Comm 1 Exercise

In the text-area below each group of sentences, combine all of those sentences into one effective sentence containing only one main thought (independent clause).

1.
Mark Twain is the author of Huckleberry Finn.
Huckleberry Finn is a classic American novel.
Mark Twain's real name was Samuel L. Clemens.
He lived in Hartford for several years.

       Samuel L. Clemens, popularly known as Mark Twain author of the American classic "Huckleberry Finn", lived in Hartford for several years.
 
2.
Mark Twain's house was very elaborate and elegant.
It was on Farmington Avenue.
It was in an area called Nook Farm.
He was a neighbor of Harriet Beecher Stowe.
Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin. 




       Mark Twain's elaborate and elegant house is in Famington, Avenue in Nook Farm where he is a neighbor of Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of  "Uncle Tom's Cabin".

 
3.
Mark Twain's home has a large side porch.
Windows and a balcony overlook the porch.
Today, people say the windows and balcony remind them of a steamboat.
In his youth, Twain piloted steamboats on the Mississippi. 

       Nowadays, when people say that the windows and balcony that overlooks Mark Twain's large side porch, reminds them of steamboats that back in his younger days, Mark Twain used to pilot.

 
4.
Mark Twain was one of the first three people in Hartford to own a telephone.
The telephone was first used commercially in nearby New Haven.
There was practically no one to talk to.
Mark Twain never really liked this newfangled gadget. 

       Being one of the first people to own a telephone in Hartford, Mark Twain never really like the gadget since there is no one to talk to unlike in New Haven, where the telephone was first used commercially.

5.
Mark Twain loved industrial inventions.
He lost a fortune investing in them.
One of these inventions was the elaborate Paige typesetter.
Unfortunately for Twain, this machine was developed at the same time as the Linotype.
The Linotype machine was much simpler and less expensive. 

       Mark Twain, who loved industrial inventions, invested in the elaborate Paige typesetter which unfortunately cost him a fortune because the Linotype machine, which is simpler and less expensive, was also developed at the same time.

 
6.
Mark Twain's beloved daughter, Susy, died in the Hartford home.
She died of spinal meningitis.
Twain never felt the same about the house again.
He soon left the house and Hartford.
He returned only once.
He came back for the funeral of his friend, Charles Dudley Warner.

        Mark Twain left his house and Hartford because he never felt the same way about the house since Suzy, his beloved daughter, died there due to spinal meningitis but he did return once for the funeral of his friend, Charles Dudley Warner.

...Figures of Orality...

1.)  How does food become the center of power relations between master and slaves?


                     In the selection, food and power were closely related. It was there that "food" became the metaphor for "slaves" and those who have this "food" in abundance (the white people) are the "masters" or slaveholders. The Black women slaves were basically treated in an inhumane way. The slaveholders can do whatever they want to these women (e.g. forcing them to eat dog food, monitor their every move, spewing on their food, sexually abusing them, etc). So it seems that the "masters" are the all powerful ones.
                But, on the other hand, there was the grandmother. She was the one that nourished some of those White people; She was the one that cooks food for them; She was the one that makes their clothes. This kind of dependency of the White slaveholder to this Black woman slave makes her powerful herself. The nourishment that sustained this White slaveholder is from a Black woman slave. And, the slaveholders are afraid of this "power" that their cook or wet nurse or slaves, in general, has on them.
               So, food in this selection is the center of the power relations. One is the power to be oppressive and the other to nourish. There is a power struggle between these two.


2.) How is food associated with a mother?


               Being a pregnant woman is no easy task. A pregnant woman must eat (healthily) for herself and for the child that she is carrying.   Then, after giving birth, she must breastfeed her child. Feeding her child with her milk could have different meanings but it is essentially giving the child a chance to have a life or giving life itself. In the case of the Black woman slaves, they are nourishing a child that is not their own (and perhaps feeding a child of her own at the same time). Or in some scenarios in the selection, it is associated with the abuse of the slaves. All in all, food can have a variety of meanings to a mother. It can be good or bad or both. 

"Do Nations Express Themselves in their Foods?"

The main idea:

              That a nation's food or cuisine reflects the nation's people-- their lifestyle, their culture, and their history-- and the nation itself.

Supporting Points:

• Firstly, comparing North Americans and some Europeans to Arabs (in terms of everyday eating), we can say that Americans love fast food because it doesn't take much time to eat while Arabs eat more at a leisurely pace.
• Secondly, in preparing food, Americans like it fast and easy while Middle Easterners and some parts of Spain like to cook it slow.
• From the article, it seems that the Moroccan tradition of eating with their hands from common dishes is still very much alive. As a tribute to their forefathers and their past.
• Another, is the mixture of  Mexican personality-- a mix of Arab, Spaniard and native American.
• And what we eat may be correlated with how we feel with our lives-- just like what the Bulgarians and Cubans showed. (This is from the article)
• In Malaysia, where it can be seen that the mixture of British, Arab, Chinese, Thai, and other influences has lead to the evolution of Malaysians. They have become adaptable to many things. It helped shaped them as people and as a nation..