compassion

Unit3ACrimeofCompassion

ITeachingobjectives

tandingthevariousaspectsrelatedtotheusageofwords.

atinganofappropriatenessinstyle

ngmethodsofdealingwiththebodyparagraphsofawriting.

IITeachingtime:sixclassperiods

IIITeachingProcedures

Step1librarywork

1thePhilDonahueshow:ThePhilDonahueShow,alsoknownasDonahue,

isanAmericantelevisiontalkshowthatranfor26yearsonnational

wasprecededbythreeyearsoflocalbroadcastin

Dayton,Ohio,anditwasbroadcastnationwidebetween1967and1996.

2codeblue:Hospitalemergencycodesareudinhospitalsworldwideto

ofcodesisintended

toconveyesntialinformationquicklyandwithaminimumof

misunderstandingtostaff.

Step2pre-readingquestions

1Ifyouhaveeverwitnesdthesufferingsofadyingperson,tellus

thefeelingsthatthesceneevokedfromyou.

2Doyouthinkdoctorsandnursshoulddoeverythingwithintheirmeans

totrytosaveaterminallyillpatientevenwhentheyknowclearlyall

theireffortswouldmeannothingmorethanprolonginghissuffering?

3GeneralReading

inewhichofthefollowingbeststatesthepurpoofthewriting.

untherhorrifyingexperienceofcaringforaterminallyill

patient.

anappealforaterminallyillpatient'srighttodie.

ndthatnursbegiventherighttoissuea"no-code"order.

Key:B

Judgewhetherthefollowingstatementsaretrueorfal.

1WhenMacenteredthehospital,hewasapparentlyanormalpersonexcept

foranenduringcough.

2Despitehisworningcondition,Macstillhadastrongwishtolive.

3Themedicalcommunityisdividedonwhetherapatient'slifeshouldbe

extendedaslongaspossibleunderallcircumstances.

4Itcanbeinferredfromtheessaythatdoctors,notnurs,havethe

righttogivea"no-codeorder".

5InMaura'yes,Huttmannwasamurdererfornotpushingthecodeblue

buttonintime.

Key:1.T2.F3.T4.T5.F

Step3KeyPointsoftheText

1lf-righteousadj:havingacertainty,especiallyanunfoundedone,

thatoneistotallycorrectorsuperior

2meddlein:interferein

eopletodaydonotliketheirparentstomeddleintheirlives.

meddlewith—tpermission

umyroombutyou'renotsuppodtomeddlewithmystuffs,

especiallymycomputer.

3toplayGod:tofunctionasGod,dewhentoterminatea

person'iansbelievethatonlyGodhastherighttodecide

whenaperson'slifeshouldend.

4WhenMachadwastedawaytoa60-poundskeleton:WhenMachadbeen

reducedtoa60-poundskeleton

5wasteaway:(ofapersonorapartofthebody)becomeprogressively

weakerandmoreemaciated

yingofAIDS,visiblywastingaway.

ons:"i.v."istheabbreviationof"intravenous",meaning

"withinavein",and"ons"referstotheliquidsubstances

infuddirectlyintotheveinofapatientfortherapeuticpurpos.

7irrigatethebigcratersofbedsores:Theverb"irrigate"normallymeans

"tosupplywatertolandorcropstohelpgrowth."Inmedicine,theword

canbeudtomean"toapplyacontinuousflowofwaterormedication

toanorganorawound."

8suctionthelungfluidsthatthreatenedtodrownhim:drainthe

excessivelungfluidsthatthreatenhislife

9thatemedwovenintothefabricofmyuniform:thatemedtohave

becomeanelementofthefabricofmyuniform

:tegralpartorelement(ofa

fabric);includeanelementinastory,anartisticwork,etc.

ldenthreadsarewovenintothefabric.

ArgumentativeparagraphsarenaturallywovenintoHuttmann's

narration.

11tobeliablefornegligence:tobeheldresponsibleforfailingto

performmyduty

12beliablefor:toberesponsibleforbylaw,tobelegallyanswerable

to

13beliableto:belikelytodoortobesomething,likelytoexperience

sth.(unpleasant)

uhavecontactedthecreditcardprotectionscheme,youare

nolongerliableforanylossthatmightoccur.

Heissufferingfromhypertensionandthusisliabletofallifhegets

uptoosuddenly.

Thelow-lyingareasareliabletofloodsduringtherainyason.

14whennoamountofpainmedicationstilledhismoaningandagony:when

hispainwassoacutethatnomatterhowmuchpain-relievingmedication

wasud,hissufferingcouldnotbeead

stillvt.&vi.

pedhishandstostilltheagitatedaudience.

Whennightfell,thevillagewhichwasboisterouswithtouristsinthe

daytimestilled.

15Iwonderedaboutaspiritualjudge.:Iwonderediftherewasaspiritual

judge(asagainstalegaljudge),whowouldbesupportiveofmydecision

nottopushthecodebluebutton,thustoputanendtoallthis.

16buildingcharacter:developinghispersonalqualities(sothathecould

faceuptotheadversitybetter)

17theblesdreliefofcoma:Comareferstoastateofdeep

unconsciousnessthatlastsforaprolongedperiod,caudespecially

acoma,thepatientisnotconscious

'swhyHuttmannthinksitisablesdrelief.

18riddledmewithguilt:filledmewithastrongnofguilt

Theverbriddleheremeans"h.

unpleasantorundesirable".

19Aclutchofpanicbandedmychest:IwassoizedbypanicthatI

feltsimplysuffocated

clutchn.—grasp

bandv.—surround(anobject)ormofastriporring,

typicallyforreinforcementordecoration(ed)

rstothewarehouareallbandedwithirontomakethem

stronger.

20awaxenpallorslowlytransformedhisfacefrompersontoemptyshell:

theunhealthilypalecolorofhisfaceindicatedthathewassinking

21thelegaltwilightzone:Twilightzonereferstoasituationof

confusionoruncertainty,whichemstoexistbetweentwodifferent

elegaltwilightzoneHuttmannsaysshe

enteredherereferstothesituationinwhichheractionofpushing

thebuttontocallcodebluecanbedeemedeitherlegalornotlegal.

22adeath-denyingsociety:asocietywhereitsmembersarenotgiven

therighttodieUntilthereislegislationmakingitacriminalactto

codeapatientwhohasrequestedtherighttodie...:Untilitbecomes

lawthatitisacriminalacttocallaresuscitationteamtosaveapatient

whohasvoluntarilyaskedfortherighttodie...

Step4Questions

1Thereemstobeacontradictioninthetitle"ACrimeofCompassion".

Whatisit?

Key:Therearevariouskindsofcrimes,butcriminalscanbeanythingbut

rdlypossibletoassociatecompassionwith

anycrimeandbeingcompassionatewithacriminal.

itandthenexplain

it.(para.3)

Key:Thefirstntenceofpara.3:ItwasthePhilDonahueshowwhere

theguestisafattedcalfandtheaudiencea200-strongflockof

nnlikensherlf(the

guestofthetalkshow)toafattedcalf,andtheaudiencetoaflock

e

metaphorsheintendstotellthereaderthatthewayshehandledthe

caofMacwasstronglydisapprovedofbythegeneralpublic,and

thattheconceptofmercykillingwasunacceptabletothem.

4WhereintheessaycanwefinddescriptionsofMac'sconditionwhenhe

wasbeingtreated?WhydoyouthinkHuttmannisbeingsospecificand

detailed?(paras.6&7)

Key:Mostlyinpara.6,essuch

detailedandspecificdescriptionsofMac'sconditiontomakevivid

tothereaderthehorrifyingsufferingsMachadtoendure,ultimately

tosupportherargumentthatapatientinsuchconditionshouldbegiven

therighttodieifheshouldsorequest.

5WasitadifficultdecisionforHuttmanntomakenottopushthebutton

intime?

Key:Obviouslyitwas,assherelatesinpara.15"NothingI'veeverdone

inmy47yearshastakensomucheffortasittooknottopressthat

codebutton."

6WheredoesHuttmannstateherthesis?(para.18)

Key:Inthelastparagraph:Untilthereislegislationmakingitacriminal

acttocodeapatientwhohasrequestedtherighttodie,wewillall

teverreason,wedeveloped

themeanstoprolonglife,t

havetherighttodie.

Step5OrganizationandDevelopment/ArgumentativeNarration

1WhatIsArgumentativeNarration?

Ifanessayisbasicallyanargumentativeoneandthechiefmeansud

forargumentationisnarration,itiscalledargumentativenarration.

2TextAnalysis

HuttmannbeginstheessaywiththeincidentthattheTVaudience

lodgedstrongaccusationsagainstherformurderingapatientshewas

respondoesnotfollowimmediately.

Shewithholdsherrespontotheaccusationuntilthelastparagraph,

wheretheaudience'saccusationofherismentionedagain,andher

argumentisprented.

Mostoftheessayisdevotedtothenarrationofthepainfuldyingprocess

ofaterminallyillcancerpatient,nthe

narratedincidentherargumentemsonlyanaturalconclusion.

3Boyparagraphs

(1)PurpoofBodyParagraphs

Theideas,facts,details,andexamplenclodinthebody

paragraphsaredesignedtosupportanddevelopthecentralpointstated

yparagraphsinanessaymayvaryinnumber

he

bodyparagraphsrelatedirectlytothethesisstatementintheopening,

eachparagraphhasitsownmainideatohighlightandinformationto

supportthatmainidea.

(2)StrategiesofWritingBodyParagraphs

Essaymployanumberofrhetoricalstrategies,eachofwhich

d,theyare

almostalwaysudinacombinationsuitedtothesubjectmatter—often

alongwithoneoranotheroftheprimarymodesofdiscouraswell.

Remember,theaimofanessayisinvariablyaclearprentationor

bayourchoiceofastrategyorstrategies

uponveralfactors:yourwritingpurpo,thecentralpointofyour

essay,yourintendedaudience,andyourviewpointasawriter.

(3)Example

Anessayofmultipleparagraphsmakesitpossibleforyoutodecide

example,suppoyouwantedtocomparelifeinalargecitywiththatin

asingleparagraph,youwouldhavetofocusona

fewmajorsimilaritiesanddifferencesandcoverthebriefly.

However,inanessay,youmightevendevoteanentirebodyparagraph

tosimilaritiesandanother,htevendevoteathird

toanotherstrategy—drawingananalogy,forinstance,orrelatingan

anecdote.

(4)GuidelinesforChoosingBodyParagraphStrategies

Whenyouwriteanessay,youcancombinestrategiestosuityour

purpo,followingguidelinestochooa

strategyorcombinationofstrategieswily.

AConsideryourwritingpurpo.

BCertainstrategiesareespeciallyappropriateforaccomplishing

mple,forinformativeorpersuasiveessays,

factsandexamplescansupportyourideasandacompare/contrastor

cau/scriptiveessay,you

willwanttoudescription,perhapsincombinationwithanalogy.

CConsiderthecomplexityofyourideasandinformationandthe

knowledgelevelofyouraudience.

DExamplesanddefinitionshelptoclarifydifficultcontent.

Classification,too,

analogycanbehelpfulaslongastheanalogyisclearandsound.

EStayfocudonyourcentralpoint.

Strategiesshouldhelptoconveythecentralpointofanessaywithout

mple,narrationcaneffectivelyreveal

aspectsofsomeone'spersonality,ifyouchooarelevantstoryor

r,ifthecentralpointofyouressayishowkindhearted

yourcousinis,then,

anecdotethatdealswith,say,yourcousin'sloveofmusicwillblurthe

focusofyouressayatthispoint.

FPutyourlfinthereader'splace.

Ifyouarenotsurewhetherthestrategyorstrategiesyouhavechon

arethe"best"tou,trytoviewyourcontentasareaderratherthan

e,forexample,youareplanninganessaytopersuade

readersthatcollegecoursshouldbegradedonapass/

approachwouldbemostlikelytoconvinceareader?Factsandexamples?

Ananalogy?Someotherstrategy?Viewingmattersfromthereader'svantage

pointmayhelpyouchooyourapproach.

GBeflexible.

Makeyourwritingricherandmoreexpressivebyexperimentingwith

example,inaninformativeessayabouthowexerciimprovesmuscletone

eveninelderlypeople,youmightunarrationtotellaboutaspecific

elderlyperson'simprovedstrengthafterbeginninganexerciprogram.

Step6Practice:classroomdiscussion

1Whataspectsdoweneedtoconsiderwhenweareconfrontedwith

aterminallyillpersonwhoiswillingtoendhislife?

2Whataretheethicalproblemsconcerningeuthanasis?

Step7Homework

nTextI,writeapassageon“ShouldEuthanasisbeAllowed”.

précisofTextII.