TOW #6 - visual text: credibility of presidential candidates

The presidential election has fueled the United States into one big argument. It has sparked conversations not only in this country, but across the world, causing controversy wherever it may go. The news is filled to the brink with political articles and conversations in this day always seem to come back to one topic: the 2016 presidential election. The candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, are two extremely strong forces with clashing views. The author has an obvious bias and the reader is able to clearly see which side the author has chosen, and that is the democratic side of Hillary Clinton.

            Within the cartoon, Donald Trump’s brain is presented at a size about a third of Clinton’s. This shows the viewpoint of the author, how they believe Trump’s intelligence level is incomparable to Clinton’s. This provokes a certain audience, one with the belief that Trump is the favored candidate. This political cartoon is propaganda and is being used to persuade the audience to change their viewpoint. On the brains of each of the candidates, there are pictures representing where their knowledge comes from and where their credibility resides. Trump has a Twitter logo on his brain and Clinton has a senate seal. The difference between this is obvious; Trump does not have the “brains” to be president because his only referral to being credible is a social media website.

            The author uses rhetorical devices such as comparison and imagery to portray their message. They compare the brain of Clinton to Trump using relative size. This comparison allows the author to clearly and effectively show their standpoint. The imagery used is shown in the candidate’s facial expressions. Trump, who is portrayed in an unattractive manner, is being demeaned in the cartoon whereas Clinton is smiling and is seemingly confident.

            The author’s purpose, to inform and persuade their audience of the lack in Trump’s credibility, is conveyed successfully. The author clearly takes one side of the argument and proves their case.

TOW #5 - article: "The Lives of a Cell"

            “Perspective is everything”. This common saying is a common theme of the Lewis Thomas’s short essay, “The Lives of a Cell”. The nature of man is analyzed in biological terms, showing how our smaller parts such as the mitochondria and chloroplasts are our everything. Our whole existence revolves around our smaller parts, the smaller units of our anatomy. We could not pursue our dreams and reach our potential without each microscopic piece of ourselves. This comparison is then made to Earth, the oceans, continents, countries and cities make up Earth and the way they are utilized. Earth is compared to a cell, a small unit of life in the midst of the universe.

            The author tries to open the reader’s eyes to a new perspective, one not often looked at. He tries to reach a general audience, one of average, functioning human beings. Lewis Thomas informs the audience of the smaller units of life and how they are compared to the grand scheme of life. The earth, a small planet in the infinite universe, is similar to a cell, an unimaginably tiny unit of life amidst surrounding functions within a human body.

            The message the author is trying to get across is that each small unit of life should not be looked past. Differentiation of cells should be appreciated; our whole lives revolve around the tiny lives of these living things. Lewis Thomas uses figurative language and comparisons to achieve this purpose. Thomas uses metaphors and similes to show how all life on Earth is connected just like all cells connect to make a functioning human. Thomas also uses comparisons to get his point across. His final words describe his realization that the earth can be compared to a cell. A living, thriving unit of life feeding off the resources around it.

            This comparison is successfully made. The author introduces the reader to a new perspective and uses specific rhetorical devices to clearly present his elaborate ideas.

TOW #4 - IRB: "Tuesdays with Morrie"

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom is a book about an individual journey through life. Morrie Shwartz taught an eager Mitch Albom at Brandeis University. Inspired by his outlook on life and his diverse ways of teaching, Albom visited Shwartz during not only his office hours but personal visits. Upon graduation, Albom promised Shwartz he would keep in touch. This promise was one Albom did not keep and he greatly regrets this.

Years later, a far older, wiser and ALS stricken man, Morrie Shwartz is interviewed and put on “Nightline”, a special on ABC. Albom, flipping through channels, sees this interview with his old professor. Overcome by regret for not keeping his promise, Albom is angry with himself for allowing himself to lose touch with one of his greatest influences who is now months away from death. Albom’s feelings were so powerful that he flew to Boston, Morrie’s hometown, and paid him a visit. These visits became regular and each Tuesday, Mitch traveled to see Morrie and discuss life lessons.

These life lessons opened Albom’s eyes to new perspectives. His money-driven life became sad, as if the true meaning of his life consisted of success. The life lessons that Morrie describes are not just relevant to Mitch, but to a broad audience of people struggling to see the good in life. Struggling to breathe, eat and go to the bathroom on his own, Morrie has a clear vision of what struggle and death look like. He uses lessons learned in his own life to aid and direct Mitch find a happier path in life, one focusing on non-materialistic things.

Mitch Albom describes his relationship with Morrie using anecdotes. Albom flashes back to times when he was still in college and saw Morrie as a teacher and not as a friend. Albom also uses figurative language to describe the weakness of Morrie. He compares Morrie to fragile things, to things full of struggle and death. This helps the reader understand Morrie’s true state of living.

I believe that Albom is successful in communicating his purpose. He clearly shows how his life has been pulled in a different direction because of Morrie’s wise words.

TOW #3 - Article: "The Science Behind Dreaming"

                Dreaming is a complex concept, one people, even scientists, have trouble wrapping their heads around. Yet new discoveries are made every day that link us closer and closer to the true science behind dreams. In the article “The Science Behind Dreaming”, different research studies are depicted and the answer to what dreams are and how they affect us is revealed. The author, Sander van der Linden, a social-psychologist and professor at Princeton, compares the historical misconceptions of dreams to the idea of dreams that we have today, ideas with a surplus of technological backing.

            Trying to reach the general public, Linden aims to inform about the science behind dreams, an action each and every person goes through in their lifetime. He also clears up common misconceptions and gets straight to the truth, what dreams are really made of. In reality, dreams turn on electrical brain waves in our mind and trigger parts of the brain such as the amygdala and the hippocampus, areas that control our emotions and memories. This explains why dreams have such strong emotional connotations.

            Linden constructs her ideas in a very successful manner, making her evidence highly relevant and the purpose, to inform the general public about the science behind dreams, very clear. Using coherence, exposition and ethos, Linden constructs a purpose and gets it across to the audience. By using a historical analysis of dreams, leading into various different current studies and theories about dreams and eventually concluding with a summary of the research findings, Linden’s article flows and has coherence. He also establishes ethos by giving credible and current research from research teams located all over the world.

            All in all, Linden was successful in communicating his purpose to the audience of un-informed citizens. He backed up his ideas with an abundance of research and clearly laid out the true science behind dreams.

TOW #2 - Visual Text: Increasing Environmental Issues (cartoon)

                As technology develops and humans begin caring less and less about the natural world around them, a change occurs in nature, one that cannot be undone. Oil production, waste levels and the human race’s carbon footprint are all factors that are leading to global warming, loss of natural resources and the ultimate downfall of the environment. Although many are aware of this issue and are making an effort to turn the fate of the environment around, too many are oblivious to the destruction they are causing. Many efforts are being made to make these oblivious people understand the damage they are doing.

            This political cartoon is an example of an effort made to help their audience, people oblivious to the harm they are causing to the environment. The author successfully shows the audience what the world may turn into if their habits continue. The author of the cartoon is trying to uncover reality for the people blind to it. The cartoon reads “Earth Day 2035” in the top right corner, telling the audience that the setting is the future. The rest of the cartoon shows various camera men taking pictures of what seems to be a political leader in front of a backdrop of a healthy forest. Yet, surrounding the backdrop is the reality of the time period: cut down trees, fossil fuels, trash and more. The reasoning behind the creation of this cartoon is to take action on a problem much bigger than people realize, to spread awareness about our slowly dying environment in the hopes of causing a positive reaction.

            The author of this political cartoon uses many rhetorical strategies including satire, imagery and mood. The author is using humor to criticize the immaturities of the human race. Imagery is also being used by taking different elements and describing a situation without directly saying the context. Lastly, the mood of the cartoon makes the audience want to take action and make a difference.

            The author created this cartoon to raise awareness on the downfall of the environment. The author accomplished this successfully by appealing to the audience’s emotions and making them open their eyes to the harsh reality. 

TOW #1 - Article: "No Name Woman"

                Part of human nature is to wonder and dig in to your cultural past. Where you came from, traditions in which your ancestors participated in and so much more. These are things the author of No Name Woman wonders as she dives into her family’s past.

Maxine Hong Kingston, a Chinese-American who wonders how to differentiate Chinese tradition with reality, writes an essay on her fascination with her past, her roots in China and her life as a Chinese-American. Kingston writes about a story in which she sworn to her mother to keep a secret. The irony within this piece of text is already present, the author is making a family secret public. Kingston’s aunt, a woman with no name, was married to a man who moved to America. Two years later, the aunt was impregnated and gives birth to a child. Because of this, the aunt was proven disloyal to her husband and therefore shun from her surrounding villagers and her family. This caused an uprising, the villagers came and raided the aunt’s belongings: her livestock and her clothes. Once the aunt gives birth, she throws herself and her child to the bottom of a well. This story stays with Kingston as she grows up. Her mother uses this story to alter her mind, teaching her to choose the path of loyalty and to keep her family’s reputation at a constant.

The audience Kingston intended to reach with this essay is people stuck between whether their traditional past is fiction or reality. Her purpose is to find an in between of Chinese and American culture, to come to terms with her individual identity. Kingston uses rhetorical devices such as imagery and motif. She describes the story of her aunt in great detail, giving her aunt a real personality that the audience is able to connect with. An example of a motif also mention in No Name Woman is that of ghosts, people who are forgotten long ago yet still make an effect on the present day. The author well supported her purpose to create a meaningful essay.

IRB Intro Post #1

For the first marking period, I am choosing to read the book Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. This novel is about Mitch Albom and his sudden and meaningful connection with his old professor, Morrie Shwartz. Albom sees his old professor being interviewed on a television show and is compelled to reconnect with him. Although, Shwartz is very ill and does not have much time left to rekindle an old connection. With the time that Shwartz has left, Albom visits him each Tuesday to discuss a new life lesson. I selected this book because I think the perspective that a wise man on the verge of death has on life will be very different and new to me. I hope to gain a sense of appreciation for my own life and to discover new lessons life has to offer.