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.