In a word, a slice of perspective Mary Schmidt

The author of this article is Mary Schmidt, a writer for Chicago Tribune.
In this piece, the author makes the reader feel guilty, and makes them want to feel bad for the people who have such depressing parts of their lives. The author does this very effectively through her own personal anecdote and current events around the world with people losing so much, with references to the earthquake in China and typhoons.
At the end of the story, the author's last words are the most resonant within readers. "But in this world of cyclones and earthquakes, a lot of us have potato chips to spare" (Schmidt, 2). We remember the less fortunate, and she wants us to remember to give and help other people.
This article tells us to promote helping others and even in desperate situations, know that other people are sharing the same pain or even worse. "Compared to them," she said, "I have a lot." Quotes her mentally disabled sister. Who is in such a terrible condition, but still empathizes for far worse off people.

Throughout this article,the author uses many different methods to support the message. She plays with paragraph length, using short paragraphs to emphasize certain points. By switching from elevated diction to lower diction, the author can sound formal and be serious while laughing and making different jokes as well. "I knew it meant 10 potato chips, seven Triscuits and never quite enough ice cream." is an example of low level diction to connect with the reader.

This column reminds people about humanity. To society, it provides an even greater challenge to improve our society, help out other individuals. Since this column was written, it reminds us of many forgotten morals that our society needs to remember. This reminds us that if you are well off, remember these other people who aren't as fortunate.

Midway through book

As of now, I read through most of the book Of Mice and Men. A lot has happened, and John Steinbeck has made it very action filled.
One of the most important events was the killing of Candy's dog. The fact that it grew old and useless from its use is what caused it to be killed. Candy feels very threatened that this will happen to him. Sadly, that is part of our world, where we dispose of the useless and weak. Candy must feel very threatened, and joins into the American Dream of Lennie and George.
Lennie and Curley get into a fight. Curley feels threatened when he can't find his wife, and immediately blames it on Lennie. Curley feels that Lennie is stupid, and purposely attacks him. George had told Lennie not to fight and hurt people, so Lennie doesn't resist as the champion boxer hits him. After a while, Lennie does fight back and crushes Curley's hand.
One of the depressing parts of the book is revealed as Crooks, the lonely colored worker, tries to tell innocent Lennie about his dream. "I seen hunderds of men come by on the road an’ on the ranches, with their bindles on their back an’ that same damn thing in their heads. Hunderds of them. They come, an’ they quit an’ go on; an’ every damn one of ‘em’s got a little piece of land in his head. An’ never a God damn one of ‘em ever gets it. Just like heaven. Ever’body wants a little piece of lan’. I read plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land. It’s just in their head."(pg. 36). As Crooks tells this to Lennie, Steinbeck makes a huge point.
The American Dream doesn't always come true, and the victim here is Lennie and Candy. They hold on so tightly to this belief, and throughout the book this is proved wrong. A place to have freedom in your own decisions and actions is so difficult to find.