1.) In terms of what it shows about America, being American, and America's core values, with which work did you identify the most? Why? Cite specific examples from the texts and your personal feelings or experiences to illustrate the points in your response. (That is, which work contained characters, events, or themes that you recognized and understood because of your own experiences as an American? Why do you think this work spoke to you as it did?)

The correct answer to this open question is the following.

The work which I identify the most is a book called "Heart of America," written by Bill Hallamandaris. In this work, the author refers to ten core values that identify the American people and that are very characteristic of the citizens of the United States. Among the traits that make American people so unique, the author mentions liberty, ambition, compassion, responsability, and unity.

One specific example from the texts that "clicked" with my personal feelings or experience is when the author mentions that these traits or characteristics were at the very beginning of the creation of the United States when the founding fathers decided to give liberty and independence from Great Britain and all the things that had to overcome during the Revolutionary War, the Proclamation of the Declaration of Independence, until the adoption of the final US Constitution during the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The work spoke to me as it did because I have always identified with the original ideas of prominent Americans such as Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, or Thomas Jefferson, who were brave enough to fight for what was right and give liberty to this great nation.

1. read the following excerpt from franklin d. roosevelt's "fireside chat 19":

on the other side of the picture, we must learn also to know that guerilla warfare against the germans in, let us say serbia or norway, us; that a successful russian offensive against the germans us; and that british successes on land or sea in any part of the world strengthen our hands.

remember always that germany and italy, regardless of any formal declaration of war, consider themselves at war with the united states at this moment just as much as they consider themselves at war with britain or russia. and germany puts all the other republics of the americas into the same category of enemies. the people of our sister republics of this hemisphere can be honored by that fact.  

the true goal we seek is far above and beyond the ugly field of battle. when we resort to force, as now we must, we are determined that this force shall be directed toward ultimate good as well as against immediate evil. we americans are not destroyers — we are builders.

analyze the effectiveness of this excerpt. how does it function within the speech as a whole? how does the structure of the excerpt to convey the speech's purpose and key points? support your argument with evidence from the speech. (10 points)