TOW #23

            In Malcolm Gladwell’s book David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants, he uses several forms of analysis to prove his overall point that being the underdog can often be advantageous. Gladwell spends the entirety of the book verifying that, throughout history, misfits and underdogs have miraculously overcome burdensome prejudice despite their apparent lack of skill. He believes that, in the case of someone who may be outnumbered or outmatched in strength, dexterity, or popularity, using alternative methods can be more successful than having all the winning attributes and following the classical methods that have proved prosperous in the past. In order to prove this nearly inconceivable claim, Gladwell employs the use of extensive statistical analysis. Gladwell uses this form of persuasion in order to prove his point by writing, “What happens in wars between the strong and the weak when the weak side does as David did and refuses to fight the way the bigger side wants to fight, using unconventional or guerrilla tactics? The answer: in those cases, the weaker party’s winning percentage climbs from 28.5 percent to 63.6 percent.” (Gladwell 21-22). By using statistics and by citing logistical evidence, Gladwell appeals to logos in order to support his claim that using unconventional methods can be more successful than trying to win in a traditional way. His statistical analysis also has egos due to its credibility and is thus difficult to dispute, further solidifying Gladwell’s point. This allows him to achieve his purpose of helping people understand that it is okay and acceptable to be weaker or to be an outcast, and that anyone can still be victorious by using atypical methods. Through his use of statistical analysis, which appeals to both logos and egos, Malcolm Gladwell successfully proves and supports his claim while achieving the purpose of his book. 

TOW #21

                In the eloquently written short story by Jason D. Hill, Hill uses a second person point of view to make a powerful statement and appeal to the reader. Bipolar, Lithium, Suicide and the Lost Years of my Life is a short non-fiction essay describing plight of a man, Hill, who suffers from Bipolar disorder while pursuing a PhD in Philosophy. He struggled to cope with the suicidal thoughts, or ‘death baby’ as he referred to it, and found himself in a mental hospital where he was diagnosed with the disorder. He was them put on the medication Lithium Bicarbonate, or Lithium for short, which caused many side effects like fatigue and lack of motivation. He chronicles his journey through this magnificently written piece. In order to show the reader what that time was like for him and to become closer with the reader, Hill uses a second person point of view in the narrative. He writes, “You are hopeful. You feel relieved; finally something to quiet the Death Baby. Then it starts. The world becomes flat. You feel flat. You cannot feel. You are numb.” (Hill 21). By using second person as opposed to first or third person, Hill is speaking directly to the reader instead of telling his story from a more objective perspective. This allows the reader to feel closer to Hill and his story, thereby sympathizing with his troubles. The use of this point of view also allows the reader to imagine themselves as having the disorder and creates a sense of empathy. Anyone reading this essay is more easily able to understand what having Bipolar is like and can put themselves in the shoes of others with Bipolar. Through evoking sympathy and empathy, Hill is able to make the readers understand Bipolar from a new perspective and relate to it much more. Hill’s use of rhetoric greatly benefitted his purpose and successfully proved his point.

TOW #20

In this political cartoon, President Donald Trump is depicted at an Olympic swimming event alongside strong, muscular athletes whereas he is drawn as very fat and is wearing floating helpers to suggest that he cannot swim nor will he do well in the race. A speech bubble drawn above Trump says, “Remember, if I lose, this race is rigged.” (Luckovich). The sketch was produced by Mike Luckovich, a prominent political cartoonist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning and the Rueben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year. He makes many anti-Trump and pro-democratic cartoons rich in rhetoric and string reasoning. The image makes a powerful statement about Trump’s claims during the presidential election season about how if he lost to Hillary Clinton, he would say that the election was rigged and influenced by fake votes. In the picture, the Olympics are a symbol for the presidential election and the well-trained swimmers portray the more qualified politicians that were in the running alongside Trump. Luckovich uses the symbolism in the cartoon to show the viewer how Trump is making outrageous claims about the election process and that it should be expected that he loses because he is nowhere near as trained and deserving of the high position. No one would expect the fat, untrained Olympian to win just like people shouldn’t expect the mean candidate with no political experience to win the highest esteemed honor in America. Furthermore, the image suggests that Trump should not make claims about voting interference for the aforementioned reason, and that doing so makes him seem unappreciative and much like a sore loser. The symbolism in the carton were very successful in achieving the purpose of the cartoonists as the message was clearly stated and identifiable by any informed reader. 

TOW #19

                Malcolm Gladwell, an acclaimed and renowned author, wrote a book which describes how one can overcome their obstacles and become successful. David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants is an uplifting book that employs statistical analysis and biblical allusions to inform the reader about underdogs and their favorable odds despite their countless setbacks. When discussing the probability of a weaker country winning a war, Gladwell cites a political scientist, writing, “Ivan Arrenguin-Toft did the calculations a few years ago, what he came up with was 71.5 percent. [… but] when the weak side does as David did and refuses to fight the way the bigger side wants to fight […] the weaker party’s winning percentage climbs from 28.5 percent to 63.6 percent.” (Gladwell 21-22). In order to show the reader how likely it is for the weaker party to be victorious through the use of alternative methods, Gladwell uses statistical analysis to appeal to logos. He thereby proves to the reader that it is very much possible that they can successfully use these tactics to their advantage, not just in international war, but day-to-day life as well. Gladwell also conveys this message to his readers by constantly alluding to the biblical story of David and Goliath. In the aforementioned quote, Gladwell states ‘the weak side does as David did’ as an example of how people can use different methods to win. As the story goes, Goliath was a giant who was sent by his army to fight a man from the opposing army, to which they sent David, an average Shepard’s boy. No one on either side expected David to win in hand-to-hand combat, but he surprised them by throwing a rock at Goliath instead, using the distance between them to his advantage. This took Goliath by surprise and knocked him unconscious and then David finished his job by cutting off Goliath’s head. By referencing this story often and especially by naming the book after it, Gladwell is able to remind the reader of how the underdog has been triumphant throughout history and that anyone else can be too. Therefore, Malcolm Gladwell successfully uses statistical analysis and biblical allusions to convince his reader that although the weaker side may not be expected to win, they easily can with an alternative method. 

TOW #18

                One February 1^st, 2017, world-renowned pop/rock sensation Beyoncé posted an image to the prominent social media site Instagram to announce her second pregnancy to twins with her rapper husband, Jay-Z.  The image shows Beyoncé kneeing on a bed of grass, in front of a halo-shaped flower garland, masked in a mint green veil and clutching her pregnant stomach. In the caption of the image, she surprised the world with her message, writing, “We would like to share our love and happiness. We have been blessed two times over. We are incredibly grateful that our family will be growing by two, and we thank you for your well wishes. – The Carters” (Beyoncé). The sky above her is blue with one or two small clouds to symbolize how she hopes her pregnancy and the lives of her two unborn children will be. Parents want the best for their children, so Beyoncé used the background of her image to foreshadow the hopeful future of her children. Beyoncé also uses visual rhetoric in the veil that covers her face. It is green, which is a neutral color, to avoid ideas about the gender of the child. In addition to the clear sky and the green veil, Beyoncé used rhetoric in her text as well. Recent events and rumors would suggest that Beyoncé and her husband may not have been on the best of terms for the past few months or even year, but her anaphora in the caption of the word ‘we’ signifies a unity of the couple and is used to show the reader and viewer that the couple is strong and united. This reassured anyone who ever doubted their marriage that it is still okay, and proves that thy will be civil parents of their children. Though very subtle, these strategic details enhance the message Beyoncé is trying to convey through her post about her developing pregnancy and successfully express certain ideas. 

TOW #17

                On January 20^th, 2009, President Barack Obama was sworn into office as the president of the United States. Following his inauguration, he addressed the public with a moving speech about how the nation must work together in order to solve the plethora of issues it faced at the time. Throughout his time in office, Obama diligently worked to push past barriers and create the optimal environment for a nation of diverse citizens to prosper in. He made strides in lowering the price of health care, increasing minimum wage, legalizing gay marriage, and decreasing the unemployment rate as well as many other important actions. Some things he worked hard for yet did not change very much or still require effort to improve for a multitude of reasons. In his speech, Obama said, “Our health care is too costly, our schools fail too many, and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.” (Obama). The president made a valid remark about the American School System that continues to hold true today despite his valiant efforts to resolve its problems. The schools in America continue to fail far too many of its students because of the rigid nature of its schedule and curriculum. Children in school are forced to make up their minds about the careers they wish to pursue past graduation but are then denied the supplements that are vital to achieving their goals. For example, say a student loves art and is very bad at their other subjects. A gifted student will still be required to take their core classes even if they are failing because they are trying to focus on the classes that truly matter to them and will actually help them reach their full potential as an artist. Such a situation would hold a student back from getting into a good college as a result of their poor grades and thus inhibit that student from receiving a good art education. This is just one hypothetical example in the midst of millions of real stories of how the school system has continually failed the students of America and led to an overall increase in stress levels and anxiety amongst students. Obama uses this argument as an example in a larger, inductive reasoning in which he uses examples like the failing school system and the high prices of health insurance to conclude that America was going through a troubling period in its history. Valid examples such as this aided his argument immensely and proved how true his point really was. 

TOW #16

Brian Doyle wrote “The Wonder of the Look on Her Face” about discovering some of the best writing tools while he was talking to a curious young writer. In order to properly explain the tool and to give it the justice it deserves, Doyle employs whimsical personification. Brian Doyle is an avid writer; he is editor of Portland Magazine and the author of a few renowned novels. This short story described his interaction with a nine-year-old girl who has an interest in writing as she asks him countless questions about his writing process. While talking to her and considering her questions, he was able to discover his favorite way to write a book. Doyle figured out that he likes to start writing books without clear outlines or any idea of how it is going to end so that he can make it up as he writes. He explained this tool, writing, “that didn’t seem as much fun as having a rough idea what might happen and then being startled quite often by what did happen. I said that I rather enjoyed that the people and animals in my books didn’t listen too much to what I thought should happen, hard as it was sometimes for me to watch.” (Doyle). His tool was to write without knowing the full course of the story so he could see where it led him. He used whimsical personification by saying that the animals didn’t listen to him because they were writing the story on their own. This assists his purpose of explaining how helpful the tool is by showing how unpredictable it made his stories through his use of rhetoric. He enjoys letting his story ‘write itself’ so he and the reader can be surprised by how unpredictable it is. I found this tool to be helpful in knowing how he uses this tool to write his books, and it also helped me understand how it is helpful in the writing process.

TOW #15

Young the Giant’s newest album, Home of the Strange, has a very interesting cover which employs vibrant color and unique imagery to accompany the songs in conveying an immigrants journey to America. The first single they released off the album, Amerika, tells the story of how Sameer, the bands lead singer, struggles to fit in to American society as an immigrant. Amerika, as a word, describes the worst aspects of America, for example its corruption, fascism, and racism. The song Titus Was Born explains his journey as a baby coming to America on a ship during an intense storm, which reflects the tumultuous environment he found himself in. The album cover is a valid expression of the theme of the music in the album itself. It shows groups of people of unique shapes and vibrant colors, which symbolize the diversity of people, holding distinguishable flags and entering a dark mountain in the middle of the cover. The dark, gloomy mountain has narrowed eyes and opens its mouth to allow the immigrants to enter. The image of the mountain shows how condescending the nation is when it invites people in but then puts up countless obstacles to prevent them from feeling completely at home in a foreign land. This conveys a message about how many people from different cultures and ethnicities excitedly come to America where they are promised freedom, when in reality, they are greeted with hostility and face many difficulties when trying to fit in and be accepted as Americans. I believe that the cover art of this magnificent collection of songs successfully achieves its purpose of helping the reader understand the harsh reality of immigrating to America. I think that the album as a whole, including the image and the music, has really helped me understand what people have to deal with when coming to this country.