IRB #3 Introduction Post

In a twist of events, the medical director of Bellevue hospital gets diagnosed with throat cancer. He tellshis story as a patient, as well as the stories of many patients he has treated along the way, in the
memoir Twelve Patients: Life and Death at Bellevue Hospital. Through these stories, he discusses the
meaning of life and death, immigration, obesity, suicide, and health care, helping his story relate to every reader. This book has been recommended to me by both my mother and my sister. After starting it over the summer but never getting far, it would be a perfect book to finish as an IRB.

TOW #17—Page from a Fashion Magazine

TOW #17—Page from a Fashion Magazine

                Magazines, whether news, fashion, or sport, have been a large part of American culture long before I was born. They advertise anything you can think of—from clothes and shoes to fancy tennis ball dispensers for dogs. They are a staple item in every household. Every magazine has a large visual component to it—drawing readers in through visual aspects. Even ads must appeal to the eye or they will be looked over or, simply, never picked up. In this particular magazine, two women hug each other from a close up view and description covers their arms at the bottom of the page.

                The women in the photo, one younger and one older, embrace each other in an excited hug, smiling large. Their hair, similar in color and style, paired with the phrase “mother and actress” at the top of the page may lead readers to believe that it is a mother and her grown daughter in the photo. This goes to show how this particular clothing brand appeals not only to the younger generation, but the older ones as well. It compliments both young and old, attracting a larger audience. The smiles on the two women showcase their joy. The joy, though not plausible, may have roots in the clothing they wear and can be assumed that is the case due to the occasion of the text. The colors of the photo overall remain light, adding to the lighthearted and happy tone of the text. This, again, adds to the happiness that the clothing line seemingly brings to the duo.

                The light tones, the actresses’ facial expression, and the age difference of the actresses make the clothing line in the magazine article visually appealing. Though the magazine does not showcase the clothes itself, it insinuates by simply using visual appeals that the clothing line will make you happy. 

TOW #16—IRB: “Behind the Beautiful Forevers” By Katherine Boo

TOW #16—IRB: “Behind the Beautiful Forevers” By Katherine Boo

                Poverty has torn our world apart. It resides in every country, every state, every city. It is extremely prevalent in India, where slums squat all around the outskirts of cities. The poor hide in the shadows of sky scrapers and scavenge through the trash of the rich, hoping to find something valuable. Millions of people live this way and there isn’t much they can do to help themselves. However, aide can be found from those who make a good living, who live with the benefits the poor have never had. But sadly, many people do not help. Most do not know the dire situation that is rampant throughout the world and some simply do not seem to care to help. Journalist Katherine Boo traveled to India and wrote a book on the lives of a few people living in the slums of Mumbai. She intertwines thoughtfully crafted diction in her story-like nonfiction book to create the feelings that her characters were experiencing in those moments. With this knowledge, readers feel inspired to help and to lend to the cause of the people living in the slums.

                Boo has the specialty and the ability to add powerful emotions into her writing. She clearly conveys what her characters feel, from each perspective and in each situation. It helps to explain the characters’ motivations, hopes, dreams, likes, dislikes, and insecurities. She does this by choosing her words carefully. She uses powerful verbs such as “shrieked” (Boo 96) and “inspected” (Boo 135) to convey feelings in the characters’ actions. Her strong description, such as “mast-straight” (Boo 135) and “poking along in bitty hearings” (Boo 205), paints a picture and adds feelings to the situation. Thus, the reader can easily develop relationships with the people and their situations. Whether this causes sympathy, inspiration, or depression, it motivates the readers to take action and to help people who experience this same pain.

                Boo’s book, sold world-wide, has inspired many. As the years pass, it only inspires more to take a stand on world poverty. Boo uses powerful language in her book to express the feelings and emotions these real, struggling people have and to motivate others to take action. 

Tow #15--“A Fix for Gender Bias in Health Care? Check” by Jessica Nordell

Tow #15--“A Fix for Gender Bias in Health Care? Check” by Jessica Nordell

                It’s not hard to see that there is a gap between men and women in society. It wasn’t until 1920 that women could vote and, even now, women get paid less than men, are expected to stay home to watch the children, and take on the household duties. In hospitals, this gap is also occurring, not only among the employees, but the patients as well. In Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, 45% of women who could have been cured died of preventative blood clots. In men, the percentage was only 31. This was not due to the treatment they received but the way they received it. Doctors seemed to be more careless and non-attentive to women, favoring men. However, as the article presents, the hospital came up with a check list, resulting in less deaths and no gender imbalance.

                Nordell keeps her tone light and informative. Since her subject contains controversial material, such as the gender roles, this tone could have easily turned to anger, revenge, or even fear. She, however, uses phrases such as “It’s not clear what causes these differences” and “unintentionally” to show that, although she is a woman herself, she does not harbor anger. Her article is about how this difference between men and women can be lessened, not about why it is caused. Her lack of anger draws in a larger audience and keeps both women and men reading. Personally, I have read a lot of articles about women’s rights and, as a woman myself, I am turned away by the over-emotionally and rage-filled tone. I am sure men, feeling attacked, do not engage with the article either. Nordell’s approach stays focused on the medicine, keeping her audience happy and intrigued.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/11/opinion/a-fix-for-gender-bias-in-health-care-check.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fhealth&action=click&contentCollection=health&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=9&pgtype=sectionfront

Tow #14 – FDR’s Pearl Harbor Address

Tow #14 – FDR’s Pearl Harbor Address

                On December 7, 1941, the naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was attacked by Japanese fighter planes. Over 2,000 soldiers died, 20 naval vessels were destroyed, 300 airplanes were destroyed, and another 1,00 soldiers were injured. The very next day, President Franklin Roosevelt asked congress to declare war on Japan in his Pearl Harbor Address, bringing America into World War II.

                FDR had to appeal to congress in order to declare war. To do so, he carefully controlled his diction. At the start of the address, he speaks about America’s previous peace with Japan. He utilizes the past tense to reinforce the idea of broken peace and betrayal. He often says “was” to refer to their relations with Japan and later changes to words such as “useless” and “deliberately planned”. This changes his tone from hopeless to angry. At first, he represents the hopeless and sorrowful feelings of the American people by representing the pain and betrayal they have felt, reinforcing this feeling by referencing how America and Japan were united together in their efforts to keep peace in the pacific. By later transitioning to an angry tone, he represents the internalized feelings of the American people. The people who have lost family, friends, colleagues, and co-workers are angered by the deliberately planned deaths of their friends. Following the stages of grief, FDR presents his proposal. As can be assumed, congress is also moved by this and thus, has experienced these stages of grief. This not only arouses the feelings in each member of congress but validates them as well.

                Simply by utilizing the English language, President Franklin Roosevelt declared war on the Empire of Japan. A few days later, Japan’s allies declared war on the United States and officially brought them into World War II. FDR’s address on Pearl Harbor indirectly brought America into World War II. 

TOW #13: Visual Text – Cover of CoolBook Magazine

TOW #13: Visual Text – Cover of CoolBook Magazine

                Junior year is the first year I can go to prom, (without an older date, of course) meaning that many magazines have and will be sending me their ads for proms dresses. The first magazine I got this year is CoolBook, a magazine that I have never heard of before. This may be the case because it only includes prom dresses and, seeing as I have never had to shop for one before, I have not had the pleasure of discovering it yet. Its cover, displaying a woman in a dark green-teal dress, is simple with only two main colors on a white page: purple and green. It encapsulates the he simplicity, yet the beauty that their prom dresses have to offer.

                The woman on the front is wearing a simple off-green dress with jewels at the top. Her body is turned away, though her eyes stare directly at the camera. Her mouth is parted, halfway between a smile and a sultry look. Out of everything on the front cover, it is not her dress, her abnormally large earrings, or her smoky eyes that catch my eyes; it is her mouth. Her mouth, ever so slightly turned up shows the happiness this model is feeling in her dress. However, it is not a grin or a laugh, or even a full smile. She is still serious and, as they are suggesting, sexy. The simple position of her lips represents the range of emotions a girl can feel in a prom dress from CoolBook.

                The cover contains two main colors; purple lettering and the green of the model’s dress. It is simple, not too crowded, with darker tones against the bright white behind it. Pantone’s Color Institution has named Greenery, a color inspired by the greens found in nature, as the color of 2017. The magazine entraps audiences by using this popular color and pairing it with a dark, faded purple, another very popular color. Though the two aren’t complementary colors, they pair well on the cover and give a stark contrast, defining sharper lines on the magazine. This sharp line can be seen as popular amongst other societal beauties, such as sharp jaw lines, or thick black glasses. By using the shape of the model’s mouth and two contrasting yet popular colors, CoolBook creates a front cover appealing to any teen.

                 

TOW #12 – IRB: “Behind the Beautiful Forevers” by Katherine Boo

TOW #12 – IRB: “Behind the Beautiful Forevers” by Katherine Boo

                Katherine Boo, journalist and writer, traveled to the slums of India, observing the lives of the people for three years. She tracks not only one person, but multiple, gaining different insight to the daily lives of the people of Annawadi. Hopes are high as the economy prospers, but before long, Abdul, who sees a bright future in the trash of the rich, is charged with a serious crime. The economy starts to shift and the hopes of the people plummet. Boo’s rocking story shines light on the tough situations rampant through, not only India, but every country. She uses extremely strong and descriptive diction to paint the picture of these lives to show the middle class and the rich the pain and the suffering the lower class must endure to get through each individual day.

                Boo excites an emotional response in her audience by using well thought out diction in addition to listing the experiences she observed while in Annawadi, the slums of Mumbai. She includes phrases such as “the belly-down splay of alcoholics” (3), “booby-trapped with contentions” (5), “broken-toothed, profit-minded Santas” (6), “turned his snot black” (7), and “brittle stack of newspapers” (8) to describe the slums. The diction helps to describe the people, the rich, the land, their jobs, and, overall, their lives. It highlights the overwhelming buildings housing the rich surrounding the slums, the terrors and the fears of each individual job, the mindsets of people who have worked too hard to gain nothing, the homes that may fall in at any second. Her diction paints a picture of the slums, both emotionally and physically. Without saying anything forthright, Boo informs her audience of the precarious situation in the slums, illuminating the differences between the luxurious life of the middle class and the lower class.

                Simply by using stronger language, Boo already evokes an emotional response in her audience and demonstrates the lives of the lower class in the slums of Mumbai. 

TOW #11 – Chief Seattle’s Speech by Chief Seattle

TOW #11 – Chief Seattle’s Speech by Chief Seattle

                In 1887, still-developing America proposed to buy the land territory of current day Washington state and Oregon from the native inhabitants, ruled by Chief Seattle. Seattle himself, described as eloquent, powerful, strong, and wise, responded to the proposition with a speech. He outlined Native American feelings, wishing to be friends with the “pale-faced” white men while also conflicted about cultural conflicts. In the speech, he does not give an answer to the president’s proposition, but rather, prefaces it with the complicated feelings both he and his tribe are feeling. At the end, he artfully presents a condition that must be accepted for his tribe to agree to giving away their land. His build up to this condition includes eloquent personification and carefully chosen diction to sway his white audience.

                Chief Seattle, a mastery of speaking, included beautiful personification in his speech in order to beautify the land that the Americans wanted to buy from his tribe. He says, “Sad-voiced wind moans” and “…the very dust under your feet responds more lovingly to our footsteps than to yours” (Chief Seattle). This personification gives the nature emotions and feelings that every human can relate to, making the nature not only beautiful, but relatable to the American audience. It makes the nature graceful, beautiful, imperfect, as a human is. This, then, helps to demonstrate to Seattle’s audience why the Native Americans feel a connection to the last they are being asked to give away. Since the condition is developed around a connection to the land, Seattle knows that this demonstration will pull out feelings in his audience, encouraging at least sympathy. This sympathy creates understanding of the condition being presented and, hopefully, acceptance.

                During his speech, Seattle carefully choses beautiful, descriptive diction to create a tone of superiority among his American audience. He uses words such as “fond”, “sacred”, “hallowed”, “mighty hosts”, “dusky spirits”, “solitudes”, and “throng with the returning hosts” (Chief Seattle). This diction creates a superiority complex surrounding the Native Americans. By describing themselves as “hosts”, they claim that they belong to this land. This states to the citizens of a new nation that they cannot simply buy this sacred area, which is beautified by Seattle’s words. He states that the Native Americans have more rights to the land than their “pale-faced” brothers. In terms of the presented condition, this gives American a more forceful push. It states, without directly stating, that they must accept the condition or they will only get the land when the tribe dies. 

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.