Catton: The Writing Rebel

Bruce Catton is a writing rebel. When he writes his essay he doesn't follow the typical a,b,c order that is "the right way to do it", where Topic A has sample 1 and 2, and where Topic B is followed by sample 1 and 2... and so on.

Catton follows a structure of his own. It is very different yet very organized and easy to follow. For example he doesn't state his thesis until the third paragraph and he divides each paragraph to specifically talk about each person (Grant and Lee). Since he is talking about historical figures he begins by talking about what was happening at the time to set the reader in place and give them some brief knowledge about what was happening.

The body of the essay mostly talks about each historical figure in their own way. Each paragraph talks about their backgrounds, their views towards the war, and what they represented. It isn't until the last paragraphs where Catton actually begins to compare and contrast and analyze both of the generals side by side.

In this essay, Catton is arguing that both of these generals have very distinct backgrounds. Both were raised with different lifestyles, yet, they grew up to have the same mission. They were both brought in history and ended up doing something greater for the country which was to bring peace and end the war.

Catton uses this technique in order to show how two very different characters or what ever is to be compared can be similar and come to a common conclusion.

Under Her Wing

The family's life and behavior always revolves around the father’s presence. But when he is gone they feel a huge relief and feel like they can act like themselves. “They would cluster under their mother’s wing with love and all-embracing affection” (52). I really like how Mahfouz compares the mother’s comfort to a wing. It really reminded me of pelicans. Pelicans are birds that will bite chunks of flesh off of their chest in order to feed their babies and if there isn’t any food. In the Catholic Church pelicans are also compared to Jesus Christ because He gave His body and life to his children. The mother of the family gives so much to her children to protect, feed, and make them feel comfort just like a pelican would. Under her wing they feel safe and protected from anything, even if it’s their father.

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