Category: x Archive Exercises

E03 Critical Reading–todayistheday

Section 19

“There’s a little town with no stoplights by the name of Republic.”

  • Little town with no stoplights: gives image of quaint small town with a southern drawn out peaceful pace.
  • Visual: creates an image of a quiet, calm atmosphere where the hustle and bustle of traffic does not exist. 
  • Republic: this word means that members have equality amongst them.  From the tone of the article you can sense there isn’t equality amongst all members of this community. The name of the town provides irony towards the message.

“-her husband’s disability pay ended when he killed himself in 2001.”

  • ended: can be used for both the disability and his life.
  • disability pay ended: this is concerning but not shocking.
  • killed himself: shocking and disheartens reader.
  • Author uses the death of woman’s husband to disarm the reader in the morbidity of the situation. This tactic although morbid is successful.  It tilts the balance in favor of the author’s perspective.

“VVW now has more modest but no less determined facilities-“

  • More modest but no less determined: What is the measurements for more and no less? How do you compare modest and determined?
  • Categorical claim: Measuring previous VVW facilities to their current mobile and log cabin, claiming one is more modest but both are determined.
  • Claim not entirely necessary to make point clear that VVW works hard.

“Danna smiles easy but moves pretty slow because she threw her back out again.”

  • may be hurt physically but her spirit and outlook are intact.
  • Comparison: exterior smile and her interior pain.
  • Relevance between exterior of veterans and their interior pain (PTSD).

“Money has to be first. You can’t breathe without it.”

  • money is fundamental, but we were taught money shouldn’t be everything.
  • Can’t breathe without it: you suffocate with its absence.
  • Causal claim: You need money to survive.
  • Categorical: Placing money into the same category as life necessities such as food, water, shelter, oxygen.
  •   Relevance is underlying because without benefits and disabilities the only way to get better is to fork up a lot of cash.

“She NEEDS therapy”

  • wife: this article focuses on the trauma of war vets families.
  • NEEDS: in all capital letters really highlights the importance.
  • relevance to article is critical because it shows the importance of getting help for secondary trauma sufferers.

“-may take years for the verdict to come in on whether secondary trauma will be officially acknowledged as its own unique personal hell.”

  • May: suggests an unknown estimate
  • Years: plural can mean more than one year. But suggests several from the way statement is worded.
  • Verdict: judgement cast down on criminals; guilty or innocent.
  • Hell: conjures images of fiery pits of torture that we are sentenced too.
  • Substitution for verdict and hell would be more accurate as evidence and diagnose. The author carefully uses words with negative impacts. 
  • Successful

“-will cost the VA 1.7 million if he lives until 80.”

  • Will: definite
  • If: indefinite.
  • Categorical claim: he does or he doesn’t live until 80.
  • Author uses will and if into claim to cast doubt, price tag is definite but life expectancy is questionable.

 

END OF HOUR

EO3: Critical Reading-Flyerfan1974

Section 2

  1. “Caleb has been home since 2006, way more than enough time for Brannan to catch his symptoms.”
  • Home- Caleb is home after coming back from Iraq with PTSD. Home is a confined space where Caleb and Brannan spend their lives together.
  • Enough Time- The author is telling us that the couple has been in this home for so long that Brannan has caught her husbands mental disorder.
  • Catch his symptoms- Brannan never went to war, however being with her husband in their home everyday, she has contracted the illness

2. “When a sound erupts—Caleb screaming at Brannan because she’s just woken him up from a nightmare, after making sure she’s at least an arm’s length away in case he wakes up swinging—the ensuing silence seems even denser.”

  • When a sound erupts- When any sound erupts, Caleb suddenly feels as if he is back in the war, reacting with some violent actions
  • Screaming- Caleb screams to the anger he is feeling
  • Nightmare- Caleb may be having nightmares due to his experiences in war
  • In case he wakes up swinging- Caleb’s nightmares put him in a defensive state, and Brannan must make sure she is out of range to avoid being injured

3. “Their German shepherd, a service dog trained to help veterans with PTSD, is ready to alert Caleb to triggers by barking, or to calm him by jumping onto his chest.”

  • Alert- The dog helps Caleb by showing him if a trigger is near
  • Triggers- These are factors that can aggravate Caleb’s PSTD

4. “This PTSD picture is worse than some, but much better, Brannan knows, than those that have devolved into drug addiction and rehab stints and relapses.”

  • PTSD is a serious problem that plagues may Americans, some have it not so serious, but many have very serious PTSD
  • Picture- The author uses this word to describe Caleb and Brannan’s situation
  • Drug addiction- Due to deep depression and other symptoms, many PTSD victims turn to drugs to ease the pain. The author adds this part to show what can happen to PTSD sufferers if they do not receive help
  • Relapses- This word is added to show how powerful PTSD can be, it has the power to keep people unhealthy and make them keep turning to drugs

5. “Sometimes I can’t do the laundry,” Brannan explains, reclining on her couch. “And it’s not like, ‘Oh, I’m too tired to do the laundry,’ it’s like, ‘Um, I don’t understand how to turn the washing machine on.’ I am looking at a washing machine and a pile of laundry and my brain is literally overwhelmed by trying to figure out how to reconcile them.”

  • Brannan cannot do the laundry do to her PTSD from her husband. She physically forgets how, and becomes overwhelmed.
  • The author included this quote to show how Brannan, who was never in the war, is affected by PTSD
  • Overwhelmed- The PTSD causes stress which makes her panic and not be able to do the laundry
  • Reconcile- Reconcile means to restore friendly relations between. This word is added in the article to show how her brain tries to put together that laundry goes into the washing machine

6. “When we hear Caleb pulling back in the driveway, we jump up and grab their strings, plunging the living room back into its usual necessary darkness.”

  • Jump up- These words are added to show the severity of his arrival. Brannan must act fast not to trigger her husband
  • Plunging- This word is added to show how the darkness makes the room a dark, unlikeable place to be
  • Necessary darkness- It is vital for the room to be dark so that Caleb is not triggered

7. “Now, he’s rounder, heavier, bearded, and long-haired, obviously tough even if he
weren’t prone to wearing a COMBAT INFANTRYMAN cap, but still not the guy you
picture when you see his “Disabled Veteran” license plates.”

  •  rounder, heavier, bearded, and long haired- This is added to describe how Caleb has let himself go, the PTSD is affecting his health, and physical appearance
  • prone to wearing a COMBAT INFANTRYMAN cap–  If Caleb wore this hat, he would be triggered
  • Disabled Veteran license plate- Caleb is a strong man who you would never think is disabled by his physical appearance, but no one really knows what is going on inside

 

Critical Reading – Yoshi

Section 21

  1. I can feel him slipping down—it’s like this…vortex, this hole. And I try to grab him, like, ‘No! Don’t go down there!’ He can still get really depressed.
  • I can feel him slipping down: Charlen knows when Steve  is about to enter one of his flashbacks and depressed stages.
  • Vortex: Charlen is talking about Steve and how she knows when he is falling into mass of whirling fluid
  • ‘Don’t go down there’: Charlen tries to pull him out of the depressed state he is going to enter.
  • Depressed: Steve enters a state where he feels helpless. Categorical.
  1. Charlene has long, graying dark hair parted down the middle and super-serious eyes, which she has to lower to compose herself for a minute when I ask her, alone, if she saved Steve’s life. “He loves me a lot,” she answers. “I’ve never known love like this. He is…awesome.”
  • Super-serious eyes: She is probably very concerned with Steve and everything he does.
  • if she saved Steve’s life: Charlen saved steven from depression because of his PTSD?
  • “He loves me a lot,”: She he loves her alot because she saved his life and helped him throughout the years of their marriage
  • I’ve never known love like this: He loves her more than she’ll ever feel because she saved him.
  1. “She saved my life,” Steve says of Charlene, without my asking.
  • -Casual claim because of his PTSD his wife saved his life
  • -Steve suffers from PTSD
  • – He would’ve fell into depression without his wife.
  • – He didn’t ask she willing put up with it
  1.  VA rated Steve at 100 percent PTSD disabled, but he’s found his way to his version of a joyful life
  • 100 percent PTSD disabled: Definition claim saying Steve is 100% PTSD disabled
  • Found his way: Steve has found another way to do life
  • joyful life: Steve lives life another way so he enjoys it
  1. In the Vines’ household in Alabama, at any unpredictable time of night, the nightmare starts in Iraq.
  • -Nightmares: Categorical claim
  • – The nightmares Steven has because of his PTSD
  • – any unpredictable time of night: PTSD occurs randomly
  1. Someone’s yelling for the medic and an indiscernible string of noises seeps out of Caleb’s mouth while he’s dying.
  • Categorical claim: flashbacks are a part of PTSD
  • Indiscernible string of noises: the noise someone makes when they’re in pain
  • He’s dying: PTSD is bringing flashbacks of his friends dying.
  1. she wakes up, shaky, the next morning. “Still don’t get how I can so vividly dream of somewhere I’ve never actually been.”
  • Brennan caught PTSD
  • Brennan has never went to war so we assume PTSD is contagious
  • She wakes up shaky: because she had such a vivid dream about Iraq

 

Critical Reading – theintern

Section 18

1.”But here we’ve got lasagna, and salad with an array of dressing choices, and a store-bought frosted Bundt cake with chocolate chips in it!”

  • Dressing choices: We can assume the word dressing choices indicates that there was a variety of dressings and the people wouldn’t have to just choose one.
  • The store bought cake can be assumed that Brannan does not know how to bake a cake or just doesn’t have the time to bake a cake.
  • By having an exclamation point end with chocolate chips means that Brannan loves chocolate chips and is excited to have them in the cake.

2. “There is no dining-room table—when they bought the house years ago, they thought they’d finish it up real nice like they did with another house, before the war, but nobody’s up for that now, so we all huddle around the coffee table in the living room.”

  • Years ago: It seems like they were financially stabled because as they said that they finished it up real nice.
  • War: This war really screwed the whole family up. The family thought that they would be same even after the war but it left heart broken because the man of the house Caleb was suffering from PTSD which back pedaled their plans.
  • No dining room table could mean that they are not financially stabled and can’t afford to buy one or that the house that they bought did not have the space for the table.
  • Huddled: By the word “huddled” the author means that the family had to make the best out of where they ate and that was on a coffee table in the living room.
  • Nobody’s up for it now: By this phrase the author sums up what the family goes through on a daily basis with the father/husband’s PTSD and that no body is normal enough or has the free time to fix up the house.

3. “And it’s lovely. Dinner lasts for hours. Brannan tries to calm Katie down despite the excitement of the visitor at dinner, while Katie shows me games and drawings as we eat.”

  • Lovely: The author describes how it’s lovely in the sense of how peaceful the environment is and how much love is being shared.
  • Visitor: The word “visitor” is used to allow the audience know the author’s acquaintance with the family.
  • Seems like Katie never sees other older people because maybe the family does not have the time/patience to meet and greet with other parents.
  • The author expresses Katie as too excited that Brannan has to calm her child down because a visitor is over where she offers the author to look at her games/drawings.

4. “Caleb makes jokes that it does indeed feel like he and Brannan have been married for-ever.”

  • Joke: The author notices that Caleb still has a sense of humor.
  • Caleb acknowledges and remembers that Brannan is his wife and that it has been a long time they’ve been married.
  • Caleb “feels” that he is married to her for-ever with the numbers in his head actually knowing.

5. “he laughs when he says this, she laughs, and swats at him from where she’s curled herself into his armpit with his arm around her.”

  • The love and joy is still in the air because they both laugh at Caleb’s joke and are not laughing at each other.
  • Swat: The author uses the word “swat” because it’s an action verb that represents playfulness and teasing each love couple does to one another for affection.
  • Curled: This word is used to show how comfortable Brannan is with Caleb and how she can curl into his armpit with his arm around her.
  • Armpit: The author used the word “armpit” even though some people might find it disgusting to hear but does it really matter when you love someone and that’s what the author tried to show the audience, the compassionate love they had for each other.

6. “At the front door, we all beam at each other in the warm way people do when they’re separating after a nice meal.” 

  • Why the front door, some people open the garage door to leave and others go through the side door.
  • Beam: The author uses the word “beam” as sense of fear but he rephrased it and said in a warm way because usually beam means to look at someone with long glance and have fear develop inside the person you stare at.
  • Separating: This word is a harsh word to use because it means to separate from someone and never see them again in which has done.
  • It is confirmed that the author went to Caleb’s house for a nice meal, observed his surroundings and left with a warm beam looking at them.

7. “Caleb is in such a good mood that Brannan asks if he’s up for putting Katie to bed so she can go lie down.” 

  • Good Mood: The author uses this word to describe how Caleb is feeling at the time concerning he has PTSD which means at times he has break downs and starts screaming where he always feels he is in danger.
  • Ask: It is hard for Brannan to ask Caleb for anything because he is not right in the state of mind and doesn’t want him to feel stressed out about anything.
  • Lie Down: The author uses this word “lie down” instead of sleep because the author knows that it won’t be long till Caleb starts screaming which means she can only “lie down” for a few minutes while sleeping means to doze off for more than an hour.
  • Seems like the audience can estimate how old Katie is and that she needs someone to tuck her in at night.

8. “Not two days after that, he tells her he’s leaving her. “I’m going to get it over with and do it so you don’t have to,” he says,” 

  • Not: The word “not” is used to say that is hasn’t been long till something has happened.
  • After a long time of being married, Caleb is leaving his wife because of the pain she goes through to be with him.
  • Get it over with: This phrase is used to mean that the person wants to be done with any deed and not regret anything.
  • The author explains that Caleb was strongly using “you” towards Brannan and not the audience.
  • Caleb ended the relationship because he knew that Brannan would not end it, even though Caleb felt horrible he did not want Brannan to suffer anymore.
  • We can tell that Caleb is getting better because he can make more decisions on his own with out being too mad about it.

9. “when he weighs the pain of being alone versus the pain of being a burden.”

  • Weighs: The author expresses this word as the weight he mentally and physically carries.
  • His weight consists of being alone and the heavy load some he must carry all due because of his PTSD.

 

E03: Critical Reading – Princess 45

Section 13

“The amount of progress in Caleb’s six years of therapy has been frustrating for everyone. “

  • Caleb has been in therapy for six years
  • He has been making minimal progress

 “we have reason to be reasonably optimistic. Psychotherapy does work for typical PTSD.” The VA tends to favor cognitive-behavioral therapy and exposure therapy—whereby traumatic events are hashed out and rehashed until they become, theoretically, less consuming. Some state VA offices also offer group therapy. For severe cases, the agency offers inpatient programs, one of which Caleb resided in for three months in 2010.

  • We can have hope, psychotherapy has been proven to work for PTSD.
  • There are multiple methods but the VA prefers the cognitive-behavioral therapy and exposure therapy.
  • Other methods: group therapy, for severe cases: inpatient programs

 

‘The VA also endorses eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR), which is based on the theory that memories of traumatic events are, in effect, improperly stored, and tries to refile them by discussing those memories while providing visual or auditory stimulus.”

  • EMDR also offered by the VA is based off the theory that memories of traumatic are in effect but improperly stored and attempted to be restored.

 “There’s a fairly strong consensus around CBT and EMDR,” Brunet says. While veterans are waiting for those to work, they’re often prescribed complicated antidepressant-based pharmacological cocktails.”

  • There seem to be a lot of people who agree with CBT and EMDR
  • While veterans are depending on the progress of CBT and EMDR they’re prescribed antidepressant based pills with who knows what else is in them

“Currently, the agency is funding 130 PTSD-related studies, from testing whether hypertension drugs might help to examining the effectiveness of meditation therapy, or providing veterans with trauma-sensitive service dogs, like Caleb’s. The Mental Health Research Portfolio manager says the organization is “highly concerned and highly supportive” of PTSD research.”

  • The VA is very concerned about their PTSD patients and are researching all methods
  • Testing of drugs to increase effectiveness of therapy’s
  • Testing if service dogs are an alternative
  • Health Research Portfolio is concerned and supportive of their PTSD research

“But a lot of FOV members and users are impatient with the progress. Up until 2006, the VA was spending $9.9 million, just 2.5 percent of its medical and prosthetic research budget, on PTSD studies. In 2009, funding was upped to $24.5 million. But studies take a long time, and any resulting new directives take even longer to be implemented.”

  • Family of Vet members are impatient with progress of the different therapy’s
  • The concern for PTSD victims has risen and funding for research has been upped
  • Research and validating new methods take time and anything proven to help will still have to be put into action

Robust Verbs- brobeanfarms

Vancouver is currently at war with heroin and crime. The “free heroin for addicts” program is effective in attempt to reduce addiction and crime. The problem is that addicts are the cause of crime. It is obvious that addicts have a hard time getting through their day to day lives. Daily activities such as jobs, interactions, and relationships are hard to maintain due to addiction. Heroin users will do whatever it takes to receive this drug. The types of crimes committed range from breaking and entering to stealing. There are no limits to where they will go to retrieve this drug so that they can feed their addiction. The problem with this program is that it won’t help to ween these addicts off using heroin. It is only trying to save the city from rising crime rates that they’re up to. By providing the drug, these addicts will be off the streets. In turn, minor street crimes will be prevented. As a result, heroin users will be kept out of the hospital. It is pointless that the hospitals have to deal with people that want to use bad drugs or unsanitary needles and find themselves being unable to afford hospital bills and hard to cope without the drug. This program gives people free heroin in the cleanest way possible. The city will benefit while the addicts will still suffer addiction.

Enough About You- brobeanfarms

Money plays a key role based upon success in society. Money is valuable in different ways, even when we don’t see it physically. In today’s society we must have faith that we have a proper, trustworthy banking system. Failure to do so will result in the disuse of storing money in banking accounts. Many individuals do to understand the way a bank works. We are taught that money is simple; we either have it or we do not. After being introduced to this assignment however, the Yap Fei, US gold, French francs, Brazilian cruzeros, and debit accounts now seem similar. We do not witness the transfer of money. When pay day comes around, the money is directly transferred to our bank account rather than being handed checks which leads to the need of trust in the banking system.