Professional Documents
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English Summer New
English Summer New
Brianna Garcia
Cooper, 1
AP Lang, SOAPSTONE
20, 08, 18
Dunbar- Ortiz, Roxanne. “Chapter Two: Culture of Conquest.” An Indigenous People’s History
Speaker: Based on Dunbar’s intelligent diction, the reader can assume that she is an
older adult possibly around her 40’s and creates an unliking towards Columbus.
Since she does not use any possessive words such as “our” or “we”, the reader can
also assume that she does not fall from Indigenous descent.
Occasion: This chapter was written in response to sources that do not mention the
prerequisites to the Columbian Exchange. Dunbar feels the need to explain the
full story in order for the reader to form their own opinion.
Audience: The author was trying to reach to the people that may ignore or may not think
about the prerequisites that happened for the conquest to happen. Dunbar gives
Purpose: Dunbar wrote this passage in order to explain the continuity and domino effect
of the European past. The author includes multiple examples (such as the
Spaniards scalping the Natives in the same manner as the English did to the Irish
Garcia 2
Subject: Dunbar’s main focus throughout this passage was the history leading up to the
order that resulted in this such as the unfortunate lower-class people in England
that were “thrown off the land” and escaped to the Americas to start their life (5).
The use of chronological order has the reader feeling like they are in a story
Tone: The author provides different tones towards different subjects. When Dunbar is
explaining the treatment of the Europeans that eventually made their way to the
Americas, she describes them as, “Traumatized souls” that “[Crossed] a vast
ocean with the promise of land” (5). The use of “traumatized” shows that the
author understands their reasoning behind the migration and colonization to the
Americas. On the other hand, Dunbar ends the passage with explaining how gold
fever led to “...enslaving whole countries and slaughtering people” (13). The
diction in this phrase tells the reader how the author looks heavily down upon
these events.
Garcia 3
Dunbar- Ortiz, Roxanne. “Chapter Three: Culture of Conquest.” An Indigenous People’s History
Speaker: Based on the Dunbar’s intelligent diction, the reader can assume that she is an
older adult possibly around her 40’s and creates an un liking towards Columbus.
Since she does not use any possessive words such as “our” or “we”, the reader can
also assume that she does not fall from Indigenous descent.
Occasion: Dunbar wrote this chapter in response to hateful sources that discredit the
Europeans. She aims to show how the European’s motives were reasonable
however cruel.
Audience: Dunbar was trying to reach the adult audience that thinks the Europeans were
hateful at heart. She talks about how the Europeans “...Fought their way over the
Appalachians” and other sacrifices they made (20). Dunbar was trying to show
people the prerequisites and factors that led to the devastation that occurred in the
Americas.
Purpose: Dunbar wrote this chapter in order to display the religious background and
influences on the Europeans that would have affected their treatment and
Subject: This chapter focuses on the religious input for the development of the
imperialism. The author cites Akenson saying “...[The] great code has… directly
determined what people would believe and when they would think and what they
Garcia 4
would do” (17). Dunbar continues with comparisons to Hebrew scripture and the
Tone: Dunbar creates a disgusted tone with her diction. She was very blunt when saying
Momaday. N. Scott. “The Becoming of the Native,” 1993 Conversations in American Literature,
Speaker: The excerpt includes background on the author telling the reader that he was
born into the Kiowa Tribe. This serve as valuable information to the reader as it
sets a prerequisite for the remainder of the passage. It sets biases towards the
Occasion: The piece was written in response to the misunderstanding of various Native’s
belief about language. Momaday feels the need to get his point across due to
Audience: Momaday’s target audience are the people that may blame the brutality of the
Europeans “Could not understand the American Indians profound belief in the
efficiency of language” which explains why Natives had no written language (5).
His argument is that the language barrier interfered with the Natives ability to
Purpose: Momaday wrote this passage in order to tell the reader the importance of
where a man is faced with a challenge and proceeds with saying “Let us talk
easy” (6).
Subject: The author keeps a focus on what he believes was the barrier between the
able to add a self reflection. He says that after many years, he “[Understands] that
it is about language” and acknowledges that the storyteller is “illiterate but exists
in words” (6).
Tone: Throughout the passage, Momaday leaves details that suggests he gives
forgiveness to the Europeans. After explaining the story from the storyteller, the
author explains how it took him “many years” to realize that the story was about
communication and language. This suggest that he knows there is no way foreign
Nunn, Nathan and Nancy Qian, The Journal of Economic Perspectives, “The Columbian
Exchange: A History of Disease, Food, and Ideas,” Vol. 24 No. 2 Pp. 163-168, American
Speaker: The authors focus highly on the food and their nutritional values. This tells the
reader that they pursue a healthy lifestyle and preach about it as well. Their
diction also tells the reader that the both of them are intelligent and adults.
Occasion: The authors wrote this piece in immediate response to the lack of common
two to get their point across to those unknowing to the lesser known economic
Audience: In this paper, the authors stray away from the common knowledge of the
Columbian Exchange and focus more on the statistics and specific details such as
tables displaying the popularity of new world foods in the old world. This tells the
reader that the authors aren’t aiming to reach a young, unknowing audience, but
rather an older group of people that have common knowledge of the Columbian
Exchange.
Purpose: Nunn and Qian wrote this paper in order to, “Spur further more-rigorous studies
conclude with saying they hoped their paper put “...A particular emphasis on
aspects of the exchange that have generally been neglected by economists” (21).
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Subject: The focus throughout this piece is the exchanged foods between the New World
and the Old World and their effects whether it be health related of economic
related. This information is presented with numerous tables that show the reader
Tone: The author’s diction reveals early on how the both of them feel about the
Columbian Exchange. In particular, when the two are explaining disease during
this time, they reidurate how “defenseless” the Natives were and went on to call
the Columbian Exchange “...[The] Exchange of germs and viruses” (4). This puts
Weatherford, Jack, “Examining the Reputation of Christopher Columbus,” The Jatibonicu Taino
Tribal Band of New Jersey US Regional Taino Tribal Affairs [sic] Office located in
Speaker: The diction selected by Weatherford can hint into his familial background. In the
second paragraph, he says “Columbus never set foot on our continent” and “Vikings
already had settlements here” (1). The possessive use of “our” and “here” tells the reader
that he has some indigenous tribe in his family tree. This would explain his later harsh
explanation of the false achievements by Columbus as they have had a gruesome affect
on his family.
Occasion: Weatherford wrote this piece in response to the immediate cause of Columbus Day.
He firmly believes Columbus should not bear his own holiday every year due to the
Audience: In the fourth paragraph, Weatherford presents his audience through irony. The author
comments on how elementary schools conduct crafts every year for Columbus Day in
celebration when the reader knows the author heavily disagrees with this ritual. Through
this, Weatherford is trying to reach those who are unaware of the full background of
Columbus Day.
Purpose: Weatherford wrote this article in order to discredit Columbus and also highlight his
many flaws in the execution of his exploration. His ending thought is that we, as
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Americans, should not use Columbus Day as a celebration, but as a day of mourning for
Subject: Weatherford spends the first half of the article discrediting Columbus. He does this by
giving specific examples such as Giovanni Caboto who was, “The first European
explorer to thoroughly document his visit to North America” and Eratosthenes who
proved the world was round contrary to the fact that many people believe that it was
Columbus (1).
Tone: The author, with his diction, creates an incredibly bitter tone. Weatherford says Columbus
“failed” and that he “tore children from their parents” (2). After establishing his point of
view throughout the article, the author uses sarcasm when he says that “This is the great
cultural encounter initiated by Columbus” (2). At this point in the article, the reader
Zinn, Howard, “Chapter 1: COLUMBUS, THE INDIANS, AND HUMAN PROGRESS,” A People’s
http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/zinncol1.html
Speaker: Zinn’s use of intelligent diction tells the reader that he is an older adult. He also
does not use possessive words such as “we” or “our” in regards to the Natives
Occasion: Zinn wrote this article in immediate response to the attacking pieces written
about Columbus. The author explains his view on “one sided” history and how he
is against it.
Audience: After multiple paragraphs of Zinn explaining how disgustingly cruel the
The author is trying to reach the people that still have this view and present the
Purpose: Zinn wrote this in order to argue that “atrocity…[is a] necessary price to pay for
progress” (5). He wrote this paper in order not to dispute the cruelty of Columbus,
but rather justify it and the positive effects of this period today.
Subject: Zinn focuses on the welcoming nature of the Native Americans. He includes
numerous excerpts that describe their innocence and their actions like how they,
“Did not bear arms” when the Spaniards arrived and “Were willing to trade
everything they owned” (1). Zinn then closes out this article with over a dozen
Garcia 12
egalitarian” (11).
wastes...buried in containers in the earth” reveals his negative tone to the past (5).
The comparison to something so vile leaves the reader with no doubt that he finds
Works Cited
Dunbar- Ortiz, Roxanne. “Chapter Two: Culture of Conquest.” An Indigenous People’s History
Dunbar- Ortiz, Roxanne. “Chapter Three: Culture of Conquest.” An Indigenous People’s History
Momaday. N. Scott. “The Becoming of the Native,” 1993 Conversations in American Literature,
Nunn, Nathan and Nancy Qian, The Journal of Economic Perspectives, “The Columbian
Exchange: A History of Disease, Food, and Ideas,” Vol. 24 No. 2 Pp. 163-168, American
Weatherford, Jack, “Examining the Reputation of Christopher Columbus,” The Jatibonicu Taino
Tribal Band of New Jersey US Regional Taino Tribal Affairs [sic] Office located in
Zinn, Howard, “Chapter 1: COLUMBUS, THE INDIANS, AND HUMAN PROGRESS,” A People’s
http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/zinncol1.html