Practicing Incorporating a Quotation

In the movie Glory colored soldiers fight for different purposes but in the middle they come together as one, and James Berardinelli wrote in a review of the movie, "In the heat of the fight, men are color blind.".


Paraphrasing is a fit frustrating because usually what is read is well said and I can't think of other ways of wording the same piece of text. Quoting however is not as hard as long as an argument is said and then the quote comes as evidence to help prove the argument made.

This is what Mrs. Lawson wanted me to learn today:

• Only use a quote whine adds power and style to my writing
• Always make it clear, from context, that I understand the full meaning of the quote
• Whether I quote or paraphrase, always be transparent about the source and how I'm using it
• If I use another authors exact words or phrases, to any extent, I have to use quotation marks and give credit
• If I use another author's presentation of facts or ideas, but put their ideas in my own words, I better had a good reason for doing that and I MUST give credit
• Hyperlinking is so easy, there is no excuse for not being transparent about my sources

I really understand these reasons

"Paraphrase Practice"

This excerpt from an article on the historical accuracy of Glory is from Reelviews.

"The historical backdrop against which Glory transpires is mostly historically accurate. In fact, a great deal of effort went into getting the details correct. The main events shown in the film happened much as they are depicted, some of the key characters (Shaw, Frederick Douglas, etc.) existed, and the outcome was as Zwick presents it. Many of the secondary characters are either partially or entirely fictionalized, but they are intended to represent a broad cross-section of the types of men who joined the Massachusetts 54th. The danger in this approach is that it becomes easy to trivialize the individuals, turning them into types rather than people. Fortunately, Jarre's screenplay avoids the trap. The characters in Glory never seem less than three-dimensional."

The movie Glory was produced and directed based on true events that happened in history. The director, Edward Zwick, worked hard to ensure that his actors perform the details as the real event did. Zwick was so accurate that he made sure that the true vital characters were present during the main events. For example, Col. Shaw and Frederick Douglas were actual leaders in battles during the Civil War. There were many other characters that were also an important part of the movie. Though that they are fictionalized it was important that they were not characterized as stereotypes and to resemble the diversity of the soldiers through the 54th Regiment. The movie does a great job with avoiding to use every detail but it does include the important events and the details necessary. The characters did a great job of this which helps excel Glory.

Understanding Empathy vs. Sympathy

     Many people confuse the words empathy and sympathy and what they mean. Most people know that sympathy involves feeling and have pity for someone else. An example of this would be losing a family member and have all your friends feel sorry for you and grieve for you. Recently I have finally learned and understood the meaning of empathy. Empathy is being able to understand a situation using one's intellect to imagine the setting of the situation. I want to become a pilot when I grow up and being delayed or late is not an option. All of my passengers have schedules to stick to, like for example a business man may have an important financial meeting shortly after his flight and being late may result in a loss financially for him. I must do everything in my control to make sure that the flight is on time and that everyone is satisfied. Understanding empathy is such an important skill to have not just to perform a job better but to also understand history. Before the civil war southern states allowed for the use of slaves and today it seems so horrible but people have to understand that the south had a lot of farms and needed a lot hands to help out. Also slaves were a large part in the southern economy because they were so expensive and trading them and selling were a big deal. Below is an image that demonstrates what empathy really means.