"The Open Boat  by Stephen Crane https://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resourc... Write a 300-500 word response to the assigned story. Grades on these responses will assess the depth of analysis and engagement with the text. How closely did you examine the assigned reading? What conclusions did you draw, and why? Did you provide evidence (quotes, paraphrases) from the text to support your assertions? If your reactions to what you read are purely emotional (the reading made you mad, sad, bored, etc.) then you haven’t thought enough about what you read. WHY did you have that reaction?  POST please post THREE paragraph-length peer responses that .one paragraph for each  studentdo not correct anyone  1 student Luis  "The Open Boat" by Stephen Crane was based on a real story from the author's experience when he was stuck in a boat after his ship sank in the Atlantic Ocean. The story specifically takes place in the waters between Florida and Cuba. The plot focuses on the struggle of four men stuck on a boat trying to keep afloat against the ocean's waves. On the boat, there is a Capitan, Oiler, Cook, and the correspondent who is the narrator of the story. At the beginning of the journey, there is an unmentioned camaraderie among the men while handling the boat. This was because they believed that everything would turn alright if they worked together. As soon as the waves of the ocean turn challenging to handle, they become desperate and tired. For hours they row and try to reach a land that they see on the horizon. With no luck, they can't reach any help from anyone around the land they spotted which drives them to leave the boat at one point and swim against the strong cold waves.Three out of the four men survive this dangerous journey. The man who couldn't make it was the oiler who was the one who worked the hardest to keep the boat afloat. I believe that Crane's message behind this was that life (ocean) doesn't care about who it brings death to. In this case, the oiler was a hard-working, obedient man, and the readers would want him to survive, but because of the random unpredictability of the ocean, it brings death to him. This story could be interpreted as a reaffirmation that humans are not the masters of their fate. There is no right or wrong judgment about who should die or survive, there is only life, and it is unpredictable by nature.The story brings some interesting facts about humanity vs. the universe. The ocean is symbolism for life, and the men on the boat are the humankind. The sea is unpredictable with its waves and currents, and it does what it pleases to the boat/men. Crane's writing exhibits the naturalist aspect of the story by describing the ocean and how the men are the mercy of its will. 2 student Ruth The Open BoatThe Open Boat tells a story about different characteristics of nature. Throughout the story, the reader can see the characters’ perspective of the ocean changing as they circle from a fearful, to hopeful, to desperate and then to helpless heart. They first notice how the sea “snarls, hisses and bucks like a bronco,” when they were scared and working tirelessly to save their lives. Later, as time goes by and they become less fearful of the sea and get more used to it, they notice that the sea simply “paces to and fro”. The men’s struggle does not change the “god-like” behavior of the sea.Crane was trying to point out the idea that nature is indifferent to man-kind; he illustrates how it can be randomly helpful and hurtful despite whom it is. He also paints a picture about the humanistic character of nature having a pendulum-like behavior; every time the men experience an unexpected good occurrence, they suffer right after, and vice versa.I believe the ending of the story was trying to assure the reader about two ideas; nature has an animalistic character – where it can be harsh as easily as it can be a protector, and that unlike people, it has no motivation for its actions, which is hard for humans to understand. While on the sea the men were questioning why the sea was doing what it was doing and why these incidents were happening to them; all questions with no answer.The story conveys a lonely feeling like most stories written at that time. As a reader, it is easy to put yourself in those men’s shoes and picture yourself on that sea; alone and terrified. It very easily makes people feel insignificant, which I believe is one of the reasons it is easy to relate to this story at this time and age, because that feeling is universal, and timeless.3 student  Ama   Iconcluded a couple of things after reading the Open Boat. The firstthing is that teamwork is essential, especially when several people arefacing similar challenges. For instance, the four men got stuck in theocean and had to work together for survival purposes. Each man had arole to play to ensure that they do not die in the sea. The captain gaveguidance on the proper direction to roar the boat; the cook emptied thewater from the boat while it was the work of the oiler and thecorresponded to oar the boat. They were able to reach the land due totheir combined efforts.People are likely to give up when faced withchallenging situations that do not seem to have solutions. For instance,there is evidence of worry and despair among the four men who gotstranded in the sea after their boat sunk. The cook shows signs ofgiving up as he holds of the boat he at one point says “God! That was abad one”. Meaning that he was expressing worry about the effects of thestrong waves to them. Also, one of the oilers roaring the boatconsistently stretched himself to avoid water that flowed in as theother oaring man focused on the strong waves wondering why he waspresent. The injured captain was in the front of the boat experiencingdefeat and wanting to give up. An extreme type of despair compared towhen a business collapses or the army losing a battle. The captain seemsto despair in an instance when he thought they could access alighthouse, and a strong wave hit their boat, and he remarked: “We’llnever be able to reach the lighthouse now”.People tend to rely onany available options around them in desperate times. A goodillustration is when the men seemed hopeful after they saw a tiny thingmoving in the ocean. They were even not sure what it was but stillplaced all their hope on that small thing. The captain says that hethinks they would reach the tiny thing if the wind remained steady, andthe boat did not sink. The captain ordered to cook to drain the water,who responds with a cheerful look since he knew that they would soonreceive help.Emotions and anger can cause a person to say words thatthey do not mean. For example, the men keep blaming lifesavers forfailing to locate them, yet they were uncertain whether the lifesaversknew that they were lost. The captain seems to repeat the followingwords, which express the anger inside him. "If 1 am going to lose mylife to the sea—if I am going to lose my life to the sea—why was Iallowed to come this far and see sand and trees? Was I brought heremerely to have my nose dragged away as I was about to taste the holyfood of life

Many commentators/critics have written on the demise of Classical music in our society.In January 2014, two writers took opposite views on the state of Classical music in America.For this assignment, read both (short) articles and tell me what you think. Write a position paper with the following requirements:two full pages1-inch margins12-point fontdouble spacedI want to know whether you agree with Mark Vanhoenacker in Slate or William Robin in The New Yorker.The links to the articles are here:"Requiem: Classical music in America is dead" (Links to an external site.)"Classical music isn't dead"

You are applying for funding to produce a show in the Issues in American Music concert series. Working in a small group , identify a contemporary socio-political issue that you feel requires action and design an event that explores this issue through music. Select three artists (solo or ensembles) that speak to your theme to perform in the concert.Your concert and proposal will be evaluated on quality, thoughtfulness, and originality. Your show should educate the audience on the issue, offer possible interventions, and help spur listeners to action. Think also about how the concert itself can be an act of protest or civil disobedience versus simply presenting “political” content. How can choices in format, venue, audience-performer engagement, and other dynamics further a particular political goal? What are the various ways an artist, piece, or space can be radical? Remember that music can be political not only in textual references but in how, where, and by whom it is performed. Your group will write and turn in a 3-page “grant proposal” (typed, double-spaced) and briefly present the concert plan in sections. Proposals should be typed, double-spaced, and follow the format below. Presentations should be 5 minutes maximum and outline the event theme, approach, and roster of artists. Each member of the group needs to speak at some point in the presentation. There will be a few minutes after each presentation for questions and discussion.Grant proposals should follow this outline (in this order) and include subheadings:Title. Give your concert a title that colorfully illuminates your theme and will attract audiences.Theme (one paragraph). State your socio-political issue, describe how your series will help listeners better understand it, and detail its importance to discussions of race, politics, and/or music in the U.S. In this paragraph, you should be making an argument for why your concert should be funded: its socio-political importance, its relevance to the Issues in American Music series, its appeal to audience, and what you hope it will do in terms of intervening in your issue.Audience (one paragraph). Who is your target audience for this show? Why? How will you get word to this audience and work to get them to your show?Venue (one paragraph). Where will your event be held? Why is this venue important to your show?Artists (one paragraph each). List each of the three artists you will include in your concert and give basic information on the musician/group (who, style or styles they play, from where, instrumentation, or any other important features) and how they relate to and illustrate your concert theme. BE SPECIFIC about what and how audiences will learn about your theme through the music or broader performance of your artists. Also, include a print citation or weblink (NOT wikipedia) for each artist so the grant committee can learn more about them. NOTE: There are no era or geographical limitations. Artists can be dead or alive, from different time periods than each other, or from outside of the U.S., as long as they best exemplify your theme. You can choose genres we studied or not, although you can only include up to two artists we discussed in class.(Group members already have Pleasure, Tupac)Publicity. Create a piece of marketing for the show. Publicity can be a poster, video, social media ad, proposed live publicity action, or anything else you can dream up. Include a draft of this marketing piece as an addendum to your proposal (this should be in addition to the three pages).