TOW #10- The Way to Rainy Mountain by N. Scott Momaday (written text)

The Way to Rainy Mountain was written by N. Scott Momaday. Momaday is an award-winning Native American author, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his fiction writing in 1969. This particular essay was published in The Reporter in 1967, which is a reputable news source for the general public. Momaday wrote this essay to inform people about his dying culture to spread awareness. Throughout the essay, and especially in the beginning, Momaday uses nature imagery. When describing the weather, Momaday describes the harsh climate and how “the grass turns brittle and brown, and it cracks beneath your feet” (1). Instead of simply saying that is was very hot and dry, Momaday gets his point across more descriptively by describing the effects of the weather on the grass as opposed to just describing the weather. This helps the reader to more clearly understand the hardships through which Momaday’s tribe, the Kiowa, lived and to feel a stronger appreciation for them, as well as more easily understand their habitat. Momaday also uses anaphora in the beginning to describe the desolate landscape, saying, “...there is no confusion of objects in the eye, but one hill or one tree or one man” (1). By doing this, Momaday is emphasizing the plain, emptiness of the prairie, which helps the reader to understand the home of his tribe and how alone they were. Finally, Momaday uses personal anecdotes about his memories of his grandmother in order to  give a more personal connection to the reader. The reader is more likely to sympathize with Momaday and his culture when they hear personal stories about it than if Momaday were to just speak in general terms. For example, Momaday writes, “Once there was a lot of sound in my grandmother’s house, a lot of coming and going, feasting and talk” (3). Throughout the description of his personal memories, the reader feels as though he/she was there, which makes him/her feel sympathy that the Kiowa tribe is dying. Therefore, Momaday successfully achieves his purpose by using nature imagery, anaphora, and personal anecdotes.

IRB Intro- Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks

This marking period, I am reading Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks. It is a book that talks about the effects music has on the brain. I do not know much about this topic, but I cannot wait to learn about it since I love studying music and focusing on the effects music has on people. I have never read anything by this author before, so it will be interesting to see what his style of writing is. However, this book was recommended to me by Ms. Pronko, so hopefully it will be an enjoyable read!  

TOW #9- M&Ms Wizard of Oz Commercial (visual text)

http://youtu.be/iSp3_33NIig

This was an M&Ms commercial from 2008. The purpose of the commercial is to get people to buy M&Ms by spreading awareness about the company and catching people’s attention. This is a TV commercial, so the audience is the general public. Additionally, it is referencing the Wizard of Oz, which is a reference that the general public would get, since it is a classic, old movie. The ad uses a parody of the Wizard of Oz to appeal to humor. It starts out similarly to the actual Wizard of Oz, where Dorothy wakes up at home and explains how her family members (or in this case, M&Ms) where in Oz with her. However, when the M&M says, “I’m Aunt M,” the viewer makes the connection to the M&Ms (because the M&M’s name is Aunt M, but so is the name of Auntie Em in the movie). Additionally, the viewer’s own knowledge of the Wizard of Oz is required when Dorothy references how the M&Ms were in color in Oz (because in the movie, Dorothy does not talk about the change in color, but the viewer just sees the change in color in order to emphasize Dorothy’s dream world, while in the commercial, Dorothy talks about how all of the M&Ms were in color and were so beautiful). This mention of M&Ms being in color emphasizes the idea that M&Ms are chocolate in color, which differentiates them from other chocolates (which is one of the main advertising ideas of the M&Ms company). Finally, having Judy Garland star as Dorothy in this commercial is an allusion to the real Wizard of Oz film, where Judy Garland also stars as Dorothy. This gives the commercial credibility since it is referencing a well-known, classic movie (in which the main character is even saying that chocolate is very beautiful and wonderful when it is in color). Therefore, the purpose of the commercial to get people to buy the M&Ms and to spread awareness about the pleasure of having chocolate in color is accomplished well in this commercial.

TOW #8- Boston Cruise Line Introduces New Whale Ramming Tour by The Onion (written text)

This article was written by The Onion. The Onion is known for writing satirical, false articles about popular current news topics. Although this article is written using a seemingly serious tone, it is actually being satirical throughout its entirety. The article writes, “‘Our new tour gives passengers the chance to observe firsthand some of the ocean’s most majestic animals as we relentlessly bash into them at speeds up to 40 miles per hour,’ said Captain Richard McDermott” (paragraph 3). The incongruity used as an element of satire in this quote by putting together the “chance to view the majestic animals” and “relentlessly bashing into them” at high speeds helps contribute to the satirical tone. In this way, the article is able to portray the idea that people who seemingly treasure the whales are actually harming the whales (even if they are not directly hitting the whales with their boats). The purpose of the article is to portray the idea that the whales are in a diminishing situation in which they cannot escape those who believe they are not harming the whales. For example, although most of the details in the article are false, the article writes, “...in an attempt to warn their pods of danger as they vainly attempt to evade the tour company’s sonar-equipped watercraft” (paragraph 7). It is true that boats are now able to listen and interrupt whales’ sonar communications, even if their intent on doing so is innocent. The audience of the article are the “innocent” people who believe they are not doing anything to harm the whales (since they feel as though they are not taking such extreme measures such as hitting the whales with their boats). Additionally, the article uses understatements as an element of satire in order emphasize the extremities in other parts of the article. For example, the article writes, “The captain cautioned, however, that the tour may not be ideal for those who are easily made seasick” (paragraph 11). The reader is able to obviously see that there are more elements that can make the reader sick on the tour besides seasickness, yet the article only emphasizes the seasickness. As a result, the reader can clearly see that the negative effects of the boats’ actions when contrasted so clearly with the simplicity of the caution of seasickness. By using these elements of satire, the article is able to effectively accomplish its purpose of satirically commenting on the situation of the whales. 

 Article:

http://www.theonion.com/articles/boston-cruise-line-introduces-new-whale-ramming-to,37277/ 

TOW #7- Night by Elie Wiesel (IRB post)

The second half of Night by Elie Wiesel describes experiences in the Holocaust that were significantly worse than the experiences described in the first half of the book. For example, the first part of the book explains Wiesel’s life before being taken to the concentration camps and it explains his experiences in the ghetto (which, although incredibly difficult, were not as bad as those in the second half of the book), while, in the second half of the book, Wiesel explains losing his father, the extreme cold and long runs, and the starvation and surrender to death. As a result, Wiesel frequently uses anaphora to help appeal to pathos. Wiesel writes, “The last night in Buna. Once more, the last night. The last night at home, the last night in the cattle car, and, now, the last night in Buna” (83). The repetition of the words “last night” cause the reader to feel sad. Although it is not directly stated, Wiesel is implying that soon there will be a “last night” of his life, which also creates sad emotions for the reader. Wiesel’s 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. This use of anaphora which appeals to pathos allows Wiesel to play with the reader’s emotions and make them feel sad (therefore, the reader would be less likely to allow something like the Holocaust from happening again in the future). Additionally, this quote connects to the title, Night. It emphasizes how Wiesel has reached a point in his life where he can begin to count the time he has left to live by nights. Finally, Wiesel uses the symbolism associated with nights to once more appeal to pathos. Usually, “night” is associated with darkness (symbolic for bad things) and a fear of the unknown, both of which are prominent emotions and occurrences throughout Wiesel’s experiences in the Holocaust. Therefore, Wiesel effectively uses the repetition of the word “night” to appeal to pathos and create a parallel structure with his experiences, which helps him to successfully achieve his purpose of informing the general public about his experiences in order to prevent something like the Holocaust from happening again.

TOW #6- Street Stories Ad (visual text)

 

This advertisement is different than typical advertisements because it is presented as graffiti. It was made to support the “Don’t Let Their Stories End on the Street” campaign that strives to help the homeless. It strives to “bring the message with true stories right to the street, right to the people.” Therefore, the audience is the general public who is passing this graffiti on the street. However, it is typically for an audience of city people since it is located in a city environment rather than a country or suburban environment. As a result, the diction is catered to city people. For example, the image talks about how the city is a “jungle” at night. Someone from the countryside, or an actual jungle, might be confused about how the city is a jungle (or even offended that the city is being called a jungle because it is not an actual jungle). On the other hand, people from the city would be able to relate to the jungle-like experience of living in the city (for example, perhaps both living in the city and the jungle provide a sense of something lurking in the darkness at night, etc.), which would make these people more likely to support the cause. The diction also appeals to pathos because it says, “Dad Died,” which makes the audience feel sad and feel sympathy. All of the graffiti made by this organization is made by the person (usually teens and young adults) who is affected, and by using syntax with simply phrased sentences, the innocence and youngness of the artist is portrayed. Also, the audience feels bad for the artist because he is homeless because his father died, not because he did something wrong, etc. Since the image is located in the city, it is more in place, since there is a lot of graffiti in the city. However, it might catch people’s attention because graffiti is not usually used to promote social action campaigns. The purpose of the ad is to gain support in helping to decrease homeless population. The creator of this ad was streetstories.org.uk, which gives the impression of being a reliable speaker since it is a “.org” site, and therefore a defined organization. All of the prints that were made that are sold for support on the website were sold. Therefore, the purpose was successfully accomplished.

TOW #5- Coatesville by John Jay Chapman (written text)

Coatesville was written by John Jay Chapman. Chapman was a writer in the early twentieth century who often wrote about political matters, especially on topics like anti-slavery and civil rights. His family was very involved in anti-slavery organizations, which most likely influenced his opinions in writing about anti-slavery. This particular speech was published in 1912 to be given at a prayer meeting to commemorate the 1911 lynching of a black man in Coatesville, Pennsylvania. Chapman wrote this essay because he felt strongly about the injustice that had been taken against the black man, and he felt disappointed that the whole country had witnessed the event, but no one had stood up to the cruelty. As a result, Chapman writes with a seemingly annoyed tone in order to express his disappointment in the country. Chapman writes, “Some months ago I asked a friend who lives not far...something about this case...and he replied to me: ‘It wasn’t in my county,’ and that made me wonder whose county it was in” (3). In this quote, Chapman’s annoyance is expressed through his speculation of ownership of the event (by wondering “whose county” in which the event took place and who should take ownership). Although he gave this speech at a prayer meeting to which only two people attended, his speech was also published in Harper’s Weekly (the primary political magazine of Chapman’s time period), so Chapman was actually writing for an audience of the whole country, especially for people who have influence on political matters (since these people would most likely read this magazine). By doing this, Chapman is able to get his opinion about anti-slavery across to people who have power to influence the country’s politics and initiate change. Therefore, Chapman is writing with the argumentative mode of writing, using mostly pathos and ethos to argue his point. Chapman is arguing that each person must take ownership for their own neglect at standing up for people who are suffering because of their race in his time period, and that people can’t just blame this neglect on history. His purpose, as a result, is to get people to stand up for civil rights and take responsibility for their actions (or lack thereof), and is achieved well through is tone and mode, as well as his credibility on writing about the subject.