Reading Response Post: How does the author make his argument in Demon In The Freezer?

TORDA'S SPRING 2021 TEACHING

Reading Response Post: How does the author make his argument in Demon In The Freezer?

5/7/2019

WHAT TO POST TO THE CLASS BLOG ON WEDNESDAY
You should come to class on Wednesday having already read the essay “Demon in the Freezer.” You will have some time in your groups to talk about the essay. You must each post (not as a group, but individually) between 300 and 500 words by the end of class on the questions below.

1.Get into your small groups in class. Have the essay and any notes you have from reading the essay ready to work with.

2.In your small groups, locate the following sources of information in the essay:

Locate a place in the essay where the author is using historical information to help make his argument
Locate a place in the essay where the author is using scientific research to help make his argument
Locate a place in the essay where the author is using an expert to help make his argument

3.As a group, discuss what you find and try to answer this question for each of the three kinds of information: How does this particular kind of information (source) help this writer make his argument, and how would the argument be weaker if that information wasn’t there?

4. Now that you’ve completed the group work, write and post your 300 to 500 words on our class blog. Using the discussion you’ve had with your groupmates, write about the following:

What is the thesis of this essay?
Where and how does the writer use logos (information) to prove that thesis?
Where and how does the writer use ethos (credibility or expertise) to prove that thesis?
Where and how does the writer use pathos (emotion) to prove that thesis?

You have the full hour to complete this work. Folks who don’t post will not be allowed to make up this reading response. That will make it numerically impossible to earn a grade of “B” for the reading response assignment.

26 Comments

Tajaun Aubin

5/8/2019 11:41:54 am

For the reading Demon In The Freezer the main focus of the reading is the smallpox disease where it originated from and symptoms but I feel like the thesis of the reading is not about getting smallpox but getting rid of smallpox and weaponizing it. The reading talks a lot about the the how it affects the body and also talks about the people who had the smallpox and got rid of it the author states.”On october 26,1977 the last natural case of the mild type smallpox,Variola minor,popped up” and continues to “The last ring tightened around the variola,and its life cycle stopped.“ The reading also talks about a person named Rahima Banu who got rid of her smallpox by having her infected scabs peeled off. The author goes to meet Joseph J. Esposito who shows the remaining smallpox in the Centers Disease Control in Atlanta. The author is shown the remains of smallpox stored in a freezer including fragments of the scabs from Rahima Banu going up to be stored in boxes in vials inside the freezer. The soviet Union has jars of liquid smallpox in soviet military bases focusing on bio warheads targeting America to start a chemical outbreak. The reading said” the Soviet Union had put ICBM missiles and test launched them sometime before 1991 over the pacific. The test was to see if the smallpox missile could reach long distances and ended up landing in the ocean. They attempted to shoot smallpox at countries spreading the chemical disease. The smallpox is nearly eradicated with little remains left of it in the world now being weaponized to bring it back and to be used in warfare the reading talks about the origins and how it has possibility of continue ing an outbreak through missiles.

5/13/2019 08:49:27 am

You are right Tajaun: this is more about the thesis: thesis of the reading is not about getting smallpox but getting rid of smallpox and weaponizing it. Good reading. You get to it at the end here too:

The smallpox is nearly eradicated with little remains left of it in the world now being weaponized to bring it back and to be used in warfare the reading talks about the origins and how it has possibility of continue ing an outbreak through missiles.

In your summary, you tend to focus more on the opening of the essay and less on the end. You want balance when you respond. Your next step is to connect what you read in the piece to your thesis.

This is good work. It's an A FOR ACCEPTABLE reading response.

Dylan Carvalho

5/8/2019 11:43:30 am

In The Demon in the Freezer written by Richard Preston, Preston makes an argument about how smallpox is one of the biggest bio-terrorist threats we still have to this day. Preston uses history to help support his argument by talking about smallpox when it was in its prime. He talks about a twelve-year period where doctors worked their hardest to eradicate this virus. Finally, in 1979 they accomplished their task and the vaccine wore this "disease" away until everyone was immune. Preston also uses scientific reasoning to support his argument by stating how both Atlanta and Siberia have smallpox in a freezer just in case it is let loose again into a more superior pox. He states that these two countries could also weaponize smallpox to wipe out their enemies without them even knowing what hit them. Preston uses Peter Jahrling, a top scientist at Usamriid, as an expert to help support his argument. Jahriling has secret information about smallpox due to his authority to access these bio-weapons. According to some of the experts Preston has talked to smallpox has and still could kill anyone to this day. The United States tries and keeps track of a list of corporations who has smallpox contained but that is impossible due to the fact it is being traded and sold on black markets. Preston shows emotion towards his argument due to the experts explaining what smallpox does to your body. Smallpox has and could still kill millions. It puts these bumps on your body and injects into your skin until your skin is black and your blood is dead. In conclusion, Preston proves a good argument about how smallpox is a bio-weapon and could potentially end the world if it becomes superior to the vaccine.

5/13/2019 08:52:19 am

Good work Dylan. You do a good job of identifying the thesis: Preston makes an argument about how smallpox is one of the biggest bio-terrorist threats we still have to this day.

You do a good job of labeling the kinds of research he uses to prove it. Preston uses history to help support his argument by talking about smallpox when it was in its prime.

Preston uses Peter Jahrling, a top scientist at Usamriid, as an expert to help support his argument.

You might have talked about the sections of the article where we learn what the virus actually is and how it replicates, etc. That would have been better scientific reasoning than what you identify.

Nonetheless, this is great work and great reading: A FOR ACCEPTABLE.

Nathaniel Raposa

5/8/2019 11:44:50 am

Richard Preston argues that smallpox is the biggest bioterrorist threat that we now face. In 1924 smallpox “killed half of its victims in an outbreak in Canada and many of them developed black pox.” The author talks about an interview with Donald Ainslie Henderson, a doctor who played a big role in helping eradicating the disease in 1979. The author provides us with logos when he talks about “classified evidence” from 1992 that “Russia had the apparent capability of launching strategic-weapons-grade smallpox in special biological warheads,” which provides us with more than enough information about the fact that smallpox is now the biggest bioterrorist threat. D.A. Henderson was the main source of ethos and credibility because he was a doctor and very important in the smallpox era. At one point the author included, “Henderson explained the problem this way: ‘If there’s a bioterror event, and someone releases enough smallpox to create a hundred cases --let’s say in the Baltimore area-- it would be a national emergency.” That’s how quickly and easy smallpox could spread. The way Preston talks about the disease is how he portrays pathos in his writing. It’s all in the way he describes the effects it could have on the world or the United States, how easily it could spread and also what happens when people get smallpox and how they get blisters and scabs all over with pus and spots that turn black.

5/13/2019 08:54:36 am

Good work Nate: you identify the thesis: Richard Preston argues that smallpox is the biggest bioterrorist threat that we now face.

I am not sure I follow how you are saying that the author uses logos. But I do see what you are saying about pathos: The way Preston talks about the disease is how he portrays pathos in his writing. It’s all in the way he describes the effects it could have on the world or the United States, how easily it could spread and also what happens when people get smallpox and how they get blisters and scabs all over with pus and spots that turn black. One way you might think about ethos is through interviews. You might have meant that here though you don't actually say it.

Nonetheless, strong work: A FOR ACCEPTABLE

Ethan Souza

5/8/2019 11:54:21 am

The thesis for this essay is, Smallpox is a historically known disease that can be used to end the world and must be held safely to prevent bringing the disease and all it horrors back to life bringing fear for the government and people that have been vaccinated as children. The author uses logos by using numbers and facts about the disease which works hand in hand with pathos evoking emotion. For instance the author Richard Preston writes “variola major killed half of its victims in an outbreak in Canada.” as well as writing “Alibek says that there were twenty tons of liquid smallpox kept on hand at Soviet bases; it was kept ready for loading on bio warheads on isles targeting American cities.” He explains the severity of the disease and how it could affect the world. “If there’s a bioterror event, and someone releases enough smallpox to create a hundred cases --let’s say in the Baltimore area-- it would be a national emergency.” That’s how quickly and easy smallpox could spread. Preston combines using emotion and using information for most of the logos throughout the story. Preston uses ethos to show his point through the ideas from professionals at this topic, he quotes Joe Esposito saying “the virus contains 186,000 base pairs of DNA… making smallpox one of the most complicated viruses known.” as well as quoting Dr. Henderson as he was explaining to him what would happen in the Russian bases holding the disease and how the workers would have had “ plenty of opportunities to walk away with the disease.” and how a master seed of the strain could have been inside someone's pocket the same size as a jimmy on an ice cream cone. He also uses his own expertise when he looks at a tube at the end of the essay and he says “ we almost freed ourselves of it… some of us made it a weapon and now we couldn't get rid of it. I wondered if we ever would.” He uses emotion to show by showing how some people are used as lab rats in a sense having to work on these horrible war attacking machines because they are immune, “ those immune people are like control rods in a nuclear reactor.” He also talks about how if this was to be used on Americans it would be a “soft kill” due to kids and elderly along with even adults not being immune and passing the disease rapidly leading to death. Preston compares the effects of anthrax to smallpox and how with smallpox you don't need much and you can wipe out such a large amount of people. And working with what he said about how it is highly possible and even likely that someone could have stolen a “jimmy sized” crystal that could start a whole outbreak.

5/13/2019 08:57:35 am

I think that, more or less, this is the thesis of the essay: Smallpox is a historically known disease that can be used to end the world and must be held safely to prevent bringing the disease and all it horrors back to life bringing fear for the government and people that have been vaccinated as children.

I like here how you identify how the author uses both pathos and logos in the same passage to make his point. He is using hard science to give us information, but he's playing on our emotions to get at how awful it would be: The author uses logos by using numbers and facts about the disease which works hand in hand with pathos evoking emotion. For instance the author Richard Preston writes “variola major killed half of its victims in an outbreak in Canada.” as well as writing “Alibek says that there were twenty tons of liquid smallpox kept on hand at Soviet bases; it was kept ready for loading on bio warheads on isles targeting American cities.” He explains the severity of the disease and how it could affect the world.

Alexandra Franca link

5/8/2019 11:55:21 am

If the scientists tying to put an end to small pocks only look at the effect of it in the human body and what kinds of medicine can prolong it's effects their going to make no affect in stopping it from spreading. The only way to stop it is to "Think like a virus" as Esposito said once. If you don't stop it the moment it's been caught it won't be stopped because as soon as the effects of smallpox's is shown the partial itself is already on to its next victim. By taking samples of people who have contracted the virus they can learn how to stop it before it starts but if it lands in the wrong hands the virus it's self can be used as a biological weapon against people that can do lots of harm.
Through this article there are many historical mentions of small pox's in the past and how it's been traveling through the years which can explain how it's being spreed so easily, an example of this would be when Yugoslavia was talking to his family when they visited him to see if he was doing well, what they didn't know is meanwhile when they were talking "various partials were leaking out of raw spots in the back of his throat and mixing with his saliva. When he poke, tiny droplets of saliva, too small to be seen, drifted around hi, in a droplet cloud." and that means it was traveling through the air on to the next. Some scientists such as Joe Esposito who have worked on this study have mapped smallpox's DNA and have found it "contains about a hundred and eighty-seven genes-making smallpox one of the most complicated viruses known." This makes it difficult for sciences to find ways to end it's processes but not impossible. Also through this article he mentions very graphic details of what contracting the virus of small poxes would look like, smell like, and even feel like. It makes the reader understand the extent of how bad this can affect a persons body making the point of if it lands in the wrong hand it can be used as a chemical weapon makes it all the more a harsh reality to face.
In conclusion this article focuses on explaining where the virus originates, how its spread, its affects, and ways to stop it. The author puts the reader in the shoes of toughs affected and it really helps us to understand how bad it can get.

5/13/2019 09:03:24 am

The closest you get to telling me what the thesis is is here: if it lands in the wrong hands the virus it's self can be used as a biological weapon against people that can do lots of harm. The concluding sentence in your summary is just summary, but it's not the actual argument of the essay. The author uses all of that t o argue that we should be very concerned that small pox still exists and that there are people willing to weaponize it and willing to use it as a weapon of terrorism.

You want to be able to be more specific and succinct in identifying the thesis. If you read Dylan's version of a thesis, I think, and Ethans, you'll see what a successful thesis for this essay looks like.

You do a better job of analyzing the evidence used. You do a good job of looking at the historical information. You could have discussed the section on Esposito as logos or expertise or both. You seem to be getting at pathos when you talk about how the essay makes us see how awful it would be if it was used as a weapon.

This is BORDERLINE ACCEPTABLE/UNACCEPTABLE. You should revise it to better represent the argument in the essay and turn it in as part of your final portfolio.

Laura Andrade

5/8/2019 12:16:50 pm

The thesis of this essay is “How smallpox, which was considered not a threat, became one of the biggest dangerous viruses in the world” because the author explains that since the seventeenth century, doctors discovered the virus smallpox and this virus usually kills the victim. If the victim survives, the pustules turn into scabs and fall off, leaving scars. This is known as ordinary smallpox. Some people can get a severe small box, that is called black pox. There is black pox divided into two forms: Flat smallpox and Hemorrhagic smallpox. If someone gets flat smallpox, the skin remains smooth and doesn't postulate, but it darkens until it looks charred, and it can slip off the body in sheets. If someone gets hemorrhagic smallpox, the blood will get unclotted or will run from the mouth and in other body orifices. Black pox is close to a hundred percent fatal. If any sign of it appears in the body, the victim will almost certainly die. Smallpox is so dangerous that experts say: “...the appearance of a single case of smallpox anywhere on earth would be a global medical emergency”(page 3). This quote shows that a virus that was thought to be harmless is a very dangerous virus and could kill everyone if the countries don’t have certain preventions for this virus. It is so dangerous that the United States thinks that other countries have hidden the virus to use as a weapon someday, “They have been shown classified evidence that as recently as 1992 Russia has the apparent capability of launching strategic-weapons-grade smallpox in special biological warheads...” (page 3). If something like this happens, no country will be prepared for such thing because “There is now little smallpox vaccine on hand in the United States or anywhere else in the world” (page 3). The author uses emotion by explaining that some people are used as lab rats and they have to go through a lot. In conclusion, the author focuses on how the virus originated and what that virus can do and how dangerous it can be.

5/13/2019 09:06:46 am

You successfully identify the thesis: The thesis of this essay is “How smallpox, which was considered not a threat, became one of the biggest dangerous viruses in the world”. I would have liked for you to talk about logos and ethos--how he uses science and history to prove his point. I see how you are talking about pathos at the end even though you don't say it. I'm glad you selected parts of the text, but, for the future, it would be best if you focused on the entire essay and not just the opening.

this is BORDERLINE ACCEPTABLE/UNACCEPTABLE. Please revise this to indicate that you read the entire essay and include it in your final portfolio.

Barbara Silva

5/8/2019 01:23:45 pm

In accord with the Thesis “How smallpox, a disease officially eradicated twenty years ago, became the biggest bioterrorist threat we now face”, the author tries to show the readers how bad smallpox has become to the society. The smallpox is an acute contagious viral disease, with fever and pustules usually leaving permanent scars. It was effectively eradicated through vaccination by 1979. As he said smallpox is killing a lot of people and is getting bad for the humanity. He uses a lot of informations to prove what he is saying on his thesis. On the first page he uses informations talking about what the word smallpox means and where it comes from : “It means “spotted” in Latin, and it was given to the disease by a medieval bishop” (page 1) and that makes us know a little more about what he is talking about. As he said “Smallpox developed a deep affinity for human beings. It is thought to have killed more people than any other infectious disease, including the Black Death of the Middle Ages.”(page 1) He uses a lot of informations from organizations like W.H.O “A recent survey by the W.H.O. revealed that there is only one factory in the world that has recently made even a small quantity of the vaccine, and there may be no factory capable of making sizable amounts.” (Page 3)In according with doctor D.A. Henderson “Smallpox killed at least three hundred million people in the twentieth century.” “Henderson and his team have effectively saved more than fifty million lives. ...have never received the Nobel Prize for their work.” ( page 4) in my view it is crazy how those people saved many lives and did not get any recognition for what they did. Of course you will not do something like saving lives expecting something back from someone, but at least they should've got anything for those million lives that they saved. The author show emotions on his essay on page 7 when it says “ We can imagine that Ljatif was extremely frightened and witnessed his hemorrhages with a sense that his insides were coming apart.”(page 7) As we can see and how the author uses informations to show us what smallpox can do and how it became the biggest bioterrorist threat we now face.

5/13/2019 09:10:27 am

You've successfully identified the thesis: The thesis of this essay is “How smallpox, which was considered not a threat, became one of the biggest dangerous viruses in the world”

It's not really clear to me how the information that you've included from the essay proves that thesis. It would have been helpful if you had included information from the entire essay and not just the beginning.l I don't really understand your point about recognition. That's not really related to the thesis or the article at all. I think you are trying to say something about logos when you say "a lot of information." What kinds of information and how does it prove the thesis. I can buy your argument about emotions and Ljatif.

This is BORDERLINE ACCEPTABLE/UNACCEPTABLE. Please revise this and include it in your final portfolio. It should connect the material in the essay to the thesis and should demonstrate that you've read the entire essay.

Zaraq Khan

5/8/2019 06:01:28 pm

The Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston is a very fascinating essay that discusses how smallpox might become the future bioterrorist threat to the world because of how contagious the virus is. The essay give a brief and short history of smallpox and how there was an outbreak in Germany in the 1970’s. It also tells us where the virus is locked up, which there are two labs in the world that has it, one is Atlanta, USA and one in Novosibirsk, Siberia, but there is a growing suspicion that the virus still exists somewhere. The essay also gives credit to one of the most important people in the eradication of smallpox, D. A. Henderson. He was the director of the World Health Organization smallpox Eradication. It also talks about how many lives D.A. Henderson and his team saved. When he arrived on the scene in 1966 two million people a year were dying of smallpox at that time, D.A Henderson and his team saved more than 50 million lives which is a huge achievement. The essay also talks about the inventor of the world's most powerful anthrax KEN Alibek and how shocked the American intelligence community was when he defected in 1922 and revealed how far the soviet union has gone with Bioweapons. Preston uses a lot reasoning and data to enforce his purpose, that is to really make us think about the alarming outcomes of this bioterrorism. Preston provides a lot of extensive research, and ideas from the experts to expertise his writing. Preston uses pathos when he says that “Henderson and his team effectively saved more than 50 million lives” this quote made me stop and really think about what he was saying so he does uses a lot of emotions to prove his thesis and to have people agree with him.

5/13/2019 09:30:39 am

You did a good job of identifying what the thesis of this essay was: The Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston is a very fascinating essay that discusses how smallpox might become the future bioterrorist threat to the world because of how contagious the virus is.

What is not as strong is where you say this: Preston uses a lot reasoning and data to enforce his purpose, that is to really make us think about the alarming outcomes of this bioterrorism. Preston provides a lot of extensive research, and ideas from the experts to expertise his writing.

What is the extensive research he uses? What ideas from experts does he use? What reasoning and data? It's not enough to tell me that he did these things. You have to show me.

When you talk about pathos, you do show me: "Preston uses pathos when he says that “Henderson and his team effectively saved more than 50 million lives” this quote made me stop and really think about what he was saying so he does uses a lot of emotions to prove his thesis and to have people agree with him."

I think there are probably other, maybe better examples of pathos, but I see your point.

This is an ACCEPTABLE reading journal. NEXT TIME HOWEVER be sure to be specific about the information the author gives us and how it proves the thesis.

Sara Pavao

5/8/2019 06:31:48 pm

The author uses this kind of information to make the reader more engaged with the argument he is making about smallpox, and on top of that the author sounds more credible by showing that he took time and did researches on this before writing about it, making the reader trust him and his concept in this situation. The author is using past years as an historical information to make his piece more credible, and he also uses scientific and an expert to make his piece good, and understandable meanwhile it can still be informative with a lot of details. This argument would become weaker if the author hadn’t shown any of this information because then there would not be any evidence to prove his argument,and everything that he wrote wouldn’t make sense if there wasn’t any information to it.
Thesis:
How smallpox, a disease eliminated twenty years ago, became the one of the biggest threat we now face in our lives.
The author explains that since the seventeenth century, doctors discovered the virus smallpox and he talks about how this virus can often kill human beings. If the victim survives, the pustules turn into scabs and fall off, leaving remaining scars- ordinary smallpox. Some people can get a severe small box, that is called black pox. There is black pox which is divided into two forms: Flat smallpox and Hemorrhagic smallpox. If someone gets flat smallpox, the skin will stay smooth and it won’t postulate, but it will get dark until it looks charred, and it can also slip off the body in sheets. If someone gets hemorrhagic smallpox, the blood will get unclotted or will run from body orifices. Black pox is close to a 100% fatal, which isn’t good. If sign of it appears in one’s body, the victim will almost die. Smallpox is dangerous that experts say: “...the appearance of a single case of smallpox anywhere on earth would be a global medical emergency”(page 3) This shows how dangerous and big it can be . Smallpox can be so dangerous that the U.S think that other countries may have hidden the virus to use as a weapon someday, “They have been shown classified evidence that as recently as 1992 Russia has the apparent capability of launching strategic-weapons-grade smallpox in special biological warheads...” (page 3) which can be dangerous because if someone does anything bad to Russia they can infect a whole country and people easily die really fast, and if such situation does happen no country will be ready to fight against it because as it is stated “There is now little smallpox vaccine on hand in the United States or anywhere else in the world” (page 3) this shows that if anything happens there won’t be any fast and accurate cure to it. The author uses emotion by explaining that some people are used as lab rats and they have to go through a lot, this shows emotion appeal because people will feel sympathy to it because they don’t know what it is like but they still feel bad for the other people that are used as lab rats. in conclusion, the author focuses on how the virus originated and what that virus can do and how dangerous it can be to people not just in the United States but also all over the country since nobody really has a cure for it because it has been gone for over 20 years.

5/13/2019 09:23:56 am

You've successful identified the thesis (though it is weird how the thesis comes after that opening paragraph: Thesis:
How smallpox, a disease eliminated twenty years ago, became the one of the biggest threat we now face in our lives.

I don't understand that opening paragraph in relation to the summary you supply. What parts of the essay show expertise? What parts show scientific information? What parts show historical information? Just repeating what I say in the prompt doesn't make that connection clear. Nor does it connect your summary to your thesis.

This is BORDERLINE ACCEPTABLE/UNACCEPTABLE. You should revise this piece to connect those sentences where you say he uses all this evidence with the actual evidence he's using from the essay.

Jayden Lapointe

5/9/2019 06:21:39 am

Demons in the freezer is a factual story about how fatal a virus can be. It talks about how if put to use it can cause extreme damage. Many different people have had interaction with smallpox however many also can no longer get the vaccine. It is said that terrorists are using this as a method to attack others. In October 2001 smallpox was used to target certain people like United States senator Tom Daschle. It was turned into a weapon. Smallpox has been eradicated, smallpox isn’t around anymore. Happily people no longer saw smallpox as a threat to the civilization. Due to the fact that it was extremely fatal, people use to have to get a vaccine. No longer having to get the smallpox vaccines because it is no longer an issue. However in a freezer Novosibirsk, Siberia and in Atlanta, Georgia there are strands of smallpox being held. Knowing there is a lot of the population that is not vaccinated that can be extremely deadly. There are many deadly things but a lot of them would take a lot of effort to do. Weather to start a war, spread a sickness around or to slowly kill off people it’ll take a large amount of work in order for these to happen. Something strong, powerful, and deadly would need to be put in use. Russia had figured out how to get ahold of the virus. In 1989, Russia confirmed that the had missiles ready to launch at the United States containing the smallpox virus. Smallpox creates these bumps on your skin that eventually develops into your skin becoming black as you slowly die off because you no longer have function. In conclusion, smallpox is a deadly disease that can potentially be turned against our own kind to wipe out our own civilization. If not held safely it can cause a huge epidemic that can cause huge change within our world.

5/13/2019 09:20:14 am

Jayden if you are offering this as your thesis, you are only talking about half of the essay: Demons in the freezer is a factual story about how fatal a virus can be.

Your last sentence is better: In conclusion, smallpox is a deadly disease that can potentially be turned against our own kind to wipe out our own civilization. If not held safely it can cause a huge epidemic that can cause huge change within our world.

YOur summary is OK, though it skips a lot of information. I don't see how you've connected that summary to your thesis.

This is BORDERLINE ACCEPTABLE/UNACCEPTABLE. You should revise this for your final portfolio by doing a better job of identifying the thesis and connecting the information in the essay to the thesis.

brayden bustin

5/9/2019 07:08:19 am

Small Pox is a disease that dates back many years, and can cause nearly the entire world to become deathly sick, if not treated correctly. The disease must be kept very safe and all people should be educated about it, because if one person gets sick and are not treated right away, it will instantly spread to whoever is near.
The author throughout the story used a lot of information from past years where people or even groups of people were diagnosed with small pox and was a threat to the whole community. When it comes to the information he used, he used ,many cases where small pox spread fast and lives were taken, "These hemorrhagic smallpox cases put an incredible amount of virus into the air,....some of the doctors and nurses who treated Ljatif were doomed. Indeed, Ljatif had seeded smallpox across Yugoslavia. Investigators later found that while he was in the hospital in Cacak he infected eight other patients and a nurse....Ljatif directly infected a total of thirty-eight people. They caught the virus. They caught the virus by breathing in the same in the air near him. Eight of them died." (page 4)
Right along with the information the author uses, he uses the input of expertise and different credible sources such as doctors who treated or researched the deadly disease. The idea behind using these sources is to back up his claim and show the readers there is evidence and other people who believe in what he says, or just evidence to prove his thesis. vert credible source, Joe Esposito is quoted in the story, "The virus contains 186,000 base pairs of DNA....making smallpox one of the most complicated viruses known." This backs up his thesis by proving that this virus is very dangerous and when diagnosed, it is not easy to cure.
The way he implements emotion into his argument is by describing the emotion of the patients who were diagnosed with the disease. The way the people and their loved ones handled it showed how deadly it was. The disease also affected whole communities and affected everyone in the area by either getting infected or other loved ones getting infected.

5/13/2019 09:27:11 am

Brayden if you are suggesting that this is the thesis "Small Pox is a disease that dates back many years, and can cause nearly the entire world to become deathly sick, if not treated correctly," you'v missed the second half of the thesis that deals with how it is being weaponized and poses a dangerous threat to people everywhere because of terrorists who are happy to buy and use the weaponized virus.

This is an UNACCEPTABLE reading response. You should revise this for your final portfolio by including the full thesis and connecting the evidence you discuss here to that thesis.

Tyjaya Starks

5/9/2019 05:59:05 pm

Within the excerpt Richard speaks a lot about a virus called smallpox, which is a serious infection that was caused by the variola virus. The Thesis/Main Idea in my viewpoint is the matter to a cure for smallpox which was founded about 20 years ago, although this chemical agent is the new face of destiny for us all. The author uses a sense of logos in the text which describes this virus which has the ability to travel through the air. Once this virus is dispersed in the air it can initially lead into your mouth and start to spread inside your body. A line from the text that digs deeper within this situation quotes “If you inhale a single particle of smallpox, you can come down with the diseases.” (P.1) It is surprising to know that in the matter of time if this chemical is released then the entire world can intally be held in danger. Smallpox is a deadly virus which not only can kill thousands and millions of people, but a scientific fact shows that “ Smallpox developed a deep affinity for human beings. It is thought to have killed more people than any other infectious disease, including the Black Death of the Middle ages.” (P.1) Reflecting back into history the Black Death was a outburst although comparing to smallpox we all can see how dangerous this virus actually is. In reference to the use of ethos the author breaks down the chain of a hero named “D.A Henderson”, this man and his crew ultimately we’re the ideal saviors within the history of medicine. A quote from the text that astonished me the most goes by saying “ In the years since the eradication effort began, Henderson and his team effectively saved more than fifty million lives. Henderson and his colleagues, however, have never received the Nobel Prize for their work.”(P.7) Someone could of sent a letter to Henderson and his team for the dedication they put into saving these people's lives from this outbreaking virus, although I guess this man shouldn’t be praised for the “ good deed” he’s done. I question how a man online gains more publicity than someone saving millions of lives within those days of the outbreaking virus. Moving deeper into the essay the author introduced us to a victim who was diagnosed with smallpox. Unfortunately the symptoms were so severe to a rate of death reaching him shortly after being seen. A line from the text that reaches into a sense of pathos reads as “ We can imagine that Ljatif was extremely frightened and witnessed his hemorrhages with a sense that his insides were coming apart.” This is a very descriptive scene within this article and overall it shows how people could feel and visually see themselves dying slowly only because of an outbreaking virus.
The smallpox was a virus that swooped millions of people off earth, although if this chemical agent is released we’re all doomed.

5/13/2019 09:16:54 am

Unfortunately Tyjaya, I don't entirely understand what you mean by this: The Thesis/Main Idea in my viewpoint is the matter to a cure for smallpox which was founded about 20 years ago, although this chemical agent is the new face of destiny for us all.

I don't understand how you mean logos here. Are you suggesting that the way the author describes the science of the disease is logos? That would make sense. You are stronger with ethos--the author consults and expert in Dr. Henderson, among other experts, to make his point. And I can see how the section of Ljatif could be pathos--it is awful to think what this man went through.

But your thesis is not clear and doesn't actually reflect the argument of the author.

This is BORDERLINE ACCEPTABLE/UNACCEPTABLE. Please revise this and turn it in as part of your final portfolio. Please be more clear about what the thesis is and how the evidence in the text proves it.

Kayla LaFleur

5/12/2019 10:32:18 pm

In the book “Demons in the freezer” written by Richard Preston, the thesis is smallpox is more dangerous than we think and we have to be more aware of how serious it can be if it were to get released again. Many people are against vaccines, however, if the smallpox vaccine was available you would want it. Through the details and the effects of the disease, many people reading the book would want to instantly get vaccinated. However, as you read on, it states that the vaccines is barely available anymore and would cost millions of dollars, and loads of time. The government does not want to put in that much effort for a virus that is not spreading right now. However, we could be infected with it at anytime because the virus is still in a laboratory.
It goes into detail on how smallpox is one of the most threatening viruses, still to this day. Throughout the book, he explains that although it was killing people more often many years ago; with it infecting one person today, it could “wipe out a country”. The author, uses logos, by giving the reader statistics on the smallpox. How the virus works, how it can easily spread, and what it does to the body once entered. He tells stories of people that were infected, and how one man nicknamed “The Pilgrim” killed many people by the disease getting spread. The author also uses logos when he says that the United States keeps a list of countries that may use the virus as a weapon towards America. The author uses ethos to give us information by giving us locations, for example when he said that in a freezer in Novosibirsk, Siberia and in Atlanta, Georgia there are strands of smallpox being held. This gives us places, that could give us more information on where the virus really is. The author also uses pathos by explaining the effects it has on the person’s body, if there were to catch smallpox. He compares it to diseases that we know more information about, for example; ebola. He also tells stories of people who were vaccinated that fought the disease off, which would make the average person want to run and get vaccinated right away.

5/13/2019 09:12:57 am

Unfortunately Kayla this was not turned in on time. I won't accept it. For the record, this was not a book. It was an essay. Yes, he wrote a book, but this was an essay that later became that book.

Reading Response Post: How does the author make his argument in Demon In The Freezer?

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