I.C. 8

Doesn't 8 seem like a high number? It does to me. It seems as though these blogs could be revised a bit. I understand their purpose, but the truth is that I work in spurts, brief flashes of inspiration that result in pages of information accompanied by a sense of not wanting to look at the paper again for days. This is what is currently happening, one of the long spells between the likely two bursts of productivity that will become this paper. And I submit to you, dear readers, that perhaps the system of commenting every day on a paper in which it is doubtful that work is achieved every day is a bit ludicrous. I suggest an alteration in which a certain number of blogs are to be done on the paper over the two weeks, but when the writer decides to post them is up to him or her. Perhaps, two a week should be enforced, to encourage the writer to start work the first week. The bottom line is, the current over-the-top system should be thoroughly examined and perhaps modified. On the paper specifically I did little, although I did read the editorial the Terman Oscillation by the esteemed Ann Cutler and enquired as to more bibliographic information on that article.

I.C. 7

Well, here we are again, dear reader. Stuck in this same boring routine of me writing and you reading. I would propose a change, in which I verbally dictate my blogs to the halls of university high school at large, greatly increasing both my listeners and my popularity. This would save me the fatigue and joint pain caused by the mind-numbing repetitiveness of typing out my amazingly profound ideas into this banal and overused archetype of telecommunications, the web blog. But I digress. Today, I again did little. I worked mainly in study hall on my paper, but not having the chutzpah to actually do any analysis or thought, I simply did the annoying but necessary bibliography. I need to finish citing my mother's editorial, as she did not provide me with relevant issue information, but that will come in due time. The good news is that the bibliography is almost entirely complete, a thought which gives my troubled mind some modicum of rest in these harrowing times. Now that I have a solid majority of my expository essay completed and the repetitive and honestly useless works cited list out of the way, I can breathe a little more easily.

I.C. 6

Wow. Big day today. It began with major procrastination, as it always does, but I finally pushed myself to do some real work on the paper today. First, I dragged my sorry behind to the library and found not one, but two non-electronic sources to use! And they are good too! The first is hothouse kids by Alissa Quart, which discusses the ridiculous amount of pressure gifted individuals are under. This works as a source against increased gifted education, as does the Davidson Academy. I also unearthed Real Education, which discusses four "truths" one of which directly related to gifted education. This section seems to be fairly short and succinct, exactly what I need for my paper. This, a NYT article, a Times article, and the national association for gifted children will count as my for sources. Things are looking up. I also wrote a boatload tonight, bringing my total from about a half of a page to about 3 and a half. I've included NAGC, Hothouse kids, NYT and times articles, and Davidson Academy already. I need more of the Times article in the piece and need to read and bring in Real Education. But all in good time. No fear anymore.

I.C. 5

Well, today I finally did some real research. I found a department of state website which defined gifted and discussed briefly the nature of gifted education in the U.S. today. I also found a school called the Davidson Academy of Nevada (if I remember correctly), which is a free public school for the extraordinarily gifted. Top tenth of a percent of the population allowed in.  And then the  mother lode of all gifted education resources I found on the Davidson website, a Time article discussing the state of gifted education in the U.S. titled "Are we failing our Geniuses?" This is a great article discussing many aspects of the current limitations and advancements in gifted education, a strong support in favor of my side attempting to increase the funding of gifted education across the nation. I also wrote the first paragraph of my paper, introducing the concepts of my paper as well as introducing the prevalent definition of gifted that I previously posted. This provides a jumping-off point for my paper to delve deeper into the issue based on the fundamental description of what being gifted means.

I.C. 4

I have just noticed that when inquiry contract is abbreviated, it becomes I.C. This is suspiciously close to I.Q., an abbreviation for another term, intelligence quotient. This is especially important because I.Q. is highly related to giftedness, and is sometimes used a direct numerical test for determining giftedness. For example, Sycamore used an I.Q. of 130 as its cutoff for admission. Just an observation, dear readers, for those of you who are as observant as I and noticed this delightful coincidence. For those who, like me, went until now without noticing, you are now informed. Congratulations on your newfound, completely irrelevant knowledge. To be entirely truthful, I have not as yet done any more research on the issue of gifted education. I have, however, given it some thought, and have realized I need to decide where the boundaries of my search exist. Do I research gifted education in Indianapolis? In Indiana? In the U.S.A.? I need to decide where i start and stop my search, an issue I will certainly approach in the future. However,  I refuse to approach it now. Anyway, I did briefly revise my proposal and turned it in today, which I consider a definite milestone in my search for intellectual enlightenment.

I.C. 3

Today I did minimal research on Giftedness. I have to say, I am extremely impressed with the miniscule amount of information that I found. However, this was probably due to the epic epic epic epic epic amount of time that I spent researching, which all in all totaled up to about 2 and a half minutes of time on my computer. However, I am still proud of this because I am ahead of schedule as we do not even need our proposals in until tomorrow. Thus, I am pleased. I did find in my brief spell a definition of giftedness, which I found at a website of some national foundation for giftedness. Stuck-up punks. But here it is, for your viewing pleasure:Students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services and activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities. My font has now changed. Maybe... yes.. it has... Anyway, I would like to point out that a large portion of university high school would fall under these criteria, especially those in our AP english class. Just saying...

IC 2

I now begin again my attempt to tell the story of my epic quest to find something of true importance in a world which appeared to me in shades of gray. Where in everything else I had done and probably will do I could fall back to lies and feigned enthusiasm, I must here actually be enthusiastic, actually care, actually see something in bright colors, or at least a more defined black and white. As I recounted in the first installment of this epic tale, I finally approached an idea, a concept, that I could see in color, that actually had made a difference in my altogether too short life-span, something that may actually matter to me. This was a revelation, an epiphany of sorts. I was amazed that something so fundamental, something I had for many years taken for granted, could actually, upon further consideration, become to me something of great importance. The idea was fuzzy, amorphous, but slowly taking shape as I contemplated it further. Could I really return to Sycamore, force my mind back into patterns which it had been trying to escape for so long? Could I make myself do what I had hoped never to be required to do again? Yes, I decided, I would take up the challenge for honor's sake.

Inquiry Contract, the first of many

To be absolutely honest, I have already written my inquiry contract proposal and have been encouraged by our esteemed professor LaMags that I should procrastinate and try not to work ahead. Instead, I am encouraged to play frisbee. That being said, I am unlikely to do much work on my paper tonight. In the place of the delicate descriptions of riveting research that will follow in the days and weeks to come, I will regale any reader with the tale of the beginning of this epic quest, the start of a month-long journey that began with one single step, as all such magnificent journeys must. When I was but a boy, sitting in the classroom of AP English during fourth period last week, I heard terrible news. I was being compelled to find something of real interest to me, whereas I had been battling with the demons of bullshit for most of my life. Where would I find something of real interest to the cynical and, if young, still world-weary misanthropist I had become. I thought and I thought, and finally, a solution came to me. I would return to the place of my intellectual birth, the land that had reshaped me when I was a child into the person I am today. I would return to Sycamore School!

Let a Thousand Licensed Poppies Bloom

This argument is well-crafted, from the title to the last sentence. The title is reminiscent of a beautiful piece of prose but becomes a support of the argument with the addition of the word licensed. The author appeals to logos and ethos by citing many reliable statistics. The author appeals to pathos when discussing the suffering of the countless people dying of AIDS or cancer without pain medication derived from opiates. Showing the failure of the war on drugs to combat the trade in opiates also convinces readers that the status quo is failing to have any effect, combating the natural state of inertia that many people feel when they rely on their inherent conservatism, as the chapter we just read described it. By showing first that what is happening now is not working, the author makes readers more open to seeing new solutions to the problem. The author presents a logical argument that we are spending millions on eradicating drugs when we could spend less to buy those drugs legally, both eliminating the illegal drug problem and supplying opiates to those individuals who need them the most. This argument is well structured and extremely logical.

C.P. Ellis

Ellis's story does offer a credible way to overcome an individual's misunderstanding and hatred towards other races. By speaking with others of that race, by working with them in close proximity on an issue that goes beyond race, one can come to realize that the similarities between us far outweigh the differences. C.P. said that he only began to open up his mind when he talked with Jews or blacks one on one "eyeball to eyeball." When he was forced to work with the black woman he so hated on a project for the school, which transcended race relations even as it involved them, he realized the common ground he shared with her. Only by encountering situations in which you must work for a common goal with people you  hate can you overcome your unreasoning hatred. With a mind willing to be opened and these experiences, you can work past differences and become something better. This cannot work on a large scale simply because his story represents an individual's journey. A group cannot take that journey, but the battle must be won person by person. Only by making personal connections can racism be overcome like it was in C.P. Ellis.

Mainstream

When Yoshino talks about the mainstream as a myth, he is discussing the fact that the concept of a social norm to which we can all match ourselves is bogus. There is in fact no such norm because not a single person can adhere to all of the qualities that would form such a mainstream. We are all such different, diverse people that no single standard can encompass more than one of us. Even the straight, white, angry man in the audience had many factors that people ascribing to the mainstream myth would say do not match their standards. He has many traits that would exclude him from the social norm despite how much he looks like a typical american (a laughable idea in itself) from a distance. He is very persuasive in his reasoning mainly because his ideas are echoed by most of us. Each of us views ourselves as special, individual, unique, and so think we do not conform to the mainstream. We are also all aware of little attempts at covering we do every day to be accepted. I would define mainstream as the typical white, straight male and female, unaffected by either unhappiness or unpopularity, always ready to laugh at a joke or be a good friend. None of us can meet all of these requirements all the time.

Incidents

Life in the north does not live up to Linda's expectations, as she explicitly says during the book. She expects a land free of slavery and free of prejudice, but she only really finds something close to this utopia when she visits england. In the north however, there is still much prejudice and several of the limitations of slavery continue to exist even in the free states. Blacks are required to ride in second-class compartments even if they have the money to pay, and in several places Linda is treated unfairly because of her race. And as a final insult, Linda eventually learns that she is not even secure in her freedom in the free states. When the fugitive slave act is passed, Linda can be captured in the free states and brought back to slavery. Linda is afraid for her life and her freedom until she eventually wins it by being purchased for three hundred dollars. However, even now Linda has mixed feelings because she had sworn never to pay a slaveholder for the freedom she believed she had been given by God. She becomes secure in her freedom, but knows it is only because she was bought by a friend and not because God willed it so.

Emotion

Throughout the piece, Harriet Jacobs makes use of many different styles in order to evoke emotion. The most common and most powerful are direct quotations from slaves about their affliction or slaveholders regarding their cruelty. Other stylistic elements, also powerful, are the breaks from the narrative in which she addresses the reader. Accusing them of being partly to blame for the suffering she is describing evokes shame and will to do better in the reader, and her pleas for help out of hopelessness bring the reader into a state of mind ready to assist the plight of the slaves. An especially moving passage is her description of the old man learning to read despite his age and condition. By describing the devotion to god of a slave in the face of such cruelty, and his desire to learn how to better serve god despite the legal dangers of doing so, Jacobs both teaches us of the plight faced by slaves trying to learn and pulls us more heavily into the world of the slaves. By knowing their desire to learn and their devotion to God, we see how strong they really are as people.

Reality vs. Fiction

Have you ever heard heard the phrase truth is stranger than fiction? Well I have, and I think it applies here. The degradations that we imagine occurring to slaves do not come close to measuring the true damage slavery has done to an entire race. A novel detailing the effects of slavery would likely pale in comparison to the truth laid out by Harriet Jacobs. However, even if such a novel was written, it could still never have the impact of the slave narrative we are reading because it simply didn't happen. If I write a compelling story of how people x subjugates people y on planet z, people may feel sorry for them, but will of course laugh it off as fiction and never take action. When people x becomes whites, people y becomes blacks, and planet z becomes your backyard, the truth hits home and one cannot simply ignore it. Because it is true, one realizes the terrible conditions slaves must live in and one is called to action to try and right the wrongs that have been done. If the narrative is entirely fiction, or if pieces of it are changed, it loses its impact and becomes a useless piece of literature instead of a compelling rallying cry for the abolitionist movement.

Election

One of the things that i first noticed about the election was the constant negative comparison between Mccain and Bush. In nearly every district the announcer on CNN discussed, Mccain was underperforming as compared to Bush, which the announcer heavily focused on. It was here that I first began to believe that Obama was really going to win. Despite the fact that many of these districts were red, Obama was much closer to winning, and he was ahead in many of the key districts. Despite his very early behindness, Obama quickly jumped into the lead and stayed there, eventually defeating Mccain in the entire election. However, what really surprised me was the fact that Indiana voted democrat. I believe that this was a beneficial thing regardless of who one supports. Indiana consistently voted republican for decades, losing its vote for a candidate in a vote for a party. By showing that now it does not hold solidly to one party or another, we can have faith that our state is voting for the candidate it wants, and not just flying the flag of the grand old party and ignoring everyone else.

Racism

While I cannot remember any specific instance in which I experienced a conflict involving race, I can apply what I learned from this text to my general experience with the issue of race. People I have encountered do tend to fall into the category of angry denial about race or a dismissal of it. The dismissal is becoming more prevalent today, as evidenced by the song “Everyone’s a little bit racist” from Avenue Q. This song does bring up a point that prejudice and indifference are ubiquitous in our society, but the nonchalant air of the characters in admitting their “racism” conveys the sense that racism is no big deal, and that the prejudices the characters have are fine or even laughable. If we could realize that the problems faced by our minority groups is not often as severe as racism, if we could change the song to “Everyone’s a little bit indifferent,” we could maintain the word racism as a powerful tool to fight discrimination instead of just a normal word, and we could communicate more effectively the problems prejudice and indifference create in our world today.

Prejudice

According to Parillio, the socialization process is one of the ways prejudice becomes instilled in a person. As an impressionable child with no preexisting concept of how the world works, people tend to absorb and believe unquestioningly the beliefs set forth by their parents and other role models in their society. A child who hears or sees stereotypes already existing in his society will pick them up and avoid that social group. This can occur explicitly, or the person may not even know why they are avoiding that group. Prejudice and other beliefs are instilled in this way. Religion is often passed down generation to generation, and in many cases children adopt the viewpoints of their parents when they are very young and as they get older. The only exception is during the fairly young stage, where young adults reaching maturity often question and rebel against the ideas of their parents. However, in rebellion, they are often following the patterns of their peers, so the socialization process holds. Many of my own beliefs have been instilled this way, from my focus on scientific explanations of the way the world works to my persistent frugality, all coming from my parents or other admired role models.

Cose

The case Cose makes for the importance of reparations to damaged parties takes two forms. The first is that parties done damage by the government deserve an apology and honest attempts at restitution in order for them to realize that society is making a real attempt to right the wrongs it has done. Until this happens, people are forced to live in shame with the things they have experienced and don’t believe society cares about them. The other reason is that, in the example of the blacks, the damage has persisted; keeping current descendants in a lower economic level due to their ancestor’s mistreatment, and the only way to correct this is to assist those damaged communities in becoming whole. Making reparations matters to society as a whole because it shows we are committed to the ideals laid down in the constitution and are willing to make sacrifices in order to stay true to whom we are. Also, in fixing those communities who were damaged by our past actions, we create a stronger, more unified nation in which to live. A house divided cannot stand, and until we fix the division our nation will never stand tall.

Cora vs. Willy

Cora Tucker and Willy Loman differ vastly in their dreams, how they pursue those dreams, and whether or not they get to those dreams. Willy wants to use his people skills to make money and become well liked, whereas Cora Tucker travels and sells information, trying to make a real difference without actually pursuing her own self-interest. Willy chases this dream of renown and financial success with simple, dogged determination, continually depending on simply a “smile and a shoeshine” to get by, relying on his personality. Cora Tucker chases her dream differently, by educating herself on the issues and getting others to get the facts for themselves too. She adapts to the situation and educates herself, relying on her knowledge and her passion to carry her message rather than her limited speaking skills. Because of the way she pursues her dream Cora Tucker achieves it. She has made many changes in a racially segregated area and involves herself with many activist groups that continue to make a difference. Willy, who relies on only his personality, forsaking adaptability and education, fails to live up to his dream and ends up friendless and dead. A similarity between the two of them, however, remains in the fact that many people dislike the both of them.

Willy vs. Miller

Willy Loman believes that individual opportunity is there for the taking, as long as you are willing to go after what you want. A salesman gets by on simply being liked, on knowing people. Without practical skills, he can make a living just on his appearance and personality. That Willy pursues this shows how much he believes in the dream of individual opportunity, that he can support his family just on his appeal. His conversations with Ben also represent how easy he believes it is to succeed. Ben goes into the jungle and comes out rich four years later. Willy believes he passed up this opportunity willingly for his boys, but knows that he could have been rich and believes his boys will become rich in time. Arthur Miller, on the other hand, believes individual opportunity is not ubiquitous. If one works hard and stays educated, success may come, but very few can survive as salesmen. This is shown by Bernard's success, because an intelligent, hardworking boy succeeds where Biff, a lazy Adonis, fails. Miller kills the salesman myth when his character Willy Loman commits suicide after failing to get by just on his appeal.

Discussion Question

Is there individual opportunity for the Loman family? Where does education play into individual opportunity? i.e. Bernard succeeds where Biff fails. Can a man make a fortune out of being liked?

Presentations deux

Well, to be absolutely honest, today's presentations were not much different than yesterday's presentations. Different people were talking about different subjects, but the basic setup was essentially the same. People used some device to grab our attention as per Nancy's instructions, told us about a charity, and then used another device to bring us back in before the speech ended. Elise Lockwood was perhaps the most efficient user of this style, with the impassioned story of Grace or someone who was beaten by her father and her boyfriend, who received help from Elise's organization. She then spoke of all of the wonderful ways her organization generated money and how they used it to support (female/children only) victims of domestic abuse throughout some area. She then ended with how Grace herself was now doing so much better with her three daughters thanks to the help of the organization. I liked the structure of Elise Lockwood's argument, not so much as in it differed from everyone else's, because it didn't, but because her emulation of everyone else's structure was just more intense.

Presentations

I though all of the presenters who gave their speeches today did a fine job. Nearly all of them took some aspect of Mrs. Webster's advice into their speeches, most noticeably in the opening and closing of their speeches. Nearly everyone used a quote, humor, or a rhetorical question as Nancy had suggested they do, including myself, and it worked very well in each of the presentations. Everyone had a good mix of appeals to logos with logical arguments and statistics outlining the needs of their charity and appeals to pathos in moving emotional stories about the needs of those served by each charity. The presenters mixed these aspects well to create a cohesive, persuasive argument that truly conveyed the importance of donating to their cause. I look forward to tomorrow's presentations and I know that I will have a very difficult time choosing which of the charities to allocate my donor bucks to.

Progress

I have selected my charity and done some limited research into the topic. My choice is Schools on Wheels, a charity that brings tutors to students that could not otherwise have help with their homework. I feel that this appropriately fits the focus of allowing individuals to pursue their own success because education is the number one way to achieve success in our society, and giving poorer students a chance at a future is vital. It is also a charity near and dear to the hearts of University High School as Wes Priest's wife is significantly involved. I may interview her for more personal information about the project. I have not done much research, but I have gone to the schools on wheels website and looked around, finding a story about a 13-year-old boy whose tutor not only assisted him with homework but also allowed him to become a major part of a soccer team. This could be great appeal to pathos in that the tutors provide futures for specific children, and not just academically.

Charity Work

I have mixed feelings about both the necessity and the logistics of this assignment. I believe that the idea of promoting a charity specifically may not be the best way to show that we have learned rhetorical skills because the very idea of charity may be contested (as emerson showed). It also is heavily in favor of an appeal to pathos because logically there isn't really any need for charities at all. And once the idea of promoting a charity is required, the requirements on that charity seemed at once too imprecise and too limiting. To find a charity that expands upon an individual's chance for success limits one's options too excessively or becomes too vague based on one's ideas. Take the Lord's pantry, for example. It hands out food to the poor, one of the main goals of charities assisting those in need. Does this expand their ability for success by allowing them to survive, or is fulfilling a basic necessity just perpetuating a never-ending cycle of poverty? Where is the line drawn? For these reasons, I am a bit confused and a bit anxious about the outcome of this assignment.

Self-Reliance

Emerson is taking a different view of success than we have used previously. In Ragged Dick and in Stephen Cruz's story, success was defined in terms of career status and earning power. When one gets a good job and earns a lot of money, being able to buy a lot of things, Alger would deem them successful, having achieved the american dream. However, Emerson believes that success comes when one throws off the shackles of society and can become one's own person without conforming to society. Great men are the ones who don't allow others to force ideas upon them, but value what exists in their own mind and attempt to communicate those ideas to others rather than be swallowed by the vast number of "others". When one knows who he is, and recognizes that life is for living, not for conforming to the american standard of success, and values that which he can create by himself, by his own labor, that man is truly successful. He has transcended societal limitations and become his own man, successful in that he only defines success by his own standards and not by societies.

Class in America-2003

Although much of his writing does not explicitly claim that the wealthy are exploiting the poor, it is clear through his tone and through some of his evidence that he believes the rich are unfairly exploiting those who are less fortunate. When he cites Harold Wachtel's quote about how inheritance is similar to a game of monopoly in which one game's gains are carried into the next, Mantsios is portraying the unfair advantages that the wealthy exclusively claim for themselves in terms we all can understand. However, in much of his writing Mantsios simply assumes that the wealthy are exploiting the poor and that his reader will agree that the harsh contrast his statistics show are brought about by this unfair exploitation. By showing the contrast throughh his evidence without directly saying that the rich are subjugating the poor, Mantsios pushes his reader towards distrust of the rich and empathy with the poor, strengthening the position that the poor are being taken advantage of by those more fortunate. There are alternative views, however. Mantsios says that more poor and getting into college, but quickly devalues that important achievement with other statistics saying they don't do as well. If one can focus on the advantages we are able to give our poor, one could show how the gap is shrinking and how fewer people are so disadvantaged.

Ragged vs. Cruz

Stephen Cruz’s story contrasts sharply with Horatio Alger’s Ragged Dick not in how the protagonist achieved his dream but how he thought about that achievement. In both, the protagonist, through a combination of luck and skill, gained success when others around him were failing. Ragged Dick doesn’t take his achievement for granted, but neither does he question it. He accepts his good fortune and moves on to the good life. Cruz does not. He realizes that much of his success is due to the fact that he is Mexican, and that people attempting to cover up the racial discrimination going on in business hire him for the big bucks.  Cruz is angry, and attempts to seek out the truth about the racial issue surrounding business. However, the racism inherent in the people he meets, and their desire to save their jobs by not rocking the boat prevents him from getting anywhere. Even with other minorities, self-interest defeats his attempts to unify. Cruz eventually sacrifices his high-paying job in order to escape the hypocrisy of being paid because of your race, whereas Ragged Dick presumably continues to cash in on his own good fortune.

Ragged Dick

The piece is making an implicit argument about the necessity of circumstance and great character in order for success to be achieved. Without great luck, Dick would never have gotten his opportunity. He was in the right place at the right time, and was lucky enough to have the skills necessary because of past experience. On a normal day, Dick would never have been on the boat, and only fate allowed him his chance at success. Once chance had set up his opportunity, with the child falling off of his boat within his view, character comes into play. Had Dick been a lazy man, or a dishonorable man, he never would have jumped in to save the boy. However, because he was a good man, he jumped (haha) after his opportunity without fear for himself. Because he took a chance, and risked his own security, he was successful and eventually became a success. When fate aligns the right circumstances with a man noble and skilled enough to take advantage of a situation, a success story is born.

Ragged Dick

Visual Arguments

Some say we have become a visual society because we have transformed our way of getting information. No longer do we read books, or speak to one another, but rather we can receive all of the information we need quickly from television and from the Internet. Because we no longer need to invest much energy in finding out that which we want to know, in some ways we have lost the ability to do so. Information must be handed to us because we can no longer reach out and grasp it. In the society we have created, a visual argument has gained much more sway because it communicates quickly. It is the difference between the long list of data and the graph: one has the full story, but it takes much more effort to find it. Our society is not willing to invest that energy, and so sees more value in the graph that gives only a basic understanding, but gives it quickly and attractively. As long as our society limits itself to being fed knowledge visual arguments will always hold great power.

Ethical - Pathos + Ethos

An author has an ethical responsibility to use Ethos and Pathos in a way that clarify an issue rather than confuse it. One cannot morally use either of these argumentative strategies in a way that drives the reader's attention away from the issue, hiding the real argument one is making behind a screen of emotional force. Only when an argument is enhanced or made more clear by an appeal to Pathos or Ethos is the author legitimately using the two argumentative strategies to drive forward his point. 

Our media today fails to live up to this ethical code on a widespread basis. In standard TV shows real issues are portrayed in blatantly altered ways, where soap opera drama shifts an issue into an entirely new state, destroying the original idea. While this is allowed because it is described openly as fiction, people's ideas can still be unethically shifted by the use of Ethos and Pathos in TV.

However, the obfuscation is not limited to fictional shows. In the news there are often examples of biased information that are skewed by uses of Ethos and Pathos to limit the viewer's ability to understand the real issue. Many news media groups have a prejudiced political bent for example, and show issues about current candidates in completely off-color, out-of-context ways that turn a harmless comment into hateful speech. 

Langley

David Langley effectively uses many different types of evidence to create an effective, cohesive argument in support of skateboarding. His most apparent and clearest type of evidence is personal experience. Being a skateboarder who was accosted by the police, Langley is in the unique position of being able to personally describe the abuses skateboarders are subjected to by police. His description of his near-arrest clearly shows how unfairly police treat skateboarders, supporting his claim. His next type of evidence is an interview where he asked policemen certain questions, showing again how policemen can bend obvious rules without being chastised by superiors. He also puts differing views in a subordinate position, pushing aside claims that skateboarding tears up the city and focusing on his own assertions that they in fact help clean it up. He uses his evidence clearly and succinctly to support his argument, making an effective claim that cities should more fairly treat their skateboarding citizens.

Pseudo-argument

An example of a pseudo-argument in the real world is the conviction of terrorists, continuing in the same vain as last week’s blog. These people are utter fanatics, believing in the necessity of killing and destroying others in order to spread their message. They are so dedicated to their beliefs that they are willing to sacrifice their lives in order to argue against people who believe differently. The September 11^th attacks were an argument against America’s belief system. The terrorists responsible believed that their moral and religious codes were the true way to live, and that no other people could have differing opinions. Terrorists are unshakable in their beliefs and spread their arguments through fear and violence rather than listen to anyone who disagrees.

Pathos

An appeal to pathos is a powerful rhetorical device because of the impact personal experience can have. As stalin said: One death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic. Listing countless impersonal reasons for your claim gives you only numbers. If you can force your audience to identify with what you are saying, they are invested in your argument and can much more easily see your side. The plight of a working mother widowed by the Iraq war has a much heavier impact than a listing of the thousands who have died because we can imagine our own families torn apart by such a strife. Our minds cannot so easily grasp the faces of the thousands who have lost their lives. People are creatures of emotion, and few can stay completely removed from their feelings. When you introduce emotion into your argument, you can often remove the necessity of providing appeals to logos or ethos, because your audience has been blinded by the emotions they now feel.

Torture

I agree wholeheartedly with Levin on this issue. Torture is morally reprehensible, I agree, but I am also able to distance myself from the visceral response the idea of torture brings. I can logically approach the issue with an open mind, and if one can remove emotion from the issue it is quite clear that torture is a necessity in certain situations. One must balance the numbers and calculate that the suffering of one is a small sacrifice for the survival and well-being of the many. When we adopted societal constraints as humans, we adopted the necessity of sometimes sacrificing an individual for the benefit of society. When terrorists deny the people they attack the basic right to life, how can we allow that to occur in order to protect their rights? It is madness to allow torture on a grand scale by avoiding it on a small one. If we can defend the lives of our people, we must make every effort to do so. While torture may not be one hundred percent effective, we must allow that it does give a greatly increased chance of success. In order to maximize the probability of a positive outcome, we must take every chance we can in stopping terrorism.

Biotech

The biotech debate about labeling genetically modified food is in essence a battle between cost-effectiveness and the right to information. The pro-biotech side argues that this new food is produced more effectively for a lower cost, and does not offer any disadvantages to counter the benefits. The other side states that the new science is dangerous, overstepping its limits, and that people have a right to know if their food is genetically modified. I side with those arguing for genetic modification. Their products have been shown to be safe, and allow for much more widespread distribution of cheap food. Those claiming they are unsafe provide bad examples with little data to back them up, and nearly all scientists agree that the science has been safely tested. Starvation is a terrible affliction in the world, and if we can in any way diminish its effects through the use of safe, reliable technology, why wouldn’t we? It seems ludicrous to demand even increased labeling of these products, because the costs of such a pursuit would be enormous, when the labeling is useless. The products are essentially identical to normally grown goods, and there is already labeling in place for those goods which differ substantially.

Genres

The purpose and message of these two pieces are very different, as are their genres. The first is a humorous comic implicitly stating that genetically modified foods can help those who are hungry, and that people seeking to protect themselves and others from these “frankenfoods” are wasting perfectly usable food. Its genre assists its message because it uses a clear, attractively drawn comic to show its point. It uses humor to persuade the reader to ridicule those against genetically modified food. It is a visual argument with captions but no accompanying description. The ad on page 24 is also a visual argument, but it has accompanying text describing its views, and the visual aid is a photograph rather than a drawing. It also uses some humor in the picture, satirizing the nutrition fact label, exaggerating their claim in a very obvious manner.  Its text also outlines the point it is trying to make, attempting to convince people logically that leaving labels off of genetically engineered foods is wrong. It also gives extra information for those interested in their message.

Implicit v. Explicit

The difference between implicit and explicit arguments is the method by which each attempts to persuade the audience. An explicit argument seeks to attack a problem head on, forcing the audience to believe through sheer logic and reason. The arguer outlines every aspect of the argument through use of words, showing step by step the reasons he or she believes what they do. In an implicit argument, the arguer uses more subtle forms of persuasion. Through images, sounds, or indirect written or verbal means of communication, the arguer tries to gently shift the listener’s viewpoint. A video showing the carnage of whaling does not directly outline why whaling is wrong, but elicits a visceral response turning people off to the idea of killing whales for profit. The poem on pages 5 and 6 is a written work, but it does not list the casualties of war, or list the reasons war is wrong. It simply depicts the horrors of war, letting us know subtly that the writer thinks war is an abomination. The picture on page 5 is another implicit argument, giving many visual cues about the honor and pride one gains from serving the country. It is not an ad for potential recruits and does not extol the virtues of service. It simply shifts the subtle opinion of a viewer, letting them view the sense of accomplishment one gains from the military.

OUAM

I stand just off of stage left, leaning against the wall and twirling the two thin ropes that open and close the curtain. It is a nervous habit, and one I often undertake when the fear and exhilaration of knowing I am about to walk out on stage in front of a crowd is upon me. I watch Patrick Caraher finish his solo song and dance routine as the jester, for which he receives wild applause, both from the audience and from his supporters backstage. I condemn them as a crowd of unprofessional high school kids before joining in myself as the mood overtakes me. As he finishes, the lights dim and I wait for the musical cue for my entrance.

When I hear it, my heart jumps into my throat and I take my first steps out onto the dim stage. I am listening attentively for the footsteps of Elise Vreede, my partner in the coming duet and dance. When I hear her come on stage I turn around abruptly and blurt out my line: “Who goes there? Friend or Foe!” Now that this bit of timing is accomplished, I relax a bit and get more into character as our brief dialogue continues. I turn away from her as I admit that in a way I have changed, the cue for our song to begin.

My first note is not strong. I am still scared and am not as confident as I should be. However, as the phrase comes back, I force more air through my lips and bring the rest of the measure out more strongly. I think to myself that maybe I am up to the task, that maybe I am not the failure I suspected I was. As I come to the end of my first section, where I confess my newly strengthened love for Elise’s character, I begin to feel different. I am no longer anticipating the coming words and notes, not fearfully planning and hoping that they will come out correctly. I enter a zone where everything becomes automatic, where I no longer have to think or worry but simply sing, and revel in the music pouring out of me. It isn’t really about the play anymore, but really just belting out the song and loving it. I honestly forget the audience is there, my attention riveted on Elise.

I have never experienced anything like this. It is simply wonderful: months of practice and training and worry building and then falling away when the song becomes effortless. I barely knew what I was doing except that I felt more alive than I had in a very long time. I was performing, but for myself, not for the paying audience. The joy that comes with success, with outstripping your expectations is one I don’t often experience, but the feeling is like no other.

When our song ends, Elise is in my arms and I lean down to carry out the scripted kiss. When we were rehearsing it was at times awkward and unnatural. But here, when we are both full of the moment, it feels perfect, the matchless conclusion to our duet. When it is over I beam down at her, not smiling because I was acting like I was in love, and not smiling just because I kissed a pretty girl on stage, but smiling because I had achieved something great, something beautiful. It was a genuine grin expressing how overjoyed I was at proving wrong the doubting voices in my head.

We run offstage and into each other’s arms once more, ecstatic. We congratulate each other and receive congratulations from other backstage actors. The moment did not last long because we soon needed to be back onstage, but I will never forget the exhilaration of coming down from a stressful event in which we pulled through despite secret fears. The rest of the show was, for me, a denouement, because my peak that evening was not on the final note of the show but at the kiss that marked our triumph.

Memory and Imagination

Patricia Hampl talks of how the past affects us: “the radiance of the past-it draws me back to it. Not that the past is beautiful…” (36). This reminded me strongly of The Great Gatsby: the final lines, where nick talks of being borne back ceaselessly into the past regardless of how we try to fight against the current. I also remember a quote concerning how the past reaches out its shadowy claws to draw us back to it. Both of these pieces talk about the importance of the past and of our memory of that past. While I found it harder to connect with Hampl’s view of memoir, I did react quite strongly to the ideas presented in The Great Gatsby, which are similar but communicated in a very different manner. I do recognize the importance of the past in our lives, and I recognize the futility of attempting to escape it. Our past shapes who we are and even if individual memories disappear, we will always be shaped by the experiences we have had. Gatsby’s tale has affected my view of the world profoundly, because I see some of myself in both Gatsby and Nick, and I can see the dangers of following the paths they took.

Language

Language constantly evolves, both on a personal basis and on a cultural one. Gloria talks about how certain communities, left isolated from the larger groups that spoke their language, adapted different language traits than those who remained in the “mainstream”. This is evolution: a language evolves to fit the environment where it is spoken and the people who speak it. This happens constantly and it happens everywhere any language is spoken. It is, however, a long-term phenomenon, much as genetic evolution is. We do not necessarily see our language evolving (although one could make the case that our computer language and “leet speek” is in fact an evolution in our language), but on a larger scale we can see how our version of English has changed from the version spoken in Britain. This separation and co-evolution has shown how language grows and changes. The language I speak often changes based on the setting I am in. In a formal classroom setting I use more esoteric words to express complicated meanings and to show off my considerable vocabulary. In a one-on-one setting with a peer I will talk more like a teenager and use slang that would never cross my lips in a classroom setting. Everyone adapts their language to fit their situation, and I am no different.

Hope

Hampl talks of discovering that her life had a story, was a story. She realized that her bus trip was happening to her, that she was being "entrusted" with experience. An event that gave me a parallel if not exact realization occurred this summer. What I discovered was hope. I found that everything that had happened, was happening, would happen, had a purpose. The events in my life that I had been taking for granted, that I watched as Hampl watched the countryside go by, were real, that my experiences were shaping me and leading me onward towards some unforeseeable goal. I no longer fear pain or suffering because they shape us all into who we are meant to be. While we can't write off the trouble we experience, we can know that it was meant to be and the rest of our lives will be affected by what we learn from that pain. With this outlook, I have been able to cope with great trouble, large and small, whether it was personal or a loss that affected our entire community. If we forget that these pains were meant to be, it is easy to lose ourselves in the grief. If we have faith, if we have hope, we cannot be broken down and our losses will not have happened in vain. Ironically, I made this discovery when I broke down and lost myself in grief for a time. I do not often let my emotion control me, but when setback after setback jumped in the way of my goals, it eventually became too much, and I ran out of my house to take a walk with tears streaming down my face. After about twenty minutes of wallowing in self-pity, I began to reexamine things. I began to see the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak, and strove for it with all my mental effort. When I reached it, I had found my answer. With hope for the future, with faith in ourselves, pain will never destroy us and we can become who we were meant to be, in time.

J.P. English

Congratulations on finding my blog LaMags. I wish you luck this year.