Roommate Takeover

I open the door to the apartment and collapse inside. What a day it has been. And all I want to do now is relax in my apartment. A few steps in and I throw myself on the coach. Laying there for a few seconds, I enjoy the silence. Then noticing the click-click of my roommate playing his computer games, I put a pillow over my face. It only muffled the noise, but it was one step closer to the silence I so desperately craved.

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My stomach gurgles and I realize how hungry I actually am. Sitting up, I make myself leave the comforts of the couch. With heavy footsteps I walk into the kitchen— YUCK. WHAT did I just step in?? I flip on the light and look down at the floor. It was covered in bits of food. 

Lifted up my foot and peered at the bottom. My foot could have been a sandwich. Little bread crumbs and a piece of lettuce clung to the bottom of my foot. I look up around the kitchen in disgust; the cupboards were all open and the tables, and counters, and floor were all covered in a thin layer of crumbs and other bits of dropped food. Only one thought came to my head: my new roommate. 

Ted was a nice guy but boy was he messy. His total disregard for cleaning up after himself left me wanting to gag every time I walked around the apartment. Trying to shake off my peeved attitude, I walked into his room to try and connect with him on a more personal level. He was furiously clicking away. Wrappers and bits of food shrouded him like a demented throne. It was silent and awkward for a moment. I spoke up, “Are you winning? What game is this?”
But my attempt was thwarted with a quick answer, “Close game. No talking.”
And that was the end of it.

photo from playbuzz.com

Character and Humor in Personal Writing

As my students further learn how to compose life writing, I want them to practice writing that is character-centered (even for nonfiction), as well as writing that is lighter in tone. These can often work together. Two examples follow for creating character and humor in personal writing:

Tone of Voice Speaks Literal Volumes

Example #1: Character

In 3 Nephi 28 we learn about the character of the new Nephite Apostles by their true desires. They ask Christ for these things, some are more timid than the others. This shows humility in their desires.

This is similar to Emily Lewis' post where she points to Alma humbly and submissively prays for his brother. In both cases the character of the person is shown through their words.

Photo From: irishoriginsofcivilization.com

Example #2: Plot

In 3 Nephi 26-27, Christ visits the Nephites. He teaches them and gives them commandments. He sets up the church by calling leaders. He then has a dialogue with the leaders alone from the multitude. It is the way in which Christ speaks that leads the people to trust and love Him.

I am reminded of Mary Ellsworth's post where she describes the power of words in the way words are said. Just as Christ was trusted because he spoke lovingly, Mary’s compassionate tone allowed her brother to trust her and love her in return.

Photo from: celtcorp.com

Example #3: Dialogue

The dialogue in 3 Nephi 27 is peculiar in the sense that there is both teaching done by Christ as well as commandments given. There is little return dialogue expect in the form of questions for clarification. This shows the place of each person in the writing; there is the teacher and the student. Some

This is very similar to Miranda Ray's post. She describes a father who teaches their sons about a vocation and also by teaching them about their past family. In both cases the form of speech is one of teacher and student.

The Feelings In Their Hearts

Example #1: Character

In Mosiah 14, a man (Jesus Christ) bears "griefs and sorrows" and is hurt by others' actions. He took them without responding back.
Miranda had to bear grief and sorrow because of someone else's actions. She wanted to say things to them, but she only said them when she was alone at her house baking.

Example #2: Plot

In Mosiah 7, a young man (Ammon) has to goes on a mission (an assignment) with his friends to search for missing people. They have to travel to foreign lands, and communicate with people they've never met before (a speech to find the missing people from Zarahemla). They just want to find people.
Darren went on his own mission (an assignment) with a friend (to find the lost souls of Christ). He had to travel to a new land, though maybe not foreign but foreign to him. He had to communicate with people he had never met before (a speech about the restored Gospel).

Example #3: Narrative Point of View

Keegan went to Africa, and went to a funeral. Here, he encountered a group of people who were mourning the death of a loved one. He had to deal with death, and it was not the best sight. He thought about Jesus Christ, and he felt peace. He knew the people mourning probably didn't know they would see their son again.
In Mosiah 11, a group of people (King Noah's people) had to deal with the death of their loved ones as a rival group (the Lamanites) came in to murder them. Death was unfortunately a common thing during the time of this specific ruler's reign. The ruler (King Noah) is very prideful, and does not have his thoughts on the Lord. The narrator of this passage shows the desires of the ruler as he "placed his heart upon his riches" and he had fine work made for himself, and had all manner of concubines. His heart was not upon the right things.
When the ruler's people drove back the rival group (Lamanites), they boasted in their hearts. Even though the reflection of their (the people of King Noah) hearts is not about death, this example relates to Keegan as he considered the feelings of the African's hearts.

Laman and Lemuel

Instances of the spoken word

1 Nephi 16:1 Laman and Lemuel respond to Nephi (dialogue)

1 Nephi 16: 2-3 Nephi responds to brethren (dialogue/sermon)

1 Nephi 16: 23 Nephi asks father where to go to find food (dialogue)

vs. 26 Voice of the Lord to Lehi (instruction/dialogue)

vs. 35 Daughters of Ishmael murmur to Nephi and Lehi(dialogue)

vs. 37-38 Laman talks to Lemuel and sons of Ishmael to slay Nephi and Lehi (dialogue)

vs. 39 Voice of Lord chastens Laman, Lemuel, sons of Ishmael (dialogue)

1 Nephi 17:1-9 Lord and Nephi (dialogue)

vs. 17-22 Brethren murmur against Nephi (dialogue)

vs. 23-47 Nephi responds with doctrine (sermon)

vs 48-51 Nephi commands brothers (dialogue)

vs. 53 Lord speaks to Nephi to shock brothers (dialogue)

vs. 55 Laman and Lemuel  say they feel the power of Lord (dialogue)

vs. 56 Nephi asks brothers not to worship him but God (sermon/dialogue)

1 Nephi 19 vs 11-17 Words of Zenos (sermon)

vs 24 Nephi introduces Isaiah to Laman and Lemuel (dialogue)

1 Nephi 22 vs 1-31 Nephi teaches brethren (sermon)                                                           

I chose to analyze 1 Nephi 17: 17-22 as Laman and Lemuel murmur against Nephi. In this section Laman and Lemuel show their true character. They see Nephi struggling to follow the commands that the Lord has given him and they take advantage of the situation. I think it is interesting that Laman and Lemuel make themselves out to be the good guys who are thinking about their families and the hardship they have had to go through compared to Nephi who does not care who suffers. If we just read Laman and Lemuel’s part of the story we would probably sympathized with them, giving them pathos. They do not understand the will of the Lord so from their perspective Nephi is in the wrong. This passage is not a conversation but in the next couple of verses after this Nephi responds with intense doctrine. From this passage we can clearly see the emotional appeal and the brothers trying to convince Nephi to give up. Fortunately they underestimated the character of Nephi.

17 And when my brethren saw that I was about to build a ship, they began to murmur against me, saying: Our brother is a fool, for he thinketh that he can build a ship; yea, and he also thinketh that he can cross these great waters.

 18 And thus my brethren did complain against me, and were desirous that they might not labor, for they did not believe that I could build a ship; neither would they believe that I was instructed of the Lord.

 19 And now it came to pass that I, Nephi, was exceedingly sorrowful because of the hardness of their hearts; and now when they saw that I began to be sorrowful they were glad in their hearts, insomuch that they did rejoice over me, saying: We knew that ye could not construct a ship, for we knew that ye were lacking in judgment; wherefore, thou canst not accomplish so great a work.

 20 And thou art like unto our father, led away by the foolish imaginations of his heart; yea, he hath led us out of the land of Jerusalem, and we have wandered in the wilderness for these many years; and our women have toiled, being big with child; and they have borne children in the wilderness and suffered all things, save it were death; and it would have been better that they had died before they came out of Jerusalem than to have suffered these afflictions.

 21 Behold, these many years we have suffered in the wilderness, which time we might have enjoyed our possessions and the land of our inheritance; yea, and we might have been happy.

22 And we know that the people who were in the land of Jerusalem were a righteous people; for they kept the statutes and judgments of the Lord, and all his commandments, according to the law of Moses; wherefore, we know that they are a righteous people; and our father hath judged them, and hath led us away because we would hearken unto his words; yea, and our brother is like unto him

Captain Moroni, Hero of the Book of Mormon

1. Form Analyzed: I decided to look at the concluding character development of Moroni just prior to his death.

2. Passage: I focused on Alma 62 vs 1-28. This section includes Moroni going to the aid of Pahoran, and also his taking the city of Nephihah by strategy.

3. Annotated Text: Traits/character analysis of Moroni is bold and italicized, with my commentary in red.

4. Breakdown/listing of things found: In this chapter Mormon is clearly illustrating the admirable qualities of the war hero, Captain Moroni. 

• He is courageous, cunning, and brave(vs 3 & vs 20). It didn't matter to him if he had a small force or if he had to go in the dark of night
• Mormon was an inspiring leader (vs 4), as illustrated by his ability to gather forces
• Though he was just and forceful-even putting people to death if they were dissenting (vs 9), he also was trusting and merciful of those who would joint the cause (vs 16 & 27)

5. Interpretation:Without clear indicators of his character, Moroni could come across to the audience as being a blood-thirsty or vengeful leader. Mormon is very clear in his record to portray Moroni in the best light possible, perhaps because of his position as a war captain. 

6. Connections & Questions: As I read this chapter, Moroni's strong character stood out to me. Then at the end of the next chapter, Moroni died. Was the emphasis on Moroni's character in this chapter because Mormon wanted to emphasize his many admirable traits in the readers mind before he died? Another thought that came to my mind as I considered this, was when did Mormon create this record relative to the birth of his son, who he named Moroni?

Commandeering a Kingdom

1. Form Analyzed
I wanted to look at the main characters, how they were described and why they matter.

2. Passage Analyzed
My section was Alma 47-53, but I wanted to focus on Amalickiah usurping the king of the Lamanites.

3.  Annotated Text

4.  Breakdown/Listing of things found

The king must have been very harsh and overbearing.  He doesn't talk to the people, just sends proclamations.  His subjects are scared of him and run away from him.  He tries to compel them and only has few followers.  However, Amalickiah is described as cunning, inspiring and one who commits a lot of fraud.  The people elect him and recognize him as their king.  He talks to the people directly and gains favor of the entire population.

5. Interpretation.

The king of the Lamanites and Amalickiah had the exact same goal: to be ruler over all the people including both the Lamanites and the Nephites.  The king of the Lamanites was not successful because of the Ethos that was presented.  He was overbearing, commanding and did not talk to the people.  They did not trust him because of it.  On the other hand, Amalickiah goes with the people, inspires them through his cunning and wisdom.  He thinks through the entire plan to become the king.  In so doing, he accomplishes what his predecessor dreamed of.  He inspired the people to go against the Nephites, rather than compeled them.  His character and what the people saw him as made all the difference.  

6. Connections/Questions

How many leaders in the Book of Mormon were successful in inspiring their subjects because of Ethos- because of the way they portrayed themselves?  Is inspiring people more successful than compelling them every case?  Does fear motivate them or faith?