TOW#13 The Lie About College Diversity

The topic of college is highly relevant in my life and the lives of my peers. There are many different factors that need to be taken into account when choosing the right school to go to, one of these factors is diversity of the staff and students. Colleges are using their diversity as a reason to convince student to attend. Frank Bruni, an author for the NY times for many years, believes this is a good thing although it is not carried out as it should be. Bruni believes that the student body being diverse is not enough, self segregation is still happening and the colleges must combat them in order for the diversity to be a good thing.

Bruni explains this opinion in his NY times article, The Lie About College Diversity. he uses devices such as rhetorical questions to achieve his purpose. Using these questions allows the audience, students looking to go to colleges and even their parents possibly helping in the process, to become more involved with the text. They stop for a moment and think of an answer before continuing to read which will make them come back to the text with a greater understanding and deeper curiosity. Bruni also uses has very interesting organization in this article. Many paragraphs are only a single sentence. This allows for emphasis on that statement. It’s broken up from the rest of the article so it stands alone to make its own point. These rhetorical devices helped me stay interested while reading. It put emphasis on how important these issues are, especially today. I believe this article achieved its purpose. I now understand that what i read about colleges is not always true. I also see that the issues of diversity are not as easily solved as it seems.

TOW #12 The Song of a Man

The Son of a Man is an extremely interesting painting as the subject's face cannot actually be seen. It is actually to be expected, as this painting was created by René Magritte, who is known for his thought provoking paintings. They are known to change the viewer's perception of reality. This painting was made so that its meaning could take relevance in any time period. Magritte’s argument is about his perception of humanity, he believes that humans always hide things from others, but wants to know what others are hiding. He tries to use this painting to convey that to anyone who wants to view his painting in  philosophical manner.

In order to convey this message Magritte utilizes shadows. In order to hide the man’s face, he places an apple in front of it and it displays a shadow. There is also a shadow around the man’s right hand. This shows that the hand is behind the man’s back, away from the viewer's ability to see. This shadow makes the viewer curious about what is in the man’s hand, portraying the argument of the painting. Magritte also uses simplicity in the background and surroundings. Keeping the background simple it draws attention to the subject. Also keeping the apple simple, but with a bright color, draws attention to it, ensuring the audience will notice that the face is not able to be seen. I do not believe exactly that this painting achieved Magritte’s purpose. I did not immediately feel his purpose was shown. I was at first confused and did not understand there was an underlying message. It took me more time than I would have spent if looking at it in a museum.  Even spending much time analyzing did not lead me to an exact idea of what Magritte is trying to convey.

Tow #11 - An Unquiet Mind (IRB)

Bipolar is a common mental disorder that is also commonly misunderstood. Even people who have it can easily believe misconceptions about it. Someone working to help those with the disorder to understand what they’re going through, is Kay Jamison, a popular psychologist and author living with Bipolar disorder. Through her book An Unquiet Mind, a memoir explaining her struggles living with Bipolar, she helps others who suffer to understand they are not alone in what they’re going through.

Throughout the book she uses different devices to help the reader. One of these devices is logical reasoning and facts. Jamison is a psychologist and knows enough about about mental illness to explain it all. She also explains rational events such as how mania can lead people to make impulsive decisions or purchases. After mania, depression normally begins to settle in. The bills or consequences of the mania give a greater reason for this depression. Through explaining this, a person with Bipolar that can relate to this will feel relief that they are not the only one. They will also understand better why they feel the way they do. Another device Jamison uses is personal narrative. In her memoir she shares specific stories such as one where she went to a party when she became a staff member at a university. At the time she had believed to behaved normal but later was told by a friend she had seemed manic, dressed provocative, and been way too talkative. Sharing her perspective of the party and then giving the story from another person’s perspective allows the audience to understand that when a person with Bipolar is manic, they do not realize they are making bad decisions. I believe these devices allow the reader to have a much greater understanding of the mental illness. After reading this book so far I have more knowledge and a deeper curiosity for Bipolar disorder.

Tow #10 I am Very Real

A story that includes aliens, time travel, and war has become very popularly used to teach in schools. The book, SlaughterHouse Five, was written by Kurt Vonnegut, a highly popular author and war veteran. Although his book has been, and continues to be, used as a teaching aid in high schools, the head of a school board in  North Dakota, Charles McCarthy, demanded all copies of his book to be burned in their school furnace. He believed that the books had obscene language and were not to be given to the students. Upon hearing the news, Vonnegut decided to send McCarthy a letter to explain that although his book has obscene language, it is wrong to take this book away from children for it is a true story written by a real person.

I believe Vonnegut was highly successful in this letter because of the rhetorical devices he employs. Right from the start of his letter he uses an extremely offended tone. He explains how he is “ extraordinarily insult[ed]” because of what McCarthy has done. He does not remove the blame from McCarthy, who is the one to have caused all of this, all of the offense Vonnegut now feels. This causes the audience to feel anger towards McCarthy and sympathy towards Vonnegut. Another device Vonnegut used is rhetorical questions. Vonnegut explains that he is not using this event to publicize his books, he wants this letter to remain between them and he asks, “Do you have the courage and ordinary decency to show this letter to the people, or will it, too, be consigned to the fires of your furnace?” He does not actually believe McCarthy would burn this letter, but he pokes fun at how that seems to be how McCarthy solves his problems. This questions forces McCarthy to think about his own actions to come up with an answer to the question. Asking if he has ‘courage and ordinary decency’ paints him as such a horrible person to not automatically possess such necessary qualities. These devices together show how badly Vonnegut thinks of McCarthy and wrong his actions are. Vonnegut proves that his book she be given to children against McCarthy’s horrible judgement.

Tow # 9 Joined by Blood

Everyone has been affected somehow by cancer. Although there are many possible treatments for cancer many people do not survive. One known treatment is a bone marrow transplant, which requires a donor that gives their own bone marrow to a cancer patient who matches them. Michael Vitez, a writer for Yahoo news, wrote an article about the story of Molly and Avi, a patient and a donor. Molly Alanoff is a 23 year old American woman who lost her father to cancer while she was in high school; She donated her bone marrow to Avi Ruderman, a 54 year old Israeli man. Vitez wrote down their story because it was such an incredible one and wanted to inspire his audience and show them that there is still hope in a dark time such as losing a loved one to cancer. One way Vitez did this was using statistics. He explained that only four out of ten people who need bone marrow transplants receive one. He also stated that less than 1 percent of the people who sign up to be done marrow donors are actually asked to donate. Molly being a match for Avi was so statistically small. Vitez shared these small odds to show that there is still hope for people who think there is no chance. Another device Vitez uses is imagery to explain what happened when they first met, “Avi swallowed Molly in a mammoth, grateful hug. He is 6 feet tall, and she is 5 feet. Then, after a few seconds, she stepped back. Still holding hands, they looked at each other. “You saved my life,” he told her.” The descriptive words used appeal to pathos, making the reader feel how Molly felt while being in a big hug and holding the man’s hands.  I believe that this article was extremely effective and made me feel happy around such a sad topic.

IRB Intro Post #2

The book I chose to read for this quarter is "An Unquiet Mind" by Kay Jamison. Kay Jamison is a popular author and psychologist known for living with bipolar disorder. I am very interested in mental disorders and this is an accurate personal account to learn from. This book is a memoir which is a different style from my last book which helps expand the range I can read.

Tow #8- Introvert Power

Although unknown to most, introverts take up at least half of the world’s population. This fact is even unknown to introverts themselves! This has led many of people, close to half the population, feeling wrong with who they are. This is caused by the extrovert ideals being seen as the correct ones to live by. Laurie Helgoe explains this all in her book Introvert Power with the knowledge she has from being an author and a psychologist, specializing in personality and introversion. She uses her book to give real world explains to introverts, things that they probably do and why they are ok. One way Helgoe does this is by making references to pop culture. She starts off every chapter with a quote, typically from a famous figure such as Vincent Van Gogh. In one chapter she starts with a quote that does not sound like the others. She then goes to tell that this quote is from the tv show Star Trek. She then goes into detail about this quote and Star Trek, a show many introverts enjoy. Connecting this show to introversion really helps the reader feel more comfortable with the things they do. She also again connects introversion to popular show The Office. I personally am a huge fan of that show and seeing it in this book caught my attention. Having the reader see ideal they used to believe as bad, but then connecting them to things they enjoy, helps them see that it is not actually so bad. Another strategy Helgoe uses is asking the reader questions. Trying to have the reader get to know themselves a bit more she asks these questions, “How do you communicate? What do you appreciate about your friends?” And so on. These questions help to directly connect the reader to themselves. Allowing them to understand that they are who they are helps them come to terms with the fact that they are introverted, and it is ok. This book has absolutely achieved its purpose and has made me feel much better about my introversion.

Tow #7- Nighthawks

One of the best known twentieth- century paintings depicts nothing more than four people in a diner at night. Although this doesn’t seem like much, there is much more to it. This painting is called Nighthawks and was painted by Edward Hopper, a famous painter. Nighthawks is undoubtedly Hopper’s most popular painting. It was painted only a few days after Pearl Harbor, although that does not seem to have much of an effect on the painting itself. It was painted a few years after diners had become popular so it makes sense he would depict one in his painting. There are many possible reasons that have been argued for why Hopper created Nighthawks, I believe it was to show the loneliness of living in a big city.  The painting creates a sense of isolation through his use of lighting and windows. The diner does not have a visible entrance into it. Because there is no door, the only way for the viewer to get inside of the diner is through the windows, which only allows them to view the people inside. This isolates the viewer on the outside from the people inside. The diner is also the only thing lit in the whole painting. The streets outside are completely dark, only the light from the diner leaking out to illuminate them. This makes it seem like the only things happening in that moment are happening to the people in the diner. Something else that adds to the isolated feeling is the one man with his back to the audience. He is alone while the other three people are at least in a closer vicinity. It is not even certain the two customers next to each other are close relationship wise. I believe Hopper achieved his purpose and created an isolated painting, pulling the reader into his lonely, fluorescent lit diner.

Tow #6- Why Women Still Can't Have it all

Feminism is a big topic among people of all ages. It’s been used to try and encourage women that they are able to “do it all.” Women are being told that they can have a demanding job while also being a housewife and taking care of their kids. Ann-Marie Slaughter, who has worked in several high class jobs such as a professor and dean in ivy league colleges, a CEO, in the directory of policy planning for the US government, and is also a mother, disagrees with that feminist idea. She wrote her opinion in her essay, “Why Women Still Can’t Have it all.” Her essay was written to explain to professional adults that despite the feminist ideas, it is not possible for women to balance their careers and family life. She explains this in her essay using many different devices. Slaughter quotes many other women with prestigious jobs such as Jolynn Shoemaker, Juliette Kayyem, and Mary Matalin, to name a few. Something else all these women have in common is their lack of ability to care for their children because of their demandings jobs. Using these other women gave more examples and evidence for the points Slaughter was making. Another strategy Slaughter used in her essay was taking quotes people believed to be true and breaking them down in order to show they were false. She dispelled quotes such as, “you can do it if you’re committed enough,” and , “it’s possible if you marry the right person.” This went against the ideas some people have, where a women would blame themselves for their inability to do it all. I believe Slaughter was effective in her essay. She explained all the reasons that women can’t have it all by using real world examples and evidence. Although it is not yet possible for women (and men) to do everything they would like to do, I still hold out hope that it may become easier in the future.

Tow #5- Can we End the Mediation Madness?

Meditation is no longer something only done by Buddhist monks, it is now something that many people do today. Everyday life can cause a lot of stress, so people will meditate in order to relieve some of that anxiety. Adam Grant, a professor of psychology at Penn and an author, believes that the public is becoming too interested in mediation. He has found that people who meditate automatically assume everyone else does, and they are rude to the people who don’t. He wrote and article for the New York Times, Can we End the Mediation Madness?, in hopes to convince the people who meditate that it is ok not everyone else does. He sees the good things meditation can do, but feels it is not necessary as all of the good outcome can come from doing other things. The way he proves this in his article is first by using humor. Grant shares that his friends will argue he should meditate because Steve Jobs did, he replies with,”yeah, and he also did L.S.D. - do you want me to try that, too?” The humor helps to not directly offend the people who meditate. The jokes allow Grant to call them out without them feeling victimized, while the people who don’t meditate can agree with him. Grant also uses logic and credible sources to prove his purpose. Grant starts his argument with, “Before we’re all swept into this fad, we ought to ask why meditation is useful. So I polled a group of meditation researchers, teachers and practitioners on why they recommend it.” This was a very smart thing to do as is showed his audience he knows what he’s talking about as he learned from credible sources. I believe he achieved his purpose. Grant convinced me that meditation is not “all that.” He gave many other alternatives to meditation and even explained how meditation can be bad in some cases. If I ever hear criticizing for someone who does not meditate, I will have to show them this article.

TOW #4- Me Talk Pretty One Day

In school, having a mean teacher can make learning much harder. What would be even worse, is if that teacher spoke a different language than her students. This is exactly what happened to David Sedaris in Me talk Pretty One Day. Sedaris moved to France to study at university while he learned to speak French. Sedaris felt awkward at school even though he thought because he was an adult he should be past that feeling. His French teacher was horrible and harsh to all of the students in the class, causing them to band together. Sedaris is an American author and humorist, nominated for three Grammy Awards. Me Talk Pretty One Day was written in order for Sedaris to explain that everyone can always feels awkward, no matter what age. He wrote this for other adults who can relate to his problem, but it is still relatable to a younger audience and his humor can reach anyone. To achieve his purpose, Sedaris used metaphors. He explains how he feels next to all of the other students, “As an added discomfort, they were all young, attractive, and well dressed, causing me to feel not unlike Pa Kettle trapped backstage after a fashion show...At my age, a reasonable person should have completed his sentence in the prison of the nervous and the insecure--isn't that the great promise of adulthood?” (Sedaris). These two metaphors are used to show his feelings around the other students. He feels uncomfortable around them and then compares that feeling to being in prison. This explains how he stills feels awkward even his adulthood, He also asks the audience questions.  How often are you asked what you love in this world? More important, how often are you asked and then publicly ridiculed for your answer?” (Sedaris).  Questioning helps the audience feel more connected to what the author is saying, Sedaris uses the audience's connection to help his purpose. I believe his purpose was achieved. I related to his feelings of awkwardness in teenage years and I now do not look forward to more of those feelings in adulthood.

TOW #3- Introvert Power

In typical American society today, extroversion is favored over introversion. Extroverts are viewed as more successful because they are considered outgoing, popular, and adventurous. While an introvert may still have these qualities, they are viewed as less successful since they would like to be on their own sometimes. This is all explained in Introvert Power, by Laurie Helgoe. Introversion, personality and desire, are Helgoe’s speciality in her writing and psychology. She wrote this book to go against the norms and explain that introversion is ok. Each section of the book is teaching introverts, or extroverts who would like to understand, different aspects of being an introvert, why it is frowned upon in society, and why it really is a gift to those who are introverted. To prove this Helgoe explains many different scientific studies. One she cited was done by Maya Tamir, director of the Emotion and Self-Regulation Laboratory at Boston College and Hebrew University. The study had different extroverts and introverts try to complete an “effortful task.” in their efforts, the extroverts tried to make it more enjoyable. For the introverts, trying to seek happiness made completing the task harder and so they tried to avoid any emotional stimulation. Although this may seem like a bad thing, it showed that the introverts in this study were more likely to complete their task faster or more efficiently. Helgoe also used personal narratives to explain that introversion is not a bad thing. She explains a feeling that is probably very relatable to every introvert. After a long day she goes to dinner with a few of her friends, “the women were exuberant, excited, and exhausting...I kind of wanted what they were having. They seemed to be having so much fun!...What was wrong with me? I wasn’t sharing any of these good feelings!” (73 helgoe). After the anecdote, she explains that this is a normal feeling. She creates a sense of belonging to every introvert who feels they are broken. I believe her purpose was achieved in this book so far. I had always wanted to be extroverted because that seemed better and easier, but now I’m not afraid to be who I am.

TOW #2- Glad Advertisment

This advertisement is meant to make its viewers do a double take. At first they will see nothing wrong, then it hits them. This visual text shows what appears to be a watermelon, but it instead has red meat on the inside. The argument is that if the watermelon were to have been covered in Glad Cling Wrap, it would still be a watermelon. Glad is a very popular choice for household items such a cling wrap or trash bags. The ad was created by DDB ad agency which is owned by the world’s largest advertising holding company. The problem Glad found, is if food is let out it will start to spoil and will taste bad, to prevent this it must be taken care of a certain way. This ad was clearly produced in order to convince consumers to buy this cling wrap in order to protect their food’s taste. Adult consumers are the people more drawn to this ad as they are typically the ones shopping for these types of products. To prove their point, Glad used symbolism to portray a watermelon, but actually showed red meat. They’re not really depicting red meat but they used it in the image in place of watermelon to show what the watermelon would basically become without the cling wrap. Hyperbole is also used as a watermelon will not literally turn into meat or have such a drastic change in taste. This advertisement requires its audience to assume some information. It is not stated why the watermelon is meat, once the text at the bottom is read it is inferred that the watermelon is portrayed that way because it no longer tastes as it should. I believe their purpose was achieved. The ad looks disgusting; it makes me uneasy. Now whenever I see food sitting out without anything to protect it I will picture this ad and will  be grossed out by the food.

TOW #1- The Healing Power of Hugs

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/09/01/the-healing-power-of-hugs/?_r=0

No one can deny in times of stress, a hug has the ability to make anyone feel better. Hilary Jacobs Hendel, an experienced therapist, noticed this after hugging one of her patients. After the hug, her patient told Hendel that she felt cured from her life long depression. Because of this, Hendel became curious about the actual healing powers of a hug, and if it should be more popular as a tool in therapy sessions. She wrote this article to explore these thoughts for other therapists or anyone who was curious about hugs and hugs in therapy. To decide on whether or not she believed hugs should be involved in therapy, she started the article with personal narratives. She included the one about her patient who claimed to be cured. Hendel also explained how instead of continuing to hug her, she instead had that patient picture being hugged in her head. Maybe picturing a hug would have the same effect as an actual hug. Hendel also decided to check factual sources to see if hugging was stated to not be allowed in therapy or not. She checked the ethical guidelines from the National Association of Social Workers and the American Psychological Association and it was found that it is never stated that a therapist cannot hug their patient. So although it was mainly known to be taboo, it was legal. In the end, Hendel decided that hugs were not a good idea to use in therapy. She writes, “So even when I think a physical hug would be therapeutic, I continue to rely on fantasy (Hendel).” I don’t believe she accomplished her purpose of proving that. Only in the very last paragraph does she state that opinion. She does not give good reasons for why she believes that. The whole article was Hendel debating either side, so there were good things and bad things to each side, there is nowhere her opinion is favored.

IRB Intro Post #1

The book I chose to read this quarter is "Introvert Power" by Laurie Helgoe. I chose this book because I am interested in how and why people think and act, introversion and extroversion are a big part of that. I am an introvert and would like to learn more about how to deal with the downsides of being one. I have heard this book is a big help for other introverts.

The Ethics of Living Jim

In times today, it is not common to see people call someone sir in order to be formal. In Richard Wright’s time, it was the only way. Wright was an author known for his controversial writings about african american struggles of his time. He wrote The Ethics of Living Jim Crow: An Autobiographical Sketch, which is an essay describing different points in time where Wright struggled with racism. It begins with him being a child in a “war” with the white kids from a different neighborhood. He is disadvantaged and gets hurt, so his mother tells him not to fight with white kids anymore. Once he grows older he tries to find a job. His two coworkers don’t like the fact Wright works with them. They accuse him of not addressing them with a proper Sir. He had to leave the job completely so he wouldn’t be beaten by them. He wrote all of these horrible memories down so people who did not experience what he did, will know what it was really like to be black in his times. He also wanted to explain the black people’s perspective on this. To explain, he quotes one of his friends, “Lawd, man! Ef it wuzn’t fer them polices ‘n’ them ol’ lynch-mobs, there wouldn’t be nothin’ but uproar down here!(170)” This quote explains they are in such a bad situation they are even thankful for abusive policemen and lynchings. If it weren’t for them, everyday white people would be abusing and murdering them publicly. The personal narrative perspective really affected the reader in this essay. Whenever Wright was scared it made the reader scared and feel what he felt. This essay is split into different little numbered stories. All of the stories are very different, in length, amount of dialogue, and plot. Because one story may be much longer than another, this shows how much even a little life event can affect someone entirely.

Thomas D. Rice shown in his black face costume, highly influential in Jim Crow issues

Source: Edward Williams Clay (1799-1852), published by E. Riley, New York

Living With Daughters

Straightening naturally curly hair is a long, painful, and difficult procedure. Even so, standards of beauty in pop culture have been trying to convince women to straighten their natural hair for a long time. Someone who knows this well is Gerald Early, an award winning author who is a professor of African American studies. He wrote Living with Daughters: Watching the Miss America Pageant to explain how black women felt when surrounded by mostly white women in pop culture. They were unable to find role models in the media which made it harder to find themselves. It was written for anyone who wanted to understand the oppression black women dealt with. To tap into the real feelings of a woman, Early went to his mother, wife, and daughters. Early would ask his daughters how they felt about their beauty, “I asked her if she would like to have her hair straightened.(539)” He would analyze his daughter’s answers to see how they were reacting to his parenting styles and how their peers treated them. He also references studies done to show that black children prefer a white doll as opposed to a black doll because it is “prettier.” From this he explains how this affects his life through personal narrative. Early’s wife does not buy their children white dolls. This is her defense system against the issues Early is writing about. It seems to work as their children are comfortable with who they are and find things like beauty pageants “silly”. Early’s family always watches beauty pageants and his children find it funny that women would try so hard to be liked. Although his mother believes it is important to have a black women win it to lead as a role model,  Early’s children do not even notice. Instead of getting their hair straightened, Early and his wife decided to give their daughters traditional afros. Although their peers initially made fun of them, they learned to love it and themselves.

Vanessa Williams, the first black beauty pageant winner, surrounded by three white women

source: newsone.com

Illumination Rounds

No one knows war as well as someone who served in it. No one can explain their own experiences like a writer. Clearly the best person to write about their times in war would be a soldier and an author, like Michael Herr. He wrote Illumination Rounds which is made up of several personal stories of his service in Vietnam. The Vietnam War started in 1955 and was a conflict between the US and Vietnam. The stories in his essay range from his helicopter being shot as he watched his fellow soldier die, to getting high with his friends. The contrast between these two types of events really shows how crazy war was for him. He had an interesting experience no one else had. This was written to inform people who were never in a war what battle is actually like. Not only is it terrifying, like when he saw a little girl’s leg detached next to her, but it can also be funny, like when an angry soldier tricked a Chaplain. The fact this was written in a narrative form really gave the reader the feeling of being there himself. It made it clearer to imagine Herr’s experience. The dialogue also helps with this; It is written differently in this essay than in other texts.  Correct grammar or spelling is not used. A man Herr was talking to said, “You git up onna ridgeline, see y’keep yer head down. Y’heah?( Herr 336)” This is to show how the people Herr interacted with actually talked and what it sounded like to him. It gives the passage a more realistic feel to it. Herr also used abbreviations including: ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam), LZ (landing zone), and LOH (light observation helicopter). All of these devices together allowed Herr to explain his unique war experiences to the readers who have never been in a war themselves.

An American soldier aiming his gun at the enemy from inside a Huey helicopter during the Vietnam war

Source: history.com