Keeping my mind on my writing is not easy when i stay at my grandmother's ocean-side cottage. just about the time that i am going along pretty well, i glance out the window and see two huge bald eagles swooping and tumbling in a spectacular aerial display. naturally, i have to leave my desk and rush to the doorway to watch the performance as long as it lasts. then, as if a conspiracy were trying to keep me from working, two otters poke their shiny heads out of the water and hang there motionless. they watch to see what i am doing. as soon as i return to my desk, seagulls wheel into my window view and screech as they search for scraps of food. within minutes, this confusion of sounds stirs my aging st. bernard out of a deep sleep, and he hauls his massive, lumbering body over to be petted. mickey, my cat, can't stand to see any partiality, so he is soon pacing back and forth across my ankles. as i wiggle my bare toes to tease mickey, i realize that my legs have become stiff. i remember that i have not had my daily ride. so, i slip on my sandals, step out the door, spring onto my bike, and pedal off down the beach. meanwhile, the composition in my typewriter sits and grows colder. what is the thesis?

do you have more to the question?

1. read the following excerpt from franklin d. roosevelt's "fireside chat 19":

on the other side of the picture, we must learn also to know that guerilla warfare against the germans in, let us say serbia or norway, us; that a successful russian offensive against the germans us; and that british successes on land or sea in any part of the world strengthen our hands.

remember always that germany and italy, regardless of any formal declaration of war, consider themselves at war with the united states at this moment just as much as they consider themselves at war with britain or russia. and germany puts all the other republics of the americas into the same category of enemies. the people of our sister republics of this hemisphere can be honored by that fact.  

the true goal we seek is far above and beyond the ugly field of battle. when we resort to force, as now we must, we are determined that this force shall be directed toward ultimate good as well as against immediate evil. we americans are not destroyers — we are builders.

analyze the effectiveness of this excerpt. how does it function within the speech as a whole? how does the structure of the excerpt to convey the speech's purpose and key points? support your argument with evidence from the speech. (10 points)