TOW #11: Nonfiction piece

In the inaugural address by John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, Kennedy uses first person plural pronouns as well as juxtaposition in order to ensure trust into the the American people.  I believe that through the use of these rhetorical devices Kennedy manages to not only ensure trust in his audience, but he does so by proving his responsibility as a leader and an American citizen.  Through the usage of first person plural pronouns Kennedy establishes that he is not in particularly someone of a higher power, but someone of equal power as his audience: an American citizen.  In some cases Kennedy even establishes that the American citizens have just as much power as he does, creating a sense of responsibility in both the audience and president Kennedy.  This is present in Kennedy's speech in paragraph four when he states that “We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution” (para. 4).  By stating this Kennedy is sharing his newly acquired power with the American people by telling his audience that both him and the American people are what will determine the future of the United States; that they carry the legacy given to them by the founders of America, not just Kennedy.  Kennedy also uses juxtaposition in order to increase nationality in his country.  Juxtaposition can be found in this inaugural address when Kennedy states that we, as the American people, should “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty” (para. 5).  This is an example of juxtaposition because it presents to the audience that other countries cannot accomplish the tasks that the United States is capable of achieving. Through this usage of first person plural pronouns and juxtaposition, Kennedy manages to create a memorable and uplifting speech for the citizens of the United States.

Tow #10: Nonfition

In the editorial titled “The Price of Fear” by the editorial board at The New York Times, a successful newspaper company praised across the United States and the rest of the world, The terrorist attack on Paris is discussed along with its effect on the United States.  Within this essay, the author touches on people's fear of terrorism and how people, in particularly those of the United States, tends to react to this fear. The editorial board manages to successfully approach this issue through its use of juxtaposition.  Within the essay, issues such as The Iraq war, as well as Japanese internment are brought up in order to juxtapose with the terrorist attack in Paris and its possible effects.  The author notices that these threats in the past have all lead to questionable decisions as a result of one common concern: that there is a lack of safety within the United States.  By juxtaposing these events with that of the attack on Paris, the author is trying to emphasize to the audience the main purpose that “it is natural to want to restore a shattered sense of safety. But the best way to do that has always been to draw upon our greatest ideals” (Para. 9).  Being that her main purpose is stated at the end of her essay after she states all of these events as opposed to before, I believe that the author is able to further verify her point to the audience.  By saving the “so what?” for the very end of the essay, the author is able to further emphasize her use of juxtaposition being that it is what further draws the audience towards the greater meaning of the editorial.  Overall, I believe that the editorial board at The New York Times successfully manages to prove to the United States citizens and political leaders through the use of juxtaposition as well as through style and structure that the best way to deal the terrorist attacks on Paris s not to overreact on a possible lack of safety, make logistical decisions off of past successes and failures.

IRB #2 Intro

For my 2nd IRB this year, I chose the book Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen.  I chose this book because being that I am a runner myself, I was interested in reading a book on running.  I have heard good things about this book from other individuals and it has very good reviews online, so in conclusion to those reviews and references, I decided that I wanted to give this book a shot this marking period.  This is why I chose this book as my IRB this marking period.

TOW #9: Visual

In the advertisement titled “Liking Isn’t Helping.  Be a volunteer.  Change A life” released by Crisis Relief, Singapore, the advertising agency attempts to guilt the world into wanting to help those in need.  I believe that this advertisement accomplished this task through not only their use of strong and disturbing imagery, but also through their appeal to ethos by using photos of actual people in need as opposed to drawings.  Within the image, it can be see that multiple individuals are giving thumbs up to struggling children.  This represents how people from across the world show support in helping these children in need through social media.  The only issue with that however as portrayed in this piece of propaganda is that the children are still struggling, despite how many thumbs up are present.  This is because the advertiser is trying to emphasize that while people may show support of helping these children, nothing is actually done to help these children.  The only way to help struggling people in need is through either physically helping or through donations, not through liking status on social media.  By using actual pictures of struggling children to portray this, the advertiser not only guilts the audience into supporting those in need by showing these real life issues, but also prove to the audience that these issues are not being solved.  The audience, being these those who do not do their part in helping people, are then shown why spreading awareness on social media will never help those in need.  They will never help a child be nursed to health.  They will never give a child a home.  They will never feed a hungry child.  Another characteristic of this picture is that the images are in black and white.  That is in order to further stress the audience to help these children by using dull and depressing color schemes to appeal to pathos.  This is why this advertisement by the  Crisis Relief, singapore advertising agency is so effective.

TOW #8: IRB

In the second half of The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger, the critically acclaimed author and writer in magazines such as The New York Times and American Heritage, further attempts to entertain his audience through the thrilling adventure of the crew of the Andrea Gail on their fishing trip out to sea.Through the usage of sentence structure, Junger achieves in increasing this thrill in order to further entertain his reader.  Junger often tends to make his sentences very direct, meaning that he intends to quickly get to the point through shorter sentences as opposed to writing longer sentences which do not have the same direct effect.  For example, in the chapter titled The World of the Living, Junger explains how “ The Guardsmen zip up their flight suits and file out the door.  A rescue helicopter has just ditched fifty miles offshore and now five National Guardsmen are in the water, swimming” (Junger 165).  This sentence structure not only compliments Jungers purpose to create an entertaining and thrilling piece of literature, but it also allows for Junger to further attract an audience based around adventure-seeking enthusiasts with its striking and concise organization.  Through the end of this book, the reader is compelled with the intriguing style of Junger as well as the situations that the crew faces.  While the crew itself does not have a happy ending in a sense, Junger does as a result of the large success of his book.  In fact, The Perfect Storm was later transformed into a major motion picture.  This is because Junger was able to vividly bring a tragic story to life and present it to various audiences of both those interested in the history of the crew as well as those who are fans of thrillers and or adventure.  I believe that through the style and sentence structure that Junger uses, he does a tremendous job at constructing a stellar novel that is still today praised by many.