By using descriptive words: compacted, fragmented, fault mass, the writer portrays how moving from place to place has taken a serious toll on her life. In the excerpt the writer throws a very important word in the midst of a question, "And what of all the languages compacted in my brain?" A sentence of this sort is quite important to look at, because one word stands out quite memorably. Opposed to saying something in the whelms of "languages she had learned," she used a rather dramatic word "compacted." Being aware of what compacted means you can infer that the writer was forced to learn these things. Whether it had been an obligation due to her parents form of work or something she would need solely to survive in her various new enviorments, the languages she would learn were "compacted" into her opposed to her willingness to learn. Essentially the knowledge of so many other culture’s languages is something she would have not wanted for herself. About half way through the writing she refers to her many homes as "fragments of a broken geometry." Once more isolating the word broken and fragments we can infer that she did not wish such a nomadic life for herself causing her to lose her way, making her unsure of her identity. Moving so often that she can relate nothing to nothing. The name of the complete narrative is titled "Fault Lines." Closer to the end of the passage the writer refers to herself as a mass of faults or fault mass. The word being in the actual title of the writing in general tells the reader it is a very important word. Shortly afterward regarding herself as a fault mass, the writer mentions her looking up the definition of the word "fault." A defiency, lack, a want of something: she proceeds to mention the many words relating to her own imperfection. Equally the manipulation of these terms tie in to how the writer views her own fractured identity.

Accordingly the use of rhetorical questions aid the reader in seeing the confusion the writer must cope with. "Where did I come from? What might it mean for one such as I to look at myself straight see myself?" This technique establishes a thought: the writer has no idea where she fits, what she could file her livelihood as. "After all my life did not fall into the narrative I had been taught to honor, tales that closed back on themselves." By asking the audience rhetorical questions it not only demonstates her inner turmoil and cracks in her identity but also forces the reader to further think how she became so "askew." Eventually the writer has an ephiphany, that answers the majority of her questions. If all these things are true about her, she must be a "fault mass" or mass of fault. Which directly ties into the title of her autobiography and demonstrates her identity as fractured: broken and full of fault.

I dont know what your teacher wants you to do, but know the difference between rhetorical devices and literary devices. Rhetorical devices are like diction, imagery, and syntax. Literary devices are things like similes, metaphors, etc.

Thesis statement should have the devices, effect, and author’s purpose. Simply stating what the author uses is boring, and it’s vague. Your thesis should tell the reader what those devices do. (Effects of imagery include arousing emotion, describing, illustrating an abstraction, etc.) Personally, I dislike the one-sentence thesis, because it limits the degree of style you can put into your writing.

In your first body paragraph, be sure to quote what is actually important. Since you are talking about descriptive words, those descriptive words should be in quotes, preferably integrated into your analysis. Also, try not to use evidence in the topic sentence of your paragraphs. If you do that, then you are promising to ONLY talk about those bits of evidence in your entire paragraph. Your paragraph is talking about WORDS, and only WORDS, so dont quote sentences. Only talk about the individual words, and how they contribute to the author’s purpose. Dont summarize.

The second body paragraph has some issues as well. You have a stand-alone quote that is neither integrated into your analysis nor an example of the rhetorical device you are discussing. Once again, you are talking about rhetorical questions. Please stick to that.

Overall, your writing could be much more concise. I’m being honest…there’s a lot of work to be done here.

If we compare our lifestyle with today and in 1950s or 1960s, it was much better and relaxing. In our era, we used to go for fishing and pearl diving. My friends and I used to spend the whole day sometimes in sea. We made good profit and did not go through hardship to make a livelihood.

The media we enjoyed the most that time was “Radio”. We would sit together and listen to some talk shows and then discuss it among ourselves. “I can not recall any radio show, its been along time” Al-Hamely said. The relationship was stronger and smallest thing brought the whole community together. “If any of us got a big fish, we would create an uproar that would attract other people and give us applause for our hard work,” said.

We used to have breakfast, lunch and dinner together. Sometimes men would cook and serve to others and sometimes we get it from other people living in our compound. Today, we barely get to see our children because of media development.

We used to eat the simplest food such as dates, rice, water and a normal curry. We got dates imported from Al-Basra in Iraq and other provisions from other Arab countries. Our life was simple and much more humbler compared to some youth today.

We were the happiest people I would say at that time. We used to enjoy each moment and would constantly remember God for his favor upon us.

When Oil was discovered, our lifestyle began to change. We got richer and Television began to spread. Regardless, not many people spent their time watching TV or hearing Radio, we gave more importance to making our life better and improving kinship.

If we compare our lives today with our lives in the 1950′s or 1960′s, we were much more happier and relaxed back then. In that era, we used to go fishing, pearl diving, and my friends and I used to spend the whole day sometimes out at sea. We made good profit and did not go through any hardships to make a living.

The media enjoyed the most during that time was the radio. We would sit together and listen to talk shows and afterwards discuss it among ourselves. “I hardly can remember the radio shows, its been a long time.” Al-Hamely stated. The relationships were stronger and smallest things brought the whole community together. “If any of us caught a big fish, we would create an uproar that would attract other people and give us applause for our hard work,” he said.

We used to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner together. Sometimes men would cook and serve to others and sometimes we would get it from other people living in our compound. Today, we barely get to see our children because of the attention of the media.

We used to eat the simplest food such as dates, rice, water and a normal curry. We got dates imported from Al-Basra in Iraq and other provisions from other Arab countries. Our life was simple and much more humbler compared to some youth today.

We were the happiest people I would say at that time. We used to enjoy each moment and would openly thank God for his favor upon us.

However, when oil was discovered, our lifestyle began to change. We got richer and television began to spread. Regardless, not many people spent their time watching TV or listening to the radio anymore, we gave more importance to making our lives better and improving our kinship

Anyway, I know that many Atheists argue that religion was and still is the cause of intolerance and hatred (although I believe that people who try to use religion to fuel hatred have other motives) but you cannot deny that it’s what gives many people hope and keeps them going. For an example, people in rural villages in Tanzania have nothing. They live on maize and beans and even the children have to work hard all day. They’re villages are riddled with Malaria, Yellow Fever and many other diseases but guess what? They smile, they’re hospitable and welcoming and little things make them happy. Most of them were Christian or Muslim and devote followers of their faiths and it was clear that this is what kept them so positive. I rarely see livelihood and friendliness like theirs in my country, where many people are agnostic. I think that believing in God generally makes people happier individuals (I’m talking about the majority, not extremist cases).
People real the whole thing before answering. I love and believe in God too.
Hi Brain *waves*
I’ve been there, that’s how
I know that there are bad people out there who give religion a bad name but you can’t deny that it’s the greatest source of hope for many who may have otherwise given up.

I think it does all kinds of good, and while I don’t particularly care to get involved with it, or hold any particular religious views, I think most of the atheists you see running around the internet are pretty much just thin skinned, pretentious little jerk offs, so to speak.

Anyways, just to make a quick example, go read your local scandal sheet, whatever it is, the one that reports all the swell murders that take place in your area every weekend, and count how many of those events took place in religious places, like churches, versus how many took place in nice, a-religious places, like bars.

No I think anyone who bothers to look for any amount of time would have to conclude that religion does all kinds of good in the world. Nothing is an unalloyed benefit of course, but I won’t waste my time trying to discourage it.

FALFURRIAS, Texas — While walking along a dirt road bordering his property, a South Texas farmer complained about living in fear of Mexican traffickers smuggling drugs and illegal immigrants across his land. He would later ask his visitor not to reveal his identity, for his safety and that of his family."I’m a citizen of the United States. This is supposedly sovereign soil, but right now it’s anybody’s who happens to be crossing here," he said. "I’m a little nervous being here right now. Definitely don’t come down here after dark."

The farmer said a federal law enforcement agent told him to buy a bulletproof vest to use while working in his fields. Whenever he goes out to survey his agricultural operations, he always tells his office where he is headed, and he has purchased a high-powered rifle.

"One of the basic points of the federal government is to protect the people of this nation to secure the border, and they’re not doing that," he complained.

Story: Cartels using Ariz. mountaintops to spy on cops
The Obama administration and many local officials have said the U.S.-Mexican border is safer than ever and that reports of violence on the American side are wildly exaggerated. But the farmer scoffed at that argument. "I walk this soil every day and have since I was old enough to come out on my own," he said. "In this part of Texas, it is worse than it’s ever been."

Moving families to safer ground
A report recently released by the Texas commissioner of agriculture said cross-border violence was escalating. "Fear and anxiety levels among Texas farmers and ranchers have grown enormously during the past two years," the report said, adding that some “have even abandoned their livelihoods to move their families to safer ground."

Retired U.S. Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey, who served as the U.S. drug czar during the Clinton administration and as an NBC News military analyst, is a co-author of the report. During a recent interview, McCaffrey said that while major cities along the Texas border are "pretty safe," the rural areas between towns are "largely unprotected, and across those areas the (Mexican) cartels are conducting massive movements of illegal drugs and other criminal activity."

read more @ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45440385/ns/nightly_news/

You know, I am a US citizen living in Mexico. I moved here last year from Phoenix, AZ. I am here to tell you that it is safer living in Mexico than it is in Phoenix. The border cities are beyond dangerous.

I do live in a border city in Mexico but it’s kind of the exception to the rule. It’s no more dangerous than your average US city. But cities like Juarez, Tijuana and the US bordering cities are simply dangerous. The US govt doesn’t care, they pretend it’s fine, they lie to citizens, but when you live there and see it day after day you realize just how bad it is.