Author Willa Cather embedded literary devices, such as metaphors, similes, and personification, within her writing.

"As I looked about me I felt that the grass was the country, as the water is the sea. The red of the grass made all the great prairie the colour of wine-stains, or of certain seaweeds when they are first washed up. And there was so much motion in it; the whole country seemed, somehow, to be running."

"The grave, with its tall red grass that was never mowed, was like a little island."

"Winter comes down savagely over a little town on the prairie. The wind that sweeps in from the open country strips away all the leafy screens that hide one yard from another in summer, and the houses seem to draw closer together. The roofs, that looked so far away across the green treetops, now stare you in the face, and they are so much uglier than when their angles were softened by vines and shrubs.


Chunk #1: 
The setting of this novel plays a big role.  If the family had not lived in a farming community then Antonia may not have had to learn to farm and help provide for her family. If Antonia  family lived in a larger city, Antonia may have been a proper lady and gotten married to a wealthy man instead of working in the fields as she does.  By living in the setting that they are and not in a larger city, I believe that it made Mr. Shimerda unhappy with his life and led to him killing himself.  The setting of the novel was not negative for all the characters.  For example, if the Shimerda family would have lived in a larger town then Jim may not have been as responsible as he is now.  With Jim living on a farm he was able to be disciplined and learn to follow instructions given to him and developed hard working skills.



Chunk #2: discuss the effect a setting on you, including imagery (lots of adjectives) and a simile or a metaphor as you describe the land.
The farm land is a form of discipline and a learning strategy.  Farming allows a person to have the opportunity to learn to work hard and learn from hands on experiences. Working on a dirty farm doing hard labor each day teaches a person that he/she has to work for what they want instead of being handed everything to them hand and foot.

Immigrants Should be Helped

Argument: Sending immigrants back without helping them should not be allowed.

Assertion/Claim (Topic Sentence) = Main Idea

• Immigrants should not be sent back without helping them.

Evidence -Concrete Detail:

• Sending immigrants back without help them cause more problems in the long run then just helping them to begin with. 
• Commentary 1: Instead of having to deal with the issue of them returning again illegally just provide them help the first time.
• Commentary 2: The process that is required to deport someone is more expensive then providing them with services to become legal.

•  The deporting process cost millions and takes to long to complete.
• Commentary 1: If the U.S. provided help to immigrants the national debt would not be increased as high as it is with the process they use now of sending them back and would be less rampant immigrants in general!
• Commentary 2: An immigrant must have an attorney for court and if immigrants are not able to afford an attorney they should be appointed one.  This could all be prevented by helping them.
  
• Opposing Claims/They Say:
• Many people believe that deporting illegal immigrants is right, because they should not be allowed to stay if they are already breaking the law. 
• Some think that allowing them to stay leads to more economic problems involving jobs and crime levels to increase.

My Rebuttal/I Say:

• Although I agree with the citizens points to a certain extent, I believe even if they are breaking the law they be allowed the same opportunity to a better life as we are.   

My Paragraph
Immigrants should not be sent back without help.  Sending immigrants back to Mexico causes more problems and expenses in the long run then it would by just helping them to begin with.  Within the US there are several thousand illegal immigrants trying to have a better life for them and their family.   If an immigrant has formed a family, he/she should be allowed to stay and receive help to become legal.  The process that an immigrant has to go through is time consuming and very costly to the U.S.. Once an immigrant has been arrested and has started the deportation process he/she must get an attorney to represent them which most can not afford one so it leads to even more spending.  Immigrants should be allowed the same opportunity for a better life as we are as U.S. residents.

My thinking
Immigrants should be helped instead of just being turned away and deported. Immigrants should have the same rights as U.S. citizens.