“Making a Difference” by June Callwood is an expository essay created to inspire the reader to make a change in the world around them, and to stand up for what they believe in. By just doing simple, positive things, people can make a huge impact on their lives and the lives of people around them. June Callwood, author of “Making a Difference”, changes the way many people see the world by describing scientific research and telling the stories of people who performed small, random acts of kindness that made a huge difference in people’s attitudes and the community around them.
June Callwood starts her essay by describing the story of a woman who had just recently moved to Canada and was being abused by her husband. The author describes the way people constantly talked about how someone should help the poor woman, but no one actually stepped up and did. A few days later, though, a fund had been established to help the woman, and she had
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gratefully called the woman who had set up the fund and they sat down together to have coffee and talk. This story was described by the author as an example as to how one person can make such a big difference. Although a little confusing at first, the story immediately makes sense when the author explains their use of pathos and what message she’s trying to convey; “She was a warm, sympathetic woman who believed herself to be hopelessly ineffective; she had discovered instead that she was a warm, sympathetic woman who was capable and resourceful.” (June Callwood, 441-442). The essay continues on to describe Hannah Arendt’s studies on the nature of good and evil.
Arendt’s studies state that “...evil thrives on apathy and cannot exist without it; therefore, apathy is evil.” (June Callwood, 442). The author then produces a persuasive argument about why she believes Arendt is correct in her findings, and adds her own conclusion; “They (bystanders) fantasize about taking leadership to get a much-needed crosswalk for the neighbourhood, or throwing themselves into good works. The problem is: how to start.” (June Callwood, 442). The author gives several examples of altruistic people who saw a chance to make change, and took it. She describes the difference of performing a good deed out of the goodness of one’s heart, and performing one with the intent of being rewarded. Callwood shows proof of extensive research in her writing, and craftily uses a mixture of pathos and logos (rare, but effective) to sway the reader into agreeing with her. Overall, the body of her essay is well written and very
persuasive. At the end of the essay, the author uses pathos, climaxes, analogy, and many other literary techniques to create a grand, compelling conclusion. She gives examples of how people can commit simple acts of kindness that may brighten someone’s whole day, or even change someone’s entire mindset. For example; “People can rehearse by responding to minor acts of tyranny: a racial insult for instance…” (June Callwood, 444). As the conclusion draws on, the author uses climaxes several times, and although in some instances this may be effective, this time it actually takes away from the impact of the final few sentences and makes the concluding paragraph sound repetitive and eventually even anti-climatic. The use of metaphor and parallelism, however, are quite good; “It makes no sense to waste enthusiasm and indignation by plunging into a blind fight.” (June Callwood, 444). This makes the conclusion persuasive, though a little patchy and overdramatic. Overall, June Callwood was able to change the way many people think and see the world, and was able to encourage and promote random acts of kindness all around. Though her conclusion was almost too over-exaggerated, the author put her skill with pathos and her extensive research to good use and was able to produce a highly persuasive and emotionally appealing essay. A recommendation would be to keep the conclusion short and impactful, as to not draw away from the overall theme of the essay.
In a short story called, “Thank you ma’am”, the author is trying to convey the theme, or message, of the importance of showing random acts of kindness towards others to help institute change. Mrs.J show one act of kindness when she washes his face. Another when she makes Roger food at her house. Mrs.J is kind and shows multiple examples throughout the story.
This book explores an avenue of advocacy against social injustices. The most observable plight Joe suffers is figuring out how to deal with the injustice acted against his mother, which has caused strife within his entire family and within himself. The book opens with, “small trees had attacked my parents' house at the foundation” (Erdrich 4) The initial conflict in this story is that Joe’s mother, Geraldine, is raped.
Emily Murphy played a vital role in helping women reach a level of true equality during the twentieth century. When visiting a prairie farm, Emily Murphy noticed a stressed woman. The woman was stressed because her husband had sold their land and ran off to the United States, leaving the woman homeless. Becoming very determined, Emily Murphy set out to change the law. In 1911, the Dower Act was finally passed in Alberta, which gave women the right to own one-third of their husband’s property.1 Emily Murphy's important decision to help amend the law in a way that it was beneficial to women showcases her determination to make sure women got their rights. Even though the law was not totally fair, it still shows that Emily Murphy took an initiative and helped women reach a step closer to their goal. Before Murphy took this essential action, many women were left homeless, since they had no right over their husband's property, and if she had not done so, many more women would fall victim. Women being able to own property was a significant matter in those days, and this was only made possible with the ...
She uses a string full of rhetorical questions throughout her article, as well, to make us contemplate whether people do deeds out of compassion, fear, or something else. She uses rhetorical questions such as “Was it fear or compassion that motivated that gift?”(6), “...what compels this woman to feed this man? Pity? Care? Compassion? Or does she simply want to rid her shop of his troublesome presence?”(9), and “Could it be that the homeless, like those ancients, are reminding us of our common humanity?”(14). These questions make the audience think and contemplate why these people did these acts of kindness. Ascher includes some of these rhetorical questions at the end of both of the narratives to force the readers to quickly analyze the situation and decide what the motivation was. As a result, I can conclude that one woman did it out of fear while the other did it out of compassion; therefore, this proves that people are not born compassionate, but they develop the quality later on in life. This is more effective instead of just expressing how she personally feels about each
In Barbara Lazear Ascher’s essay titled “On Compassion, Lazear describes her various encounters with the homeless in order to create her argument concerning the origins of compassion. In her argument directed at an open-ended audience, she interprets compassion abstractly and portrays empathy as the building block to compassion; meaning, to be a more tolerant society, one must first learn empathy to understand and demonstrate true compassion. When analyzing Ascher’s rhetoric, her meticulous use of diction and rhetorical devices reveal a developing skeptical. Namely, Ascher’s use of rhetorical questions, a first-person narrative, and a careful selection of detail convey her initial skeptical attitude toward her subject of compassion.
June Callwood worked towards a just world by bringing awareness in those whose rights were ignored. June had a concern for basic rights because she worked towards providing subordinate groups with the basic needs they are entitled to. In 1974 and 1988 June founded Nellie's and Casey House, respectfully. These organizations help women in crisis and provide care for those suffering from HIV/AIDS. Every human has the right to equal opportunity, shelter, and healthcare. June provided the homeless, the sick, and the disregarded the needs that they lack. Other than physical and abstract possessions, people also have the right to be respected and feel good about themselves. June had a concern for the personal dignity of women. June co-founded Feminists Against Censorship, and Toronto Prostitutes' Community Service Project, where she defended women who chose to enter pornography and prostitution. Her argument was that women are just as entitled to freedom of expression and reproductive choice as men. June promoted the personal power, worth and dignity of women. She established that women have the right to choose when, how and if they use their bodies without input from men. In addition, June had a concern for solidarity because she saw the lack of unity among people. Rather than a single group of equal human beings, the society was divided into rather
Currently, Canadian women are helping women in third world countries gain the same rights Canadian women have received. Some well known foundations are ‘Because I Am A Girl’, donations are sent to girls in the third world country so that they can obtain food, shelter, and an education, allowing them make a change in their society. Canadian women would not have been able to create projects to help women in other nations gain their rights if not for The Married Women’s Property Act, World War I, The Person’s Case, and Canadian Human Rights Act. These key milestones in Canadian history have allowed Canadian women to continue fighting for women rights on a global stage.
“Compassion is not a character trait like a sunny disposition. It must be learned…” (Ascher 195). On Compassion is a compelling essay by Barbara Lazear Ascher that makes one think not only about how they are treating others, but what they can do to make someone’s day a little brighter. We have read numerous essays over of past four months in College English, but On Compassion was the most powerfully written essay. Ascher use of great description paints pictures in the reader’s mind, it sparks emotion and it provokes deep thought that in turn changes how the reader views those who are less fortunate.
The littlest actions can impact our lives drastically for better or for worse. Throughout our lives we all have experienced something that has inspired us. These experiences go from small gestures made by kind strangers all the way to global catastrophes. These experiences influence us to do everything we do on a day to day basis.
Most women in Mrs Mallard’s situation were expected to be upset at the news of her husbands death, and they would worry more about her heart trouble, since the news could worsen her condition. However, her reaction is very different. At first she gets emotional and cries in front of her sister and her husbands friend, Richard. A little after, Mrs. Mallard finally sees an opportunity of freedom from her husbands death. She is crying in her bedroom, but then she starts to think of the freedom that she now has in her hands. “When she abandoned herse...
Everyday we see someone that needs help in the community or a friend, family, or even someone at your school. Some of our greatest leaders have told us that one small act of kindness can make the world a more enjoyable place. Martin Luther King was among one of those many leaders and has created the greatest change in our society’s history. Civilization cannot merely exist without the help of one another and our society would end if humanity decided to stop being kind or compassionate. Our professors and teachers give us the materials and assistance we all need in order to reach great measures in our future. Small acts of kindness have even inspired the most influential people and has led them to
Many people have started to become obsessed with themselves and not the problems around them, this has to change. However changing a community, even a miniscule amount would require a planned, long effort by multiple people, or would it? What if a few people from a community start doing random acts of kindness whenever they have a chance or see fit? Then the people who the group affected will go out and do another act of kindness, if we can keep this process going, it could lead to a change in society. Not all of the people will continue it, but if a few from each occurrence keep the message going, this could make an impact in the community. Thinking about this, I tried to come up with a few different ideas that I could do. My first reaction was to go to the internet and look up what others have done. Searching for different actions of kindness I found delivering umbrellas on a rainy day, another was buying a lunch for the person behind me or a movie ticket. As I thought it through for a few days I decided that I wanted to do something that I came up with and not something off of the internet.
The real question is, what does it really mean to make a difference? According to the dictionary it means, “Be important, matter” or “Cause a change in effect, change the nature of something” (“Make a Difference.”). That second part is what really stood out to me. It lead me to look back at my life and think about how I have changed the nature of something. I try to leave my mark in all parts of life. I have went on a missions trip, I try to be a leader in all sports, and I just try to genuinely be nice and make each and every person’s day better.
While it is easy to doze off during a lecture, or ignore a warning, humans are enthralled by stories. The story of the starfish is not only interesting and inspirational, it’s message is incredibly effective. There is always more you can do to help, and the advice applies to a wide variety of situations. From volunteering your time, donating money, or even just being supportive of someone going through a hard time, people have the power to make a difference. The “starfish” might not thank you, they might not even know that it was you who helped, but you still made a positive impact on the world. While appreciation and the feeling of creating a huge change are wonderful, it is your first small step that matters the
Given that the government allows such courteous campaign to be more active, we may anticipate to see a huge change to Singapore, a huge positive change for society to be more courteous to each other. No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. (Aesop, 2013) We must believe that no matter what small gestures we make, it will make a differences in the lives of others.