The Los Angeles Times' opinion piece,China sees dissident's ideals as threat,the author states that China's attempts at stifling any type of public disapproval of its government is in the end,being done in vain.The author first reveals the parallels between two seemingly unrelated events by connecting them through the issue of China's human rights policies to show how unjust and hypocritical their government is;and to conclude the author extends their argument by giving several examples of how China has put strict limitations on the rights of its citizens,saying that these limitations are much more worse than the actions of these political dissidents since all they want is basic human rights.The author's purpose is to enlighten his audience in order to call attention to what the Chinese people have to go through so that in other countries can help China reform their government.The author seems to have a very political,possibly foreign or foreign-born audience in mind because the author focuses on the issue of human rights around the world.

Application Question:Does China's limitations of human rights work as a statement against globalization?

Mary Roach's nonfiction text Stiff:The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers,demonstrates the several ways that dead bodies are still useful and are not indeed worthless or too sacred as once thought.The author first sustains her original argument by talking about how useful a human head is after death and the enormous work that can be done with it and the brain that would actually help the living so much more than we realize;she then briefly speaks of ancient ways in which people would use dead bodies by explicitly stating that there were cannibalistic rituals performed with the bodies of the dead and were commonly thought to be beneficial to a living being's health ;and to conclude she conveys that a number of people within the medical/scientific community,with the information they hold,are ready and willing to surrender their body to science by displaying a cheeky sense of humor about it and accepting this fate as reasonable but is unsure if she herself could ever truly commit to it.Her purpose is to in order to help people see that we really do need people to surrender their bodies to science,otherwise bodies will be disturbed in a very vile way.She seems to have a very wide and general audience in mind because she deals with issues that hit a little too close to home and help you think about what you will do with your own body after death.

Application Question:How does the way bodies have been treated throughout the ages relate to the sophistication/advancement of present day society?

Tracy Clark-Flory's opinion piece,Going Down in The Downturn , explores the idea that more and more women are deciding to join the sex industry as a result of the recent economic downturn.The author first supports this idea by giving an anecdote about a woman who had decided to become apart of the sex industry because she was laid off;she then furthers her argument by saying that this is not anything new and that there has been many previous cases of women "selling themselves" to make money and that it has become an all too common practice among women;and to conclude she proposes that women do this out of strong sense of pride by giving an example of how a woman could gain a favorable revenue by performing sexual acts.Her purpose is to expose how desperate some people have become due to the recession in order to help people see that although it might not be someone's dream job to be apart of the sex industry,it is certainly becoming a reality for many women within this country.

Application question:How does the ever-growing number of normal everyday girls joining the sex industry affect the way that we perceive the recession?

Mary Roach's nonfiction text Stiff:The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers,furthers her original argument,saying that after death since people are devoid of any sentience,they are thus no longer people as we know them.The author first looks into how dead bodies are utilized by several companies that are conducting research with dead bodies to simulate human experience;she then adds to this idea by saying that any type of substitute of the human body while still as effective is no real replacement for a real human body;and to conclude she says that because of the fact that it is a human body a scientist wants to research,not the bodies of pigs,mice,or even frogs,we should in fact be using human bodies.Her purpose is to enlighten the reader with such quirky and seemingly strange facts in order help us see that dead bodies are useful to the living.She seems to have a very general and comprehensive audience audience in mind because she shows the innumerable ways that we can use cadavers to our advantage.

Application Question:How does the use of cadavers add to our sense of practicality?

Gene Lyon's opinion piece,Weathering the Storm of Stupidity ,expresses that people without a certain level expertise should not be able to inform people about a particular subject.The author first affirms this by giving examples of situations in which conservative figures decide to voice their opinion on issues which are not their area of expertise;he then attempts to find the root of this behavior by using people's words and theories which in some way connect to a general way in which people come to believe things that political figures say as fact and to conclude he declares that it is a fear of science and that science will overtake religion and politics as a more authentic purveyor of information by clearing up several key pieces of information.His purpose is to alter the way one processes information in order to reform this way information relaying.He seems to have a conservative audience in mind because of the fact that he manages to attack several conservative political and also entertainment figures within this article.

Application Question:How does the influence of celebrities and media figures outweigh the facts that are presented to us as a society?

Mary Roach's nonfiction text Stiff:The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers,asserts that human bodies are just as useful dead as they are alive in a very droll manner.The author first supports this with the use of anecdotes accompanied by statistics and evidence shown by studies and articles that have been published;she then adds to this by analyzing past material with an attention to detail and little known historical facts and to conclude she uses her quick wit with her methods of analysis.Her purpose is to quell past taboos about the sentiments that dead bodies possess in order to communicate .She seems to have a very general audience or maybe anyone who has dealt with dead bodies personally in mind because of the fact when one dies their general fear of the unknown would like to know that they will be taken care of in death.

Application Question:How does the taboo surrounding the use of one's dead body affect the advancement of scientific research?

I'm not sure how to feel about Frederick Douglass/his life.I cannot say that I truly 'enjoyed' this narrative;to say that I enjoyed it is to say that I enjoyed watching Schindler's List or Amistad or listening to an extremely sad song.This is not a story one can enjoy.Sure there are parts to it that are sort of uplifting and that make you feel a little better.But the truth of the matter is that I do not believe that the author himself enjoyed his own life.We know that Frederick lived the grueling life of a slave and by means of planning and somehow luck he was able to find himself a free man.But,I,like most people,do not find enjoyment out of the misfortune of others.If I had to say what my favorite part of his story was it would have to be the part where Fredrick's mistress unwittingly taught him how to read and how he learned how to write by imitating his master's penmanship.I mean,Fredrick's later life would be focused almost entirely on his literacy,without his literacy,one would not remember him very well,would we?We wouldn't have him in our history books or our literature books without the fact that he was able to transcend such a peculiar institution as slavery and learn how to do something,such as read and write that was not expected of him and was prohibited for him.

This story sort of makes me feel as if I have yet to truly live my life.There hasn't been anything really that has shaped me in such a way as slavery shaped Frederick.It is not that I am 'jealous' of the life that he lived,I am just envious at the fact that Frederick was able to rise above it and exceed the expectation that people held of him.Maybe one day I will be able to put my name on a great piece of work like Frederick did.Maybe one day I will be able to make a difference in the world.But until then,I guess I will have to live a life of general obscurity.