Bishop |1

Matthew Bishop

Cooper

AP Language, Pd. 3

27 August 2017

AGS Summer Reading Assignment 2017

Oyeniyi, Doyin. “Native Americans Continue the Fight to Stop the Trans-Pecos Pipeline

in West Texas.” Texas Monthly, 1 February 2017,

http://www.texasmonthly.com/energy/native-americans-continue-fight-stop-trans- pecos-

pipeline-west-texas/. Accessed 21 August 2017.

Speaker: The speaker of this article, Doyin Oyeniyi, is a young female author who writes about

local events for the Texas monthly. She has stated her position as a firm supporter of the protests

combating the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Therefore, the views that she

expresses in the article can be presumably biased in favor of the Native Americans and the

protestors. Additionally, the heated tone that she expressed towards Donald Trump and his

executive orders indicates that she may also hold a liberal bias.

Occasion: This article was written about two months after Donald Trump took office, which was

directly after he wrote executive orders to continue the construction of both the Dakota Access

Pipeline and the Trans-Pecos Pipeline in West Texas. This indicates why the author primarily

focuses on the fight against the Trans-Pecos Pipeline. Additionally, the pipeline is being built in

a region that supports both Donald Trump and advancements in the fossil fuels industry, which

explains the serious struggles of the protestors.

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Audience: Throughout the article, Oyeniyi repeated statements such as; “we need more of our

communities to support [us]” and “we need more feet on the ground” (Paragraph 12). Based on

these statements, the reader can assume that she is directing the piece towards community

members of the Big Bend region where the Trans-Pecos Pipeline is being constructed.

Additionally, one can assume that this audience is inactive in combating local issues such as the

pipeline construction.

Purpose: The author wrote this article in order to persuade her audience to be more active in the

opposition to the construction of the Trans-Pecos pipeline.

Subject: Oyeniyi begins the article by writing about the opposition to the Dakota Access

Pipeline, and she explains why the protesters were successful until Trump’s executive orders.

And as the article progressed, she shifted to writing about the current fight against the Trans-

Pecos Pipeline. She explains the importance in opposing it’s construction and emphasizes the

need for the community to step up.

Tone: Overall, her attitude towards the subject was of strong opposition to the construction of the

pipeline. This can presumably be out of her deep respect for any community members, Native

American people, and environments that would potentially suffer. Additionally, her heated tone

of opposition helps her get her point across to the reader and strengthens her call to action.

Perez, Tom. “Trump is breaking the federal government's promises to Native Americans.” Los

Angeles Times, 7 August 2017, http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-perez-

native-american-indians-trump-20170807-story.html. Accessed 21 August 2017.

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Speaker: Tom Perez, the speaker of this article, is the chairmen of the Democratic National

Committee. Based on his political alignment, he is most assuredly biased in opposition to the

acts of our current president, Donald Trump. This explains his opposition to Trump’s proposed

plans to slash Native American healthcare, lands, and political freedoms.

Occasion: The article was written when Trump was continuing his attempts to get his southern

border wall approved by Congress. Therefore, the article was most likely written in response to

the debate over Trump’s proposed wall, and the issues with Native American lands located on

the US southern border with Mexico.

Audience: This article is directed towards the citizens of the United States and the supporters of

Trump’s proposed border wall. As US citizens, this is an issue of all of our concern as his wall

would severely violate Native American rights, and intrude upon their sacred and dignified

lands.

Purpose: The author wrote this piece in order to inform readers about this issue, and to persuade

them to step up against Trump’s movements that threaten the health and prosperity of the Native

Americans.

Subject: Perez writes about the atrocities of the Eisenhower-era policy of Termination that

dismantled the sovereignty of Native American governments, and he compares them to the

current policies being set up by President Trump. He focuses on presenting the reader with facts

and statistics related to how these policies will negatively affect the Native American societies.

Finally, he finishes his argument by stating the necessity of President Trump to join the

democratic committee in standing up for Indian Country.

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Tone: The author presented the article in a spiteful and snide tone. This indicates that he is

heavily against the current shift in the treatment of Native Americans under the Presidency of

Donald Trump.

Bateman, Christopher. “A Step Back for Women’s Rights.” Vanity Fair, April 2008,

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2008/04/a-step-back-for. Accessed 21 August 2017.

Speaker: The speaker for this article is a male writing about the history of wage discrimination

based on gender. This is significant because it shows that he is unbiased on this issue despite

being a male who doesn’t suffer from the wage gap. Additionally, he is a former student of

Harvard law school, which strengthens the credibility of his writing.

Occasion: The article was written in April of 2008, which was right before Obama was elected

president. This is an important time period for this subject, because it occurred when President

Bush opposed bills that proposed equal pay. It was also before Obama fought to strengthen the

rights of victims of pay discrimination, which overall strengthens the need of this influential

article.

Audience: This piece was directed to all US citizens, as the author often directly addresses the

United States public as a whole. Additionally, this is an issue that should be concerning for all,

for it negatively affects a large portion of our population. Therefore, it is something that needs

the cooperation and agreement of all men and women to resolve.

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Purpose: The author wrote this text in order to send a message to the American people that the

wage gap is a seriously concerning and harmful issue that needs to be amended.

Subject: Bateman writes about women’s rights issues in the past, and he relates them to the still

prevalent modern issue of unequal pay. He does this by telling a personal story of Lilly

Ledbetter, an advocate for women’s rights, and her failed struggles for an equal paycheck

through the unfairly biased courts system.

Tone: The author’s attitude towards this subject is passionate and enthusiastic. In the end, this

tone increases the effect of his pro women’s rights message by further engaging the reader

through elated, and interesting writing.

Skutsch, Carl. “The History of White Supremacy in America.” Rolling Stone, 19 August 2017,

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/the-history-of-white- supremacy-in-

america-w498334. Accessed 21 August 2017.

Speaker: Carl Skutsch, the speaker of this article, is a middle-aged male history teacher from

New York. Based on his profession, one can assume that the information presented will be an

accurate and factual recollection of our dark history with white supremacy. However, despite his

position as a historian, his other posts about the impeachment of Donald Trump suggest his

political bias against our current president.

Occasion: This article was written on August 19th, 2017, just days after the alt-right rallies in

Charlottesville. As a result, this article was written in direct response to that recent resurgence of

racism, hatred, and supremacy, all of which have deep, dark roots in American history.
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Audience: This piece is directed towards the US citizens who are uneducated about alt-right and

racist hate groups in the past. This can include people of all race, religion, and age.

Purpose: Carl Skutsch wrote this article in order to inform his audience about the various hate

groups that have come and gone throughout history. He does this by illustrating the horrendous

behaviors of groups such as the KKK, which will hopefully make an impact on his readers for

the better.

Subject: The author began the article by talking about the issues with white supremacy today and

events such as the violence in Charlottesville. Later in the writing, he gives an extensive

recollection of the history of white supremacy in the United States, which goes all the way back

to the founding of this nation.

Tone: Throughout the article, the author portrays quotes from white supremacists in a negative

light, and he presents haunting and gruesome fact about American hate groups. Overall, the

writer has a passionate distaste for the backwards horrors of white supremacy. And In turn, this

bleak tone leaves the reader with an accurately dark image of the alt-right.

Rubin, Jennifer. “Opposition to immigration is at odds with economic growth.” The

Washington Post, 9 March 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-

turn/wp/2017/03/09/opposition-to-immigration-is-at-odds-with-economic-

growth/?utm_term=.c6a779f02c29. Accessed 21 August 2017.

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Speaker: Jennifer Rubin is an author for the Right Turn blog, and she reports opinions from a

conservative perspective. However, unlike many other conservatives, she is pro-immigration and

may have a bias against the current law-makers.

Occasion: This post was written in the summer of this year, which has been a rough time for

policies revolving around immigration. Because of the time that this was written, the article

focuses heavily on the current attempts to bar and deport immigrants away from the United

States.

Audience: This article was directed towards US citizens who are opposed to immigration to the

United States, both legal and illegal. While this remains a diverse audience, it mainly consists of

other conservatives.

Purpose: Rubin wrote this article in order to inform readers about the importance that immigrants

have in the overall success of our economy. This remains especially true in a time where the

large baby boomer generation continues into retirement.

Subject: The author conveys her point through the use of facts and statistics about the positive

influence immigrants have on the economy. She also goes on to include statistics that counter the

arguments of anti-immigrant conservatives. Overall, this provides the article with a strong logos

appeal.

Tone: Rubin shows that many immigrants do in fact have a sufficient level of education, most of

them maintain a low crime rate, and most of them live here legally. In the end, the author

presented these positive statistics with a pleasant and encouraging attitude towards the subject of
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immigration. As a result, the article was a more successful piece of persuasive writing, and it will

have a more positive impact on its audience.

Tavernise, Sabrina. “Sanctuary Bills in Maryland Faced a Surprise Foe: Legal Immigrants.” The

New York Times, 8 May 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/08/us/legal-

immigrants-who-oppose-illegal-immigration.html?mcubz=3. Accessed 21 August 2017.

Speaker: Sabrina Tavernise is an American born journalist for the New York Times who has

reported in Iraq, Lebanon, and Russia. As an American born citizen, she could be biasedly

opposed to immigrants who are not citizens and reside in the United States illegally.

Occasion: She wrote this article in May of 2017, which was during an incredibly polar time in

the heated debate over immigration policies. More specifically, this piece focused primarily on

the debate over the passing of sanctuary bills. These pro-immigration bills were passed around

May of this year, and they gave refuge to illegal immigrants coming into the United States.

Audience: The author directs this article to those who support illegal immigration to the United

States. These supporters of sanctuary cities for undocumented immigrants are mostly democratic

liberals. However, as this article surprisingly outlines, most legal immigrants are not of these

supporters.

Purpose: The author wrote this article in order to convince the audience that undocumented

immigrants are not dignified to bypass the legal immigration system, and sanctuary cities are

therefore unfair and unnecessary.

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Subject: Sabrina Tavernise interviewed four legal immigrants from varied backgrounds, and she

told of their hard-working path to citizenship. Throughout the article, she compared and

contrasted these hard-fought success stories of reputable citizens with the undesirable statistics

that show what is brought to the US by illegal immigrants.

Tone: In the end, the author had a bitter attitude towards the overall subject of illegal

immigration. This tone helps the reader to understand the importance of the issue, and to

empathize with the legal immigrants who feel so unfairly cheated.