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"A nauseating four-hour bus ride... For some reason, none of my friends wanted to come with." (p.1)

INTERPRETATION- Sarah Vowell is elaborating on how bad/taxing the trip is. As well as foreshadowing how bland and uneventful the story may be. And I expect it to be boring and dull. Only based on the fact that it seems pretentious and political from the first few words

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"I am the black hole of breakfast..." (p.2)

RHETORICAL- The metaphor describes how Vowell feels empty and dull. However the black hole could represent the never ending mind and the thoughts and feelings going on internally.

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"One thing the Spanish king's Catholicism and my patriotism have in common, besides the high body count..." (p.11)

EVALUATION- Okay, while this is funny, it deters the people who cannot joke about religion. The wow factor is there, that is for sure. But religion is such a sensitive subject and some people cannot joke about it and a statement like this will make some readers stop reading completely.

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“this country was formed for the white, not the black man...” (p. 23)

BASIC- Did anyone actually think that this country was formed for anyone other than cis-white men? That was a such a Sarah Vowell statement, however it's  true. America to this day is still not for anyone other than white men and

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"Slavery, it's worth remembering, wasn't a European import, but native to American shores."

RHETORICAL- The appeal to the readers emotions and ethics is what makes this actually impact the reader. Slavery is a topic that is often left in the past and just ignored. Americans typically just sweep the fact that they literally kept humans in chains and treated them worse than any sane person treats animals. By actually bringing this upfront Vowell catches the reader and makes them pay attention

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"Clinton's military: a gay at every porthole, a fag in every foxhole."
(p.58)

RANT- Don't ask, don't tell is such a controversial piece of military history. For 17 years no out man, woman, or however they choose to identify could be in the military. Which is honestly insane, if anyone wants to be in the force to defend the country they live in and love, they should always have the right. However so many of these people have such an issue with what a persons sexual preference is that they cannot even give them the right that so many of them chant, "the right to bear arms".

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"Klam for some reason is very interested in the bread." (p.53)

REFLECTION- I too am always interested in bread. I know there is probably a deeper meaning to this fascination with bread. However the way I interpret this is with my love of carbs too. As well as my appreciation for smaller meaningless details and parts of history.

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"When Timothy McVeigh bombed the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, he was wearing a t-shirt...(Lincoln was on the back, there was a patriotic quote on it.)" (p.57)

INTERPRETATION- Vowell is trying to explain the irony in the attacks that occur in America. The attacks that are Americans attacking American soil. This statement makes the reader think about how dumb the attacks are in general, not that any terror attack is okay, but the ironic side truly shows how insane they are.

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"I myself become a vigilante taking justice into my own hands, shooting somebody because I disagree with him." (p.65)

BASIC- Literally just why does she say this? Shock value? Boring. She is so extra, granted I know I am extra too, that it is painful. Vowell tries to be so angsty and eccentric it is unnerving. Vowell is the equivalent of a 13 year old sociopath who is going through her rebellious phase, blogging on tumblr, and it is disgusting.

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"Remember that in the grandfather paradox, before I kill him..." (p.64)

EVALUATION- This is just such a crazy statement, not only the idea, but the just the sentence for it's face value. As a reader this combination of words is just shocking. The writing seems terrible, but the statement does grab the reader. Which could then make it be considered good writing.

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"It is crawling with cats and I am allergic." (p. 67)

REFLECTION- I relate to this a lot because I am allergic to cats. However, I do love cats. One of my best friends has two cats, and I do like playing with them and then end up red-eyed and sneezing.

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"Whoso entereth here leaveth all hopes behind." (p.73)

RHETORIC- The allusion of Dante's Inferno this adds to the ambiance of the room. The darkness of Dante's Inferno tells the reader how the environment of Dr. Mudd's cell exactly is. As well as how scary the idea of actually being there is.

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"Entire blocks go by... All the glass is cracked, smashed, or has been replaced with makeshift plywood." (p.88)

INTERPRETATION- Vowell is trying to put the reader in the setting and actually make them fell like they are there.This is accomplished through the vivid imagery and exaggerated details.

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"The Mutter Museum is a thing of beauty, a cozy, old-fashioned throwback...Founded in 1865 when Thomas Dent.." (p.93)

EVALUATION- This paragraph just sounds like a textbook and it is such a struggle to get through. Personally a lot of this book has felt like a textbook, but one edited by an angsty teen. The amount of facts combined with the "real-life" experiences is interesting, but the way it is conveyed is exhausting.

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"I step up to Booth's photo, yanking it off its perch to get a closer look" (p.87)

RANT- What person thinks it is okay to just go up to some historical artifacts and pick them up? Like honestly what is wrong with Sarah Vowell to think this is okay? When anyone goes to any type of museum or historical place the first thing they are told to do is NOT touch anything.

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"Suppose the story goes, Booth, in collusion with the Andrew Johnson government" (p.90?)

RHETORIC- The reference to the corrupt government exposes how just because it is the government, dirty things till happen. Many people do not think

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“I wore the wrong shirt then! My other Emma Goldman shirt says, ‘Woe to tyrants!’ “ (p.89)

BASIC- This is just such and annoying statement. Annoying because it is so try hard nerdy and quirky. Vowel is trying to be so unique and it comes off as trying too hard. And if this is how she just is by nature that is even more annoying. There is no need for anyone to be this random and nerdy.

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“It is something really beautiful.. people loved pa a after his sickness" (p.124)

REFLECTION- Anytime I am, or anyone in my life is sick, the sympathy they get is so over the top. For instance, when a kid misses school because of a sickness, some teachers are so nice to them just because the kid had a cold.

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"Every scar you have...every missing limb...Go collect it." (p.129)

BASIC- Okay, I am all for taking back what is yours and not letting anyone walk over you. However, the way Vowell is talking like a self help guru is so annoying. I am truly expecting this book to be turned into some annoying knockoff self help book and it is disgustingly angsty.

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"Why was the US army still occupying the south?..." (p.128)

EVALUATION- This is actually really good writing. The flow of the two sentences is really impressive. When Vowell comes out and just drags the south for not respecting anyone's rights it is really iconic. The ideas that the reader creates by reading this makes them see it in shockingly true and dumbfounding way.

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"his sermon 'Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.' Do you know it?" (p.149)

RHETORIC- The allusion to the sermon not only makes it relatable, but almost rationalizes the Oneida Community. Not for their morals, but makes their actions less racy and scandalous. Stating that as humans we are all sinners starts the idea that what they do is not all that bad,

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"Every man that shot Union soldiers was a Democrat..." (p.129)

RHETORIC- This is a flashback to times when Democrats were Republicans. This gets the reader to actually think about the morals of Democrats and Republicans and what Vowell is exposing. The mind twisting in the quote starts the reader off on a spiral of moral comparisons between the democrats and republicans.

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"I am pro-plaque. New York is lousy with them, and I love how spotting plaque can jazz up even the most mundane errand." (p.159)

BASIC- Why does she have to say this like it is such an epidemic? The matter of monuments and things like that is never that deep. The fact of having actual non-offensive historical memorabilia is not one that needs to be read into this much.

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"That's how ugly the scandal was-that turning human flesh into shrimp bait was the positive spin." (p.161)

EVALUATION- This is actually good writing. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this part of the text because of how captivating it is. The way the writing is so shocking, but in a gruesome way, instead of a sex cult way is thoroughly entrancing

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"humans are being arachnids God is about to flip into a fire..." (p.150)

REFLECTION- I too sometimes want to jump into a fire because humans are disgusting. Honestly, some people here on earth emotionally drain me. The amount of times I or any of my friends have said sentences similar to jumping into a fire is astronomical.

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"Just for fun, I decided to take a self-guided walking tour of Garfield's Washington, D.C..." (p.153)

INTERPRETATION- Vowell is trying to relate to the quirky girls of the audience reading the book. Being random appeals to the crowd that is in the book to relate to Vowell is thriving because of this quote. She wants the nerdy ones to relate and feel like they are in the same boat.

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"If bad institutions and bad men can be got rid of only by killing, the killing must be done." (p.198)

BASIC- This is not really as shocking as it first appears. In America, the death penalty (though controversial) it is still a thing. The killing of bad men is used often to eliminate the "evil". Morally this is debatable, but factually it is true.

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"I told my friend i was writing about the McKinley administration, he turned up his nose and asked, "Why the hell would anyone want to read that?" (p.205)

REFLECTION- I am the friend and the McKinley administration is this book. This book is not even that bad, I am just the type of person to not want to read something just because I have to read it. A lot of the disdain I have for this book is the mentality of not liking it just because it is a requirement.

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"McKinley, who seemed to care less about what the bullets were doing to his insides than what the news of the bullets would do to his notoriously frail wife, told his secretary not to tell her."
(p.194)

RAVE- This is so sweet I do not know what i would do to have someone care this much about me. My heart literally stopped at this statement. This man is literally dying and he is more concerned about his wife and that is the best part of this book so far it is iconic.

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"The only thing interesting to me about this place is the fact it never appealed to anybody else." (p.181)

RANT- This is the kind of quirky eccentricity that I hate about this book. It is almost as if everyone in this book is trying to be the most original rare and quirky person they can be, but they also want to fit in and have a crowd that they fit in. Almost every character in this could get a job at Urban Outfitters because of how randomly angsty they are.

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"The closest I have come to anarchy is buying a Sex Pistols record." (p.218)

REFLECTION- This is very relatable because the things I wear and buy make me look one of 3 ways. Angsty, grunge, or athletic. I sometimes am a mixture of all of these but a lot of the time I am just stressed. My constant mood is stressed but I sometimes look like I have my life together because of the things I wear and buy

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"A controversial politician widely blamed...(Lincoln) savior who died so that the country might live." (p.249)

INTERPRETATION- Vowell is trying to accomplish the same thing she has been working on not so secretly throughout all of this book. In the beginning she stated that no one would be loved if they did not die, or something similar. This is coming back dull circle stating that before his death no one liked Lincoln, and once he had a bullet in his head he was a hero.

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BASIC -
Genuine questions you have about the text you read.  Provide an explanation of why you have the question and your thoughts about what those answers might be.

RHETORIC- Discuss a key rhetorical device which impacts the text and explain how it helps the author achieve her purpose.  This is a rhetorical analysis posting.

REFLECTION -
Can you relate to what is being discussed in the text? Discuss an observation about the relation of the text to your own personal experience or understanding of the world.

INTERPRETATION -
What is the author trying to accomplish with this portion of the text?  How is she doing it and why does it matter?

EVALUATION -
Select a portion of the text that exemplifies good or bad writing (writing, not ideas).  Discuss why you judge it to be good or bad.

RANT/RAVE -
This is where you can rant or rave about some portion of the text.  It can be a commentary on the subject matter, the writing, or the author's style.  You must provide justification for your opinion.

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"A month to get up a hill while being shot at in wet socks." (p.248)

EVALUATION- The image created in this so good. Just the simple words combined in this way makes this beautiful, crystal clear image in the author's mind. A beautiful image of a struggling person trekking uphill in white socks, getting shot at. It is truly iconic for the sheer fact of disgusting imagery.

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"Sunday morning, pulpits across the land shouted analogies comparing the martyred president to the martyred Christ." (p.248)

BASIC- It is literally not that deep. I get that Vowell is saying this in a way of being annoyed, and I agree. I love Lincoln, always have, but I do not see why people compared him to Jesus Christ. Not even because of the religiosity side, but because the basis of the deaths. Religion aside, just based on the believed "stories" Christ died because of being a good person and all that. Lincoln was shot. The correlation there is slim.

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"It looks fake."
"What does?"
"These people." (p.246)

RAVE- This is so good. Not the writing, or the allusion, or anything deep like that. The face value of this quote is so iconic because it is true for so many people. This is a quote Drake would love because it is so fake deep it is shockingly true. It is not a deep long Shakespeare quote, it is an upfront direct quote that is so true in anyone's life.

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"The Lincoln Memorial dedication ceremony was segregated. Segregated!" (p.246)

RHETORIC- The irony in this makes Sarah Vowell's purpose of making the reader think about how twisted things are clear. The twisted fact of the president who created the emancipation proclamation having a segregated ceremony is a huge yikes. By getting the reader to think, Vowell makes them realize that the offspring of the slaves Lincoln began the freeing of were not able to mingle with the white people hits a reader deeply.