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2325 Redefining AmericaQUESTIONS Understanding and Interpreting1. Ted Closson opens with three images that establish his beliefs about community in modernday society. What are those beliefs? How does he argue that they are not in conflict with one another?2. How does Closson introduce the character of Shane? What does he find compelling about Shane?3. Do you think Closson sees online resources, such as crowdfunding sites like GoFundMe, as a failure of community? Explain why or why not.4. Closson asserts that %u201c[c]ommunity should have been a facet of Shane%u2019s medical care . . . and it wasn%u2019t%u201d (p. 230). What might it look like to support American citizens%u2019 medical needs as a community? What kind of role does Closson seem to be arguing the federal government should take?QUESTIONS Analyzing Language, Style, and Structure5. Vocabulary in Context. Closson asserts that we have not %u201censhrined the notion of community into our founding documents as many other nations have%u201d (p. 229). What is the meaning of the word %u201censhrined%u201d in this context? Do you think the word choice is too strong? How effective is it in helping him make his larger point?6. On page 229, Closson depicts Shane from three different perspectives, each time with a comment. What message does the shifting visual perspectives convey? How effective is it as a rhetorical strategy in this case?7. Closson might have ended his graphic essay with the simple statement, %u201cHe%u2019s dead%u201d (p. 227). But he continues with a final panel about %u201ccare.%u201d How effective is this choice? What do the final images add to Closson%u2019s argument?8. Without question, Closson makes powerful appeals to pathos throughout this graphic essay. Do you think he relies too heavily on emotional appeals? Why or why not? To what extent do you think he also builds a logical case for a better, more humane health-care system?QUESTIONS Topics for Composing9. Argument. Ted Closson states, %u201cIn my experience, Americans help one another. We may disavow community in many places, but it%u2019s how we actually get through most of our troubles. We eulogize it in literature and art instead of political theory.%u201d Write an essay that argues your position on whether caring for and helping each other should be reflected more clearly in government policy.10. Research. This graphic essay can be read as making an implicit argument for instituting Medicare for All, otherwise known as nationalized health care. Research the arguments for and against universal public health care in the United States. Then, write an essay that develops a position on whether Medicare for All is the best way to approach health care in the United States.11. Speaking and Listening. Working in small groups, choose a topic other than health care where you think that a failure of community is responsible for a problem or, possibly, a crisis. Then, propose how to address the issue in a way that engages the local or larger community. Think about the most effective way to present your analysis to the full class, and use whatever visual aids are likely to engage your audience.Copyright %u00a9 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Distributed by Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. For review purposes only. Not for redistribution.