TOW #10—“Gay Air Force Veteran Sues to Earn Honorable Discharge” by Jason Silverstein

In the 1940s, Hubert Edward Spires was undesirably discharged from the United States Air Force for being gay. Today, Spires, now 91, has filed a lawsuit asking for an honorable discharge. The case is not yet over, but Spires, who had a very close encounter with death, has filed the same lawsuit before and has failed. Author Jason Silverstein, a national breaking news reporter for the New York Daily News, shares the story solely to inform the public of the case and the changes in society since the 1940s.

                Although Silverstein is seemingly unbiased in the article, his diction proves to create a sympathetic tone towards Spires. Silverstein, after telling about the case itself, goes into Spires’s past. He uses words such as “kicked out”, “sacrifices”, “threatened”, “horrific and unbearable”, and “grilling”. Though the rest of the article seems unbiased, these few words build to create a mood of sympathy towards Spires and his case. It develops pathos which lends the readers as to why Spires acted and is still acting in the ways that he is and why it is important to his audience. It also helps Silverstein refine his audience. This slight emphasis draws the attention of gay rights activists or those in the gay community. Though a news source, and therefore unbiased, Silverstein easily draws in the people who will most support his article.

                Silverstein additionally uses quotes from many people close to the case. He quotes the complaint itself as well as Spires’s lawyer. Though never quoting Spires himself, Silverstein adds in a video of an interview with Spires, again promoting sympathy. He also, however, develops his own ethos by utilizing such tools. Silverstein himself was not included in the case at all, so his knowledge of the case may be questionable. But by using the people involved instead of his own thoughts, he proves he has learned about the case more than sufficiently and can be trusted with the facts. 

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/gay-air-force-veteran-sues-earn-honorable-discharge-article-1.2881158 

IRB #2 Introdution Post

Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Pulitzer Prize winner Katherine Boo follows the lives of people living in Mumbai slums. It evaluates their hopes, dreams, and aspirations while also telling about the hardships they face from religion, sex, and economy. The book has been recommended to me by my mother, sister, and step sister who have all read it themselves and have been deeply affected by the messages it conveys.

TOW #9—Visual text: JB by Archibald MacLeish

Over the past several months, I have worked on the crew of the production of JB in our school. Being one of the leaders in stage crew, I was given a script to follow cues and to learn about the play. JB is a tragedy, based off of the Book of Job in the Old Testament. In the play, it was modernized, based in the 1950s, when it was written. It follows a man named JB and his family. JB, a very faithful and good man, is challenged by Satan, or Nickles in the play. Mr. Zuss, the equivalent of God, allows Nickles to take away JB’s blessings. Slowly, JB’s children die and he loses his job, his money, and his health. This fear and depression and, ultimately the survival of JB’s faith, can be seen through the cover of the script itself.

                The cover consists of mainly brown tones. However, there is a large white patch in the center showcasing the title and the author. This contrast of light and dark is highly symbolic of the two main conflicting forces in the play itself. God, often represented in lighter colors (and wearing white in the play), fought with Satan, who is traditionally represented with darkness (and wore black in the play). The overpowering brown also has a symbolic element. Although God won in the end, Satan became controlling of the situation, even taking over a person’s life, much like how the brown is taking over the entire front cover.

                In addition, the brown could represent impurity, whereas the white is pure and clean. This is not only literally, due to a bomb in the play, but figuratively. Satan’s, or Nickles’s, motivations were to reveal the impurities of JB’s faithfulness to God. Though this never occurred, it does not mute the dirtiness of Nickles’s actions, or even of JB wife’s reaction to the situation. Ultimately, she agreed with her husband and stayed faithful, but during the play she comes to curse God as she is dealing with her children’s deaths.

                Simply by using contrasting colors on the cover of the script of JB, Archibald MacLeish explored the depth behind his play. 

TOW #8—“Smoke Gets in your Eyes” by Caitlyn Doughty

TOW #8—“Smoke Gets in your Eyes” by Caitlyn Doughty

                In Caitlyn Doughty’s book “Smoke Gets in your Eyes” she discussed the treatment of our dead. Doughty became a mortician after college and continues her work today. In the last half of the book, she further discusses the different cultures and traditions in regards to dealing with the dead. She often states that she finds our system to be quite detached and believes that families should have a larger part when deciding and carrying out the actions they should take in dealing with family members who have passed away. In order to do this, she utilizes a colloquial tone to make death familiar and allusions to relate death to everyday life.

                Death is often and foreign and terrifying idea to the general public. Doughty wants to reverse this belief and show that death deserves a more intimate approach. To do this, she writes with a colloquial tone. She often uses sarcasm, makes jokes, or uses interesting language to lighten the tone of her seemingly-dark memoir. For example, she says “Dead. Finito” (Doughty 176). By using a colloquial tone like this, Doughty makes death seem like a lighter idea instead of a dark and formal process. She introduces and explores the idea as if it does not deserve heightened and strong language; as if it should be a problem discussed by not only intellectuals, but of every person, regardless of intelligence, race, gender, etc. Overall, this decreases the amount of fear people have towards death and helps to show that death should be a more intimate process for their loved ones.

                Later, Doughty compared a grieving family to well-known Jane Austen novels (Doughty 179). She also mentions other books, movies, and even celebrities in her memoir. These people, books, and movies, are generally well known by the general public and have been at some time a household name or object. She compares death to a familiar idea in everyday lives, which gives the idea of death a more personal approach. Like her colloquial tone, this helps to break down the fear and emotional walls surrounding death and welcomes death into their homes. This, paired with her colloquial tone, inspires families to take a more personal approach when deciding what to do with passed loved ones. 

TOW #7—“Students Across America have Voted, and they Chose…” By Katie Wallace

TOW #7—“Students Across America have Voted, and they Chose…” By Katie Wallace

                Katie Wallace, writer for CNN news, published her article “Students Across America have Voted, and they Chose…” on November 1, 2016, recounting the events that occurred throughout high schools and colleges in the United States. She informs readers of the results of multiple mock elections and the statistics gathered by many college students, predicting the winner of the 2016 election and putting emphasis on the importance of the results. All in all, the mock elections put Hillary Clinton ahead by around 5% each time. While Clinton was predicted to be in the upper 40’s, Trump was predicted to be in the lower 40’s, percent-wise. This is a good indicator of who will win, her article says, because it has been accurate in the election of the five previous presidents. Wallace recounts these events, all while staying organized and trustworthy.

                Because there were multiple elections and sources, information was abundant in Wallace’s article. With so much information, it isn’t hard for readers to become confused. Wallace prevents this confusion by organizing her article with subtopics and then going deeper into a main point. She includes sections such as “Student mock election has perfect record” and “The prediction breakdown” (Wallace). By doing so, she allows the readers to not only understand more clearly, but to gain insight on the significance of these events. Her organization allows for a clearer interpretation and, thus, an understanding of what these mock elections mean.

                Though Wallace does not have any well-known experience in politics, she establishes her credibility by using a surplus of statistics and quotes. She includes quotes from students, teachers, officials involved in government, and statistic from trustworthy and well-known associations. She often uses the phrase, “according to the American Statistical Association” (Wallace) throughout the article after she identifies them as the organization which conducted the mock elections. These references to well-known people and organizations allow for a trust to be developed among the readers. It also aides the readers to understand the importance of what they are reading as commentary can be reported on from many intellectual and informed officials. Wallace’s inclusion of quotes and a surplus of statistics helps not only build her credibility, but helps show the importance of her writing as well. 

http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/01/health/students-mock-presidential-election-results/

TOW #6— “Fit as a Jockey: How the Men and Women in the Saddle Stay in Shape” by Eoghan Macquire

             The life of a rider is a busy one, full of shows and lessons every day. Riders mount a horse multiple times a day, sometimes over 10 times, getting home around midnight and waking up at 5am to ride again, according to Eoghan Macquire. Macquire wrote “Fit as a Jockey: How the Men and Women in the Saddle Stay in Shape” on Friday, October 21. During the off season, riders have to stay in shape. It helps them to control the horse, aide in decision making, and allows them to pass the required fitness test for all jockeys. Macquire informs his audience of how these athletes keep up with these demands and how they stay fit without becoming too muscular and too heavy for their horse. He highlights even the smallest things the jockeys do for the fans of horse races, such as skipping out on alcohol. He writes a well put together essay and refers many times to the experts in the field.

                There are many schools for jockeys and, at one point in their lives, every jockey has gone to one. Macquire quotes well known jockeys as well as the owners of these schools in his article. He refers often to Hayley Turner, a successful retired jockey, and Yariv Kam, a fitness coach at one of the jockey schools. This allows Macquire to build credibility. Macquire never mentions whether or not he is a rider or even if he has any knowledge about horses. The quotes and sources he utilizes are from well-known jockeys who have automatic ethos. His audience, almost directed towards the British fans of horse races, already know the names and places he mentions, giving himself credibility. Without this key factor, utilized throughout the entire essay, Macquire’s article would not be successful. 

TOW #5 – Visual Text: “Zoo Gorilla Shot” by Dave Granlund

“Zoo Gorilla Shot” by Dave Granund is a political cartoon concerning the issue of the gorilla Harambe. Harambe was shot and killed when a young boy fell into the exhibit. An outrage followed the killing of Harambe with many saying that the gorilla was unrightfully put down. Granlund cartoon depicts a family of gorillas (an adult with two children) who are surrounding a sign that says “RIP Harambe” and seem to be very scared. One gorilla is saying “Need to redesign zoos… not to keep us in… but to keep humans out!!” By doing this, Granlund tries to show that Harambe’s killing was unjust and that it is the humans’ fault that he died, not his own.

                Granlund uses only black and white colors in his cartoon. These colors often symbolize fear or the past to many people. Scary movies or very old movies are often black and white. By using these colors, Granlund simulates fear in the audience. The audience then gains perspective as to how and why a situation like this can be fearful to the animals. This helps inspire emotion in the readers and, thus, sympathize with the gorillas. These colors also represent older times. Harambe, and possibly this family of gorillas in the future, has been left in the past when he was killed. These colors not only stimulate fear, but nostalgia as well. As nostalgia often does, it makes the audience rather sad and aids to understanding the grief this family of gorillas may be feeling. Simply by using the colors black and white, Granlund appeals to pathos in order to further his purpose.

                Garnlund’s cartoon is very simplistic, yet it sends out a powerful message. As it is mainly the younger generations that fought against the wrongdoings that fell upon Harambe, it is plausible that Granlund was reaching out to those younger people. By appealing to pathos, Granlund accomplishes just that.

http://www.politicalcartoons.com/cartoon/672D475E-9285-40CE-B17B-2B23AF427C0A.html

TOW #4—Smoke Gets in your Eyes by Caitlyn Doughty

Lindsay Klenk

TOW #4—Smoke Gets in your Eyes by Caitlyn Doughty

                Smoke Gets in your Eyes by Caitlyn Doughty is a memoir depicting Doughty’s time as a mortician in America. She shares how she found out about the job, the experiences she had, and what it taught her as a person. Now, Doughty is a licensed mortician who utilizes youtube and her novel to modernize and update the public’s view of death and the dead.

                In her memoir, Doughty talks about many heavy and dark events that took place during her time as a mortician. Much of these events are incomprehensible for the people who didn’t experience it; her audience. She helps to bridge this gap of understanding by utilizing metaphors. Doughty compares the crematory to the depths of hell (Doughty 13) while completing her first cremation. She also uses metaphors often when explaining her corpses appearance, helping the public understand the emptiness in their eyes or the lifelessness of their lips. This figurative language allows the audience to gain insight into the challenges of Doughty’s work and the seriousness of what she had to do. It also relates the corpses to familiar things, allowing the public to realize how important a mortician’s work is, aiding in Doughty’s purpose.

                Though it is imperative for Doughty to demonstrate the importance of her job, it is equally important for her to comfort and support her audience as they discover the horrors of death. She admits that her topic is often feared and shown in the wrong light. In her book, she utilizes personification as a way to redefine death. She often states that death brought her something or warns her of what she may see. As is the definition of personification, death is given human attributes and qualities, allowing her audience to view death in a more familiar, and thus comfortable, way. This allows their view to change from the horrors they had previously been taught to a natural comfort that awaits everyone when their time comes. Although this book may not seem important, Doughty uses smooth figurative language to redefine what death means. 

TOW #3 – “Am I Introverted, or Just Rude?” by KJ Dell’Antonia

TOW #3 – “Am I Introverted, or Just Rude?” by KJ Dell’Antonia

            KJ Dell’Antonia, writer for The New York Times, wrote “Am I Introverted, or Just Rude?” on September 24, 2016. She explains how she has believed that she has been an introvert her whole life, but, suddenly, her views have changed. After reading the book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking, Dell’Antonia looked at herself objectively, asking the question “Am I actually an introvert?” With a little investigation and research, she decided that she was just selfish, caring more about herself than others, as well as many other self-proclaimed introverts in this world. Her aim in publishing this revelation is to open the eyes of her audience, many of whom are self-proclaimed introverts themselves, to the idea that they may be uncomfortable in social situations rather than an introvert.

            In order to do this, Dell’Antonia organizes her paper as if she were investigating this revelation as it is being read. She starts out with the big question and breaks it down, including the thoughts and discussions she has, until she reaches the answer at the very end. This helps with two things in her paper; understanding and relating. The audience gains a clear understanding of Dell’Antonia’s process and thoughts, therefore understanding why and how she came to her conclusion. It builds her credibility as it proves that her conclusion is plausible and, frankly, highly likely to be correct. In addition to this, the audience can hear Dell’Antonia’s own struggle with her personality and can connect to this struggle. They may relate to a situation or a feeling that Dell’Antonia experienced which will then leave a lasting effect on them.

            As a smaller part of her writing, Dell’Antonia also uses widely varied sentence structure. She often uses short and to-the-point sentences, making her purpose stronger. These sentences create a tone of finality and allow the readers to relate to her situation. She utilizes the sentences to say, “I didn’t want to do it, but I did. It’s over,” when talking about social interaction. She separates these sentences, however, with longer, beautiful sentences.

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/25/opinion/sunday/am-i-introverted-or-just-rude.html?src=trending&module=Ribbon&version=origin&region=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Trending&pgtype=article

Citation: Dell'antonia, Kj. "Am I Introverted, or Just Rude?" The New York Times. The New York Times, 24 Sept. 2016. Web. 25 Sept. 2016.

TOW #2 - Visual Text: Political Cartoon by Nate Beeler

TOW #2 – Visual Text: Political Cartoon by Nate Beeler

                With the elections only a few short months away, everyone is starting to take notice. Political cartoonists seem fixated on the candidates, highlighting their flaws. Nate Beeler’s cartoon immediately draws eyes to the rather large Donald Trump with his internal organs showing. The cartoon, a critique on Trump’s released doctor’s note, shows an x-ray of Trump’s internal organs and a doctor analyzing them. Beeler has been a professional cartoonist since 2005, working at The Washington Examiner and The Columbus Dispatch. He uses his well-developed skills to put his thought about Donald Trump into a visual image.

            In this image, Beeler utilizes exaggeration as one of his main rhetoric devices. By giving Trump a large bile duct and a rather small heart, Beeler suggests his thoughts on Trump’s personality. A smaller heart shows that Trump does not feel much love or sympathy while a large bile duct suggests that he is a bile, or vindictive, person. This also suggests that Trump’s physical health is affected by his personality, implying that he is unhealthy because he is a bad person. Beeler also draws the doctor with a very small head, almost coming to a point at the top. This means that there is little room for a brain, or that the doctor is unintelligent. He cannot be trusted to analyze Trump’s health well.

            As well as this, the doctor says that “Mr. Trump is in tip-top shape and all internal organs appear normal, for the most part.” Beeler wrote the word “most” in red, whereas the rest of the sentence is black. This change in color puts an emphasis on the word most, showing that there are some abnormalities in Trump’s health and that his organs are not in perfect condition.

            This statement carries over the reality, where Donald Trump’s health was labelled as excellent. Nothing has been found contradicting the statement, though it is not convincing democrats that Trump can handle the job as President of the United States. Beeler’s cartoon highlight’s this, making an attempt to convince people that Trump is a bad person by drawing his insides.

Source URL: http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/2016/09/16/144821

Citation:

Beeler, Nate. Townhall.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2016.

ToW #1 - "Trump's Sexist Strategy Gets Assist from Matt Lauer"

On September 8, Peggy Drexler of CNN News wrote an article about Donald Trump. The article, titled “Trump’s Sexist Strategy Gets Assist from Matt Lauer,” focuses on how Trump has been using sexism to benefit in the 2016 presidential nominations, and how he now has support from Matt Lauer, host of a live forum on NBC. Drexler explains how both Clinton and Trump were questioned in the interview, though Lauer seemed to challenge Clinton more and gave her less time to defend herself. Drexler first starts the article by explaining the situation and, afterwards, she gives evidence of the speculation of Lauer’s equality in the interview by referring to social media. She quotes many tweets, including one from an aide to President Obama. Drexler, assistant professor of psychology at Cornell University and gender study scholar at Stanford University, wrote the article to inform readers of Trump’s sexism and Lauer’s support of this and to argue about his campaigning strategies.

                To achieve this purpose, Drexler develops a strong tone. She uses her examples and diction to create a tone that is colloquial and sarcastic yet aggressive. She allows her feelings of the Republican candidate to shine through her words. Her curt sentences, such as “As offensive as this sexism is, it’s not new,” illuminate her anger and present her information to her audience in a dramatic, almost suspenseful, way. This leaves her readers enchanted with what she has to say as the drama reels them in as well as walking away angry with Trump, thus lessening the support for Trump.

                In another effort to lessen support for Trump, Drexel includes graphics in her articles. She adds in recordings of phone calls, speeches, and even pictures of tweets that prove what she claims in the article is true, building her credibility. If the tone proves too aggressive for some, the graphics prove that she has a right to feel this way and discredit many counter arguments.

                Although my own bias might cloud my opinion, I enjoyed Drexler’s work and recognized how her rhetoric devices made a strong, coherent article. 

Article URL - http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/08/opinions/trump-gender-sexism-drexler/index.html

Article Citation - Drexler, Peggy. "Trump's Sexist Strategy Got Help from Lauer." CNN. Cable News Network, 8 Sept. 2016. Web. 11 Sept. 2016. 

IRB #1 Introduction Post

            Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, by Caitlin Doughty is a memoir about learning how to work in a crematory and how to care for dead bodies. Writen by a licensed mortician, the book has underlying meanings of how society handles the fear of death and how this fear has shaped individuals. With raving reviews from Oprah, Natalie Kusz from the New York Times Book Review, and many more, this memoir has been recommended to me by my mother, a seventh and ninth grade English teacher. I am ready to pick up Smoke Gets In Your Eyes and see how my unique view of death compares to Doughty's view.

Robert Frost's "The Figure a Poem Makes"

An illustration of Robert Frost's "A Road Not Taken"

           Robert Frost, an American poet, wrote The Figure a Poem Makes in order to explain to the general public how a poem should be formatted and what a poem should include. Frost describes how a poem should surprise both the writer and the reader, how the poem should start, and how it should end. He explains that the poem should find “it’s own name as it goes” and it “begins in delight and ends in wisdom” (Frost 177). In his description of the poetry, he includes numerous rhetoric devices that sprinkle the essay with graceful and melodious statements. His audience, the general public, is kept interested by his use of personification, similes, metaphors, and beautiful imagery. As stated above, Frost declares that a poem should find “it’s own name” and that, at the end, it “run itself and carried away the poet with it” (Frost 177-178). This personification and the other rhetoric devices incorporated into the essay give the readers a visualization of the poetry and help them to understand how they should feel while writing a poem; thus, convincing his audience about the way a poem should be created. Frost also includes strong diction, creating an informative yet graceful and wonderstruck tone. This tone gives the readers insight to how Frost feels while writing and, thus, how they should feel. He effectively creates a vision of what a poem should be and how it should be created by doing this, informing his audience well. With these rhetoric devices, The Figure a Poem Makes was quickly published in 1939 as a preface to Collected Poems. Collected Poems is a book of Robert Frost’s poetry up to that point in his life, giving Frost credibility in The Figure a Poem Makes by showing he has experience with his topic. As the book was open to the public, Frost’s essay was also posed to the public, showing them how to construct a poem. Frost uses a combination of strategies to create an awe-inspiring essay about poetry that has helped to inform the public and will continue to for many years. 

Picture Citations

"Road Not Taken Drawing." Oahow.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Aug. 2016.

Works Referenced

"Collected Poems by Robert Frost, First Edition, Signed." Abebooks.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Aug. 2016. 

James Thurber's "Sex Ex Machina"

A turing machine, invented in 1936

          James Thurber, cartoonist, author, and playwright, wrote Sex Ex Machina in 1937, during the build up to World War Two. Published in the New Yorker, Sex Ex Machina is an argumentative essay that considers and then refutes that the fear of machines is connected to sexual desires. The industrial world was still booming during this time, with machines becoming part of everyday life. The fear of machines, however, remained abundant. Thurber proposes that the “menace of the machine” (Thurber 153) is caused by negative experiences connected to machines as opposed to sexual desires. He first presents the counter argument by analyzing a study done by a psychologist on reactions of three men to a car. This psychologist, Dr. Bish, formulates a connection between the reactions of each man and their sexual desires. Thurber then presents his argument by giving a possible explanation of why people fear machines and uses that argument to combat the experiment. Thurber’s argument is well supported by many examples from his life as well as from his friends’ lives. Thurber also brings to light the flaws in the opposing side’s argument, therefore strengthening his own. He uses rhetoric devices throughout the essay to add depth to his writing and to keep his audience interested. He includes ethos, pathos, and logos as well as strong diction and a surplus of figurative language, such as similes and personification. For example, he writes “menace” instead of “fear” and he states that his car “screamed” when he shares about his fear of car alarms (Thurber 157).Thurber uses these many examples to not only inform the public about the how the fear of machines is caused, but to comfort those who have experienced or still experience this fear. With the rhetoric devices creating a knowledgable yet comforting mood, the essay seems to be targeted towards the people who fear machines. His personal anecdote offers validity of the fear and builds Thurber’s credibility as he shows he has has experience with his topic. Thurber’s use of rhetoric devices and many examples makes Sex Ex Machina a strong and well supported essay. 

Picture Citation

"A Turing Machine Overview." A Turing Machine. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Aug. 2016. 

Rachel Carson's "The Marginal World"

           Rachel Carson, American marine biologist, conservationist and full-time nature writer, wrote many books and other writings including her most popular book Silent Spring and her essay The Marginal World. The Marginal World was published in The Edge of the Sea in 1955, after World War Two. The post-World War two world inspired the public to be more environmentally active and gave them a new out look towards nature; a better environment would make for a better quality of life. Carson’s essay includes these new thoughts by using description, highlighting the animals, plants, lighting, and landscape of the shore. She goes into detail about how the environment makes her feel, saying she “gain[s] some new awareness of its beauty and deeper meanings” and that she senses “that intricate fabric of life by which one creature is linked with another” (Carson 215). Her description includes a surplus of imagery and figurative language. She utilizes personification to bring life to the surroundings, saying that the “delicate flowers heads would stir with life” (Carson 216), connecting her audience to nature, therefore giving the general public perspective on the feelings Carson felt while in this environment. Among this, she incorporates an allusion, citing that she  saw “what Audubon saw” (Carson 217). Being a painter, Audubon found the beauty and nature and painted it accordingly to create masterpieces. These rhetoric devices combine to create an inspiring essay about the beauty of the edge of the sea with an underlying message to help save the environment. The rhetoric devices cause the description to flow and advance the essay while keeping the general public interested in her writing. She was able to clearly and effectively describe to her audience the symbolism behind the animals and plant life and well as share her feelings that the nature arouse in her. With the craftsmanship of a writer and the knowledge of a marine biologist, Rachel Carson wrote a breathtaking essay that will inspire the public for years to come. 

Louisiana Heron, By John James Audubon 

Picture Citation

McNee, Lori. "The Importance of Being an Artist in Today's Modern World." Finearttips.com. N.p., 30 Jan. 2010. Web. 24 Aug. 2016.

Works Referenced 

Chowder, Ken. "John James Audubon: Drawn from Nature." PBS. N.p., 25 July 2007. Web. 24 Aug. 2016.