TOW #20- Unbroken by Laura Hillenebrand (IRB post 1)

     The book Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand is similar to a biography about Louis Zamperini. However, instead of following a typical biography format where it spends an equal length describing all of the events in someone’s life, this book only gives a relatively short intro to give some background information about Zamperini’s personality, the conditions of his early life, etc. The book then focuses heavily on Zamperini’s seemingly impossible experiences working his way to the Olympics. However, I am only half way through the book so far, and it seems that most of the rest of the book wil be focused on Zamperini’s experiences in World War II (this was also given away by the subtitle of the book: “A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption.”) Additionally, I read the summary in the front flap of the book before I started reading in order to make sure I would like this book to read for my IRB, and it mentioned how the plane in which Zamperini and his fellow soldiers are flying is going to crash into the ocean, and I predict that the book will focus mainly on Zamperini’s realizations while lost at sea.

    The format of this book is very similar to the format of a fiction book in its story-like style. This format makes the book more interesting to read, since it is more like a story than simply facts. The purpose is to inform the audience about the remarkable life experiences of Zamperini. Though its word choice, as well as its topic being about World War II, this book is written for the general adult/older high school population. However, since this book is based on a true story, it uses expert quotes as well as primary sources and specific dates and events in order to help appeal to the ethos of the story. For example, Hillenbrand writes, “‘I grew a little older that night, sweet, believe me,’ he wrote to Cecy” (Hillenbrand 61). Hillenbrand then proceeds to quote a letter that Louie had received from a friend in order to help more thoroughly describe the type of plane in which Louie would be flying. This ethos makes the book more believable and interesting to read, which helps leave the reader with the impression that Louie was an extraordinary human being who had great resilience when dealing with his experiences. 

TOW #19- Pearl Harbor Speech: Day of Infamy by Franklin D. Roosevelt (written text)

Franklin D. Roosevelt begins his speech for Pearl Harbor by directly addressing his audience, saying “To the Congress of the United States...” However, it is evident that Roosevelt also wants to rile up support from amongst the general American population, since it will not be easy to summon the American people into another war during an already difficult time economically. He then proceeds to directly state the occasion for which he is giving the speech, presenting the details of the attack. His use of the words “suddenly” and “deliberately” add to his argument that the country should go to war in an attempt to portray the Japanese as having provoked this war against America, which is emphasized when Roosevelt says: “The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan...” By doing this, Roosevelt attempts to show that Japan is totally at fault, and if the Americans want peace, we must fight back against this deliberate attack. Roosevelt tries to prove that the war was deliberate by stating facts about the peace messages from the leader of Japan, the distance from Japan to Hawaii, and the preparations that would have needed to occur in order to try to argue his point and gain supporters by portraying Japan as having deliberately attacked America. Roosevelt uses anaphora in an attempt to emphasize all of the places attacked by Japan and the necessity of a war against Japan, saying, “Last night, Japanese forces attacked...” and then listing all of the attacked places. This anaphora appeals to pathos because it portrays the rampant attacks of Japan and inspires fear in the people. This fear provokes people to be more likely to go to war in order to try to prevent any more deliberate attacks. When Roosevelt says, “The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation,” he emphasizes the idea that the people would want to go to war to prevent these attacks, and he uses it to help persuade Congress, since they are theoretically the representatives of the people. Roosevelt also argues to go to war by trying to arouse a sense of nationalism from amongst the people, saying, “No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.”  Finally, Roosevelt concludes by stating his purpose (that the United States need to go to war against Pearl Harbor) as a result of the attacks by Japan on America, saying, “I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, Dec. 7, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire.” Looking from a historical perspective, his purpose was successful, since we know the United States participated in World War II after the attack on Pearl Harbor. However, Roosevelt’s emphasis on Japan’s fault in the attack, as well as the motivational nationalism he attempts to inspire amongst the people, help contribute to Roosevelt’s successful purpose of declaring war on Japan.

http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=1082 

TOW #18- Nissan Commerical "With Dad" (visual text)

Nissan’s Superbowl commercial for 2015 relies heavily on an appeal to pathos in an attempt to be effective. Nissan already has automatic ethos from being a well-known car manufacturer, so the commercial does not have to spend any time explaining what Nissan is or how reliable its cars are, etc. Additionally, the purpose of the ad is not really to explain the advantages of all of the different cars produced by Nissan, but rather to stand out from amongst all of the other commercials during the Superbowl and just gain awareness and popularity as a result of the commercial. Nissan does this by portraying a story of a boy growing up while his father is away most of the time racing cars. This story attempts to appeal to the pathos of the general American population who is watching the Superbowl by portraying the story to which many American families with working parents can relate (the working parents feel as though they have missed watching their children grow up because they are always at work, which is a common feeling amongst many American working families). The Harry Chapin song in the background aids in this appeal to pathos by sounding sad and regretful, which attempts to cause the viewer to feel sad a regretful as well. Additionally, Harry Chapin died in a car crash, so an inferred meaning of the use of this song could be that Nissan is trying to prove that their cars are safe, so that will not happen if you drive a Nissan car (which is shown through the part of the commercial when the father is in the car crash on the track but manages to walk away from it unharmed because he was driving a Nissan car). The commercial ends, however, on a happy note when the father comes to pick up the boy, immediately before the commercial puts up the Nissan logo, which helps the audience to make the connection between the happy feelings and Nissan and makes them, even subconsciously, associate happy family feelings with the car and want to buy that brand of car.  

http://www.msn.com/en-us/video/watch/superbowl-commercial-nissan-supernumberwithdad/vi-AA8RWIw 

IRB Intro Post- Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

For this marking period, I am going to read  Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. This book was recommended to me by Christy, who claims it is her favorite book, so I thought it would be an enjoyable book to read. By hearing/reading brief summaries, it is my understanding that the book is a story of a person in World War II. I enjoy reading stories from World War II (I read Night for the first marking period, as well as many other WWII books over the years), so I think and hope I will enjoy reading Unbroken this marking period.

TOW #17- I Have A Dream by Martin Luther King (written text)

Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech is one of the most famous American speeches in history. What makes it famous is not only King’s powerful words, but also the effectiveness of this speech for the Civil Right’s Movement. King uses allusions and anaphora in an attempt to inspire change in the unfair treatment of black Americans in his “I Have A Dream” speech. King uses allusions in the beginning of his speech when he references the documents on which the country was built. He first references Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation speech, writing “Five score years ago...” in a reference to the beginning of Lincoln’s speech (“Four score and seven years ago...”) (2). In doing this, King draws the connection to the freedom granted upon the black Americans after the Civil War and the freedom they deserve to have now. Additionally, King references the famous “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” line of the Declaration of Independence in order to help emphasize the point that the black Americans deserve the same “inalienable rights” as the other Americans, as granted to them in the Declaration of Independence (4). King also references the Bible through allusions in order to show the support of religion for his cause, and provide additional ethos for his point. However, King uses anaphora to also emphasize his point, most famously in his repetition of “I have a dream” (17). By doing this, King emphasizes all of the goals and changes he wants made for the black Americans. He also repeats “one hundred years later...” in the beginning of his speech in order to emphasize the lack of change that has come about after the Emancipation Proclamation and the hardships faced by the black Americans (3). This helps King gain the support of his fellow black Americans, as well as appeal to pathos in an attempt to gain the support of the white Americans. King’s use of the pronoun “we” throughout the speech establishes his connection to the black Americans, as well as to all Americans in general, which helps King in an attempt to gain the support of all Americans as he promotes change. Overall, as seen through history, King’s speech was successful at inspiring this change amongst Americans. 

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm