Possible research paper topics based on the issues in the readings so far:

Why did the leaders of the warring nations in World War I force their soldiers to continue battle after the soldiers showed they wanted peace?

Situations in which lying is necessary: for example, politics includes a lot of lying (and government probably wouldn't work if we did not lie). Examples of lies:

Politicians say that they will do something for the people, but they don't do it. Like saying, "I will reduce the subway fare from $2.75 to $2.50" - and then not doing it.

Politicians lie to keep a war going. The United States never officially declared war on Vietnam, and yet sent hundreds of thousands of American soldiers there; 50,000 American soldiers died in that war.

Literary terms:

Plot, setting, character, story structure (exposition, rising action (includes plot complications), crisis (climax), denouement: Please see the link in the previous announcement (the announcement below this one). The link takes you to a .pdf file that explains these terms.

We viewed MacDonald's commercials that showed a brief story. I told the story about the poor student whose landlord, the owner of a fine restaurant, tried to make the student pay for the smells of the fine food. We viewed a children's video version of Jonathan Swift's book Gulliver's Travels, and discussed its political ideas. We also looked at the first few paragraphs of Mark Twain's "Corn-Pone Opinions." Twain's main idea is: We all get our main ideas about life from the family and community where our basic needs are met, instead of thinking for ourselves.