Evidence, Idea, Essay


An Occasion for Writing brings together images and written material that aims to
stop us in our tracks. The Occasion should provoke us and elicit from us an interpretation of what we see and read. Any Occasion for Writing says quite simply, "Stop
and t hink about what you see here." The acts of analysis, interpretation, and clarificatio n will reward you with the satisfaction t hat comes from figuring out something
that only you can find. In Occasions for Writing we see something mysterious, beyond
simple explanation, something that can teach us about ourselves, our needs, and the
world in which we sometimes move so rapidly that we miss the most amazing things.
This cover shot reveals only a portion of a larger art installation installed temporarily
in 1991 on the landscape 60 miles north of Los Angeles, along Interstate 5 and the
Tejon Pass. Christo and Jeanne-Claude (the artists) and 1880 workers installed 1760
yellow umbrellas in California and 1340 blue umbrellas on a different site in Japan.
We see in this photograph the vastness of t he uncu ltivated grazing land of California,
highlighted by t he color and placement of the umbrellas. What relationship exists
between this installation, as you see it and the land itself? In what ways might art
be enhancing or revealing the landscape, making it possible for us to see it in new
ways? Does the land itself enhance the installation?
In her essay "A Shark in the Mind of One Contemplating Wilderness" (pp. 480-484),
Terry Tempest Williams suggests that "the natural world is becoming invisible,
appeari ng only as a backdrop for our own human dramas and catastrophes: hurricanes,
tornadoes, earthquakes, and floods. Perhaps if we bring art to the discussion of the
wild we can create a sensation where people will pay attention to the shock of what
has always been here ... " How do you imagine Christo and Jeanne-Claude would react
to Williams's suggestion?


OCCASIONS

EVIDENCE
IDEA

FOR WRITING

ESSAY
'

ROBERT DiYANNI
New York University

PAT C. HOY II
New York University

~I -

WADSWORTH
CENGAG E Learn ing·

Australia • Brazil • japan • Korea • Mexico • Singapore • Spain • United Kingdom • United States

.

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WADSWORTH

I

CENGAGE Learning·
Occasions for Writing:
Evidence, Idea, Essay
Robert DiYanni and Pat C. Hoy II
Publisher: lyn Uhl
Development Editor: Manta Sermolins
Editorial Assistant: Megan Garvey
Technology Project Manager: joe Gallagher
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© 2008 Wadsworth, Cengage learning
All RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright
herein may be reproduced. transmitted. stored, or used in any form or by
any means graphic, electronic, or mechanical. including but not limited to
photocopying, recording. scanning. digitizing, taping. Web distnbutoon.
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For permission to use material from this tex t or product,
submit al l requests online at www.cengage.com/permissions
Further permissions questions can be e·mailed to
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Senior Content Project M anager:
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Library of Congress Control NumbN: 2006937801

Prin t Buyer: Betsy Donaghey

ISBN-13: 978-1-4130-1206-4

Permissions M anager: Ron M on tgomery


ISBN-10: 1-4130-1206-X

Photo Manager: Sheri Blaney
Permissions Researcher: Marcy Lunetta
Text/Cover Oesogner: Yvo Roezebos
Cover Printer: Courier-Kendallville
Production Service/Compositor:
Graphic World Inc.
Cover Art: Christo and jeanne·Ciaude:
The Umbrellas. japan U.S.A.. 1984- 91:
Photo: Wolfgang Volzllaof/Redux
Pictures. Copyright: Christo 1991-2005

Credots appear on pages 815- 826.
which constitute a continuation of the
copyright page.

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34513 1211


CONTENTS

t

•

'
RHETORICAL CONTENTS
A BOUT THE AUTHORS
PREFACE

..

I

XV11

'

•
XXl


•••

X X 111

A BRI E F GU IDE T O WR ITI NG

1

THE PRACTICE OF WRITING 1
Why Am I Writing Essays? 2
An Occasion for Writing 3
Using Your Voice and Finding Your Character 4
Moving from Evidence to Idea to Essay 5
EVIDENCE
IDEA
ESSAY

5

6
7

How to Reveal the Discoveries 8
ANALYSIS

9

INTERPRETATION

9


REFLECTION AND MEANING

9

Making Evidence and Discovery Work 'I'ogether 10

2
3

AN EXPLORATORY ESSAY: A STUDENT'S PROCESS 13
Using Images and Experience as Evidence 13
THE PERSUASIVE ESSAY: A STUDENT'S PROCESS 37
Using Text and Experience as Evidence 37
.
111


lV

CON TE NTS

4

AN INTRODUCTION TO VISUAl UNDERSTANDING 67
Keeping Your Eyes Open and Learning to See 68
A S trategy for Vis ual Underst anding 69
Looking an d Responding 70
Analyzing Images: Categorizing to Make Sense
of What You See 71

FOCAL POINT AND EMPHASIS
FIGURE- GROUND CONTRAST

71
73

GROUPING : PROXIMITY & SIMILARITY
COLOR

76

CONTINUATION
LINE

75

76

77

CLOSURE

77

NARRATION OR STORY
CONTEXT

78

78


THE WHOLE COMPOSITION

79

Communicating What You See 82
A Sample Student Essay 83

T H EMES FOR WRITING

5

STORIES

89
CONVERSING WITH IMAGES 91
Ma rk Doty, SOULS ON ICE 92
Bridge Fishing (for Stories): An Occasion fol' Writing 97
0 Bf· ,)l.t ,,N J
A,

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1f r, :'\( .E r

·!i.,


-~ 1 1

Jl,f'J\t 11l't 11,!, . I' I

·:I '•I n ,1\J I

97

Samuel Hubbard Scudder, LOOK AT YOUR FISH
•

•

97

100

More Than Meets the Eye: An Occasion for Wl'iting 103
103
1

104


I

.•

CONTENTS


,John Berger, STEPS TOWARD A SMALL THEORY
OF THE VISIBLE

106

Hearing and Seeing, a Basic Mystery: An Occasion
for Writing 112

I

113
J

H

I

c;

A

R

CREATING WORD PORTRAITS AND IDEAS

113

116


Virginia Woolf, PORTRAIT OF A LONDONER 117
Creating Portraits: An Occasion for Writing 120
ll !,
\t.~·H .
,1 ' H :;'( IS Lll' ill~!·,
121
I

iAN

l
•

AN Of'i, W\. . \ A
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I

122

~.

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123

'

Richard Rodriguez, LATE VICTORIANS 124
Cities on the Hill: An Occasion for Writing 134
~

.

')

.

135

•

136

136


137

,Jim W. Corder, ACHING FOR A SELF 139
Using and Preserving the Self: An Occasion
for Writing 146
\ r
IJI)Vf

6

l!R! ~(A 'VEx .ISU.1, 1

146

147

IDENTITY

151
THE RACIAL SELF

152

Brent Staples, JUST WALK ON BY 153
Pre-Judging Public Space: An Occasion for Writing 156
156

v



.

Vl

CONTENTS

Zora Neale Hurston,

HOW IT FEELS TO BE COLORED ME

159

Presenting the Self: An Occasion for Writing 162
~

.JA

a,, Ll SEL•-?mPPd

~~

, 111:

,

AND MARIA BETWEEN 1-\Y EYEBROWS [PA

163


FRIDA KAHlO, THE liTTlE HART [PAINT!NC

163

ADRIAN PIPER, SELF-PORTRAIT AS A NIU ,

I

[PAINTING]
~~HW

c;

,

164

El C I KES INNER SELr <,(' L~T lr[

Judith Ortiz Cofer, THE

165

MYTH OF THE LATIN WOMAN

167

Facing Races: An Occasion for Writing 171
MIKI: MIKC., THE FACE Of TOti\ORROW [POS II RI 172


THE HISTORIES OF SOCIAL IDENTITY

Eva Hoffman, LOST

175

IN TRANSLATION

176

Getting Lost in Translation: An Occasion for Writing 178
r,RASS HUT [PHOTOGRAPH]

179

Y 'R' TENT f PHOTOGRAPH

179

N. Scott Momaday, THE WAY TO RAINY MOUNTAIN 182
Native Identity: An Occasion for Writing 186
Jl ' 0 G S. rJ "··<; C~-< T r J r.• t
f' I
·s,.. ..L_., srs·t:RS ( • ;1-jE i 1 .... " ... . .
187
I

James Baldwin, STRANGER

IN THE VILLAGE


p~

190

Being White: An Occasion for Writing 199

JOsrr

hAII[l, SPT ( (IH o-I,.JRM'HSJ

199

LA 11~11:.:5, A N£:W SHADf: OF WHITE [Ill h fVII lO~'I

200

NIKKI S. LEE THE IIIP flOP PROJECT (1) IPHOJOGRAI'H I 201

7

GENDER 203
ENGENDERING IDENTITY 204
Susan Brownmiller, FEMININITY

205

Sex and Packages: An Occasion for Writing 209

I


BOTILES l PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION]

209

COLGATE SIIAVING [ADVERTISEMlN

211

STILL BY JENNIFER LOf'f:Z

J

(ADVERLSrl~f ~1

212

187


CONTENTS

Deborah Tannen,

ASYMMETRIES: MEN AND WOMEN TALKING

AT CROSS-PURPOSES

213


Don't You Understand Me? An Occasion for Writing 223
I

L

I

223

Judy Ruiz, ORANGES AND SWEET SISTER BOY 226
Transfom1ations: An Occasion for Writing 232
•' Ar l E.

I r \l A R [

fJNGSTOr~.

'·IAXINf HONG

{ '

1 23 2

ON DIS .ll
234

N> OIETR1CH [PHOIQf,f\APH]

t.1AR


THE BEAUTY OF THE GENDERS

Paul Fussell,

UNIFORMS

233

\

236

237

The Well-Dressed Man: An Occasion for Writing 240
·~NC"R

1·1\P .'

241

I
Mt:N IN UN IF
I

~~ 1

:;

Susan Sontag,
SOURCE

R~·l
1

241

'lRrEd jA01''1Rfi<;f1.1 Nil

[PI-IOTOllRAPII COlli r n ~I

B\ofl') A. "'j')

"[tr ' F' •

242

1

r

244

1

WOMAN'S BEAUTY: PUT-DOWN OR POWER

245

Beauteous and Bountiful Ladies : An Occasion
for Writing 247
~·;

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K~ISTJNE

INE

AN

248

PAftl"l, 8IG BEAuT 1 Ul BAt tT [PA

I IJ]Ll[ l

Alice Walker,

ER WITH A AMBO

10r

"lJI~AGrT'j,'jl

t

249
]

250

BEAUTY: WHEN THE OTHER DANC ER

IS THE SELF

251

Wl1at Is Beauty? An Occasion for Writing 256
Ill AIJTY IN CU I TU I~Al CONTtXT [PHOTOGRAPH rot

8

r J n~]

FAMILIES 261
DEFINING FAMILY 262
Chang-rae Lee, COMING

HOME AGAIN

263

The Family Circle: An Occasion for Writing 270
I I

I

I .l

I.

,, (; ')f :. -

)'

270

257

Vll


Vlll

CONTENTS

Barbara Kingsolver, STONE

SOUP

274

Defining the Family: An Occasion for Writing 279
· ~ AFR~c ·s·ttc r" T, P
280
'~

.. AI

n

~iOMI

Barbara Ehrenreich,

'

281

,1- ~ro

FAMILY VALUES

283

It's All Politics: An Occasion for Writing 288
I .'IR y s HII ADW ~' c ACE (OR " \ D AH.I~ I I
ED FRASCINO, SO~IEDAY SON (CAR OON] 289
JOHN EDWARDS WITH HIS FAMILY (PHOTO(, AI'HJ

FAMILY STORIES 291
David Sedaris, CYCLOPS

I 289

II)!

290

292

Famous Families: An Occasion for Writing 296
AL fl IRSCr-JFELD. St!NH:CLD [CARl CAl URll

296
297

AL HJRSC MLO. SEX AND THF CTTY [CARICi\TURf

bell hooks,

INSPIRED ECCENTRICITY

299

Treasuring Family: An Occasion for Writing 304
JP' If (A r HE BIR'Hu\) LE ~"' ~y sr l'lllr I 304
305

ROBERT MEZEY. 1-\Y 1.-!0THER (POEM
1 "

Maxine Hong Kingston,

f

r

NO NAME WOMAN

306

L •

308

Family Secrets: An Occasion for Writing 316
"OS- SEC RE- ?OS -CAiWS , P If 1 J

H(

I r I

SISS£LA BOK, THE DANGfRS OF SfCRETY ( 1:5SA'

9

l

I

316

319

EDUCATION 325
EDUCATION AND EXPECTATIONS
Frederick Douglass, LEARNING

326
TO READ AND WRITE

327

Pursuing a Passion: An Occasion for Writing 331
TITIAN, ADM•i AND FVE [PAINTING}
TIB~TAN

SCHOOL. Llfl OF BUDDHA SAt.:YMliN!, IIII ARI·1II\

or MARA ATTACKING
Maya Angelou,

332

GRADUATION

THl

BU:SSW [PAlNTINC. I 333

335

Educational Expectations: An Occasion for Writ.ing 343
SCHOr SrGREC1-1T

m

PR'JTE'.T

[PHO~(l' 'I

FIRST DAY OF DESEGREGATION [PHOTOGRAI'Il

'I

343
343


I
CON TE NT S

.

lX
•

Bernard Cooper,

LABYRINTHINE

345

Labyrinths and Learning: An Occasion for Writing 348
' ,_iS "PI

IJTOG~APH

348

COLLECIC. ,

JORGE 1UIS BORGES TrJE TWO KI uS A'J'
[ PARABll' 350

IE TWO LABYRINTHS
•

THE RIGHT AND PRIVILEGE OF EDUCATION

Eudora Welty,

CLAMOROUS TO LEARN

•

351

352

Space to Learn: An Occasion for Writing 356
HASSROot•1S [PHOIOGRAPH COLL[CJ ION!

Adrienne Rich,

CLAIMING AN EDUCATION

357

360

Protesting For and Against Education: An Occasion
for Writing 364
~ 1UDENT

364

PROTESTS [PHOTOGRAPH COLI fCTJON]

Paolo Freire, THE

BANKING CONCEPT OF EDUCATION

368

Alternative Learning: An Occasion for Writing 377
~

PO':>t OF

~HE

ORGANIZATDN DFI P StRING)

[f.llS~lON STA"~H1ENT

L()t

r '

378

THE GRIND. DEEP SPRINGS -.0'-LEGE COLLEGE LIFE
DESCRIPTIO! J 378

\'/ALT W'"W' .At•. 1Vf-!E ; 1- EARD THf LEARN'D ASTRONOMER
[POE I·', 380

10

CHARU:S

DICK~:'lS

HARD li·IES [FICTION EXffRP

381

NATURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT 383
MEDITATIONS ON NATURE AND THE HUMAN
CONDITION 384

Virginia Woolf,

THE DEATH OF THE MOTH

385

Strange Beauties: An Occasion for Writing 387

MOTH [PHOTOGRAPH!

388

ALBRECHT DURER, WING OF A ROll fR [ILLLJSHV\HONJ
DYING FLOWER [PHOTOGRAPH]

388

389

Gl 0 {G!A fl'KEHE, SUMr4E':l DAY<; ·pA NTI'iCt]

Roy Reed, SPRING

COMES TO HOGEYE

l

389

391

Bringing Nature Inside: An Occasion for Writing 394
394

ROBERT FROST, NOIH!Nu GOLD CAN STAY [POH

396

X

CON TE NT S

Annie Dillard, TRANSFIGURATION

398

Conside1ing the Nature ofTransfiguration:
An Occasion for Writing 401
Rf,JNAl

t

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A GEm />IAN [PAINTJN(
JqQ') • StJC:lMOT

H

401

H[ f

TENDING THE ENVIRONMENT
Barry Lopez, STONE HORSE

n

l•N PU lOt. f. A 'f

402

404
405

Preservation and Destruction: An Occasion
for Writing 412
BfWARl! ANri VANDAl PA!NI [P"OlOJ

413

DACEY HUNH:R, FOR DUf [_,ClJIIllJfil J 413

Ann ?:winger, THE

DESERT WORLD

415

The Way We Perceive Wilderness: An Occasion
for Writing 4 17
I-

or~J.."

kt ••

,lJ 0 1~

GEORGIA O'vr~~rr '

,.

'

..

Til[ BUfFAtO < JNN ~) PA!NfJNI

417

'S HtJiO WH I HOL YHO K HILLS

417

• r

William J. Cronon, THE TROUBLE WITH WI LDERNESS
Calling Ourselves to Question: An Occasion

419

for Writing 436
I • .1

['

HOTOGRAP i

CHRIST AND JEANN rLAUDE,

11

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
THE SCIENTIFIC IMAGINATION

Jacob Bronowski, THE

1

437
I ,

It

Rff S [SfUif TJRII

437

441
442

NATURE OF SCIENTIFIC REASONING

443

Reasoning and Imagining: An Occasion for Writing 447

LlfiNAROO 'JA VINCI VfTRlJVJAN ~1AN rl'lll' IPlliON[
Will[,\~'

BLAKE. GLAP fltY [PI' J~f!NI
GHOS 1 [ JfiOTOGRAPH 1 449

,

" \" ')' L!G'ITS 'Pt I I' ,R~ > l

Alan Lightman, THE

447

448

449

ART OF SCIENCE

451

Understanding Creativity: An Occasion for Writing 456
~tOSS fJlE(KI-IER, IN <;ICJ<"'ESS A"lO JN HEAlTH (PA N 1',

456
457


I

CONTENT S

E. 0 . Wilson, THE

BIRD OF PARADISE: THE HUNTER

AND THE POET 459

l

Poetic Moments: An Occasion for Writing 462
A1 A

HUJ-BEP-R NO

TRE~

or L

ARON KEESBURY, At•D EVE (POEM)

L

1-1

'

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r 1

463

465

YANN ARTHUS-BfRTRANO, THUNDLI
u"' '1

•
(PHOll 1\M J

llfl: (YCU:. Of- A THUNDERSTORM [Il LUSTRAHOt

466

466

THE WAGES OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY 468

Svcn Birkcrts, INTO

THE ELECTRONIC MILLENNIUM

469

Consequences of Scientific Advancement:
An Occasion for Writing 477
.lfAN-BAPTTSTE·SlMEON CHARDIN, l.E PHil OSOPII [ ! I SAN!

[Pi\INllNG]

477

iPOD, l ii [REFORE iM-1 [f\IAGAZINE COVF.Rl

Terry Tempest Williams, A SHARK
CONTEMPLATING WILDERNESS

477

IN THE MIND OF ONE

480

Act of Conceptualizing: An Occasion for Writing 485
1A. 'I ' 1·i.t?SI, d 0 Gl'l •IOH f'\ ,SCI p·Lf
486

LEVER HOUS[ NEW YORK C!TY [PHOTOC.RAPI

487

nA

D[ ~

-·::Ass- wr::P:Nf

Lewis Thomas,

~··') ·1;.

D\

l'H.>'

CRICKETS, BATS, CATS, & CHAOS

488
490

Our Neighbors on Planet Earth: An Occasion
for Writing 495
"'l. P. BROWfR, BllTTfRFIY 1•10\fFmN I [I'HOIOGRAPf]
fRWfN OLM, I'IG [PHOTOGRAPH] 496

12

LANGUAGE AND THOUGHT
Richard Rodriguez, ARIA:

495

499

LANGUAGE AND CONSCIOUSNESS
CHILDHOOD

.
Xl

500

A MEMOIR OF A BILINGUAL

501

The Bilingual Debate: An Occasion for Writing 509
31 J.,Gt.,AI SIG lS • Pi-10 JGRAPH

rmv YORK TI!

t'-

[rrliTORIAI

PAUL lWElG, 'U

L~kl!:.L

.0.-1

510

.D. -IG THE BlllNG!JAl DW11, .,
511
~ut"

C to\ft.\ORY [EXCERPT OF BOOK REVIE

512

•


Henry David Thoreau, WHY

I WENT TO THE WOODS

577

The Nature of Consciousness: An Occasion
for Writing 582
I

r

GF
~

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b

Sissela Bok,

ON LYING

582
g, ''" H, REt<,

582

Q(,RAP!c

585

Dilemmas of Truth-Telling: An Occasion for Writing 591
~

591

-'-c-.~.

A

592

VALUES AND EVALUATION

Langston Hughes,

594

SALVATION

595

Conforming lo Fashion : An Occasion for Writing 597
1

11

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1

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J

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Nancy Wilson Ross,

T

·iS

597

599

~

-

AN INTRODUCTION TO ZEN

600

Zen: An Occasion for Wr iting 608
I

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608

-

H t>i'1I R SStA
ASl\ IACHI

-HE

)N ', IN I

PYI)f,NJI ROCK AN)
••

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609

I

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_[!1

SA~m ,,,...Rl1.~J I

<::~.

L.JJ.o....._

Martin Luther King, Jr.,

~

'

609

A -.. I"

'r' ,. ' '..... f 1'

1

609

610

,.;

LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL

Considering Liberty: An Occasion for Writing 622
t

-

K

I

14

Y

• R .. S

622

.

.

624

-

623

WORK AND WORKING 627
THE WORKING LIFE 628

Ellen Goodman, THE

COMPANY MAN

629

Conformity and the Company Man: An Occasion
for Writing 631
- "~-· O"l E
R

E. SO"l

A
F MA~ I

631
632

611

George Orwell, POLITICS

AND THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

514

Language and Culture: An Occasion for Writing 523
523
523
524

Suzanne K. Langer, SIGNS

AND SYMBOLS 526

Branded for Life: An Occasion for Writing 531
531

s

E •

532

CRITICAL AND CREATIVE THINKING 535
Ursula K. Le Guin, WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR

IDEAS FROM? 536

The Strange and the Familiar: An Occasion

for Writing 542

r.

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TRI'

~

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FAIN IN(

542

542

'

Edward de Bono, ON

LATERAL THINKING

544

Think How: An Occasion for Writing 553
554
L •

I

555

•
i

556

Matthew Goulish, CRITICISM

557

Bounda ry Crossing: An Occasion for Writing 561
562

I

I

13

563

ETHICS AND VALUES

567
ETHICAL QUESTIONS AND ISSUES 568
.Joan Didion, ON SELF-RESPECT 569
Respect to the Body: An Occas ion for Writing 572

..

'

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A

L

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;

I

5 73

f

575

lVIalcolm Gladwell. THE TIPPING POINT

709

Thomas J efferson, DECLA RATION OF INDEPENDENCE 716
J ama ica Kincaid, ON SEEI NG ENGLAND FOR TH E FIRST TI ME
Michael Lewis. THE CURSE OF TALENT

720

728

Michael Paterniti. THE MOST DANGEROUS BEAUTY

735

Walker Percy, THE LOSS OF THE CREATUR E 751
Plato, THE ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE

762

J onathan Swift, A MODEST PROPOSAL
Paul Theroux, BEING A MAN

766

772

Sojourner Truth, AIN'T I A WOMA N

776

Lawrence Weschlcr, VERMEER IN BOSNIA

778

Mary Wollstonecraft, A VINDICATION OF THE RIGHTS
OF WOMAN

786

F I NDING EVIDE N CE
AND DOCUMENTING SOURCES
What Is Evidence? 789
The Uses of Evidence 790
USING EVIDENCE AS SUPPORT 791
USING EVIDENCE TO ADDRESS COUNTERCLAIMS 791
USING EVIDENCE TO ADD DEPTH AND COLOR 792
USING EVIDENCE TO BEGIN YOUR ESSAY 792

Where to Find Evidence 793
FINDING EVIDENCE ONLINE 793
FINDING EVIDENCE AT THE LIBRARY 793
FINDING EVIDENCE ALL AROUND YOU 794

Evaluating Sources 794
DOES IT ADDRESS MY RESEARCH QUESTION? 795
HOW RELIABLE IS THE INFORMATION? 795

RECOGNIZING BIAS 797
WHERE DOES MY EVIDENCE STAND? 797
WHAT DOES MY EVIDENCE HELP ME DO? 798

•


George Orwell,

HOTEL KITCHENS

634

On th e Job: An Occasion for Writing 640
T ''0"

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F'

ST Y --r EL \"lr

Donald Hall,

LIFE WORK

)GR
···~G

C •I

~"~TO'

(EXCERPT FRQI.'

641

~-

642

645

Defining Work: An Occasion for Writing 652
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W. H. AUDEN, WORK AND LABOR (EXCERPT

ASPECTS OF WORK

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652

654

65 5

Ellen Gilchrist, THE

MIDDLE WAY: LEARNING TO BALANCE

FAMILY AND WORK

656

Finding the Right Balance: An Occasion for Writing 660
WOI'W-; \/ORKING 1 .t RTJ\.IN]

Thomas L. Friedman, THE

661

WORLD IS FLAT

663

The Future of Work: An Occasion for Writing 669
,A_LL~f\1 ~ PPOv'IO~CLSlJt•ltll

IND!AN rJ
(PHOTOGRAPH]

669

TWO YEARS LA"f[?.

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670

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Christopher Clausen, AGAINST

WORK

671

672

Maximizing Leisure: An Occasion for Writing 677
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677

THORSTEIN VEBLE1 , 1HEORY OF TH LEISJRf CLASS
[BOOK EXCERPT,

679

ANTHOLOGY FOR F U RTHER
R E ADING
Diane Ackerman, IN THE MEMORY MINES
Roland Barthes, TOYS
Bernard Cooper. BURl'S
Brian Dovle,
YES
•

680

689
692

699

Gretel Ehrlich, ABOUT MEN

703

E. M. Forster, ON NOT LOOKING AT PICTURES

706


RHETORICAL CONtENTS

NARRATION
Brent Staples, JUST WALK ON BY
Eva Hoffman, LOST IN TRANSLATION
Zora Neale Hurston, HOW IT FEELS TO BE COLORED ME
James Baldwin, STRANGER IN THE VILLAGE
Alice Walker, BEAUTY: WHEN THE OTHER DANCER IS THE SELF
Chang-rae Lee, COMING HOME AGAIN
David Sedaris, CYCLOPS
Maxine Hong Kingston, NO NAME WOMAN
Frederick Douglass, LEARNING TO READ AND WRITE
Maya Angelou, GRADUATION
Eudora Welty, CLAMOROUS TO LEARN
Langston Hughes, SALVATION
Bernard Cooper, BURL'S
Brian Doyle, YES
Richard Rodriguez, ARIA: A BILINGUAL EDUCATION
Judith Ortiz Cofer, THE MYTH OF THE LATIN WOMAN
Judy Ruiz, ORANGES AND SWEET SISTER BOY
Donald Hall, LIFE WORK

DESCRIPTION

Eudora Welty, CLAMOROUS TO LEARN
Virginia Woolf, PORTRAIT OF A LONDONER
N. Scott Momaday, THE WAY TO RAINY MOUNTAIN
bell hooks, INSPIRED ECCENTRICITY
..

XV11


Integrating Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism 798
Documenting Sources 800
PARENTHETICAL REFERENCES IN THE TEXT 800
MLA LIST OF WORKS CITED 801

CREDITS 815
INDEX OF VI SUALS AND READINGS 827


···· - · ·· · --··- . . ... ..

CAUS-=jEFFECT
Malcolm Gladwell, THE TIPPING POINT
Michael Lewis, THE CURSE OF TALENT
Henry David Thoreau, WHY I WENT TO THE WOODS
Sven Birkerts, INTO THE ELECTRONIC MILLENIUM

COMPARISON/CONTRAST
Plato, THE ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE
Deborah Tannen, ASYMMETRIES:

MEN AND WOMEN TALKING AT

CROSS-PURPOSES

bell hooks, INSPIRED ECCENTRICITY
Susan K. Langer, SIGNS AND SYMBOLS
Alan Lightman, THE ART OF SCIENCE

ARGUMENT
Thomas Friedman, THE WORLD IS FLAT
Christopher Clausen, AGAINST WORK
Roland Barthes, TOYS
Gretel Ehrlich, ABOUT MEN
Jonathan Swift, A MODEST PROPOSAL
Paul Theroux, BEING A MAN
William J. Cronan, THE TROUBLE WITH WILDERNESS
Richard Rodriguez, ARIA: A BILINGUAL EDUCATION
George Orwell, POLITICS AND THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Martin Luther King, Jr., LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL
Richard Rodriguez, LATE VICTORIANS
Judith Ortiz Cofer, THE MYTH OF THE LATIN WOMAN
Paul Fussell, UNIFORMS
Susan Sontag, WOMAN'S BEAUTY: PUT-DOWN OR POWER SOURCE
Barbara Kingsolver, STONE SOUP
Gretel Ehrlich, FAMILY VALUES
Adrienne Rich, CLAIMING AN EDUCATION


xvm

R H ET 0 R I C A l

C 0 N T E N TS

Virginia Woolf, THE DEATH OF THE MOTH
Roy Reed, SPRING COMES TO HOGEYE
George Orwell, HOTEL KITCHENS
Barry Lopez, THE STONE HORSE
Ann Zwinger, THE DESERT WORLD
E. 0. Wilson, THE BIRD OF PARADISE
E. M. Forster, ON NOT LOOKING AT PICTURES
ILLUST~ATTON

Eudora Welty, CLAMOROUS TO LEARN
Michael Lewis, THE CURSE OF TALENT
Virginia Woolf, PORTRAIT OF A LONDONER
Nancy Wilson Ross, AN INTRODUCTION TO ZEN
Joan Didion, ON SELF- RESPECT
Ellen Goodman, THE COMPANY MAN
George Orwell, POLITICS AND THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Lewis Thomas, CRICKETS, BATS, CATS, & CHAOS
Ursula K. Le Guin, WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR IDEAS FROM?
Donald Hall, LIFE WORK

DEFI ITTON
Paulo Freire, THE BANKING CONCEPT OF EDUCATION
Thomas Jefferson, DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
Ellen Gilchrist, THE MIDDLE WAY
Susan Brownmiller, FEMININITY
Bernard Cooper, LABYRINTHINE

Susan K. Langer, SIGNS AND SYMBOLS
Nancy Wilson, AN IN TRODUCTION TO ZEN
Sissela Bok, oN LYING
Ellen Goodman, THE COMPANY MAN


ABOUT THE AUTHORS

ROBERT DiYANNI
Robert DiYanni is Adjuncl Professor of Humanities at New York University,
where he teach es courses in literature, cribcal thinking, and interdisciplinary
humanities. Professor DiYanni is the author of numerous articles and textbooks, including Arts and Culture: An Introduction to the Humanities; Frames
of Mind: Occasions for Writing; Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and
Drama; Modern American Poetry, Modern American Prose, and The Scribner
Handbook for Writers. Mter receiving his BA from Rutgers University and his
PhD from the City University of New York, h e taught at Queens College, Pace
University, and Harvard University as a Visiting Professor, before joining the
faculty of l\lYU. H e has conducted workshops on literature, writing, critical
thinking, and interdisciplinary teaching throughout the United States, as well
as in Asia, Europe, and Latin America. He currently serves as Director of International Services for the College Board.

PAT C. HOY II
Pat C. Hoy II, director of the Expository Writing Program a nd professor of
English at New York University, has also held appointments at the U.S. Military Academy and Harvard. He received his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania. Professor Hoy regularly teaches freshman composition.
Professor Hoy is the author of numerous textbooks and articles, including
The Scribner Handbooh for Writers, Fourth Edition (with Robert DiYanni). His
essays have appeared in Sewanee Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, Agni,
Twentieth Century Literature, South Atlantic Review, a nd The Wall Street
Journal. Eight ofhis essays have been selected as "Notables" in BestAmerican
Essays. Instincts for Survival.· Essays by Pat C. Iloy II was selected as a

"Notable" selection in Best American Essays of the Centwy, edited by Joyce
Carol Oates and Robert Atwan. He was awarded the 2003 Cecil Woods Jr. Prize
for Nonfiction from the Fellowship of Southern Writers.

XXI


Mark Doty, SOULS ON ICE
John Berger, STEPS TOWARD A SMALL THEORY OF THE VISIBL E
Jim W. Corder, ACHING FOR A SELF
Ann Zwinger, THE DESERT WORLD
Barry Lopez, THE STONE HORSE
Jacob Bronowski, THE NATURE OF SCIENTIFIC REASONING
Alan Lightman, THE ART OF SCIENCE
E. 0 . Wilson, THE BIRD OF PARADISE
Sven Birkerts, INTO THE ELECTRONIC MILLENNIUM
Lewis Thomas, CRICKETS, BATS, CATS, & CHAOS
Terry Tempest Williams, A SHARK IN THE MIND OF ONE
CONTEMPLATING WILDERNESS

Urusla K. Le Guin, WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR IDEAS FROM?
Michael Paterniti, THE MOST DANGEROUS BEAUTY
Walker Percy, THE LOSS OF THE CREATURE
Lawrence Weschler, VERMEER IN BOSNIA
Mary Wollstonecraft, A VINDICATION OF THE RIGHTS OF WOMAN

,
t

~REFACE

.1"
oc• ca• sion n. 1. reason, call, cause. 2. a favorable or appropriate time, an opportunity. 3. something that brings on or precipitates an action.

GIVING RISE TO THE OCCASION:
EVIDENCE, IDEA, ESSAY
Occasions for Writing is an inviting and challenging book designed to help students learn to read critically, think rigorously, become more reflective, and
write compelling essays. The book's rhythm follows a fundamental sequence:
the movement from evidence to idea to essay. Thematically arranged readings
are coupled with carefully designed assignment cycles called Occasions for
Writing.
A careful consideration of evidence-which comes primarily from what students read, see, and have experienced- leads to ideas, and ideas lead invariably to essays. Each Occasion for Writing provides evidence for consideration
(an essay and a series of images-photographs, paintings, advertisements,
even video clips). Probing questions and exercises help students better u nderstand each essay while encouraging them to discover connections both within
the written texts and among the images.
The images that accompany the essays are provocative. They stimulate
thinking and allow teachers to take advantage of students' natural tendency
to respond to our culture's most ubiquitous form of communication. The images speak to us and sometimes for us, sometimes without our sense of their
power. The Occasion for Writing assignment cycles lead students to a more
careful examination of some of the culture's most stimulating images, bu t we
take students to the images not only because the images s peak so powerfully
but also because we want students to become more aware of the power of images and of their usefulness to the persuasive writer.
Each linked to a thematic essay, the Occasions for Writing begin by showing an image (or images) that is related in explicit and implicit ways to the es-

XX111


THEMES
Occasions for Writing is built on thematically grouped readings. Each of the thematic chapters (5 through 14) is built around an interesting theme, six primary

full-length essays grouped in two thematic clusters, and a host of images that
bring vitality to the Occasions. Students are directed to read and to see; they are
encouraged to make connections, to be reflective; finally, lhey are asked to make
something new from their reading and thinking and writing. That newness attaches itself to the idea they discover and to the essay they write.
The themes themselves may be familiar, but our lreatment of them is fresh
and stimulating. The selected essays in each Occasion evoke the themes; the images reinforce them; and the students' own experiences ground them. Essays, images, and experience constitute the evidence-that and whatever else the student can bring to bear on the evloving idea. Students are encouraged to make
connections with readings from other courses and from their visual experiences.
The Occasions for Writing assignment cycles call students into relationships
with the themes, asking them to see their own experiences anew and from different perspectives. Occasions for Writing improves both analytical skills and
the writing of essays.

ESSAYIN G
A profound belief in essaying informs this book's pedagogy. The three-part form
of the essay is intriguing and accommodating-a writing student's most effective
silent teacher. The process of learning to write essays, however, requires the attendance of an active teacher, one who attends the process and offers stimulating questions, encouragement, and an informed sense of the possible. Students
writing essays under the influence of good teachers and good ideas invariably do
what they have never done before. They write compelling essays. The thinking
sets it all in motion- that and the guidance of a teacher who encourages students to test the elasticity of the essay's form while insisting that the three parts
(beginning, middle, and end) work together to create a whole.
The first three chapters of the book address the qualities and characteristics
of essays, allowing students to learn just what an essay is, just what one looks
like, and just how essays actually come into being through trial and error,
through continual revision, as the mind figures out what the idea is and how
best to present it. Aristotle tells us that rheto1·ic itself is the ability to see the
available means of persuasion in every instance that the speaker confronts. The
same is true for the writer, who must learn how to make use of the essay's form
to be more persuasive-to see what it takes to convince a particular audience
that the idea and its presentation have merit. Chapters 2 and 3 present student