stand against the mandatory deployment into war and resented the loss of their education for a cause they did not believe in. They picketed and gathered around campus for a chance to be heard and voiced their disagreement in the country’s involvement in the war. The first amendment advocates the freedom of speech which is the exact message the students were trying to uphold. The goal of these Kent State students was to end this idea of war, “Somehow this madness must cease. We must stop now. I speak as a child of God and brother to the suffering poor of Vietnam” (King Jr.) Students were voicing their anti-war opinions when armed police officers and soldiers surrounded campus with tear gas to end protests and set off open fire after remarks made by students toward their actions of preventing their rights. This open firing on students caused nine wounded and four killed. The students are the ones who are breaking silence by exercising their freedom of speech, but in an instance like this it can incite fear and prevent individuals from speaking out their opinion. However, after this shooting it only provoked more rallies and protests that were grew much larger. These are times when it is appropriate to break silence, stand up for what you believe in, and truly make a movement that travels and show how people want change or something to be done. 

The reason people speak out is because they feel obligated or want moral justice to be served. For instance, Ray Rice, a famous football player had been charged for domestic violence against his wife after an incident in an elevator. The two had allegedly seem to be arguing when Rice violently punched his wife in anger leaving her lying unconscious on the elevator floor. John Harbaugh, head coach of the Baltimore Ravens, had appeared at several conferences in which he excused the player from his action due to his personality. Harbaugh rationalized Rice’s behavior stating that the couple was having counseling seminars while the arrest allegations were being made without mention of the injuries sustained by his wife, the voiceless victim of the domestic violence incident, who was unable to speak out in fear of affecting her husband’s professional career. The NFL and coaching staff attempted to cover up the incident as if it didn’t happen, but it wasn’t until three months later that the media released the video of the brutal assault painting hard evidence of the domestic assault. TMZ broke the silence and released the video to be viewed by the public eye to portray the appalling violent behavior displayed by Ray Rice which propagated domestic violence advocates to speak out against this injustice.  If it wasn’t for the public opinion, his wife would still be silenced and unable to speak out against what had happened.

ELEVATOR ASAULT VIDEO!!

It is appropriate to understand the simple questions in life when breaking silence; When, where, how and why. To examine closer there should be strong reasons that convey a person to speak out against a crowd. It should be a strong opinion like why the war should be stop based off the number of lives taken or how the extenuation of a war is not necessary if more harm is done than good. Secondly, people should stand up for what is morally right. Soldiers are supposed to defend our beautiful nation rather than harming the lives of our countries home grounds for voicing their opinions like the Kent State students. And lastly if people know that it is morally wrong like domestic abuse in Ray Rice’s incident then it is no question that people should be speaking out for change no matter how famous or important a person is. A voice to be heard is never forgotten in times of need. Martin Luther King Jr., was that man in need and in fact showed justice by voicing his values and breaking silence just like many others will follow along the way.

Works Cited

CNN Staff. “Timeline of Key Events in the Ray Rice Story-CNN.com.” CNN. Cable News Network, 16 Sept. 2014. Web. 2 Apr. 2015.

Gu, Paul. “Kent State Shootings- Ohio History Central.” Kent State Shootings- Ohio History Central. Ohio History Connection, n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2015

King, Dr. Martin Luther Jr., “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence.” Clergy and Laymen Concerned About Vietnam. Riverside Church, New York City. 4 April 1967.Speech.

Taken for Granted

Take a moment to look around. As you notice there is nothing holding you back or restraining you from living your life style. That is called freedom. Freedom is not a given, but in the United States it is now mandatory as a citizen to be given this right. Freedom can be defined as the power to think, verbalize, and act as an individual without being punished or restrained. Freedom is a privilege and many slaves weren’t given that freedom or privilege.  In the novel, A Good Lord Bird, by James McBride he explains the injustices forced on colored people during slavery prior to the civil war. Through this we can examine the differences in how freedom is granted to slaves. However, there was a difference between slaves during this time. There were two types of slaves; a mulatto or a half white slave, who were well kept and given more desirous jobs inside a home and a full black slave, who were given brutal working and living conditions. In the novel, Pie is a mulatto and considered the most beautiful main attraction or the best whore of the house, while Sibonia is an undesirable feebleminded working slave.  Although they were both slaves, they were treated differently. Considering the manner given to the characters each were both still considered slaves which means they weren’t free to be their own person. However, as a slave Pie being more privileged than Sibonia, does not mean more free. In fact, Pie is less free than Sibonia due to the higher standards she is set at.

 Before the civil war freedom was not given to colored people and it was given less to women. In the novel, McBride can show the different ways of freedom given to two women of different slave statuses. Pie is living the high life, given the chance to live inside the big house with furbished furniture and her own room. Being granted her own room is a privilege in comparison to the other slaves like Sibonia. She even has the privacy to shut the door. However, the reasons that she has the privilege to shut the door aren’t considered freedom at all. In fact her freedom is degrading.

Not only is Pie’s freedom less because of prostitution, but she is also given less freedom than full black slaves because she is considered more valuable due to her mulatto stature. A mulatto is more privilege because they are half white, however at any given time they can be disarmed of that privilege. “Miss Abby commenced to razzing Pie something terrible for me ripping her scarf and causing a ruckus in her business. She cussed Pie’s Ma. She cussed her Pa. She cussed all her relationships in all directions. “I’ll fix it,’ Pie protested. ‘I’ll pay for the scarf.”  “You better. Git that girl out, or I’ll have Darg come up here” “(149). Here we can see that Miss Abby can stricken her from her luxurious life and put her back with the rest of the slaves outside the house like Sibonia. Darg, is the overseer of Miss Abby’s property. He is in charge of all punishments to slaves. Miss Abby basically stated that she doesn’t care for Pie meaning Pie can lose her freedom in a second. Darg is used for punishment and dehumanizing of slaves so Pie has to watch every move she makes because her freedom and privileges are on the line.

Pie is a beautiful women who was feared by slaves, yet desired by men. She was so desired by men that men would practically throw themselves at her begging to get on the Hot Floor. “And I ought to get a special favor, on account I had to kill John Brown and save the whole territory and all, just to get back to you” (McBride 145). She is set at a high standard, but confined to slavery by prostitution. Prostitution is no way to live a fulfilling life even if it makes money. In the novel, McBride sets a scene that shows the degrading nature of Pie’s life, “…Pie’s room—just in time to see Chase with trousers down and Pie sitting on her bed with her dress pulled down to her waist” (McBride 148).  A woman cannot consider herself to be free if she is always being forced to have sex with strange men. With freedom comes the right to choose, which means she has the freedom to choose which man she wants to pursue, not to be confined by prostitution.

                Sibonia on the other hand is confided to the misery of slave life. “Soon as you opened the door you stepped into an alley, and two steps across it and you was there. It was a penned-in area, and besides it was a little open area in the back where the colored set on crates, playing cards and had a little vegetable garden. Behind that was a hog pen, which open right to the colored pen for easy tending of Miss Abbey’s hogs” (159). This life was not much for living. It was dirty, it was unpleasant, and most of all it was lousy captivity. These people were clearly not free at all. They were treated just as rotten as the animals they were living with.  Miss Abby had no respect for her slaves.  She didn’t even find her slaves important. She put them in the pen with animals because she believed that the slaves were just as equal if not the same as animals.

As a slave, Sibonia is treated completely unfairly. She is barricaded under harsh rule and unjust treatment for being a slave.  However, being a slave Sibonia was willing to give up everything including her life to gain freedom. As a slave in the pen she was forced to do more manual labor unlike Pie. This only showed how truly confident and strenuous she is. Unlike Pie, Sibonia has the power to defy her job and is not afraid to show it. Sibonia was not loyal to her master, Miss Abby at all. Miss Abby didn’t treat her like a real human being so why should Sibonia respect her. Sibonia became so stern and harden with emotion that she did not care anymore. Even though Sibonia was physically a slave she never let her mind off the idea of freedom. “Reverand, it was you and your wife [Miss Abby] who taught me that God is no respecter of persons, it was you and your missus who taught me that in His eyes we are all equal. I was a slave. My husband was a slave. My children was slaves. But they was sold. Every one of them. And after the last child was sold, I said, “I will strike a blow for freedom”” (179).  Sibonia really is willing to put her life on the line to gain freedom especially for her family. She was not afraid to fight for freedom which made her much freer than Pie. 

Sibonia was not loyal to Miss Abbey, yes she works as a laborer, but she is not loyal. Sibonia's freedom would be based off of either a revolt or a fearsome escape plan which both can lead to her death. Sibonia is a lot smarter than she reveals for she plots to mislead her masters by acting feebleminded.

Although Sibonia being a captive slave to Miss Abby, she can be considered slightly more free than Pie. Pie is known to be completely loyal to her master, Miss Abbey, which makes her a rat to always tell the truth. Pie is so loyal to her master that she went so far as to disrespecting the rest of the slaves for her own self benefit. “Someone from the pen must’ve told Pie that Sibonia was planning a breakout, and Pie told it to the judge for some kind of favor, and when the stew got boiled down and shared out, why, it weren’t a breakout at all, but rather murder” (186).  Pie killed Sibonia and the rest of the slaves because she is a rat and limited the freedom to branch out for rebellion like Sibonia. She did whatever she had to, to save her life. Unfortunately, Pie still being a slave was stricken of her freedom after telling the truth. Her status of prostitution only became more prominent. She essentially lost her freedom by being fully degraded and violated by Darg, the overseer of the yard. “Her head was throwed back and she was howling while he rode her and called her a high-yellow whore and turn-coat for turning in all them niggers and revealing their plot” (190). She lost her privilege of freedom because she confessed too much. Being a mulatto slave only granted so much freedom until she disrespected the rest of the slaves that brought income to Miss Abby’s plantation.  

                Freedom is not a given, at least not in the slave days for colored people. Mulatto or Black these people were not free. They were limited from basic needs like education and reading, stricken of their dignity. Prostitution or manual laborer these women both were not free. However the difference between both Pie and Sibonia is the idea of freedom. Sibonia might have been looked more down upon because she was a full black slave but she was more respected than Pie as a prostitute. In the end Sibonia gained her freedom from her death. Pie is still not free in any sense of the word because she is still being violated by men and her master.

Works Cited

McBride, James. The Good Lord Bird. New York: Penguin Audio, 2014. Print