TOW #4- Corn-pone Opinions by Mark Twain (non-fiction text)

Corn-pone Opinions was written by Mark Twain. Mark Twain was a famous literary icon from the late 1800s, and is often referred to as the father of American literature. He wrote a mix of fiction and nonfiction writing. This particular essay was published posthumously in 1923,and was found in his papers after his death. As a result, it can be assumed that this essay was never written for an audience, and was written more as a personal contemplation as opposed to being published for an audience. However, if he did intend for it to be published, it seems to be written for the general public since he references a variety of topics that would connect to multiple different people, from topics like religion to politics. In this essay, Twain writes about public opinion and the inability for people to have independent thoughts and ideas. Twain begins the essay by referencing his childhood and the black slave who told Twain about his ideas that no one can have their own opinion and about the constant conforming of society. Twain’s purpose in mentioning this is to explain to the reader about public opinion and about how people cannot ever have their own thoughts that are not influenced by something else in some way. He uses the personal anecdote about the man from his childhood in order to describe the origins of his thoughts on public opinion. Twain uses rhetorical questions as another rhetoric device in his writing. He asks the question and then immediately answers it. For example, Twain writes, “Was the acceptance reasoned out? No” (Twain 2). In this way, Twain is able to connect to the reader’s thought process (since he/she is probably thinking a similar question as the rhetorical question in the essay) and the reader can better understand about public opinion when Twain promptly answers the asked question. As a result, Twain is able to more clearly explain his ideas about public opinion to the reader, and his purpose of explaining these ideas is accomplished well.

Source: http://www.cmgww.com/historic/twain/about/index.php

TOW #3- Night By Elie Wiesel (IRB post)

This marking period I am reading Night by Elie Wiesel. It is a memoir about Wiesel’s experiences in the Holocaust. So far, I am only halfway through the book. Wiesel, the main character, has left his “normal” life, and has been deported to multiple concentration camps, including Birkenau and Auschwitz. He has been separated from his mother and sister, and he only has his father left as they work in the labor camps. After reading the preface to the book, written by Elie Wiesel himself, I learned that his purpose in writing is to inform people of the horrors through which he lived so similar horrors do not occur in the future. Wiesel writes, “The witness has forced himself to testify. For the youth of today, for the children who will be born tomorrow. He does not want his past to become their future” (xv). Based on this excerpt from the preface, it seems as though Wiesel is writing to inform the children of his experiences. However, the topic of the book, as well as the graphic detail to which he explains events (such as when he writes, “Never shall I forget the small faces of children whose bodies I saw transformed into smoke under a silent sky” (34)) does not seem to be appropriate for children to read. Therefore, the audience is the general public, and Wiesel is trying to inform everybody about his previous experiences in order to prevent something so horrendous from happening again. In the beginning of the preface, Wiesel questions why he wrote the book. Based on his response to this question, it is clear that the occasion for which Wiesel is writing the book is because he felt he needed to put into words what happened, since he couldn’t speak and stand up for himself back then, and since he feels God let him survive for some greater purpose. In order to meaningfully achieve his purpose, Wiesel uses the narrative mode of writing in order to make the reader feel as though they are living the events with Wiesel. Additionally, Wiesel uses many metaphors to help describe what it is like to live through the Holocaust, as well as to intensify the monstrosities he lived through (such as by writing “...his aides were veritable monsters” (44)). As a result, Wiesel is able to achieve his purpose of writing to inform people of his past in order to prevent events like the Holocaust from happening in the future.

TOW #2- Bluefin Tuna Overfishing by WWF (visual text)

This ad was published by the WWF in order to help gain awareness and support against bluefin tuna overfishing. The WWF is an organization that strives to protect wildlife. Their most well-recognized symbol is the panda. This advertisement is seemingly mocking the lack of support for the bluefin tuna because they are not pandas. Additionally, this idea of lack of support is the way the WWF is using pathos. The viewer of this ad feels sorry for the bluefin tuna because they are not receiving the support they need to survive since they are not as cute or popular as pandas. With this sympathy, the viewer feels inclined to help support the less-known cause of the bluefin tuna. In this case, the intended audience is most likely people who do not know about the bluefin tuna, and the purpose of the ad is to gain awareness to help support their cause. The use of the quote, “Would you care more if I was a panda?”, is the author of the ad’s use of satire, to show that average people do not care about saving wildlife unless they are saving the pandas, or other well-known, cute animals. In addition to the quote, there is a picture of a bluefin tuna wearing a panda mask. It is portraying the idea that the bluefin tuna is the same on the “inside” as it always is but just has a different appearance that makes it seem cuter and more in need of help. This image is another way the creator uses pathos, by making the bluefin tuna seem like an innocent child searching for attention by wearing a mask. In this way, the reader is able to feel more sympathy for the bluefin tuna and the reader is inclined to support the cause of stopping overfishing. By doing this, the creator’s purpose of gaining support for the bluefin tuna is well accomplished. 

Source: 
http://webdesignledger.com/inspiration/30-examples-of-smart-print-advertisement 

IRB Intro- Night by Elie Wiesel

My first Independent Reading Book is Night by Elie Wiesel. It is a memoir about Wiesel’s experiences in the Holocaust. The version I am reading is: “A new translation by Marion Wiesel,” who I learned is Elie Wiesel’s wife by reading his preface. I have read the preface and the foreword so far, as well as random pages from throughout the book in order to get a sense of what the book will be like. From these short readings, I have enjoyed the book so far, although it is very honest and sad, and I can’t wait to read it.

TOW #1- How to Say Nothing in 500 Words by Paul Roberts (written text)

Many students connect to feeling this frustration when writing essays, as stated by Roberts. Source: http://jackiemurphy21.wordpress.com/2013/03/20/students-who-struggle-with-written-expression/

How to Say Nothing in 500 Words is written by Paul Roberts. Roberts was an accomplished writer of multiple English textbooks, and he focused on writing rules and descriptions about the art of writing. In this particular excerpt, Roberts writes about word choice and making your writing more meaningful. It is intended for student writers who write just because there is an assignment (and are only writing to fulfill the number of words they need), and it is meant to help the student writers improve their writing and word choice. As a result, Roberts needs to write the passage in a way that is interesting to students, and in a way that students will connect to his ideas. Roberts does this by using anecdotes to show the students he knows what they are going through, and he connects with them on an emotional level. For example, Roberts writes, “It’s Friday afternoon, and you have almost survived another week of classes...the English instructor says: ‘For Monday you will turn in a five-hundred-word composition on college football.’ Well, that puts a good big hole in the weekend” (Roberts 1). Most students have experienced a similar situation, and perhaps even a very similar essay prompt about which to write, and in the first few sentences of his writing, Roberts is able to catch the students’ attention. The student is now drawn in and is waiting for Roberts to tell him/her how he/she should write the essay, as opposed to the way he/she usually writes this type of essay. By doing this, Roberts is also using pathos (by connecting to his readers on an emotional level). As a result, the constant connections to the reader throughout the passage are effective at getting the reader to listen to Roberts’ ideas and learn about ways to improve word choice and writing styles.