Jordan’s AP Blog

The novel begins with the main character Nick living the American dream. His family owns and operates their own hardware store. But after world war I he relizes that its not all he thought it was. He decides to move to New York to try a different version of the American Dream. This change shows Fitzgeralds argument that the American dream is a title given to the idea that the grass is always greener on the other side.

Nick portrays himself as a confident sucessful person but as the chapter progresses we see him as fairly awkward around other people.

Tom mentions a book he calles the ”Rise of the Coloured Empires” which is an allusion to the book The Rising Tide of Color  both books support racisits views of the world which was still a common view point in the 1920s.

1. The anecdote gives McMurtry ethos by showing that he has personal experience with the subject.

2. The comparison makes a convincing appeal to logos. It shows the similarities in terms and mindset.

3. The author shifts his focus by providing a transition by addressing the counterargument.

4. When he uses the study the author uses phrases that highlight how ridiculous the favored traits are.

5. McMurtry says ”everybody… had to concentrate incredibly hard for days to whip themselves into just one hour’s hostility.” Here the author trys to argue that men dont need the violent release of football. I think that the release is kind of like a drug. It feels good the first time so you go back for more but you find that you need more to get the same feeling. The release of football feels great but at the same time it draws you back in daring you to hit him harder next time.

6. No other sports have such militarisitic tendencies as football does. Hockey is about as close as it gets but even checking other players doesnt have the same militaristic feel as football. To quote George Carlin “In football the object is for the quarterback, also known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his receivers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy’s defensive line.”

7. McMurtry is speaking to average people about the brutatilty of the sport. Its not really necassary to understand much about football to understand where the author is going with his argument about the brutality of football carrying over into society.

8. Contemporary media starts tend to stay away from being associated with sports.