TOW #17 - Text

In her article about the position of women in today's economy, Stephanie Coontz, an author, historian, and faculty member of Evergreen State College, argues that rather than first looking to help women shatter the glass ceiling (the forces keeping women from entering the higher rungs of the corporate ladder despite their accomplishments) the nation should focus on "the sinking floor", which is the growing problem of both men and women struggling with poverty. She says that female-based models to address this will be more effective, rather than the former masculine-based model constructed around the idea of a male breadwinner. In the past, it was mostly women who have worked the lower-wage jobs, but now, an increasing number of men are facing the same problems. By helping reduce the wage gap through implementing a "livable" minimum wage, establishing a wider safety net, and prioritizing child care, both men and women can be helped.
Coontz appeals to logos and uses repetition to further her argument. She says, " 2009, one in every four American workers earned less than two-thirds of the national median hourly wage, the highest proportion of low-wage work in 19 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries, according to the economist John Schmitt of the Center for Economic and Policy Research." Coontz also establishes that the highest proportion of stay-at-home moms are married to men in the bottom 25% of wage earners. These statistics show that by helping the lower wage earners, men and women can both be helped. Towards the end she repeats the phrase "putting women first", which means that these policies are directly linked to putting women first but will greatly benefit men at the same time.
Coontz does not fully achieve her purpose because her "although" type thesis spends too much time on the "although" part and therefore slightly confuses her reader as to whether or not we should continue to pursue female-oriented policies even though women seem to be clearly doing better despite after the recession while men are still struggling. Her audience is probably policy-makers but also the general public.

IRB Intro Post #3

For the third marking period, I chose to read Fear Itself by Rush W. Dozier, Jr. Browsing through the public library, I came across this book and thought it would be interesting to learn more about the ways that one of the most important human emotions, fear, shapes our lives and our world. Fear is evidently very prevalent in all of our lives, but we pay so little attention to where it comes from or the deeper purpose it serves. I hope to understand these things so that I can be aware of how my emotions are controlling me.

TOW #16 - IRB

Getting through the rest of Unbroken was a bit harder than I expected over the past few weeks because of midterms and other tests, as well as this weekend's blizzard. To make the situation worse, the second half of Unbroken was far less exciting than the first in my opinion. While Louie's camp was liberated and he was sent home at the end of World War II, gets married, and has a religious awakening, there was a considerably smaller amount of action. Nevertheless, the second half of Unbroken is undoubtedly the more important one. During his time in the concentration camps, he is constantly beaten by the relentless Watanabe, the concentration camp warden. However, during one of his punishments in which he had to hold a heavy wooden beam over his head, Louie is victorious in this psychological battle between him and Watanabe by refusing to be proven weak. This climactic point substantiates the title, Unbroken, by showing his mental and physical resilience, even after everything he went through. On several occasions, Laura Hillenbrand, the author, explains that the key to survival through such difficult times is through the preservation of human dignity. She illustrates with Louie’s story that the men that had maintained their humanity and dignity, despite horrific inhumane treatment, were the ones that had a much stronger chance of survival. Long after the body was physically capable of staying alive, Louie, along with other men, managed to survive through little rebellious acts, which kept their spirits unbroken and thus, their individuality intact. Louie acquired a journal and pencil from another captive of Yokohama, and he admitted that “this small declaration of self a great deal” to him (204). Mac, the third crash survivor on the life raft, did not survive at sea, despite eating all of the survival chocolate. He remained sullen and quiet, and at times, gave up hope. His example strengthens Hillenbrand’s thesis, that a fighting spirit that remains unbroken can survive anything.

TOW #15 - Text

In one of their articles, The Onion, infamous for its satire, discusses a NASA mission that discovered a planet identical to Earth by using an orbital mirror. The article makes absurd claims about scientific discoveries made with the mirror throughout. At the beginning of the article, The Onion writes, “According to NASA, the $2.9 billion aluminum glass mirror… suggesting that our solar system may contain a terrestrial planet of the exact same size, shape, and surface composition as Earth” (par. 2). Later in the article, they compare the two planets, discussing how they are exactly the same is water composition, period of rotation, and axial tilt. The idea of a space mirror is absurd enough, but The Onion continues to mock the usage of NASA by using these comparisons as emphasis. In this way, the author is able to convince readers of a downfall in NASA’s practical days, since the article makes it look like NASA is only being used for absurd missions nowadays. Continuing through the article, there are also examples of irony used in order to show the absurdity of the theoretical space mirror. The article states, “’What may be even more surprising is that it was discovered in a part of space that was previously thought to be completely empty’” (par. 3). This shows the absurdity of the mirror because the word “surprising” is ironic. Although it is meant to show the scale of the discovery, in reality, it just emphasizes the fact that the mirror was just used for satirical purposes. The mirror is used by The Onion as a symbol of NASA's lost practicality and glory. At other points throughout the article, irony is used to emphasize this, and it is the irony itself that really is key in showing the problem with NASA. With funding for NASA missions dwindling, the article came at the perfect time. It was meant to ridicule that missing funding, and its use of irony and dubious claims are effective in doing so. Readers are left to think about the problems with NASA's funding and glory today, and The Onion hopes to bring change with that.

TOW #14 - Text

A rather controversial article on Townhall seems to want to debate president John F. Kennedy's real role in the mid 20th century. This essay starts off relevant, posing plausible questions and presenting facts, but after the halfway point starts to go off on a rant. This essays good logos supports its argument well but it tears itself down with is condescending tone in the second half of its argument. Derek Hunter, the author of this article, starts his argument with some well researched facts and historical events. Hunter brings to light the fact that JFK was not sure for reelection and the idea that he was not involved in all of the positives that he is traditionally associated with. These are all well supported facts and historical contexts that are all relevant and support his argument; but in the next few paragraphs Hunter's argument takes a turn for the worst. In the second half of his essay, Hunter begins to use slandering and degrading diction which devalues his argument. He starts to use words that are meant to attack the former president calling him things like, "despicable" and a, "fraud." This type of slanted diction makes Hunter seem biased and ignorant which renders his pervious argument less effective. Not only does he attack the president, he also attacks his family, even criticizing the placement of their final resting places. Hunter also fails to recognize a counterargument; the opinion that JFK was in fact a good president that accomplished many things. Hunter's diction renders his argument completely ineffective and his lack of recognition for the good things the president has done makes him seem ill researched and cynial.

TOW #13 - Visual

This political cartoon by Wasserman is clearly trying to make a statement about the current U.S. Congress. In the background, Washington D.C., and more specifically the Congress building, is shown while the foreground depicts two congressmen. The first aspect of this work that makes the overall message more effective is rather simple: each man is wearing a different color tie. Blue traditionally symbolizes the Democratic party, while red traditionally represents the Republican party. By representing both parties as in cahoots with one another the criticism is broadened to the entirety of congress rather than one party or the other. This also serves to broaden the audience of the visual text. If Wasserman were to target only Republicans, for example, he would risk offending readers who primarily agree with the Republican platform. It would also serve to weaken his argument that Congress as a whole is not invested in the concerns of the people, as representing one party would imply that only that group was at fault.

While this is a visual text, it is still reliant on words to make its overall purpose clear. The man in blue brings up an actual issue, a notice that all airbags nationwide must be recalled. In effect this scenario is rather absurd, but in context the entire nation is at risk. The second man simply reassures his startled friend by reminding him that they still have their jobs, and that there is nothing for them to personally worry about. The greater message is clear: Congress is out of touch with problems that affect everyday Americans. The first bubble serves to raise the stakes, and to make Congress's relative inaction seem dire. The issue presented could cause great harm to the nation if not fixed, but Congress does not feel a need to move as their jobs are not at risk.

The larger message of the text is not simply that Congress is content to mull about doing nothing. Instead it challenges the reader to force their elected officials into action by making it seem like their jobs are at risk. Changing out one party for the other will not change the issue either, Wasserman's image argues, as it is the people within the institution causing the problem not individual parties.

TOW #12 - IRB

For the second marking period, I chose to read Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. It is a non-fiction book based off of a true story about Louis Zamperini. He was a track star who was drafted into the United States Air Force during World War II. Unbroken narrates his life from his track achievements in his earlier years to his imprisonment at a Japanese execution camp. After crash landing in the Pacific Ocean because of a mechanical error in his bomber, he and only two other crew members, Russell Allen "Phil" Phillips and Francis "Mac" McNamara, survived to spend the next one and a half months on a life raft. Although Mac passed away on thirty-third day, Phil and Louis manage to survive two more weeks before being captured by a Japanese ship. Ironically, they were very well fed and treated on their transport to an concentration camp, Kwajarein, which was also known as "Execution Island". Although I only read about halfway through the book, there have been several rhetorical devices that Hillenbrand uses to narrate the story. She uses several symbols in order to foreshadow the events to come. At the beginning of the story in 1929, Louis sees a German dirigible named the Graf Zepplin. As it loomed over him, he stood in shock and awe, yet thought to himself that he never wanted to deal with planes, as they scared him. This is both foreshadowing and symbolizing the war that was to come: shocking and scary. Also, while Louis, Phil, and Mac were stranded in the ocean, they catch an albatross and uses its meat to catch fish. Having read "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner", a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, last year in English class, I remembered that killing an albatross caused bad luck, which certainly happened in Unbroken. Louis and Phil were sent to a concentration camp where they were under the watch of "The Bird", a nickname given to the unforgiving warden. So far, I thoroughly enjoy reading Unbroken, and Hillenbrand does an excellent job at using symbols to foreshadow upcoming events.