Literature Final Exam

Proposition

the topic being debated, usually stated as a question.

“are cats better than dogs?”

Resolution

your team’s position on the topic

“cats are better than dogs”

Claim

the argument, encompassing both the main claim (thesis) and minor claims (controls)

Premise

a belief or value that underlies a claim

constructive

the opening speech that outlines each team’s main claim, premises, and evidence

Rebuttal

when each team responds to the others constructive portion, and finds flaws with the presented claims, premises, evidence, or reasoning

Affirmative

the team or speaker arguing in favor of the resolution or topic

Negative

the team or speaker that opposes the resolution or proposition being debated

Order of Debate

affirmative constructive, negative constructive

affirmative rebuttal, negative rebuttal

affirmative conclusion, negative conclusion

Ethos

appeal to credibility

Pathos

appeal to emotion

Logos

appeal to statistics/evidence and reasoning

Logical Fallicies

an error of reasoning

when someone tries to persuade someone else to adopt a position based on a bad piece of reasoning, they commit a fallacy

Ad hominem

this is an attack on the character of the opponent rather than on the opponent’s arguments

green peace’s policies aren’t reasonable because their employees are a bunch of silly, tie-dye wearing, dirty, stinking, jazz cabbage smoking hippies

false dichotomy

this conclusion oversimplifies an argument by reducing it to only two possibilities, when the reality is far more complex

we can either start driving hybrid cars or murder mother earth and live in a fiery hell hole

bandwagon

this fallacy relies on perceived or real popularity as reflective of fact. it argues that something must be true, because lots of people think so

iphones are really good phones, look how many people have one

false authority

trusting a person despite the fact that their expertise lacks relevance and actual evidence

shakira endorsed that new perfume so it must be really good

hasty generalization

making a claim based on insufficient evidence

i saw a duck, therefore, this place is completely overrun by ducks

straw man

this move oversimplifies an opponent’s viewpoint and then attacks that new, hollow argument

raising taxes on the rich will help middle and lower classes; you’re saying the rich don’t deserve anything? sure, let’s just kick them out of their houses and take all their money

slippery slope

claiming that if A happens, eventually B, C, and D will happen, and then X, Y, and Z will happen too. So, if we don’t want Z, we can’t allow A to occur

if we ban monkeys as pets because they sometimes rip peoples faces off, eventually the government will ban all pets. unless we want to be alone forever, we should not ban monkeys as pets

no true scotsman

disregarding an opponent’s point by claiming their example doesn’t fit a definition that you made up

are you a football fan?; yes; do you watch every football game?; no; then ig you’re not a real fan

what two people does king lear banish and why

Cordelia - she refuses to proclaim her love for him on the love test, disappointing and enraging him because he was expecting flattery

Kent -

how does kent still find a way to be loyal to lear

He returns in disguise an offers his services to lear, working for him once again

what does edmund convince edgar about their father, gloucester? where does edgar have to go to avoid his father

what is the purpose of the character the fool

how is king lear used to being treated? how does he expect people to treat him after he gives his power away

the great chain of being

the idea that the universe is a structured chain, with God at the top and descending through angels, humans, animals, plants, and finally, non-living matter

it suggests that every being is connected and has a designated place in this order

how does edmund feel about being the illegitimate child

what are the characteristics of a tragedy

how does edmund implicate edgar at the beginning of act 2

what does edmund gain from gloucester

why does kent dislike oswald so much? what is the result of their fight/argument? who tries to help kent

oswald treats lear with disrespect and does not listen to his commands, refusing to treat him like a king or authority figure.

of what is the storm a symbol

what does edmund hope to gain from betraying edgar

how many knights is regan willing to have at first

how does cordelia know kent is alive

what does edmund tell cornwall about the french troops

to what does cornwall promote edmund, what else does edmund gain

who does lear put on trial

how does gloucester feel about lear

to what cruelty do cornwall and regan subject gloucester? who tries to intervene? what are cornwall and regans reasons for subjecting gloucester to this cruelty

what does gloucester realize about edmund and edgar

what does edgar realize about lear’s suffering

how are lear and gloucester similar

what is gloucester desperate to do? how does he want to accomplish this? why does he want to do this? who saves him

how does edmund cause conflict between goneril and regan

how does lear feel about cordelia now? how does cordelia feel about lear

after cornwall dies, who controls his army

how do the people of the kingdom feel about the way gloucester was treated by regan and cornwall

how does gloucester’s lack of sight demonstrate that you don’t always need eyes to see

what does the letter from gonenril to edmund say? who gives it to albany

what country wins the war

who arrests edmund for treason

what causes edmund to confess at the end of the play

who is supposed to rule britain at the close of the play

“This is the excellent foppery of the world that when we are sick in fortune... we make guilty of our disasters the sun the moon, and stars...and all that we are evil in by a divine thrusting on”

Edmund

“If our father would sleep till I waken him, you should enjoy half his revenue forever and live the beloved of your brother Edgar”

“Now gods, stand up for bastards!”

“Loyal and natural boy, I’ll work the means / To make thee capable.”

“Why have my sisters husbands, if they say they love you all?”

“No blown ambition doth our arms incite / But love, dear love, and our aged father’s right”

“Fetch forth the stocks, ho!--- / You stubborn, ancient knave, you reverend braggart / We'll teach you."

“I am a man / More sinned against than sinning.”

"Though I die for it, as no less is threatened me, / the king my old master must be relieved"

“Thou shouldst not have been old till thou hadst been wise.”

“The tempest in my mind / Doth from my senses take all feeling else / Save what beats there: filial ingratitude. /...But I will punish home. / No, I will weep no more”

“Nothing could have subdued nature / To such a lowness but his unkind daughters”

"One way I like this well. / But being widow, and my Gloucester with her, / May all the building in my fancy pluck / Upon my hateful life." About what is she concerned?

“I have no way, and therefore want no eyes / I stumbled when I saw”