Terry Tempest Williams

The work that I am responding to is this paper is that of Terry Tempest Williams

and her article titled The Clan of One-Breasted Women. [Add thesis statement] My initial response to the title of this piece was "Is this piece about Cancer, or the loss of a loved one due to cancer?" After doing a little reading I found I was not completely out of the ballpark. I learned about the Nuclear testing in the Nevada desert that I had heard might have happened, but was never really sure if it was true. And now I know that there actually was nuclear testing going on.

First she starts with her personal memories to establish a sort of relationship or understanding with the reader and then with a little of her family history by stating "I belong to a Clan of One-Breasted Women. My mother, my grandmothers, and six aunts have all had mastectomies. Seven are dead. The two who survive have just completed rounds of chemotherapy and radiation. I've had my own problems: two biopsies for breast cancer and a small tumor removed between my ribs diagnosed as a borderline malignancy." as well to establish a solid foundation and begin building her case on. Next she talks about the government aspect and follows that with the other sources that all pertain to her side and the government being wrong in the testing of nuclear material and endangering the lives of its citizens.

[Add quote] Talking about these things in this order allows the author to relate with some of her readers in a way and then to also start with a solid foundation to then use all the other sources to build a foundation and logically prove that she is not just being bias. The Dream plays the role that connects her and her family to the corruption and wrong doing of the government. It also tells a very good story that can be used to like it was to effectively connect the data she is using to argue her point.

[Add quote] I believe the first focus is women in general and especially the women with Cancer when she talks about her personal experience and her family problems then as she starts to talk about the government the focus of the audience changes more to the American society as a whole. And how something should be done to stop the government from endangering the lives of its citizens and to keep it in "check" so it cannot happen again.

[Add thesis statement again] This is persuasive by slowly and discretely feeding the reader facts that in turn slowly push the reader into either believing what the author is saying or having them sympathize with the author and then focusing more on what she is saying after that. Then while doing that she organizes her material and says it in a way that makes the government sound completely wrong and conceited. By which I mean they don't care about the people at all. This is different

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