Assertion #7

          Chief Joseph makes an assertion expressing his weariness and grief. Grief for all who have died and weariness for all the fighting. He displays his feelings through his surrendering speech. Already within the first few sentences, the author does not take his time to introduce his problem; he is blunt and straight to the point "I am tired of fighting". His long list of deaths is the another reason for why he felt the way he did. It is painfully understandable as to why Chief Joseph surrendered.
           To support his assertion, the author uses rhetorical devices syntax, diction and pathos. The sentences the author uses are short and not so lengthy. Plus almost at the end of every sentence is the mentioning of a death, thus deeming itself more rememberable to the reader. Because English is Chief Joseph's second language, the diction in this speech is simple and not complex. However, when the text is simple, it is more easy for the reader to intercept his message. Metaphoric language is also used, "...my heart is sick and sad...From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever. The author also attempts to appeal to the audience's emotions by mentioning little children freezing to death.

Assertion #6

          The assertion made by John Lame Fire Deer implies how unjust he and his people were treated. Treated unjustly as in how he and his people were deemed unworthy to be labeled "civilized people". All simply because they had no prisons, no written laws, no money that could differenciate them between each other, no locks or keys. They did not have these things because they did not have a need for them. John Lame Deer and his people took care of one another. The white people say otherwise.
          For the author to get his message across, he uses rhetorical devices, verbal irony and satire. Deer mentions how he would not know how he and his tribe would manage were it not for the white people and their "fundamental teachings", that the white people, in a way, saved them. This is satire, ridiculing how the white people's fundamental teachings are what ruined his tribe. There is verbal irony as well when Deer says "we were really in bad shape before the white people arrived". Furthermore the Native Americans because they lived differently than the white people's lifestyles were "corrected" to live the right "civilized" way of life.

Assertion #5

          James Baldwin's assertion from his quote is that everybody is guilty, thus we should move on from that guilt and leave it in the past. More specifically, Baldwin suggests that being guilty for something that happened in the past is a waste of time; "Guilt is a luxury that we can no longer afford." Baldwin is basically saying, "Even though me or you did not do anything, we are still to blame. Now that we have established that nobody but everybody is to blame, let us move on."
          The author supports his assertion through the rhetorical device of tone. The author's tone is very blunt and serious. For example in his quote he does not sugar coat anything, he directly calls you out. "You are responsible for it". He does not call you out in a bad way because he calls himself out too, establishing a connection that this concerns everybody.