The Devil Baby at Hull-House by Jane Addams

This essay was initially about the myth of a devil baby in the Hull house, the story then unfolds into a commentary on the lives of immigrant working women and what they have sacrificed for their own children. The author, Jane Addams, was born in Cedarville, IL and graduated from the Rockford college for women. She is a very credible author because she was the first woman to win the Nobel Peace prize. The context written by Addams is that initially she initially dislikes the visitors who come to see the Hull-House to see the rumored devil baby but then she begins to take interest in the stories told by women who come to see the baby, having their own "devil" baby. The author's purpose is to show male’s dominance over the hard working women and the women’s helplessness towards raising their children. This mirrored the role of women during the time period the essay was written. The intended audience is essentially women and those who are mother of children. Addams is able to achieve her purpose through several anecdote's in the story. With this, she tells short narrative stories of the women who come to the Hull-House and their lives. We can see the parallels between male dominance and their stories. I believe that the author doesn't do a good job with achieving her purpose because the essay goes in a lot of different directions, and at times the reader can get lost very easily.

Male Dominance

(http://www.bms.co.in/do-we-live-in-a-male-dominated-society/)

"Each story tells a variation of male dominance over hardworking women, which results in the creation of a devil baby"

The Disposable Rocket John Updike

The Disposable Rocket was about John Updike's insight of how human males treat their bodies as being disposable in order to gain the physiologic purpose of reproduction. He also compare's men and women's bodies and the physical changes that they go through, and how they take their bodies for granted. John Updike is an American author born in Shillington, Pennsylvania and has a lot of credibility because hundreds of his stories and poems have appeared in The New Yorker since the 1950's. He is also a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner. The context of Updike's essay is that both men and women take their bodies for granted when they are young and later on regret it. It has a tone that is rather humorous and relaxing. The author's purpose of writing this essay was to educate the audience about their body and how when you're much older, your body is not the same as it was in the past when they were much younger. The audience that Updike intended is mainly males because the essay is written in detail about a male's body. Throughout The Disposable Rocket, Updike uses numerous antithesises to obtain his purpose. He compares several contrasting things to the male body, and is able to state the similarity between them. For example when he says, "Inhabiting a male body is like having a bank account; as long as it’s healthy, you don’t think much about it" (Updike). I believe that Updike does a great job with accomplishing his purpose because he is well to describe the male body more in detail because he can use his own experience to relate, also because he is able to make connections with the male body and draw parallels between them.

Booster Rockets Detaching from Space

(http://fineartamerica.com/featured/booster-rockets-detaching-from-space-nasa--science-source.html)

"His body is, like a delivery rocket that falls away in space, a disposable means" (Updike).

The Apotheosis of Martin Luther King by Elizabeth Hardwick

This essay was a reflection of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s death. Due to his assassination, the civil rights movement was left at a halt and many were unsure of what was to happen next. The essay then goes on to explain the type of man Dr.  King was, and how he fought for rights in a way with sermons and religion, the author then proposes that religion will no longer play a role in the fight for black rights. The author of this essay, Elizabeth Hardwick, was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and educated at the University of Kentucky and Columbia University showing that her work is reliable because of her high level of education. Hardwick's work is also notable because she is a recipient of a Gold Medal from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The context of this essay was written in a gloomy tone, and when the environment of Memphis was described as place broken in pieces that were left to be picked up after King's death. Hardwick's purpose of writing about the death of King was to reflect his life and to introduce what may become of the battle for civil rights. The  intended audience for this piece of writing is for civil rights activists at the time, and for people who were interested in King's life's work. To achieve their purpose, the author uses hypophora several times throughout the essay asking questions such as, "Was this a victory or a defeat?" and "What did they mean beyond a wish for the genuine act, a consoling communion with the garbagy streets?" She asks questions that her audience would like to see defined, then goes in to detail answering them. I believe that the author is well able to achieve her purpose because throughout the essay she acknowledges what was next for the battle of civil rights and also states that after King's death religion would most likely not interfere with the fight for African american rights. Hardwick leaves the reader with hope saying, "perhaps what was celebrated in Atlanta was an end, not a beginning—the waning of the slow, sweet dream of Salvation, through Christ, for the Negro masses" (Hardwick 326). 

Memphis Sanitation Strike by Charlie Kelly 

"Sanitation workers and their supporters during a march on City Hall in Memphis, Tennessee that was supposed to be attended by Martin Luther King Jr., before his death". 

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