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“The president is critically ill his condition is grave oxygen being given absolutely no hope”

Rhetoric

By holding this telegram and making the font larger, Vowell emphasizes the gravity of the situation. Thus emphasizing the nonchalant reaction but Roosevelt

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“The then-vice president said of the assassin, “if it had been I, he wouldnt have gotten away so easily. I think I’d have guzzled him.”

Evaluation

She does a good job at emphasizing Roosevelt’s macho attitude without changing the focus of the book

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“He was very careful not Tom walk too far across the bridge into Canada because no sitting president had ever left the country”

Basic

Really, it seems today that the president is out of the country than he is in the country. Is this because of the Monroe Doctrine. Even then, why wouldn’t he be able to visit with leaders of allied nations

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Entire book

Rant

Her writing style annoys me greatly. It seems to lack any organization whatsoever. It is very confusing. Especially when she changes from her present to the historical past whithout separating it at all.

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“The Jungle detailed the horrors of the meatpacking industry. Roosevelt acted on the abuses they broUgh this to light.”

Reflection

The related Tom the present day and how Escape From Camp 14 opened eyes around the world to the horror story inside North Korea. This made North Korea a world wide problem, this led to Trump stepping in and establishing peace in Korea, hopefully leading to the liberation of these camps.

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“Emma Goldman claimed to abhor violence, and yet her speeches and writings are full of sympathetic ode she to killers and would-be killers”

Interpretation

She includes this to show her reader she that she understand she the irony of her own situation. This closely mirrors her situation, in that she’s I she a very nonviolent person but wrote an entire book about presidential assassins.

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“My sister is writing a book about our trip and I bet she’s going to put you in the McKinley chapter.”

Rhetoric

She adds this to provide a sense of normalcy. She no doubt realizes that her readers will think she is a little crazy, and she hopes this will show them that there are more people like her than we realize.

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“Then, as now, optional wars are fought because there are people in the government who really, really want to fight them.”

Reflection

I think this relates to the Iraqi wars. I’ve had to take many honors/AP history classes and I still am not sure why we were there. I’m sure it would be more clear if it were not an “optional” war

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“Though McKinley hesitated to go to war in the first place, he nevertheless warmed up to the idea of empire.”

Rant/Rave

The fact that she’s goes from m presenting facts as a text book to contradicting herself on the very Next page is very annoying. She makes it seem like she’s is a history teacher then changes to sounding like a journalist quietly pushing a cause.

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“(Everyone except for Harriet Blaine, the wife of Secretary of State James G. She made a point of showing up every day, not to laugh, out of respect)”

Rhetoric

She alludes to this because it represents all of present day America. People brush right over Garfield’s assassination. It’s almost a joke compared to the other presidential assassinations

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“A bureaucrat should pass a test, hurrah, hurrah!”
PG.156

Reflection

This related to politics today since many people were saying that Trump simply doesn’t not have the intellect to be president of then US. If someone successfully campaigns for the presidency then they are clearly smart enough for the job.

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“Guiteau then went on to compare himself to Napoleon, Jesus, the apostle Paul and Martin Luther King”

Rant

How can she’s talk about someone so crazy so easily, but struggles to discuss simple thing she clearly

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“He splurged on a handsome bulldog revolver because he imagined that someday, that particular weapon would look good in a museum.”
PG.165

Basic

Why does she use this explanation again. She said that about JWB. Are presidential assassins so simple to her?

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“”This site possesses national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America”. No clue is given as to what the significance might be.”
PG.157

Evaluation

The slight sarcastic tone helps the reader see the irony of saying something was significant but not significant enough to actually mention it

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“Guiteau was angry at... President Arthur, whom Guiteau regarded as ungrateful considering that Arthur owed his pay raise and promotion to Guiteau.”

Interpretation

I think she adds this tidbit to give us an insight into the mind of Guiteau. This illustrates just how much of a psychopath Guiteau must have been.

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"If there is a recurring theme in Garfield's diaries it's this: I'd rather be reading."
PG.134

Interpritation

In writing this, she shows how she relates with Gardeild. She does this to show that she is a reliable narrator of Garfield's beliefs."

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“But I would imagine he would also have mourned all the books he never got to read. “Huckleberry Finn” for starters, wasn’t published until 1884.”

Evaluation

She does a good job at keeping this dark situation of the death of a president light. She adds a slight element of comedy while not appearing to force it.

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"I, for one, would never dream of complaining about the votes siphoned in that state by my fellow liberal Ralph Nader"
PG.130

Basic

Why does she explicitly say that she doesn't care about someone breaking the law just because she likes him better than his competitor. Especially a law that protects our sacred right to vote. If votes are being siphoned, than voting would be pointless.

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"He had his body mummified... They have to wheel him out"

Reflection

Why would anyone think this is a good idea. This really weirded me out when i read it, still kinda funky.

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"How fitting that I cannot enter a park on my street without the escort of a subject of the British crown."

Rhetoric

Im still baffled by her ability to use so much irony and sarcasm seemingly without effort. It makes it very easy to read since it adds humor to the rather boring subject.

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"That's the whole sign, no mention of John Wilkes."

Interpretation

She acts as if she is angry about the way that the legacy of John Wilkes Booth is handled. She hates his values and what he did, but still idolizes him. She wants him to be remembered as a hero, yet she disagrees with everything he stood for

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"The phrase "whether ever,  I may return" is pretty poignant considering he would return,  but in a long black casket"
PG.115

Evaluation

She does very well at relating the depth of the quote in relation to future events. Most readers wouldn't catch the gravity of it being where he was laid to rest.

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"It would be insane if a mother and a wife had endured that much greif without going mad"
PG. 113

Rant

Why does she have to be so ironic. It is very confusing,  especially when added to everything else she does. She should really stop trying to be so funny, so comedic elements are welcome, but it shouldn't be forced like that.

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This refers to whole book

Basic

What is her purpose in writing the book. It would be a lot easier to follow along If  i knew what her purpose was. Its It's just so scrambled that at this point it is just words on a page for me

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"I'm one of the people who believe that if Booth had never broken his ankle, we would never have heard the name Dr. Samuel Mudd."
pg.77

Reflection

This makes me think that without Booth's attempt in its entirety, this country would be an entirely different place.

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"I can't help but feel for them, how unthinkably demoralizing it must have been."
pg.72

Rant

How can she keep switching back and forth, from being their harshest juror to feeling bad for them at the same time.

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"Now that I have snapped out of my momentary exoneration of Mudd"
pg.76

Rhetoric

She includes her brief admiration so that it further exaggerates the disdain of his character that comes soon after.

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"Act II of 1776 isn't as funny as act I, and not just because Ben Franklin gets to crack fewer sex jokes."
pg.22

Rhetoric

The tone she uses throughout the book allows her to explore deep and controversial topics without angering readers. She keeps it light and funny at the same time that she discusses there topics. This helps her keep the interest of her readers because it makes it fell more like a novel and less like a textbook.

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"I'm alone out here. Even though the Mall is a pretty safe place, I've read way too many pulpy coroner novels with first sentences such as " I spent a long afternoon at the morgue," so I'm feeling a little mugable."
pg.24

Reflection

Even though there is almost no chance of danger, it would still creep the bajeesus out of me too.

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"I'm technically eligible for a membership in the Daughters of the Confederacy- because my slave owning Indian great grandfather fought in Arkansas"
pg.36

Evaluation

She does well with clearly showing her side without directly attacking those with different viewpoints

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"People back then slept sitting up; one doesn't hear much about how on earth Davis could sleep at all given the fact that he was waging a war to keep human beings enslaved."
pg.54

Interpretation

I think she jumps to that because she wants her readers to learn not to take things at face value, to always ask "why" instead of just "what"

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"I told him that the act of chopping off a person's head is called "decapitation"."
pg.42

Basic

Her writing is very dark, her life revolves around death. Does she use her dark tone prove her point or is it just natural, just part of her personality?

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Refers to whole book so far

Rant

Why does she not separate her thoughts more. She goes from oranges are orange to monkeys have tails (exaggeration not actually a quote) . It is very annoying/confusing, there is plenty of material to separate it into multiple chapters

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"Not that I'm blind to the Psych 101 implications of trading in the martyred Jesus Christ (crucified on Good Friday) for the martyred Abraham Lincoln (shot on God Friday)."

Question

How can she try to compare Lincoln to Jesus just because he is dead when he had been dead for over 100 years before she was born. Maybe she does this just to show the irony of an assassination.

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"For some reason , none of my friends wanted to come with."

Evaluation

She uses this sarcastic tone to get the reader to sympathize with her, since the readers can definitely see why they would not want o tag along.

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"Not that i came all the way from New York just to enjoy a chorus line of presidential assassins."

Interpretation

She just Waltz over the subject without missing a beat. She does this in order to get the reader to do a double a take and want to keep reading to find out more. It worked well, I, for one, did do a double take to figure out what was going on.