Aleksi Buhler Ms. Lehmann English 1-1A 27 September 2018 Changes in Our Nation’s Values What are the values of our nation that have stood the test of time? Both “The 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 the 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 the 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 “The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here 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” (Lincoln 27). 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. Quindlen writes that “Patriotism is partly taking 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” (Quindlen 6). 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 State is unlike any other country, and that is something its citizens should be proud of. Along with patriotism, both authors are responding to a nation under duress. Both Lincoln and Quindlen reflect context in their writings. They both try to reassure the nation. Lincoln was fighting to free slaves and preserve the nation. He was rallied people to win the war that had created so much death and devastation, but also created great change. In his speech, Lincoln says, “It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.” (Lincoln 27-8). Here Lincoln reflects a critical time in American history, the tipping of the scales in the civil war. Quindlen didn’t want people to let their differences destroy them as a nation. Quindlen urges the people to focus on their blessings. In her essay, Quindlen writes, “Enormous tragedy, as it so often does, demands a time of reflection on enormous blessings.” (Quindlen 4) Quindlen, like Lincoln writes to rally her audience, but in a much different time in American history. Although the two were fighting for different reasons, both were trying to get the nation to unite as one whole nation. “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 and patriotism in context, 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 ourdiversity, but both authors agree that patriotism matters. In both of their writings, the two reflect the context of the nation. Lincoln was trying to unite the North and South, and Quindlen was trying to get all cultures to come together in our nation. Lincoln’s and Quindlen’s works prove that unity and patriotism 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 1. List one thing you've learned from writing this paper that you can apply to other writing assignments. What will that look like?
Answer: In this paper I learned how to summarize two stories together.
2. 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?
Answer: I had to change the way I worded things in this paper. I changed them to make more sense.
3. What are the conventions of a compare and contrast and how did you meet those in this assignment?
Answer: I had to keep the names in a specific order when I mentioned them.
4. Given more time to work on this assignment, how would you improve it?
Answer: I would have tried to put more information to make it more interesting.
5. What is one thing you're proud of in this paper?
Answer: I'm proud of the way this story turned out.