American Studies

American Studies Portfolio

The declaration of independence is split into five sections, very similar to a modern day essay with an introduction, main body and conclusion. The introduction shows the principles of why independence is necessary. The next section is known as the preamble this try's t justify the revolution. The paragraph of this section was discussed a lot in the seminar. Many people including myself were very impressed with the use of language in the sentence "all men are created equal" because it is often thought by the average citizen that politicians think they are better than them. It's very clever how Jefferson is basically saying to them I'm just the same as you. In the next and largest section Jefferson goes on to bring down George III and uses very strong words such like "tyrant" to describe him. This whole section is an attack and reads like a list of all the bad things George III has done. The majority of the sentences start with "He". The next section is known as the denunciation of the British. One member of the class picked out the line "they too have been deaf to the voice of justice" and how the words basically say the British people are just as bad as their king. The conclusion has a very interesting way of describing god using the words "Supreme judge of the world". On reflection I have to say that the seminar helped me understand the declaration a lot better, especially the history behind it and some of the language used.

In Walt Whitman's poem Song of Myself, it seems that he is trying to convey the point that to die is not what people make it out to be. He also explains how death leads to the beginning of life in this poem. In a subtle way, he gives the reader a feeling of lightness and life. Whitman shows you the light. He tells you why death is a good thing. There is no more fear. "is just as lucky to die, and I know it.." The poem progresses from a feeling of uncertainty to confidence and a loss of fear. Whitman conveys the idea that no one should be afraid to die, because it leads to life. Whitman's guesses in the earlier stage of the poem are aptly descriptive of death. Whitman

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