TOW #14: Media-GoldieBlox

In this advertisement for GoldiBlox, three girls sit bored in front of a TV showing a princess show. Instead of watching TV, they put on their goggles and hats decide to make a Rube Goldberg machine out of household items and toys. A lot of the parts of the Rube Golberg include "girl" toys, like teapots or pink boas. The Rube Goldberg follows a trail out of the house, onto the front lawn, and then back into the living room to turn off the show on the TV and instead show the GoldieBlox product. The whole time in the background, there is a song about not underestimating girls.
The advertisement draws mostly on an appeal to pathos. All three child actors are adorable, and the Rube Golberg is really fun and fascinating to watch. Also, the whole idea that the product will get more girls interested in the STEM fields is a very good angle to pitch, since there is still a gender gap in those fields. Parents will be more inclined to buy the product because they believe that GoldieBlox will make their daughter more interested in such areas.
This ad is certainly effective in addressing its target audience, parents with daughters and making parents think they are "empowering" their children. However, I also noticed that the product itself has very little to do with the Rube Goldberg. Even after the ad, I was not sure what was inside the GoldieBlox box, and this can come off as a little misleading. Furthermore, when inspected closer the product itself seems to be little more than  some pink gizmos, not at all the same quality as Legos, or other similar toys that girls can enjoy just as much as boys. The song itself, chanting about female empowerment, just seems like a marketing ploy.
Although GoldieBlox plays up an effective angle, upon closer inspection the advertisement just seems more about the glamour than the actual product.

TOW #13: "Raising Minimum Wage is a Bad Way to Help People" by Clive Crook

Author Clive Crook is arguing that Obama's push to increase the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $9 an hour is well-intentioned but unnecessary. Although the government has said that there is no "solid evidence" this change would cost jobs, Crook argues that it has no way of telling if it would either. Although the author acknowledges that by certain standards raising the wage to $9 isn't a big jump, and $7.25 is low even by international standards, he still believes that the best way to help those in poverty working minimum-wage jobs would be to lower tax rates for those people. This would keep costs for employers low and encourage them to hire more people.
The main device that Crook uses in his argument against minimum wage is a structure that allows for counterargument. Crook methodically takes each point the opposing side has to say and then rebuts it by pointing out logical flaws in the argument. For example, he says that many liberals and even some conservatives see all minimum wage earners as people under the poverty line, but this image is untrue. A majority of minimum-wage earners are actually students or come from households with additional income. Crook also uses rhetorical questions like, "what if you think employers are shrewdly paying unskilled workers less than their labor is worth? " to try to incorporate the perspective of his opponents before answering their questions as well.
The audience for this article would be people interested in economics, since it came from Bloomberg. The article achieved its purpose because it was convincing and also rebutted arguments from the other side. Clive Crook a senior editor of The Atlantic and graduated from the London School of Economics.

TOW #12: Hiroshima by John Hersey

Hiroshima follows the lives of six people who survive the desolation of the atomic bomb on their city. The story is divided into four parts, starting with the bomb being dropped. The first section sets the scene by describing the lives of each of the six people, alternating perspectives every few pages. The first character introduced is Reverand Mr.Kiyoshi Tanimoto, followed by Mrs. Hatsuyo Nakamaru, Dr. Matasakazu Fujii, Father Wilhelm Kleinsorge, Dr. Terufumi Sasaki, and Toshiko Sasaki. These people are very different, all with different personalities and professions. The one thing that binds them is that all of them were in the city of Hiroshima when the atomic bomb was dropped. This section ends with each of them feeling the impact of the bomb.
Although I have not finished the story, it seems clear that the author's purpose in writing Hiroshima was to inform the American public about the effects of the decision to drop the atomic bomb. This book, published in 1946 a year after the event occurred, sought to put faces on those who suffered at Hiroshima. One rhetorical device used by Hersey is his distinct writing style, combining a journalistic professionalism with a narrative-like story-line. Hersey narrates the lives of each of the six survivors from an outside perspective, impartially but with detailed descriptions as well. Writes Hersey, "Mr. Tanimoto was a small man, quick to talk, laugh, and cry. He wore his black hair parted in the middle and rather long...he moved nervously and fast, but with a restraint which suggested that he was a cautious, thoughtful man" (5). This may be reflective of his desire to turn his writing into a news story, since it was originally published in The New Yorker, without losing a human appeal. Hersey also employs multiple perspectives from each of the characters. By doing so, he widens the scope of his story and makes it more comprehensive and detailed as to all the events that were occurring at the same time. Hersey achieves his purpose by factually detailing the events that occurred and leaving out his own emotions in favor of the much more powerful emotions of his six characters.
John Hersey was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist who wrote for Time Magazine and The New Yorker.

TOW #11:"There Is No Left Brain/Right Brain Divide" by Stephen Kosslyn and Wayne Miller

The commonly accepted idea that our brains are divide neatly into two sections, the left "logical and analytical" side and the right "intuitive and creative side" is actually a myth, according to Kosslyn and Miller. The truth is that the differences between left and right sides of the brain is actually very subtle, and the two sides mostly work together to process information. This article also addresses the root of the myth, an experiment done by the California Institute of Technology. The results of the experiment were skewed out of proportion by subsequent news sources, leading a majority of the public to believe in the idea of two very separate and different sections of the brain. Ultimately, although this theory is not true, the authors admit that exactly how the left and right side of the brain function separately and with each other is still vastly unknown. They do, however, hypothesis that a model of a "top-or-bottom" brain is better than the original.
The article mostly attempts to dispel the original theory through an appeal to logos, but the effort falls short. It describes the original experiment done by Caltech, but does not analyze it further or point out its flaws. It merely quotes one of the experimenters, Roger W. Sperry, cautioning the extrapolation of the data. Thus the reader is unsure why the left-right brain theory is baseless.
The new theory that the authors offer is also vague. Readers are told a "top or bottom" model would be better, but the article does not go into much detail about the differences between the top and bottom of the brain and how these differences influence behavior. It claims that "The characterizations of what each part does are based on years of solid research." But the article fails to show this research.
The audience of this article is probably the American public, given that this is Time magazine. But I feel the author's attempted too hard to put this concept into Layman's terms, which ended up cutting out a lot of crucial information regarding the two theories. Because of this, their argument that the current "Right vs. Left" theory should be changed into a "Top vs. Bottom" theory becomes muddled.
Kosslyn is a neuroscientist and former Harvard Professor of Psychology. Miller is a filmmaker and Providence Journal staff writer.

TOW #10: "The Last Word On Stop-and-Frisk" byJeffrey Toobin

This article discusses the issues surrounding New York's controversial "stop-and-frisk" program, particularly the removal of a judge from the case. In August of 2013, federal judge Shira Sheidindlin ruled this program a violation of the constitutional rights of New Yorkers because, "while African-American and Latino New Yorkers comprise only 54% of the general population, they constituted 84% of all stops in 2012, and 88.8% of the people stopped were not charged." However, because she seemed to be very biased against the program and spoke a lot to the media regarding her view on "stop-and-frisk", she was disqualified from the case, and the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is now declaring her ruling invalid.
The main purpose of this article was to inform readers about the highly controversial "stop-and-frisk" program by focusing mainly on the recent disqualification of a judge. The audience is probably mainly New Yorkers, given that the magazine is called The New Yorker, so this would be an issue important to them. The author begins with a pun, saying "stop me if you've heard this one". This is funny because under the program, police have the right to randomly stop cars if they are suspicious of activity going on. The author also employs a type of chronological organization that makes the story easier to follow, starting with Sheidindlin's ruling and progressing to the current state of affairs regarding the law.
Overall, I believe that the author did achieve his purpose, given the audience he was aiming at. New Yorkers would probably be at least somewhat familiar with the "stop-and-frisk" law so the author never goes into detail about what it is. The article was informative as to the issues surrounding the program and was focused on the contribution of one judge to this law.
Jeffrey Toobin is currently a legal analyst and commentator for CNN and writes for The New Yorker.

IRB #2: Hiroshima by John Hersey

Hiroshima chronicles the effects of one of the most devastating weapons made in human history on the lives of six different people. Among them, two are women, two are doctors, and two are religious men. The book starts with the explosion of the atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, and ends with a postscript written by John Hersey that gives an update of each of the survivor's lives forty years after the atomic bomb was dropped.
I choose this book because a friend of mine recommended it. I know that the dropping of the atomic bomb was extremely controversial decision, and as someone interested in history I want to learn more about this event through people who have witnessed it first-hand. Only then, I think, can I really grasp the magnitude of the tragedy that happened.

Tow #9: Media-"Back to the Start" Chipotle Commerical

In this Chipotle commercial, a farmer starts with a free-range farm with his wife and newborn child. As time goes on, he begins to industrialize his farm into almost a factory, putting the animals into giant buildings where they follow a conveyor belt to be fattened with chemicals and processed. However, the farmer realizes the error in his ways and goes "back to the start", breaking down the walls and allowing his animals to be free-range again. The commercial ends with the farmer, now an older man, hand-putting a crate of goods in a Chipotle truck. His wife and son, now fully grown, watch nearby.
The main appeal of this commercial is to pathos. Chipotle very powerfully spreads the message that their meats come from humane sources. The suffering of the farm animals when they are placed into the dark buildings is clear. There is also a clear contrast of color throughout the commercial. At first, everything is green and sunny, with the animals happily grazing in the fields. Then, the primary color is gray as the farmer begins to industrialize his farm. The colors return to a cheerful green and blue when the farmer sees his error and returns to sustainable farming. Coldplay's The Scientist also adds to the mood with its haunting quality and swell at the end as the farmer goes back to his humane methods.
The target audience is the American public, particularly adults. Not many people think about where the foods they eat come from, especially in restaurants. However, Chipotle's advertisement not only makes people confront this problem, but it also shows how Chipotle is addressing this issue as well, making the restaurant chain seem humane and attracting customers not only because they enjoy the food, but also because they appreciate the philosophy.
The advertising here seems subtle, because views do not know it's about Chipotle until they see the truck at the very end with the Chipotle logo on it. However, it achieves its purpose marvelously by not shoving the product in the viewer's face but instead first showing a moral issue, which the view is likely to react to more. Now when they see Chipotle, they connect the chain to sustainable farming and organic materials, which are good for the viewers.

Tow # 8-"Dreams From My Father" by Barack Obama (IRB)

After learning about President Obama's experience as a community organizer in Chicago, the third and final section of his autobiography is entitled "Kenya". Obama travels back to his father's nation or origin to find out more about the man that he could only admire from afar but never really knew. In Nairobi, Obama meets his grandmother and his extended family. He feels hopelessly entangled in family politics and sees clearly that his father was not a perfect man, as Obama growing up had been lead to believe. In the end, Obama is not disappointed with his search, he merely has even more questions. The autobiography has an epilogue, where Obama returns to Kenya with Mrs.Obama, and he is optimistic that things will change for the better.
One of the most important rhetorical devices used in this autobiography is flashbacks. Throughout both the "Kenya" and "Chicago" section Obama uses extensive flashbacks into the lives of his mother and father. Although they no longer play the same central role in the autobiography in later chapters as they did in the beginning, Obama is continually influenced by his quest to discover his identity through the past of his parents.
The audience for this autobiography, the American public, will probably find it easy to connect to the autobiography. Particularly in the "Kenya" section, Obama seems to focus more on dialogue and action rather than description, emphasizing similarities in thought rather than differences because of the African backdrop. However, he does use Swahili terms at times.
I think that Obama did achieve his purpose of showing that he has seen more than the average political candidate. From "Origins" to "Kenya", there is a sense that by belonging to two worlds and thus uncertain of where he fits, President Barack Obama has gone on an incredible journey.

Tow #7-Dear United States: Is This What Democracy Looks Like? By: Terry Newell

In a scathing evaluation of the current state of America, Newell points out how many recently publicized events make the U.S look like a mess: Snowden, the government shutdown, and the recent spying on allies, etc. He then begins a serious of questions of why the United States doesn't seem to be able to get it together. But the author then pulls back and evaluates just why America is portrayed as so incompetent. Perhaps it is actually because America is so democratic as compared to other countries. However, he qualifies this idea with the fact that it does not excuse the problems that have developed for our nation as of late.
The most influential rhetorical device used in this article is rhetorical questioning. In fact, the second paragraph of the article is made up almost entirely of questions. These questions emphasize all the things that are going wrong in America these days and make the reader angry at the failures of the government. The author also makes use of logos in the last two sentences of his essay to cite statistics of how the United States is still viewed in a generally favorable light both domestically and internationally. After the frustration readers may feel about the government, these statistics make the article end on a hopeful note.
The author's purpose at first may seem to rant about the mess of our national government, but in fact it's almost the opposite. The article acknowledges the problems we are facing, and actually says that the large amount of liberty given to citizens is a contributing factor. Of course, every citizen would rather have a government that blunders at times than a large and rigid government that never blunders, because people who find any flaw in it are simply silenced. In short, the author's purpose is to tell Americans that although the actions of the U.S government have been disappointing as of late, it is the price of the freedom we cherish. Overall, I think the author did accomplish his purpose. As a frustrated citizen myself, I have realized that compared to many other governments around the world, our government is certainly not the worst by any means. Does that make some of the things the government has done okay? No. But at least we as citizens can speak our mind about it. Terry Newell is currently the Dean of Faculty of the Federal Executive Institute.

TOW #6-"The Lessons of Japan's Economy" by Steven Rattner

This article addresses the similarities between Japan's current economy and the United State's economy. It starts on an optimistic mood, saying that Tokyo has been recovering fairly well from its years of economic stagnation. However, the author then points out that three things, namely bureaucracy, tradition, and overregulation are holding it back. He addresses tradition by pointing to how Japan's aversion to firing people has caused a greater dependence on manual labor instead of newer technologies. Like the US, it also suffers from tax loopholes and needs a better tax policy. The article ends on a hopeful note, conceding that although Tokyo has fallen behind other Asian cities like Shanghai, it could still get back on track.
One of the rhetorical devices the author uses is a full-circle ending. He begins by mentioning the Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe's "three arrow" policy and ends reflecting on the effectiveness of this policy. It also appeals to logos by citing many statistics, including that Japan ranks last among 24 developed nations in terms of entrepreneurial activity.
The audience of this article is probably people who are somewhat informed about economics. As someone who isn't really informed about such things, some of the statistics the article listed confused me because I wasn't sure what point the author was trying to make with them. Overall, I don't think the author achieved his purpose, which was to point out mistakes Japan has made that the United States could learn from. Had the author incorporated more detail about the US economy and made more comparisons, I may have understood. However, since I am probably not his audience, maybe he didn't feel the need to. I also noticed that he did not mention a lot about government overregulation, even though it was one of his three key points.
Steven Rattner is a Wall Street financer, chairman of Willett Advisers in New York, and economic analyst for MSNBC.

Tow #5: Media-"Just Checking" Cheerios Commercial

In this commercial, a young girl walks up to her mom with a box of Cheerios and asks her mom if Cheerios are good for the heart, like her dad said they were. Her mom replies that Cheerios has whole grain oats which can remove cholesterol, which is heart-healthy. The girl smiles and walks off with the box of cheerios. In the next scene, her dad wakes up to find that a bunch of Cheerios have been dumped on his chest. The commercial ends with the Cheerios slogan "Love."
This commercial primarily plays off of pathos. The little girl's charm makes the viewer want to smile immediately, and the viewer cannot help but smile at her innocent misunderstanding. The loving family dynamic also gives a warm feeling. In the last slide, the use of the color yellow creates a sense of happiness. But the central idea of the commercial is an appeal to logos, the fact that Cheerios contains whole grains which lower cholesterol. Also, although perhaps not rhetorical device, the commercial shows a mixed-race family, which shows that all families, regardless of size or structure enjoy Cheerios. This could also be subtly be trying to say that there is no “typical” American family.
Cheerios is a popular breakfast cereal generally targeted towards families with children. The viewers of this commercial are probably moms and dads, so using this "family environment" is an effective marketing strategy.
Cheerios may have a dual purpose in showing this advertisement. On one hand, they certainly want to sell their cereal, which they do by exalting its health benefits and through a heart-warming family interaction. Beneath the surface, they may also be trying to say that there really is no “typical” family, especially with the growing voice of LGBT community and increasing number of single-parent families. But the use of a mixed-race family, which generated controversy, may have been purposefully done to increase awareness about the ad and ultimately the product. Cheerios has certainly achieved this purpose, as this ad and its effects have been reported on in newspapers like the Huffington Post and online news sources, with over four million views on the original commercial on Youtube.

Tow #4: (IRB) Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance is the autobiography of the 44th President, Barack Obama. Even as a young child, Obama never knows much about his father except from the stories his mother and grandparents tell him. When his mother and father finally divorce and his mother marries Lolo, an Indonesian surveyor, Obama goes to Indonesia as well. He eventually returns to Hawaii to live with his grandparents and finish schooling. He goes to college, eventually transferring to Columbia, where he learns that his father has died in a car crash. Obama eventually decides to become a community organizer from Chicago, where he begins after initial doubts, to make some changes.
Although I have finished the entire book, there are many examples of rhetorical devices used throughout. In particular, Obama employs in media res to hook the reader, starting with the news of the death of his father before backtracking and filling in the other details of his life. He also uses a lot of foreshadowing. Obama writes, “Beneath the layers of hurt, beneath the ragged laughter, I heard a willingness to endure. Endure-and make music that wasn’t there before.” (pg. 112). These rhetorical devices add to the readability of the text because the story is constantly moving along. I think Obama’s purpose overall is to allow the public to know him more; to know his background, what he’s experienced, and show that he’s not an average candidate. This autobiography was published as he was running for junior U.S senator from Illinois, so it was definitely written as a way for voters to know him beyond his speeches and policies. Although I have not yet finished the autobiography, I do believe that President Obama has achieved this purpose. He is honest in telling his story, careful to show his true character and at times, flaws. Today, President Obama is the 44^th president of the United States of America. As his autobiography states, he was a community organizer in Chicago before graduating from Harvard Law School. After graduating, he became a civil rights attorney and taught at the University of Chicago Law School. In 2009, President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize.

 

Tow #3-(article)" Are We Hard-Wired for War?" By: David P. Barash

In this thought-provoking article, Barash looks towards our biological make-up to try to refute the idea that war is simply human nature. He starts with the claim of the other side, citing various sources such as The National Interest and New Scientist. He then looks at our evolutionary relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos, two similar species that are very different in how they address conflict. Barash narrows this idea by then citing different tribal groups, all of which have different ways to deal with conflict as well, and many of them peaceful, and concludes that war is not simply human condition. This idea is essentially the author’s point. As people look at the growing tension in Syria and United States intervention, they may wonder if humans are simply wired for war. But in this article Barash dispels this misconception. Through his use of anecdotes and appeals to logos and ethos, Barash makes his argument more convincing. For example, he establishes the claim from the other side before moving on to his own, which makes it seem like he has carefully considered both sides of the argument. He also has science and history to back up his claims. Finally, Barash ends strong with a story about a Native American girl who dreams of two wolves fighting, and asks her grandfather what it means. Her grandfather says that one wolf represents peace and the other war, and that whoever wins in this eternal struggle is the one she feeds. This illustrates the point that humans can decide whether to make peace or make war. The audience of this article is probably the American public, because they have seen the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and are weary of more fighting. The author achieved his purpose by thoughtfully looking at all sides of the argument and pointing out examples and counterexamples, showing that war is not wired into the human brain. David Barash has been a psychology teacher at the University of Washington-Seattle since 1973. He has written numerous books about violence and other human behaviors.

Tow #2- (article) Rebel Yell: Creating Punk at the Metropolitan Museum of Art by Jonathan Van Meter

In this Vogue article about the influence of punk, which will feature in Metropolitian Museum of Art’s exhibition “Punk: Chaos to Couture.” Punk, the author believes, is like a competitive sport of who can be the most outrageous and therefore show the most dedication to the form. The author then tells a story of his own discovery of punk and of one of his “punk” friends. He extends this to other “punk” celebrities today, include Madonna and Lady Gaga, who are characterized by the sometimes inappropriate things they do or wear to that grabs attention to show a context of what punk is. This punk subculture is derived from punk music, which started in about 1975. Punk fashion is characterized by clothes with outrageous symbols and leather or vinyl clothing. The author probably wrote this article to inform people about what punk, which many older people associate with hooliganism, really is. He says, “Every now and then I hear myself mutter under my breath, “That is so punk rock.”… Sometimes it’s an acknowledgment of heroism, sometimes nihilism.” The point about punk is that it goes against the established order and is meant to shock. It shouldn’t be seen as bad; it’s merely another form of expression. The audience would probably be adults, because they may have less of an understanding of what punk is than teens. Throughout this article, the author uses anecdotes and allusions to achieve his purpose. For example, he characterizes his punk roommate, Mortimer, as someone with stereotypical “punk” qualities, like his Mohawk. But he also describes how during a Chistrmas party Mortimer wrapped himself with Christmas lights attached to a long extension cord so that they actually lit up. This makes it appear that punk is a way of creative, unfettered thinking. He also alludes to the movie Edward Scissorhands to describe a physical appearance. I believe that the author did achieve his purpose, because he certainly made me reconsider what my image of punk is. When I think of punk I think of the music and clothes, but the author mentions little of either in his article. Instead, he focuses on the relationship between punk and the public and the purpose of this culture. Van Meter started his career writing for the Atlantic City magazine. Since then, he has written for Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, and many others. Van Meter was the former editor-in-chief of the Vibe magazine, which focuses on street music culture.

 

 

An example of "Chaos to Couture" on the Red Carpet, as shown by Katy Perry.

 Source: http://www.behance.net/gallery/Met-Gala-2013-Punk-Chaos-to-Couture-On-The-Red-Carpet/8661215

Dreams From My Father (IRB)

Dreams From My Father is a memoir of the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama. President Obama wrote this memoir as he was preparing to campaign for senator. This book delves into his past and a little bit about who his parents were. He talks about his grandparents, about moving, and about school. Eventually he goes back to Africa for a period to rediscover his past.

I've always intended to read this book, but until now, haven't had the time. As the first African-American president of the United States of America, Barack Obama is currently making history. But I'm even more interested in how he came to be where he is, and the obstacles that he has had to face and overcome. Many times with high public officials, we either place them on a pedestal or demonize them, forgetting that they sometimes have some of the same experiences that we do. I've never read an autobiography of a politician before, but I have high hopes for this one.

Tow #1- Media: "How Schools Kill Creativity" by Sir Ken Robinson

 

 

 

Picasso once said, "All children are born artists. The problem is to remain an artist as you grow up." In this speech, Sir Ken Robinson makes a profound argument that institutions are actually squandering the creative potential of their pupils. Robinson introduces this problem by showing the creativity of young children and how they are unafraid of making mistakes. He argues that with the current school systems in the world, mistakes are stigmatized and that students are educated "out" of creativity. Throughout the speech, Sir Ken Robinson states that the fundamental idea of education needs to be rethought. This speech informs others about the diversity of creativity, which is very valid today because 21st century problems require a lot of different approaches and perspectives. Robinson achieves his purpose by primarily employing humor. His jocular tone makes the audience want to listen. Robinson even digresses on the occasional tangent, which gives the audience time to laugh, before he continues with the topic. Robinson also uses anecdotes to illustrate his point. For example, he uses the example of Gillian Lynne, who managed to find her passion and succeeded even though her talents did not lie in academics. Overall, I believe that Sir Ken Robinson accomplished his purpose. Although I've always thought of intelligence as diverse until now I have never questioned how school system works. After hearing this talk and the very valid points and interesting anecdotes that Ken Robinson has shared, I have a better understanding of why this system is not for everyone and how it can sometimes even unknowingly repress talent. An educator for many years, Sir Ken Robinson certainly has great credibility. He completed his PhD at the University of London and was a professor of education for twelve years at the University of Warwick and received many honors, including the Peabody Medal. In 2003, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his dedication to the arts. His most recent book, Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything, is a New York Times Bestseller and has been translated to over 20 languages.

 

 

 

The Mansion: A Subprime Parable by Michael Lewis

"The Mansion: A Subprime Parable" tells about the events that occur when the author rents a  mansion on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans with his family. The author, from the upper-middle class, experiences the problems of living in a house he can't quite afford. He reflects that Americans lust for expensive homes that they don't have the money for, and that he is no different. In the end, the author and his family move back to where they came from. Michael Lewis, the author of this essay, attended Princeton University before getting his MA in the London School of Economics. Mr Lewis became a financial journalist and is a contributing editor to Vanity Fair. He also writes for The New York Times. "The Mansion: A Subprime Parable" is rooted in the idea of the American class system. Ideally, there is a lower class, an upper class, and a large middle class. The author readily admits that he is from the upper middle class, and this essay is about what happens when a upper middle class family tries to transition into the upper class lifestyle.

A parable is a story meant to instruct. The author's purpose is to share with the lesson he learned from renting the mansion. He realized that pretending to be something he is not, attempting to live the life of the upper class, is ultimately doomed for failure. In the end, Lewis writes, “And so we fled, back to where we’d come from: the upper middle class.” (Lewis 86). The essay was published in Conde Nast Portfolio, which was known to target middle to upper class adults. Lewis delivers his purpose well, mostly through the use of the anecdote, which tells his story with clarity and dry humor. There is also symbolism: the mansion itself symbolizes the elusive upper class. He uses a great deal of imagery, describing the feeling of not belonging by saying, “-we all sit in the formal dining room, under the gilded ceiling and the crystal chandelier, eating packaged tortellini off paper plates.” (Lewis 81). Through these devices, Lewis emphasizes that his experience serves as a consequence for us to not thirst for what we cannot afford.

American Class Structure

"It is not the man who has too little, but the man that craves more, who is poor." -Seneca

Source:Dennis Gilbert, The American Class Structure in an Age of Growing Inequality (6th ed., 2003), p.270

The Writer in Winter by John Updike

"The Writer in Winter" is a reflection about the book-writing process by an older writer, the author of the essay. The author confesses that he is afraid that his best works are behind him, although he notes that although writing is a profession that treats the aging more gently. Still, the author feels satisfied that his books will outlast him and hopes that he still has one more masterpiece left in him. John Updike, the author and narrator, graduated from Harvard University with a degree in English. Updike became a staff writer for The New Yorker before resigning to write Rabbit, Run and The Centaur, the latter which won the National Book Award. Two of the three sequels to Rabbit, Run (Rabbit is Rich and Rabbit at Rest) won the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. Updike passed away in 2009, at the age of 79. In this essay, Updike describes his own experience with age. Old age is generally a time we associate with retirement, and yet the profession of writing is more gentle on older writers. But being an older writer himself, Updike cannot help but wonder if he has lost his touch. Updike wrote this essay as a reflection of his own writing career. He admits that he fears his writing now has, " lost...it's carefree bounce, its snap, its exuberant air of slight excess. The author, in his boyish innocence, is calling, like the sorcerer's apprentice, upon unseen powers-the prodigious potential of this flexible language's vast vocabulary" (Updike174). Updike is admits his own insecurity. But behind this candid confession is the pride he has of what he has accomplished. Since the target audience of AARP Magazine (American Association of Retired Persons) is people in their fifties and older, this essay was probably intended for such an age range. The essay is personal and thoughtful, serving as a well-written reflective piece. Updike first remembers the past, muses about the present, and then thinks about the future. He uses anecdotes to reminisce about the past to further serve in his reflection. The idea of winter and his descriptions of different typewriters both serve as symbols that note the passage of time, effectively helping transition the essay along.

   

The Winter Years

"In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy." -William Blake

Source: http://www.electricityforum.com/poetry/portrait-of-laurence-steven.html

The Mechanics of Being by Jerald Walker

"The Mechanics of Being" discusses the writer’s father and his relationship with the writer. The essay begins with the author's decision to write about his father, who became blind. The author details his father's life. In the end, he realizes that he has been writing about his father all wrong, because he focused on his father's blindness rather than his father himself. The essay ends with his father's funeral where the author tells a funny anecdote about his dad, deciding that if he is to ever write about his father, it will start with that story. "The Mechanics of Being" addresses poverty and broken families. It also describes the process of writing a biography, the gathering of facts, while along the way discovering the beauty and complexity of life. The author's purpose in writing this essay is not to describe his father's blindness. Writes the author, "Chapter after chapter I focused on the mechanics of blindness when I should have focused on the mechanics of being" (Walker 187). The author shares his true purpose, which is his belief that people should not be defined by one thing. This message is universal and is intended of all adults and teens. The author achieves his purpose through in mes res. The story begins with the narrator struggling to write a book about his father, then goes into a series of flashbacks about his father's life, and returns to the present. Because of this, the reader is gradually given information from each flashback and realizes the diversity of the father’s experiences.  It also uses a particularly important anecdote at the end, describing a time when the author was angry at his father, but his father laughed because it was a joke, and the author could not help but laugh along. This anecdote embodies the idea that blindness should not define the story of the writer’s father. The narrator and author, Jerald Walker, received a MFA in Creative Writing and a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies. He has written for the Literary Review, Oxford American, and many other sources. He is the founder of the literary journal, The Bridge, which has won over sixty national awards. Mr. Walker teaches English at Bridgewater State University.

 

 

 

Life is...

 "Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens."-Khalil Griban

Source: http://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/melanie/4-ways-to-find-happiness-inspiration-from-within.htm

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Our Vanishing Night by Verlyn Klinkenborg

"Our Vanishing Night" is about the deleterious effects of light pollution on the Earth. The essay provides examples of how animals are impacted by artificial light and the history of this issue. It ends by pointing out that darkness is essential to the biological welfare of animals and people alike. Today, the International Dark Sky Association (IDA) has been trying to inform the world about this issue. The twenty-first century, with the mass growth of metropolitan areas, it is likely that light pollution will become an even greater dilemma, so this essay speaks of an important issue. Since many people in the world are perhaps still not fully aware about this problem, this essay is most likely intended to inform the reader about light pollution and its effects. Such effects include how nightingales may start breeding at an earlier point, which disrupts their migration schedule. Klinkenborg writes, "Of all the pollutions we face, light pollution is perhaps the most easily remedied." (Klinkenborg 65). The greater intention is that readers, with this new knowledge, will do something. The author, Verlyn Klinkenborg, has a Ph.D. at Princeton University.  Mr.Klinkenborg won Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Award and has written for many magazines, including The New Yorker and Harper's Magazine. He currently teaches literature at Yale University. Mr.Klinkenborg’s essay was probably intended for environmentally conscious or curious teens and adults, as the language is easy to understand. The main rhetorical device that the writer of this essay uses is imagery. Writes Klinkenborg, "And yet above the city's pale ceiling lies the rest of the universe, utterly undiminished by the light we waste-a bright shoal of starts and planets and galaxies, shining in seemingly infinite darkness" (Klinkenborg 64). The author also appeals greatly to pathos, describing helpless birds and newborn sea turtles dying because of light pollution. Ultimately, Klinkenborg does inform the reader about the harms of light pollution, which was his purpose. But he should have taken this a step further and listed specific ways the reader can help. Klinkenborg does not list specific solutions besides really general ones like “changing light design”.

Man V.S Nature

“One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between Man and Nature shall not be broken.”-Leo Tolstoy

Source: http://btlau.wordpress.com/2010/12/20/alone-in-the-dark/

First by Ryan Van Meter

"First" describes an experience the author had with his childhood crush, Ben, when they were young.  Both of them are boys. While on a car ride with Ben one night, the author asks Ben to marry him. His mom overhears their conversation, and tells the author that boys don't marry boys. This comes as a blow to the author, and he forces himself to hide his feelings. This essay was intended to share a childhood experience with the reader; in particular, a childhood experience that really changed the author. The car ride was the first time he was told that he shouldn’t feel a certain way. The essay speaks of an important moment in the author's life. This piece was probably written for all teens and adults, as the language was easy to comprehend. The most important rhetorical device used in this essay is ambiguity. For nearly half the essay, the reader thinks is story is just about a normal childhood crush. The essay also employs imagery. When describing the moment the author and Ben are holding hands in the car, Meter says, "I want to see our hands on the rough floor, but they are visible only every block or so when the car passes beneath a streetlight, and then for only a flash" ( Meter 178-179). This strong imagery makes the situation vivid, as if the reader was in the car as well.The author does accomplish his purpose of sharing a defining experience. His story of his first crush is told with breath-taking detail and unspoken emotion. His choice to reveal his gender later in the essay makes the reader question their initial perceptions. Homosexuality has long been a source of controversy. Recently, it was in the Supreme Court. Even as we move towards an age of greater acceptance, there are still many people who oppose it. Today, Ryan Van Meter is openly gay. He received an M.A in creative writing and has written works for many sources. He was awarded residencies by the MacDowell Colony and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and is currently an assistant professor in English at the UCSF.

 

What We Left Behind

"I'd rather be hated for who I am, then loved for who I am not."-Kurt Cobain

Source: http://www.foreverparenting.com/1434/built-in-friends/