Parallelism

Alexie in "Indian Education" makes use of obvious parallelism throughout his piece, acting to emphasize the racism that American Indians are forced to endure. In first grade, Alexie lists the numerous names that him and another Indian boy who were "tortured" were given, including "Junior-Falls-Down... Bloody Nose... Steal-His-Lunch... Cries-Like-A-White-Boy... top-yogh-yaught". These all consist of grammatically similar names, commonly associated with traditionally Indian names. Thus, the Indian bullies, by fabricating traditionally Indian names, mock the culture that both they and Victor share. Such a seemingly stupid action reflects the underlying racism that these bullies, even at such a young age, are subject to - the racism that they feel is so extreme that they begin to deflect it onto their own peers.

A similar situation occurs again in Sixth Grade, when Stevie Flett "called [Randy] out, called him a squawman, called him a pussy, and called him a punk. By describing this event with parallelism, Alexie reveals the extent of the racism - that experiences like these are not uncommon within American Indian circles. Instead, such experiences can be rattled off rather nonchalantly - a normal everyday event.

The most pervasive usage of parallelism is when Alexie describes the "bulimic" girls at his new school, writing that "I sat back and watched them grow skinny from self-pity", and then continues to write that his own family "ate [canned beef] day after day and grew skinny from self-pity". Consequently, Alexie emphasizes how the final outcome of the actions of both the privileged white girls and his own family is the same - they both end up growing "skinny from self-pity". However, while the white girls grow skinny from an abundance of food, Alexie and his family grow skinny from the lack of it. Thus, Alexie exposes how the Native Americans are starved in ways other than the simple lack of food: love, opportunity, and equality.

Flint

 This cartoon depicts the current Michigan governor, Rick Snyder, forcing a small child, representing Flint, into some murky, rust colored water. Snyder, in a text bubble, says "I poison you in the name of deregulated trickle-down government", referring to trickle-down economics, which state that, by imposing tax cuts on the rich, the rich will pour their excess dollars into their own businesses, creating jobs and investment around the country. However, by implementing this policy, the government is forced to reduce their tax revenue, and thus cut spending. Because of this cut in spending, it is likely that Snyder decided against pouring money into Flint to resolve the crisis. Consequently, this cartoon's main purpose is to criticize both the Republican party and Snyder for placing priority on their political beliefs over the health of the people they serve.

In the background, a republican elephant is drawn standing happily on dry land, responding "A-MEN" to Snyder's text bubble and holding a thick black book with a single money sign drawn on it. Along with "A-MEN", the book can be construed as a bible and the elephant a pastor. Thus, Republican policy in general, represented by the elephant, can be interpreted as a policy worshiping money and in control of those who ascribe to it, just as a pastor is. This idea is supported by the facial expression and body posture of Snyder, who appears to be robotic and stiff, suggesting that he is being controlled by an outside force. Furthermore, by drawing the elephant as fat, content, and standing on dry land, the artist implies that the republicans, or those who support trickle down policies, haven't experienced the struggles of the poor; instead they live contently their entire lives and consequently underestimate the terrible conditions that those in poverty live in. 

The anecdotes Raymo utilizes to convey his warning of the dangers of excessive scientific pursuits all have a certain verisimilitude that closer connects the common reader with the stories. Raymo begins his piece with an anecdote about "two unemployed men in search of a fast buck", as most young men are. Thus, the piece is read with a "this could happen the characters in the anecdote could be any common person. The "two unemployed young men" even quickly sell off the "stainless steel cylinder" to a "junk dealer", rather than a professional, seeking quick cash as most people do. Furthermore, Raymo writes a rather scientific based anecdote in the absence of any true scientific jargon, writing that the cesium atoms were "seemingly magical", describing it as a "glowing dust... like an enchanted sprite", rather than describing them as, for example, "a beta-decaying isotope of cesium, cesium-137". This allows the reader to feel as if the anecdote is specifically written for him/her rather than for a distant researcher.

Raymo's story about Marie Curie also acts to relate to the reader of the passage. Marie Curie was a renowned physicist who was the first women to win the Nobel Prize and the first person and only women to win it twice. However, in Raymo's anecdote, she is reduced to a common mother, "sitting at the bedside of her four-year-old daughter", rather than one of the most important physicists in modern history. Thus, Raymo emphasizes how anyone, such as two young men and a mother, can experience discovering such radioactive materials and warns the general public on the dangers of the "unexamined quest for knowledge".

As someone mentioned in class this week, "The Death of the Moth" develops according to the life cycle, consisting of an energetic beginning, struggling conflict, and finally relaxed death. This concept is reflected in Woolf's changing rhetoric throughout the piece. The first two or three paragraphs especially contain vivid, imagery laden sentences that convey the vitality of life. Woolf describes her surroundings as "gleam[ing] with moisture" and the net of rocks as having "the utmost clamor and vociferation, as though to be thrown into the air and settle slowly down upon the tree tops were a tremendously exciting experience", The simple fact that Woolf describes inanimate rocks as having life displays the natural energy that all objects in the world originally have; furthermore, this sentence is laden with imagery that reflects the complexity and liveliness of life. Woolf describes the rocks as being "vociferat[e]" and the Earth as "gleam[ing] with moisture", thus illustrating the complexities of life. Hereafter, as the essay progresses into a discussion about death, Woolf shortens her sentences and ceases to describe her surrounding with such vivid adjectives: she instead narrates her situation as simply as possible, writing "The legs agitated themselves once more... I looked out of doors. What had happened here... work in the fields had stopped". Consequently, Woolf, "hot with humility", suggests the simplicity of death, similar to the tranquility associated with both Gandhi and haikus, illustrating to everyone today of the fleeting nature of life and the finality of death.