literature

Frans de Waal’s Primates and Philosophers is an intriguing exploration of animal and human behavior, and a fierce attempt to link them intrinsically and inseparably.  De Waal attacks the notion that morality is a uniquely human trait – opposing those who believe that homo sapiens is a loner in ethics, and that our species rose magnificent out of the barbaric and uncomplicated ashes of our ancestors.

Whenever someone tries to compare or analyze the underlyingbases for the culture and customs of different races or groups of people, theperson making the comparison or analysis almost always runs the risk of beingcriticized for what appears to be “generalizations” as to why certain groupsbehave, act and think the way they do. It is, therefore, very important for aresearcher doing a study on human behavior, such as a people’s way of thinking,to define at the outset the scope of the study being made and the methodologyto be used.

Aside from the beautiful and charismatic style which makes the procession through The Diving Bell and the Butterfly absolutely enthralling, complete appreciation of this book requires an acknowledgement of the implausible efforts of its creator. It is rare that a book can be inspiring based not only on the content of the writing but also on the process of its creation. Jean-Dominique Bauby does not explicitly give details about his condition, nor about how he went about writing this book. This seems to be the main theme of the book: it is not why, but how. He does not want the reader to know much about his accident or the painstaking method of communication he has been forced to resort to, but

Honestly, I was having trouble coming up with a straight answer for this whole “rights” of the reader verses the writer mess so I have decided to start over and go through my thoughts as systematically as I have time for. So, I will try to write down my thoughts as they develop temporally.

With regard to the rights of the writer:

Marina Gallo

Emerging Genres

Professor Dalke

Paper 2

March 25, 2008

                                                            Dialect Differences

When we read Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, we can see the use of different dialects is central in the telling of her tale. It helps to aid hermission of promoting the abolition of slavery. It seems to be something that Stowe found very important to add to her story even if it made it more difficult for the reader to understand. Would the story have been different without the use of what has been called “negro dialect”?  My answer would be that the effectStowe was searching for was found through dialect and without it the story would have been different. This effect was to help create change.

Anyone for Theory?

Or

Why We Like Uncle Tom's Cabin Better than Jameson