Yvette Juarez Ms.Lehmann English 1-1A 27 September 2018 Lincoln and Quindlen’s Perspectives on Our Country What are the values of our nation that have stood the test of time? Both “Gettysburg Address” and “Quilt of a Country” explore this very question. This essay will compare and contrast “The Gettysburg Address,” by Abraham Lincoln, and “Quilt of a Country,” by Anna Quindlen. The first value the two authors explore is unity. Both Lincoln and Quindlen see the value of unity in our nation. By unifying our people, the United States will be stronger and go further in the future. Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address,” delivered after one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War, stresses the importance of uniting the North and South. Lincoln tells his audience to make sure that “this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that the government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth” (Lincoln 28). Lincoln recognized that the only way to keep this country’s government alive was to unify the two parts of the nation. Like Lincoln, Quindlen wants the people of the United States to get along so we can function as one nation. Quindlen, though, is concerned with uniting the various cultures that make up our country today. Quindlen writes, “One of the things that [America] stands for is this vexing notion that a great nation can consist entirely of refugees from other nations, that people of different, even warring religions and cultures can live, if not side by side, then on either side of the country’s Chester Avenues” (Quindlen 5). Quindlen makes the observation that unity is one of the values that have stood the test of time in our nation. Although it looks different today than it did for Lincoln, unity still matters to our nation. Unity often leads to patriotism, another value the authors share. Lincoln and Quindlen both demonstrate a large amount of patriotism and urge their audiences to share in that as well. “The Gettysburg Address,” delivered at the dedication of the Gettysburg Cemetery, honored the fallen soldiers who fought for the North. Lincoln tells his audience that “we cannot dedicate – we cannot consecrate – we cannot hallow this ground” because”Thebrave men, living and dead, who struggled here to have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract” (Lincoln 27). He even says that the world “can never forget what they did here” (Lincoln27). Lincoln praises the soldiers for their patriotism and urges the audience to show the same dedication to the US. For Quindlen, patriotism means being proud of our nation’s diversity. “Patriotism is partlytaking pride in this unlikely ability to throw all of us together in a country that across its length and breadth is as different as a dozen countries, and still be able to call it by one name” (Quindlen6). While Lincoln was proud of the soldiers who fought to unify the country politically, Quindlen’s patriotism lies in unifying our modern, diverse population. Although it takes different forms, both authors agree that the United States is unlike any other country, and that is something its citizens should be proud of. Along with patriotism, both authors value equality. Lincoln and Quindlen are both passionate about equality to all diversities; without equality our country wouldn’t be what it is today. Lincoln’s view on equality mostly deals with slavery, and how badly slaves were treated for not being a certain race or color. Lincoln said in his speech for the memorial of the fallen soldiers, “It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us” (Lincoln28). In this quote, Lincoln is referring to his desire to end slavery. Not only did he want to end slavery, he also wanted to end the civil war.He saw this as a huge step back in coming together and being united as a country. Quindlen’s views on equality are based on how we as a nationhave come far, She echoes Daniel Boorstin’s quote “Of all the nations in the world, the United States was built in nobody’s image”(Quindlen3). What Quindlen is trying to say is that our nation is not perfect nor will it ever will be, but that does not mean we. Should not try to make it a better place for diverse citizens. Although born in two completely different times, they both havegreat passion for this country. “The Gettysburg Address” and “A Quilt of a Country” both examine the values of our nation, though they do so in different ways. Abraham Lincoln and Anna Quindlen both talk about unity, patriotism, and equality in ways that are similar and different. For both authors, unity is important, politically for Lincoln and culturally for Quindlen. Patriotism for Lincoln centers on the government of the US while Quindlen values diversity, but both authors agree that patriotism matters. Lincoln’s and Quindlen’s work proves that unity, patriotism and equality are values of our nation that have stood the test of time.
Works Cited Lincoln, Abraham. “The Gettysburg Address.” Collections. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017. Quindlen, Anna. “Quilt of a country.”Collections. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017.
Compare and Contrast Reflection Answer all questions with complete, grammatically sentences. Be specific and thoroughly address each question.
List one thing you’ve learned from writing this paper that you can apply to other writing assignments. What will that look like? Giving evidence to back up what you are saying in your paper. I can use this in my other writing assignments when I get another compare contrast paper or when I write an argumentative essay.
Identify a specific revision you were asked to make and explain why (this can be at any stage of the writing process). How did you revise? What did you learn? Comparing and contrasting is giving an equal amount of both, I didn’t do that, so I went back and added more to it. I learned that you need to have equal amount of evidence in both.
What are the conventions of a compare and contrast essay, and how did you meet those in this assignment? You always discuss similarities and differences when writing your paper, give evidence of they are the same and how they are both different. I think I met the conventions by looking for the information and including them in my paper.
Given more time to work on this assignment, how would you improve? I would revise my paper and check for any holes or mistakes made in the paper I just wrote.
What is one thing you’re proud of in this paper? Adding enough evidence to get my point across to the reader as well as completing my entire paper.