I am Sam Part 1. 1. What is the summary of the movie? / What is the movie all about?

A mentally-challenged person, Sam Dawsons relationship with his daughter, Lucy was threatened when Lucy begins to intellectually surpass her father which catches the attention of a social worker who then places Lucy under foster care. Faced with a seemingly unwinnable case, Sam asks the help of Rita Harrison Williams, a high-powered, self-absorbed lawyer who in the latter of the story takes his case pro bono as an effect of the teasing of her colleagues. Together they struggle to convince the system that Sam deserves to get his daughter back, and in the process, they fused a bond that results in a unique testament to the power of unconditional love. 2. Who are the main characters? Sam Dawson (Sean Penn) Rita Harrison Williams (Michelle Pfeiffer) Lucy Diamond Dawson (Dakota Fanning) 3. What was the conflict? The conflict in the story started to arise when Lucy started to outgrow her fathers intellectual capacity. It only heightened when Lucy is taken away from Sam by the government because it is thought that a mentally incapacitated man cannot govern a full-grown child. 4. How did it end? / What was the conclusion? The movie ended when Randy, the foster parent, surrenders Lucy to Sam and says that she will offer her support to him at the court hearing. Sam then confides in Randy and tells her that he cannot raise Lucy by himself and that Lucy will need Randya strong mother figurein her life. The final scene shows Lucy playing soccer and everyone (i.e., Sam, Rita, the foster parents and Sam's friends) in attendance. This leaves us with two alternative conclusions, either Sam or the foster parents both have joint custody of Lucy, or Sam was awarded full parental rights of Lucy but Lucy still remains close with her former foster parents. Part 2 1. What was the stand of Sams lawyer? Rita Harrison Williams, Sams lawyer, stands for Sams right for the custody of his daughter Lucy. 2. What reasons did she present? Rita Williams explained that what Sam said to his psychologist that he felt confused at times and that hed huge mistakes is perfectly normal for a parent by adding that every parent gets confused from

time to time, and that even the psychologist herself is having those moments where she feels retarded and disabled in some way. In addition, she asked a doctor who had a mentally challenged mother raising her if the experience helped her in gaining success and the doctor said yes, and thus, illustrating that Sam, even having a mental capacity of that of a 7-year old, can raise a child and even make her successful. Her last reason came with the querying of Sam himself and Annie, Sams neighbor and Lucys godparent, by showing that Sam is capable of financing the education and needs of Lucy and that Sam is, in fact, the reason why Lucy is smart, responsible, and has all that good traits. 3. What evidences did she show to support her reasons? One of the evidences that she presented is her personal experience in handling different types of parents. She said that each of them had felt irresponsible, including Sam. Her second evidence is the experience of a doctor who had a mentally-challenged mother, proving that having a parent like that felt the same with the other children, if not, even better. Her third evidence is Sams promotion to be a coffee-maker which means more income for him to raise Lucy. Her fourth evidence is Annies testimony that Sam is a good father and very capable of raising his daughter. Her fifth evidence is Sams words that he can send Lucy for private tutoring at the free program at YWCA and that he understands Lucy the most because he loves her. 4. How did she conclude her argument? She concluded her argument by showing that Sam is capable of raising Lucy as a child. 5. Point out some logical fallacies in her argument. Ad hominem If Ms. Davis never had a moment where she had been confused as a mother, it would bias her opinion, and that is her expert opinion.. Youve never had those moments, have you, miss Davis?... when your son OD-ed did you feel that you have made mistakes, mistakes that were huge? Hasty Generalization If Ms. Davis never had a moment where she had been confused as a mother, it would bias her opinion, and that is her expert opinion.. to annie: so what youre saying is you dont worry about Lucys future? to the doctor: so your mother, having a 9-year old brain capacity, had the wisdom that you would be a great doctor? Domino Fallacy Appeal to emotion youve never had those moments, have you, Miss Davis? Moments where the task is so unbelievably challenging that you feel retarded, disabled in some way. Moments where everyone seems to have the key but you. Card Stacking Either-or Fallacy yes or noplease answer the question. When your son OD-ed did you feel that you have made mistakes, mistakes that were huge?