Reflection on the Revision on the Summary

Doing this assignment as instructed will help increase your grade at least one full level, i.e., C to B, B to A. The logic behind this is that you gain most from the process rather than the end result, so that while your revised summary will certainly be stronger than the previous, the read work and so the real grade comes from how you get there. Steps: 1. Create a new word document. 2. Read my comments on your essay. For most, there are not a lot of comments, but enough to do consider what I wrote and write a short response in your document. Do you see what I mean either in my text comments or general comments? How would you describe the strengths and weaknesses of your summary. A few sentences reply is fine. 3. Now read this summary of Lodge: In "Lynch Law and Current Immigration," Henry Cabot Lodge argues that unrestrictive immigration is the ultimate cause the lynching of 11 Italians in New Orleans on March 15, 1891. The eleven had been charged in connection with the murder of the New Orleans chief of police. The “mob” who attached them, “acted on the belief that these men were guilty of the crime with which they were charged; that that crime was the work of a secret society known as the Mafia; and that the failure of the jury to convict was due either to terror of this secret organization or to bribery by its agents” (602). Lodge claims that this “deplorable sentiment” that the jury was corrupted by the Mafia lead to the “deplorable action” by the mob, but that the ultimate cause of both the sentiment and action was the influx of a poorer and less moral class of immigrants, coming Southern and Eastern Europe races. Drawing upon statistics of the place and quality of the immigrants, Lodge points out that many of the new immigration, particularly the Italians, come as contract laborers and return to their home countries with money they earn here. They thus reduce the level of wages and the prosperity of local economies. Accordingly, Lodge argues that unless there is an “an intelligent and effective restriction of immigration…. we must be prepared for just such events as that at New Orleans, not merely bringing in their train murder and sudden death but breeding race antagonisms and national hostilities which never existed before” (611-612). 243 words; 6 Sentences Compare it to your own. Describe some ways it resembles and differs from your own. Point out what you consider its strengths and weaknesses. Again, a few sentences are fine. 4. Now consider these four questions and write an answer to each in a single sentence: a) What was the problem that Lodge addressed in his essay? b) What was the event that spurred Lodge to address this problem? c) How does Lodge connect the event to the problem? d) What is Lodge’s solution to the problem? 5. Now, consider the following summary: There was a lynching of Italians who had been acquitted of the murder of the New Orleans chief of police. The act is deplorable. The people who did it were wrong. However, they had a perception that the US laws were being corrupted by new immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe. There are grounds for his perception because the new immigrations coming in are inferior to the older ones from Northern Europe. They are less healthy, poorer, and have more criminals among them. Therefore, unless we limit immigration, we will have more social breakdown and disorder. Can you see how it expresses the logic of his argument without a lot of the details? Can you see how it also answers the four previous questions? Respond in a few sentences. NOTE: All readings address some question or problem, so it is important at the outset to identify what that is. Then consider how the author goes about answering the question or addressing the problem. Lodge links the problem to the specific event, the lynching, and sees this as an example of wider problem. So, in this case, the lynching, the event, becomes centered in his text. It is the catalyst of his essay and, for him, a prime example of the wider problem. Try to begin thinking of readings in terms of this kind of structure and also build any summary around this broader structure. 6. Next, in Style, read the Lessons on “Actions,” “Characters,” and “Concision.” Take notes if you want but focus on absorbing the information provided. It is very helpful and also very intuitive. 7. Then, revise your summary of Lodge applying anything you learned and if relevant addressing specific things that I mentioned. You should be able to do this fairly easily and quickly. 8. When you are done, write a reflection on this whole exercise. What did you learn? Do you think your summary is stronger? How? 9. Upload the word document to Blackboard.