TOW #14 "Political Cartoon" Visual

I have always loved political cartoons.  Some Sundays, more often know that I'm graded for reading at least one of them, I just type in "political cartoon" into Google, and I come out with a new perspective on the political mosaic that is America.  Although I tend to lean more toward the right fiscally, I try to only analyze the political cartoons that remain neutral, or at least realize that no one person is responsible for the problems in America.  That's why I like this cartoon so much.


Let's start with the basic symbolism: the donkey is the liberal party and the elephant is the conservative party.  The paper the donkey is reading says "Tucson Tragedy".  This refers to the 2011 shooting of Gaby Giffords and eighteen others in Tucson.  In the aftermath of the shooting, conservatives and liberal took up arms against each other, each side blaming the other's key beliefs as responsible for this heinous act.

The cartoon gets at the heart of the political problems faced in America today.  Both sides appear to be friendly, as seen by the elephant and the donkey sitting together, drinking a beer, and wanting to return to the days where problems were discussed, not turned into radical extremism.  But, even with the two of them pretending to be friendly, their inner thoughts show a much different side to them.  Even after calling for "polite, political discourse", the two sides are still blinded by the stereotypes and stigmas that they hate each other.  And not only hate each other, they do not trust each other, as seen as they look at each other through suspicious eyes.  And that is the heart of the problem.  It's not the extremists, although they are very much a problem.  It is the people in power so blinded by their hatred of the other party that the success of the USA falls second.  This political cartoon is opening our eyes to how badly bipartisan politics in America is failing, and that people are hurt, like the nineteen injured or dead in Tucson.

TOW #13 "Evanescence Album Review" Article Post

As the dreaded thesis card on argument looms closer, I have decided to write a review.  Although I have not quite figured out what I am reviewing, but I decided to brush up  on the rhetoric that is used during the process of writing reviews.  I decided to read a review on music, going immediately to loudwire and typing in the name of one of my all time favorite band, Evanescence. The review, by Mary Ouellette, went over the new Evanescence album of the same name.  The writer starts out quoting the first line of the first track.  This was used to help establish the tone of the track.  Since the first line is dark, creepy, and powerful, the author establishes that, at the very least, the review will spin the new ablum in a positive light.  Which leads me to my second point: diction.  Ouellette ses the best diction in the line which is probably her thesis.  She writes "her lyrical content dissects the fine line between love and hate, gut-wrenching longing, and true despair and combines them with crunchy guitars, ethereal orchestral accents, and of course, her alluring piano tones".  With words like "gut-wrentching", "ethereal", and "alluring", we learn just how positive a review on Evanescence we are about to get. 

After her thesis, Ouellette lists each of the songs on the album, giving each a brief blurb about how the song helps make the album as good as Ouellette makes it out to be.  Again, she uses her positive diction, but also, she uses an appeal to the different.  She concludes her review with posing the implied question of "what category does this album belong to?"  She states, with colorful imagery, how Evanescence cannot be placed into one simple category.  They are fluid, moving between rock, indie, pop, and many others.  Now, kids who are really into music like bands that push limits, that define genres, and that are not afraid to make a new sound.  By establishing Evanescence as a multifaceted band, Ouellette makes them seem good for her audience, the kinds of people who love music but are looking for something new.  In my review, I will really need to focus on my audience.  Also, my diction will need to support my negative/positive review, whatever the subject matter.

http://loudwire.com/evanescence-album-review/

TOW #12 "The Blind Side" IRB

As you read before, I am not very interested in sports.  So when I picked up The Blind Side, I thought it was simply a biography about Michael Oher that I would pick up, think about how Oher overcame his poor childhood to become successful, but not feel as if I learned anything.  Couple that with the fact that it's a book on sports and I had some negative views in mind, even after seeing the movie. Boy was I wrong.  I was taken through the first half of a story of love, acceptance, success, learning, and just about any other positive moral idea you can think of.  Also, much like my last IRB book,  The Blind Side switches between two story arcs.  In In Cold Blood, it was between the murders and the investigation.  In The Blind Side, the story switches between the past, where Michael enrolls in Briarcrest Christian School and is adopted by Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy, and the present, where Michael Oher is a successful football player.  As I have said, I enjoy when a story has two plot lines.  It keeps it interesting for me.

I think the part that got to me most of all was the author's, Michael Lewis, use of the repeated idea of the "blind side" in football.  There is an idea in football that the quarterback has the area where he cannot see, therefore cannot react to oncoming opponents.  It is the good of the offensive line to protect the quarterbacks at all cost.  This idea of protecting someone who is defenseless appealed to Oher, who is very protective by nature.  The idea of Oher playing offensive line showed his kindness and loyalty as a person.  That's when I really realized how deep this book could be.  It uses these metaphors to an extent that I have never seen before.  Mostly, these metaphors are saved for the world of fiction, where a story can be centered around one simple theme.  The Blind Side, however, uses this idea of playing football to represent what if right in the world.  How people risk injury to save a weaker friend.  How the kindness of one person can be transferred to another as they pay it forward.  I actually can't wait to see the movie again, so I can watch it with a deeper understanding.

TOW #11 "Darwin's Dilemma" Article

I have always loved learning about pre-history, specifically the animals that existed before humans came along.  And not just dinosaurs, although those are fun to learn about.  I love learning about the first forms of life, like the first fish, the first reptiles, the first amphibians, and the first birds. Through learning about these early life forms, I have become well acquainted with Darwin's Theory of Evolution. And anyone who learns about the Theory of Evolution knows that evolution is a slow process. If that is to be believed, then the Cambrian Explosion, a time period where rapid evolution caused multiple species to come into existence, should never have happened. The article in the Huffington post claims that the rapid evolution might have been caused by the separating of Laurentia and Gondwanaland, two ancient continents during the Cambrian. According to the article, the splitting of the continents caused "water [to be] displaced by the shift flooded land areas, creating an ideal environment for new species to flourish" (Huffington 1).

The article supported this theory with expert testimonials from Dr. Ian Dalziel of the University of Texas' Institute for Geophysics.  Since he was the one who came up with the theory, his word should be trusted.  Also, the article uses a diagram to show how the continents were arranged and how they drifted apart.  As a visual learner, I can better visualize something if a picture is displayed.  It better explains the purpose of the article, past the simply textual rhetoric.  Also, by addressing the problems raised by this question, namely why this theory has not been figured out until now, it helps to strengthen the argument.  When the argument is disproved, it makes the main argument seem more trustworthy and credible.  I loved reading a news story that has given a possible answer to a question plaguing me since I was 6.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/19/darwins-dilemma-solved_n_6178504.html?utm_hp_ref=science 

TOW #10 "You Won't Hear It Coming" Visual Text

 

My dad has always become most angry at me for listening to music while I either work, walk, or wonder around the house. He claims that I'm not "paying enough attention to the world around me". Well, I hope he never finds this picture, because my case is sunk if he does. The advertisement is rather simple. The title is "You Won't Hear It Coming". An equation, set to a plain green background, combines a car and a man listening to his iPod to make a man in a wheel chair listening to his iPod. The message simply states "iPod. Use responsibly."  That message is an allusion to the warnings one medication, alcohol, and casino commercials have to put to levy them from blame if the person using the product sustains injuries.  Even though the advertisement does not relieve blame from Apple, the goal of the blurb is to make people pay more attention when using their iPods.  If you are told to use a medication responsibly, you make sure you read the directions and check to make sure you are taking the right dose.  The advertisement is hoping that the viewer will make sure that they are paying attention when using their iPod, especially since the iPod takes away the sense of hearing. 

Without the sense of hearing, humans would be at a disadvantage in the outside world.  The equation presented in the picture clearly shows that.  The simple addition of the variable (the car who relies on sound to warn of its presence and the man who cannot hear because of his music) to an unfortunate outcome (life in a wheel chair) touches on appeals to logos.  The logical argument is that when driving, a driver will blow his horn to warn someone to get out of the way.  If the person cannot hear, he would not be able to get out of the way in time.  Also, if someone gets into a car accident, there is the very real possibility that their lives could change forever negatively.  In this picture, losing the use of your legs is the result. The logic is pretty air tight.  Now back to wandering the high way listening to “Hello” by Evanescence at full blast.

IRB Intro #2 "The Blind Side"

Let's get something straigh: I do not like sports.  Never have, never will.  You might then ask why the pasty white nerd chose to read The Blind Side by Michael Lewis, a book entirely devoted to sports.  First off, let's establish that I love to watch movies.  And in my desire to watch a movie back in 8th grade, I stumbled upon the movie The Blind Side, which I watched with my cousins.  I immediately fell in love with the heart-warming story of how one woman's kindness saved a poor young man and helped him to accomplish fame and the oppertunity to be successful.  Then, I discovered that the movie was based off of a book.  Let's get something else clear, I love reading more then I love watching movies.  I find that usually, books are better then the movie, which I assume many people do as well.  And if this book is better then the movie, I am in for a treat.  I will enjoy starting to read The Blind Side.

TOW #9 "Magic Mushrooms" Article Post

I always wanted to go into a biological field when I grow up.  In order to better keep in touch with the science advances going on,  I am going to start reading more scientific articles.  Of course, some of those articles contain words that I would have to look up, then look up the words in the definition.  So, I'm starting small.  So, I went to my favorite search engine (google) and typed "science articles", which lead me to live science, and headed directly to an article about magic mushrooms.  Fungi have always been super interesting to me.  They function like plants, but eat dead things like bacteria and they produce some of the worst toxins known to man.  This article actually talks about the effects of mushrooms on the brain.  The drug "magic mushrooms"'s active ingredient, psilocybin, apparently changed the brain's connections, linking networks not normally connected.  This explains the "trippy" feel one gets when taking magic mushrooms

To help the average reader, like me, who might not understand all of the scientific terms, the article usually defines them for the reader.  For instance, the author writes "Psilocybin may create a brain state akin to synesthesia, a sensory effect in which one sense stimulus (such as a number) always gets paired in the brain with another (such as a color or a sound)".  Now, I know exactly what synesthesia is, so I can gain a greater understanding of the article.  Also, they article uses expert testimonial to gain ethos for their arguments. When talking about the connections made in the brain under magic mushrooms, the article quotes "study co-author Paul Expert, a physicist at King's College London".  Since the man they are quoting is both the study author and a physicist at a prestigious college.  It makes what the article is saying believable and credible.  I'm guessing a lot of scientific writing is building up credibility to successfully argue a point.  The article seemed to hint that psilocybin might be useful in treating depression.  That could be a real world application of the knowledge listed.  I guess science articles usually present the fact, then apply the knowledge to the real world.  I will definitely look for these in the nest article I read.

http://www.livescience.com/48502-magic-mushrooms-change-brain-networks.html 

TOW Post #8 "IRB Post #2"

There are very few nonfiction stories that were as good as In Cold Blood. True, the story pushed the limits of nonfiction. Actually, I think that the reason I liked this story was that it was not some dusty, crusty almanac from some even dustier, crustier library. It was modern and definitely pushed some boundaries.  One thing I loved was the parallel story lines between the killers and the victims/towns folk.  The parallel stories help keep the story interesting right up until the end. 

To establish the difference, when talking about the townspeople and the Clutter family, the writing style resembles a nonfiction reporter type of writing.  When discussing the death penalty, Capote writes, “Kansas abolished capital punishment in 1907; in 1935, due to a sudden prevalence in the Midwest of rampaging professional criminals… the state legislators voted to restore it” (311).  By using dates, which establishes logos, it sets up the formal tone of this part of the parallel story. 

The other part, when referring to the criminals Dick and Perry, uses more of a fictional narrative style.  This is mostly achieved through use of dialog.  Dialog is almost impossible to write for a nonfiction story, because unless there is a transcript, it cannot be totally real.  For instance, how did Capote know that Perry said exactly “That’s all.  Somebody he could work their guts out and never have to pay them one hot dime.  No, Bobo, I’m talking. Shut up or I’ll throw you in the river” (185).  Because dialog from real life cannot be exact, it seems more like fiction.  These aspects of fiction definitely made the story easier for me to read.  I think my problem with nonfiction is that the facts seem endlessly drilling into my brain, as the cheesecloth I my head tries to save as many acts as possible for use later.  Capote presents the murder as if it was fiction, which means the facts are not as focused on.  It makes it easier for me to understand, and altogether, more enjoyable. 

TOW Post #7 "On Being a Cripple" Article Post

As you're well aware, we had to read one of five essays to do a rhetorical analysis paper on.  I picked "A Plague of Tics" by David Sedaris, but something felt wrong.  All the other essays seemed so sad, so alone, so unread.  Then, I changed that by reading "On Being a Cripple" by Nancy Mairs.  In this essay, Mairs descrbes her life as disabled, stressing the fact that she likes the word "cripple" more.  She says that cripple has "an honorable history" and is "a clean word, straightforward and percise".  This no-holding-back style of writing is shown in the blunt, straightforward title.  From the title, I know that this essay will discuss both the advantages and disadvantages to being crippled in society.  The difference between other authors about disabilities and Mairs is that Mairs views her multiple sclerosis as bad.  Most people will try to convince the reader that their disability has "helped" them through life and how is has made them a "better" person.  As a person with a disability, I can say that disabilities are not fun, nor do they change your life for the better mostly.  BUT, Mairs also describes how her life is normal, which makes her happiest of all.   She has a husband and children, and even with the occasional flare-up of her MS, she trudges on.  She really puts a disability in perspective.

As with most essays about disabilities, her essay relies mostly on her own narratives, such as the bathroom incident to introduce the essay.  This ethos of having dealt with the disability makes the reader trust what she says as truth, rightfully so, because Mairs has experienced MS first-handedly.  Also, the plight of a crippled person trying to survive in a society that seems to get more cut-throat every second definetly pulls at the heart strings.  An effective use of pathos can make the audience simply feel bad for Mairs.  But she establishes early on that simpathy is not what this essay is about.  "On Being a Cripple" is the tale of Mairs coming to grips with MS on her own terms. Instead of feeling bad for her, the audience cheers her on, hoping that she can forget about her MS and live like a normal person.  I mean, isn't that what everyone wants?

TOW Post #6 "Progressive Commercials" Visual TOW

So, let's get something straight.  For some reason, car insurance commercials are the most entertaining commercials out there.  Truck commercials are too stereotypical, shampoo commercials share the same problem, and food commercials are ok, but they are so fake when you know what goes into making the food look that good.  BUT, car insurance companies (Allstate, Geico, E-surance, Progressive, Farmers)  advertise their products in a unique way, only shared on such a scale by cereal companies.  They feature characters that everyone knows and actually likes.  My personal favorite is Flo from the Progressive commercials.  First off, by creating the fun, lovable, positive Flo, the company gets automatic recognition as soon as the advertisement starts and we see the smiling face of Flo.

Now to the specific commercial, names "Choices".  Click the link to view.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7nl2AuG6G0

In the advertisement, Flo is explaining the choices one has under Progressive when one gets in an accident.  An element of humor is used when the middle aged woman pretends to think before choosing the attractive men at the Progressive service center.  Also, Progressive is using logos when saying "Progressive makes it easy, because we give you choices."  The logical assumption is that when a person picks something, they pick what is right for them.  Also, the idea of freedom of choice is one of the fundamental building blocks that our nation is built on.  We as Americans listen as soon as the word "choice" is involved, because it gives us a higher degree of not only freedom, but control in our life.  This commercial tells the audience "choosing the right coverage will improve your car insurance buying experience." It is a very convincing advertisement because of the humor, the lovable Flo, and the solid logical arguments made on freedom of choice.  Thesis.  I'll end on this note: if I had to buy insurance right now, I would probably go Progressive to be honest.

TOW Post #5 "How to Protect Yourself Against Ebola" Article Post

I have always loved reading the Onion for it's witty, satirical, and up-to-date view on American and worldly affairs.  Logically, the Onion would soon weed out and use people's fear of the new plague, Ebola, as a source of one of their humor articles.  In said article, the author discussed some ways that a person can avoid catching ebola.  The main rhetorical device is humor in the form of hyperbole.  In one of the suggested ways to avoid ebola, the article claims you should "regularly examine your DNA under an electron microscope for any indications that Ebola has attached itself to your cell membrane."  By showing the ridiculousness of trying to find out if you have Ebola, the panic of the disease is lessened.  Now some would argue that laughing at a very dangerous disease is blasphemous and just plain rude.  But those people have obviously not close-read anything before.  When looking at the suggested ways to keep safe from ebola, such as "boil all bodily fluids before consumption" or "avoid eating bat soup", one realizes that the Onion is not parodying the disease itself; no, it's parodying peoples reaction to the disease.  Whenever an epidemic breaks out, people tend to panic, even with no logical or factual evidence to constitute worry.  The article is saying "look, Ebola is scary.  We get that. But unless you live in Africa or in Dallas, Texas, you should be fine.  Also, don't eat bats (the means you Ozzy) and avoid drinking blood (that means you Edward).  That's what humor's job is.  To calm the masses when they fall into panic.  Humor makes us reexamine our false ideas and makes them seem ridiculous.  I know I am a lot less scared knowing exactly how to avoid Ebola.  To bad that soup tip didn't come one day earlier though...

http://www.theonion.com/articles/how-to-protect-yourself-against-ebola,37085/

TOW #4 "In Cold Blood" IRB

I have never liked nonfiction.  With the exception of a few books on prehistory and an excellent autobiography about John Elder Robinson, I usually steer toward fiction.  This book, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, has officially joined the ranks of great nonfiction books that I enjoy.  Mainly because Capote uses two view points; a factual-based side while introducing the family that is murdered and an almost entirely narrative-based side when talking about the murders.  For me, switching between two characters or multiple story lines was preferred, because I would often get board in the middle of a book.  I used to counteract that with reading multiple books at the same time.  In Cold Blood feels like two books in one, which keeps my interest throughout the first half of the book.  Also, since the audience is most likely murder-fanatics (as I am), Capote must have four key pieces to make this a riveting murder tale: history of the victim, history of the murder, the murder, and catching the culprit (not necessarily in that order).  So far, Capote has given us the history of Clutter family (the victims), the history of Dick and Perry (the assumed murderers), and the murder.  I feverishly await the actual catching of the perpetrators, but that is yet to come.   

I feel like the narrative is the most important rhetorical device.  Not only does that keep the interest of the audience, but it develops ethos and pathos for the author.  Capote tells us details that only someone who was either at the crime scene or someone who has done more than extensive research into the topic, such as the normal routines of the the family, the social standings of the family members, and the pervious lives of the two murders.  Also, by telling us about Nancy teaching Jolene how to make pies even when Nancy had no time, it connects the reader the family.  I remember thinking "I would love to be friends with this family."  It makes it even sadder when the entire family is murdered.  On the flip side, it makes you more angry and disgusted at the murderers.  In Cold Blood really makes you realize that just about anyone can fall victim to crime.  The Clutter family were loved by all and seemed to be a pillar of the community.  They were alive one night, then all murdered by morning.  Put's life in perspective, doesn't it?  

TOW #3 "Over Spain's Objections, Catalonia Plans Referendum On Independence"

          The world watched as Scotland, in a display of democratic peacefulness, voted to see if it should succeed or remain part of the United Kingdom.  Even though the Scottish people eventually decided to remain British, some parts of the world decided that they want to emulate Scotland.  The article Over Spain's Objections, Catalonia Plans Referendum on Independence by Lauren Frayer talks about Catalonia attempting to travel down the same path that Scotland did by succeeding from Spain

Spain with Catalonia

The people of Catalonia have been wanting to form their own country for a while now, and by mimicking Scotland by voting on independence, the people figured that they might have a chance to be independent.  The Spanish government, however, is not as happy about the idea of independence.  In fact, they seem determined to make sure that the vote never happens.  The purpose of this article seemed to be about more than just this corner of Spain.  It’s showing how many areas in Europe may start striving for independence.  It reminded me of the Arab Spring, with people rising up and speaking their mind.  Hopefully, this will not turn violent.  Fingers-crossed!
              Lauren Frayer is an NPR writer who constantly covers news involving Spain and Catalonia.  Her audience is most likely supporters of Catalonian independence.  The article glorifies the idea of Catalonia splitting from Spain, as shown when Frayer writes “Spain's northeast region of Catalonia… has long sought autonomy from Spain. Emboldened by Scotland, the region is planning its own independence vote in November” (Frayer 1).  By using the words “emboldened”, Frayer explains that before the Catalans were either timid or afraid.  Now, the Catalonian are ready to speak out to gain independence.  Who is making these people scared and timid though?  Frayer immediately attacks the Spanish government by writing “the Spanish government says that's illegal, and vows to block it at all costs” (Frayer 1).  By blocking a people’s right to vote, it makes the Spanish government look evil, controlling, and unwilling to listen to its citizens.  Frayer may be biased, but she really knows how to name drop.  She builds up some major ethos by quoting the Catalan president and the words of pro-independence groups to build up credibility.  She also uses logos, by including polls on Catalonian separation, to also build up her ethos as an expert on the subject.  Even though I totally agree with Catalonia’s right to vote on its future, it troubles me to think about where is this going to led.  Will it emulate the Arab Spring and cause bloody civil wars and let rise to terrorist groups?  Will it be shot down and stopped in Catalonia?  Or will Catalonia succeed, opening the doors for many other countries to be formed?  Only time will tell.

                                                                                                                       

For those who wish to read the article:

http://www.npr.org/2014/09/20/349904266/over-spains-objections-catalonia-plans-referendum-on-independence

TOW #2 "Story"

This past Wednesday, I was privileged to listen to the Wissahickon guest speaker, Alex.  His speech was entitled Story, which he gave to the audience, a group of 11^th and 12^th grade students.  Very attentive 11^th grades, might I add.  And we were so attentive, because Alex was hands down the best speaker that Wissahickon had ever seen.  Well, that’s my opinion, but everyone should agree with me.  Let’s start with the basics.  Alex’s speech was on the hard-to-find-a-consistent-definition topic hate.  And instead of lecturing us about how bad of people, Alex connected with us, telling us through his words and through the visual aspects.  The speech was a compilation of narratives, both from Alex’s life and from the lives of people close to him.  But, even with the effective used of narratives, it wasn’t that which kept my attention.  It was the visual aspects of the speech. 

As I walked into the auditorium, ready for a good 45 minute session of eye-clawing-out boredom, I was greeted to a young, blond man with a simple PowerPoint entitled Story.  It took me aback, because usually guest speakers make two mistakes: thinking that teens need to be thoroughly distracted with a slideshow crammed with pictures or the idea that a 40 year old can ever actually tell teenagers what to do.  So, already standing there with the correct PowerPoint, Alex had my friends and mine’s attention.  Ok, now that he had our attention, how was he going to keep it?  During his presentation, Alex moved a lot.  Now, that may not seem significant, but the constant walking around made the audience move to see him.  Those brief moments of movement helped, especially for me, kept me from nodding off.  Finally, he kept most of the attention off of the PowerPoint.  Most presenters using PowerPoint tend to bullet point the things they wish to mention.  Well, I can read, so I read their bullet points, know what they are saying, and stop paying attention.  Alex’s slideshow had a title, a picture, and maybe a short blurb.  He used it less of a notecard and more of a visual.  My favorite part of the presentation was when he showed us the picture The Weeping Woman by Pablo Picasso.   

Weeping Woman, By Pablo Picasso
She really does not look like a real human, therefore is dehumanized

He used the point that the painting does not show a human as we know them.  He made a very effective point about dehumanization and what it can do to people, while using the visual to relate an abstract idea to a concrete visual aid.  I left that auditorium thinking, which I rarely do after guest speaker, but not just because of what he said.  It was the use of positive visual manipulation that he kept my attention and hopefully the attention of everyone else.

IRB Intro #1 "In Cold Blood"

I have always been interested in murder.  Some have called my slight obsession “creepy” or “psychotic”.  I joke of course, but this subject is not a subject one would readily admit that they enjoy.  So, that interest in murder led me to the book In Cold Blood by Truman Capote.  This murder story is Capote’s most famous work, although he has written numerous other pieces, including plays, movies, short stories, essays, and the eternally famous Breakfast at Tiffany’s.  What drew me to this book was the idea of reading a true crime novel.  I usually read fiction murder stories by the genius Agatha Christie.  This was a great way to transition from the comfortable world of fiction to the unstable, unknown realm of nonfiction.  I hope to learn more about real crimes, since I mostly stay in made-up crime scenes.  It will also be a comparison to works of fiction, because as they say, “The truth is stranger then fiction.”  If that’s true, I’m in for a rollercoaster.       

TOW#1 "How to Say Nothing in 500 Words"

Intriguing title, isn’t it?  Mr. Perlman, my high school gifted teacher, always said to avoid saying nothing in your essays.  He attempted to tell us to make every word in your essay should be used in a precise way, each word should have meaning, and nothing should be redundant or unnecessary penguin. Paul Roberts, writer of great English textbooks, tells us the very same thing in this essay.  His main point is to inform modern high school or college students, his intended audience, how to make their writing matter by teaching them both what to and what not to do while writing an essay.  And Roberts comes out fighting with a killer exposition.  The introduction is a narrative of an English student attempting to write a 500 word essay on college football.  Since he has no interest in the subject, he writes the essay, but the essay is weak in content and practically the same as every other essay.  This narrative style helps the audience understand what saying nothing actually means.  Within that narrative, Roberts uses humor to help keep the attention of the reader.  My personal favorite was the line “he [The English Teacher] wonders how he allowed himself to get trapped into teaching English when he might have had a happy and interesting life as an electrician” (Roberts 2).  By adding the humor to the narrative, it keeps the point of the essay precise and interesting to the reader.  And androgynous young person, was this fun to read!  I felt like every word was carefully crafted to

While reading this essay, I left reading the essay feeling like I understood what saying nothing in an essay was.  His explanation of what to include (such as the least argued point and using the abnormal view) and what to chuck in the dustbin (such as clichéd phrases like “chuck in the dustbin”, abstraction, and colorless words).  His main point, as pointed out in the title, was to tell the audience what saying nothing in an essay was.  BUT, by teaching the audience how not to make an essay mean nothing, Roberts sneakily informs us how to write a better essay.  Much like his “Take the Less Usual Side” (Roberts 3) stance, instead of beating me over the head saying “MAKE YOUR ESSAY BETTER”, Roberts coolly sakes my hand and says “make you writing mean something”.  Of course when I look down at my hand, I find a note saying “Ha! You now know how to write better”, but Roberts has fled the scene.  I know chasing him would be futile, so I just soak up my lessen, well-learned.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

As an essay I have heard about for years, I’m glad I finally had the chance to read this incredibly famous, very well written, and timeless autobiography by Maya Angelou (rest in peace Mrs. Angelou) called I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.  Being one of the most prolific African American writers of the 20^th century, Angelou needs no introductions, but I’ll give a little background information to those of you how have been living under a rock.  Maya Angelou is a famous African America poet, thespian, and civil rights advocate.  She has received over fifty honorary degrees, an amazing accomplishment, considering she was a black woman writing a best-selling autobiography in the 1970s, where desegregation was in full swing, with many people still harboring racist attitudes toward the “colored” community. Using a very effective narrative voice, Angelou writes to explain her and her family’s struggles in Stamps, Arkansas as a black, business-owning family.  They are met with disrespectful (in modern terms) white-trash how try to feel better about themselves by kicking downward.  I’m not saying that Maya Angelou’s family was beneath the white trash, but it was the feeling at the time that black people where under any white person on the social ladder, especially in the south at the time.

Angelou has many massages in themes throughout her autobiography.  My favorite comes at the end, where her grandmother stands on the porch as so white girls come and tease and insult her grandmother.  Angelou and Momma (that’s what Angelou called her grandmother) react in two totally different ways.  Angelou gets upset and angry as the girls continue to mock and mimic her grandmother.  Angelou writes “I thought about the rifle behind the door” (Angelou 355).  She reacts negatively, her mind turning to threatening, or even murderous, means.  Momma reacts in a totally different way.  She ignores the girls and goes on singing.  Angelou writes “Momma changed her song to ‘Bread of Heaven, bread of Heaven, feed me till I want no more’” (Angelou 356).  By ignoring these girls, eventually the girls lose interest and leave.  Angelou was shown that the route of passive and peaceful resistance can calm and dissipate an unpleasant situation.  If Angelou had threatened the girls, they would get a reaction.  Like all bullies, that is what the girls were after.  When Momma did not give the reaction they wanted, the girls left.  Angelou is supporting the Civil Rights Movement’s use of nonviolent means and civil disobedience to bring about change.  We can all learn from Angelou’s timeless story.  I know I really enjoyed reading her story.  It gave an accurate portrayal of segregated life without blaiming anyone in particular.  It simply gave the facts of her life, showing the injustice and unfair treatment of the black community.  I end with saying, Maya Angelou, you gave me a new perspective through which to think.  And I am grateful.

Rest In Peace Maya Angelou (April 4, 1928-May 28, 2014).  Thank you!
(Found on google images)

Insert Flap “A” and Throw Away

Insert Flap “A” and Throw Away was by far the funniest and most abstract essay I have ever read. Yet another New Yorker essay, this time written in 1944, this essay was written by S.J. Perelman.  Very rarely do I actually laugh when reading a so called “humor” essay.  But there is something about Perelman's writing that tickled my funny bone mercilessly.  Humor was definitely the most important rhetoric device used by Perelman, which is expected from a famous comedic screen write and essayist.  This is best shown in the line when he finally beats the truck’s flaps until they finally fit into the holes, only to find out it doesn’t move.  Perelman reacts to the tragedy as so: “As merciful blackness closed in, I was on my hands and knees, bunting the infernal thing along with my nose and whinnying, ‘Roll, confound you, roll’” (Perelman 189).  See, I laughed for a good minute straight at the idea of this dad, who is obviously foaming at the mouth at this point, trying to push this haphazardly put together car along with his face.  By using humor, Perelman managed to create an essay with something for people of all ages and genders.  But, the main audiance for Insert Flap “A” and Throw Away are the fathers of the world who desperately struggle to place even the simplest of flaps. 

Insert Flap “A” and Throw Away captures the madness that trying to assemble Jiffy-Cloz and toy trucks.  The main conflict of the story arises when Perelman attempts to put together a Self-Running 10-Inch Scale-Model Delivery-Truck Construction Kit for his children. 

I'm pretty sure this is how Perelman reacted to his carboard delivery truck, with almost cartoonish violence
(Found on google images)

As he struggles through attempting to put together a truck for his poor kids, while using as many excuses as he can think of to get out of it, Perelman is send a clear message: Assembly is made needlessly complicated.  The many mentions of flaps and missing or improper parts, both in the Jiffy-Cloz and the Delivery-Truck Construction Kit, show how unnecessarily complex the instructions make putting these should-be simply toys together.  The complexity of these instructions is best shown when Perelman writes “Poising tabs C, D, E, F, G, H, J, K, and L in one hand and the corresponding slots in the other, I essayed a union of the two, but in vain… Some idiotic employee at the factory had punched out the wrong design” (Perelman 188).  First off, the matter of the tabs.  Tabs are very flimsy and very hard to every fit into their designated slots.  Secondly, tabs are made out of weak cardboard, so they rip about every third time you attempt to insert the tab.  Lastly, we have all had the joy of almost completing a project, only to find out the manufacturer left out a few pieces or the pieces are the wrong size for the project at hand.  Perelman is calling out these barons of insanity, telling manufacturers to take pride in their work by giving us the correct and proper amount of pieces.  And I agree.  End the madness, do away with the flaps. 

Sex Ex Machina

So, first things first, let’s get something clear.  I did NOT choose this essay because the idea of writing the word “sex” in an AP assignment multiple times was sort of rebellious.  Don’t get me wrong, I am enjoying it as much as any other teenager.  But, what comes after sex is what interests me the most (for those laughing at that line, minds out of the gutter please).  The term “ex machine” comes from the Latin term “deus ex machina”.  This expression is used when an event happens in a story that is just a little too convenient and falls outside the realms of reality.  For example, the entire 2012 movie is one big, giant deus ex machina.  I mean really, how in the world could a limo out run explosions, a falling parking lot, then drive through a building, get to the airport, find an empty plane, and fly it though San Francisco as it falls into the pits of hell.  Watch this clip to fully understand what I mean.

 

You see what I mean.  There is no logical way that they are alive right now.  The perfect example of a deus ex machina.

(Found on YouTube)

  The author, James Thurber, the famous American humorist, cartoonist, author, journalist, and playwright, establishes immediately that the topic at hand will attempt to use sex to create an all-inclusive and somewhat ridiculous explanation as to why this certain event occurred.  Just as promised by the title, Thurber takes the audience, readers of the New Yorker, on a wild adventure of car-on-human interactions set in the newly forming technological age of 1937.  He does this to explain the human psyche and explain why some actions are not as crazy as they seem.  Thurber talks about three people, A, B, and C, and the hypothetical situation where a car drives right at them.  A jumps out of the way, B stands still and excepts that they will be hit, but C jumps around a bit, then runs right at the car.   Thurber claims that Freudians will look at C and find that the car represents sex, with C running straight at the uncontrollable and scary situation and is therefore crazy and wrong.  Thurber turns around and quickly debunks that idea, claiming it to be outright ridiculous.  He does this through the extended metaphor of Mr. A, Mr. B, and Mr. C, who are slightly changed over time to include animal and female versions of them.  Also, he uses his friend, Harvey Lake, who when driving, “the steering bar of an old electric runabout broke off in his hand, causing the machine to carry him through a fence and into the grounds of the Colubus School for Girls” (Thurber 158).  Thurber claims that Harvey experienced what Mr. C did, but claimed it was rational.  Of course he is now scared of vehicles, he has an accident with left him scarred.  By establishing that C is not crazy, he states that by running at problems we may face, such as sex, we may end up scarred, but we may also conquer our fears and become stronger.  I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to parkour some cars right about now.  Wish me luck.

            You indentured servant,

                                    Ian Wilenzik