Progress #7

Today as well as yesterday I started to work on my paper. It definitely has been a challenge to present both sides of the story without voicing my own opinion. I also have found it difficult to create both sides of the controversy without constantly stating the facts over and over. I have to work on the overall fluidness of the paper. I feel like I have done enough research to present both sides with accuracy and thoroughness, but I have realized that I still need more information that proves that there is a connection between autism and vaccines. The lawsuit that occurred over vaccinations has been a major part of my paper, but I need more conclusive evidence about the trial and decision that was made about it. I still find it shocking that there are people who believe that there is a connection between childhood vaccinations and autism when there are sources from all over that disprove the connection.

Progress #6

Today I found an article about a lawsuit that was filed because parents believed their child developed autism from vaccines. The parents believed that the thimerosal caused their children to develop autism. Even though some scientific studies have found no connection between thimerosal and autism, yet there is still no conclusive evidence. The major point that the family was making was that the sharp rise in the number of autism diagnoses was a direct result of mercury-laced vaccinations. In order for the case to rule in favor of the parents there must be a link found between autism and shots. Thimerosal was removed from vaccines in 1999, however some critics believe the decision was made to late and that the health agencies, pediatricians and research just claim that the vaccines were always safe. This is interesting because there is a lack of scientific proof if this in fact true. However, scientists say that the level of mercury in a shot is minimal and is “equal to the amount found in a tuna fish sandwich.” The autism spectrum has expanded over the past twenty years, and some believe that it is because of infant immunizations.

Progress #5

Today I did some more research and started to decide what sources I wanted to use and the ones that I did not need. I also started working on how I was going to construct my paper.

I think I have decided on what my audience is going to be, although this was a difficult decision because it affects my whole paper. The audience I believe I will direct my paper to is expectant parents and parents with new born children because they will have to make the decisions to get their child vaccinated during the early few years of life and that is when the child could be affected by the vaccines.

It is interesting because I need to find more articles that show an actual connection between autism and vaccines. Most of the websites I have found disprove the idea yet there is still a controversy. For tomorrow, I plan on doing a little bit more research and then I will actually start writing my paper.

Progress #4

This weekend I still continued to do research. I found an interview with Jenny McCarthy who believes that her son got autism after having shots. Her son was diagnosed with autism in a later stage, so he most likely regressed. In this interview she claimed that two months after her son received shots he immediately got autism. She described her son’s autism as, “It's having a perfect child. A child that says mama and wants to hug you and be held and love you and then all of the sudden that child is gone in front of your eyes. It was like every mom explains, it's like a spaceship came and stole the child's soul. I had a child that was smiling and hugging me and calling me mama and no longer knows I'm there. Like that.” Jenny McCarthy then takes that belief and does a lot of work with the Green Vaccine program. She describes the program saying, “That vaccines are sometimes harmful to some kids and a lot of the ingredients, like the mercury, the aluminum, the ether, the antifreeze, we think need to be removed and a lot of people say the mercury has been removed since 2002 and I beg journalists to go online and look at the FDA Web site, look at the CDC Web site and count the 11 shots that still contain mercury.”

I need a few more sources for my paper, but am at the point where I will start to make a pro/con list, and use that to then write my paper.

Progress #3

Today I continued to do research for my inquiry contract paper. I found an interesting article about a common misconception regarding vaccines and autism. The article discussed concerned parents who had appeared on a Cable News Network. The parents had a three-year-old named Liam Reynolds claiming that he had developed autism two weeks after receiving measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. The American Academy of Pediatrics explained to the parents that there was no reason to believe that a link exists between autism and vaccinations. This program may have had the impact to persuade many parents to avoid having their children vaccinated. However, this program narrator stated there was, “a puzzling jump in the number of children being diagnosed with autism.” This number may reflect increased reporting of cases rather than an increase in actual incidence. This will pertain to my paper because it shows how one misconception can lead to a controversy.

Progress #2

Today for my progress I edited my proposal paper and did some research regarding childhood vaccinations. I found a lot of information that was both interesting and surprising. There have been many studies that have been done and have not shown any link between vaccines and autism. However, even though these studies haven’t shown a connection to autism, there still remains a lingering controversy. It has been said that the vaccinations for measles, mumps, rubella combination vaccine (MMR) contain a preservative called thimerosal that supposedly causes autism. I had found a statistic that said that currently thimerosal is present in some of the inactivated influenza vaccines. Thimerosal is a mercury-containing preservative, which does not actually stay in the body. The mercury itself could cause brain damage if present in excessive amounts, but there is not enough in vaccines to cause any damage. Lately, vaccination concerns have received a great deal of attention from parents, doctors, vaccine manufacturers and the media. There have been multiple studies in the United States and elsewhere to prove the notion that vaccines do not cause autism, but still the safety is still a concern of many.

Inquiry Contract Progress

For my inquiry contract paper I have chosen to write about the association between childhood vaccines and the development of autism. Even though science has mostly likely proven this to be false, there is still a lingering controversy that remains.

Autism is a developmental disorder that appears in the first three years of life, and affects the brain’s normal development of social and communication skills. During the first few years of life, a child is still getting their shots, and this is where the controversy about autism comes in. For some children with autism appear normal before age 1 or 2 and then suddenly “regress” and lose language or social skills that they previously had. Vaccinations are now more than ever an overwhelmingly daunting task for parents because there are many rumors that vaccinations may do more harm than good and cause autism.

I have already had the opportunity to hear a lot about the concerns of vaccinations, and have helped children with autism. This will give me the chance to find out more between the connection between vaccinations and autism.

The Laramie Project

The Laramie Project had a powerful message regarding the idea of “live and let live.” The part of the movie that stood out to me was when the father of Mathew Sheppard stood up and forgave the teenager for his actions as hard as it was for him to do so. The idea of live and let live is a key peace in our lives that helps us to end many of the conflicts and gain the ability to stop new ones before they build into big ones. It really fails to carry the profound impact that this phrase deserves. For the true wisdom of life is captured. This teenager on trial was granted a precious gift, his life. For a man who just lost his only son it was hard to do, but all that was left for him to do was to forgive. That teenager is going to live in guilt for the rest of his life knowing that his life was almost taken away for taking someone else’s life.

Another part of the movie that I found interesting was the wise words of wisdom from the Catholic priest. There is an assumption that Catholicism is not tolerant of homosexuality and this movie showed a greater understanding. In the end, no one deserves to be beaten to death. The thing that shocks me the most is that a human being would make a decision to kill someone no matter what his or her sexual orientation is. It is morally wrong.

Rhetorical Triangle for The Pressure to Cover

Purpose-Is to inform the dominant groups in our society that minority groups have to “cover up” in order to feel like they can fit in with society.

Exigence-He speaks out of his own personal experience because he has had to cover up due to his sexual orientation in order to conform to the standards of society. He also wants to make the dominant groups aware of the conforming that the minority groups have to do.

Audience-those who are considered part of the “mainstream” and therefore unaware of the discrimination that occurs and the way the minority groups have to conform in order to fit in with society.

Logic-that there is a constant pressure to conform to society so that one may fit in. He also believes in the idea of a “mainstream” and how it is a moving coalition and none of us are entirely fit into that “mainstream.”

Credibility-he uses his own personal experience as a gay man, and also the accounts of other people who have had to conform to society.

Emotion-exposes the standard mainstream and subjugation of a minority group.

Imagery-He creates the idea of a mainstream and how everyone tries to conform to fit into it. However, not everyone fits into the mainstream. He uses personal accounts to create that image of a mainstream society.

Figurative Language-he uses the example of the model of success as a “white, Anglo-Saxon and Protestant.”

Diction-fairly simple words in order to get his point across

Syntax- he uses long organized sentences that get the overall point across.

The Pressure to Cover

Yoshino means by “mainstream is a myth,” is that the mainstream doesn’t allow individual representation. We often make an assumption that mainstream is a majority, but Yoshino believes that the mainstream is made up of separate individuals that should be allowed to express themselves. He defines mainstream as, “people who prevent others from expressing themselves, rather than as individuals who are themselves struggling for self-definition.”

Although he argues that mainstream doesn’t allow individual representation one could argue that in fact the mainstream does represent a majority view. One is not forced to necessarily join into the mainstream; therefore his reasoning is not persuasive. Something becomes mainstream because a majority of people at some point believe one thing. I would define mainstream as the current thought of the majority of the people. One has the right to either fit into that mainstream, but also has the option to be an individual. I agree with Yoshino when he stated that, “because human beings hold many identities, the mainstream is a shifting coalition, and none of us are entirely within it.”(605)

C.P Ellis

After the death of his father, Ellis became a Klansman because he wanted to become successful for his family. Studs Terkel wrote about his life in the Klan, the process in which his ideas reformed and his choice to leave the Klan. When he had to step up and become the father figure in the family he became very concerned with the well being of his family. However, he had a hard time taking care of his family, and his position never was able to improve. This ultimately led to hatred in which he made people into scapegoats such as Blacks and Jews. His hatred is what led him to join the Klan. After some time in the Klan, Ellis realized that the people in the Klan used their power to achieve their goals, which he didn’t think was necessary. Later, he campaigned for a position on a school board and started to work more with the groups that he oppressed. Slowly he learned that the people that he once hated were people too. He stated, “I was beginnin’ to look at a black person, shake hands with him, and see him as a human bein.” (526)

The way Ellis was forced to interact with people that he hated caused him to change his views. Although the method may have worked for Ellis, I don’t think it would work in a larger group. If a larger group had to be forced to get along with people they hated, there would people that would be less open to change. The larger group would make people feel like they are being forced to change their beliefs; therefore many people would be more obstinate.

Freedom

Linda was able to achieve her secured freedom with the help of Mrs. Bruce. Her slave owners, Mr. and Mrs. Dodge were constantly searching for Linda to take back to the south. Mr. Dodge was actually a northerner by birth, but after he entered a southern society he accepted the idea of being a slaveholder.

The first time that Mr. and Mrs. Dodge came to look for Linda, Mrs. Bruce took a great risk by sending Linda away so that she may be protected from her slave owners. The second time the Dodge family came to New York to search for Linda. However, this time Mrs. Bruce declared Linda and her children free and bought Linda’s freedom from Mr. Dodge. Even though Linda was grateful for her newfound freedom, she was upset that Mrs. Bruce purchased her. Linda felt she was indebted to Mrs. Bruce for her new secured freedom.

After Linda obtained her freedom, she had mixed emotions about it. Even though she had a secured freedom in the North where slavery is prohibited, there were still prejudices that got in the way of how she lived her life. There were many dreams that Linda wanted to fulfill, but oppression often stood in the way of those dreams.

Honesty

Throughout the book Jacobs has established her credibility using her very honest personal stories. Her personal experience draws the reader in and is able to show the corrupt power that slavery is.

On page 114, chapter 27, Jacob states, “I was too proud to ask Mr. Sands to do any thing for my own benefit; but I could bring myself to become a supplicant for my children. I resolved to remind him of the promise he had made to me, and to throw myself upon his honor for the performance of it….Tell him I was not dead, and I earnestly entreated him to keep the promise he had made me.”

In this passage Jacobs establishes her credibility by being honest with herself as well as her actions. Jacob’s main character Linda, had an affair with Mr. Sands, but she may not actually trust the man. In this passage, even though she has doubted his honesty, she was being honest with herself. Her children were more important to her then her own ambitions and happiness. Therefore, as much as freedom means to Linda she is honest when she expresses the love that she has for her children to entrust Mr. Sands with a promise.

Truth

In class, we had discussed that personal stories can persuade and capture the attention of the audience. It is important that the book is based on truth, and not changed in any way because these are true events that occurred, and keeping them the way they are is more convincing. Many of the horrifying stories of Linda’s time as a slave capture and appeal to our emotion. Harriet Jacobs even personally addresses the reader a few times in order to justify the truth in her argument. In the introduction it states, “I had no reason for changing her lively and dramatic way of telling her own story.” (Child, 4) If this story had been fiction it would be harder to believe and connect to the horrible corrupt power of slavery. The language has not been changed because it gives the full essence of the character, being a southern slave. The true accounts pull the reader in, and make them feel like they are living the life of a slave as well. Because this book is based on truth and not fiction the public can become aware of its “monstrous features.” (Child, 5)

Extending the Critical Context

I cannot remember a time where I have been confronted about race. However, due to the media our society has become more aware that the word racism is overused, and the continuous use of the term racism has heightened my awareness and concern of political correctness. Even though I have not personally come into a confrontation about race, it does cause a conversion to come to a halt. The media uses the word racism all the time, and it has gotten to the point where we don’t know if we use the word correctly anymore. It halts many of our conversations because we no longer use racism as it is understood. So, now I am concerned that when I speak I don’t want to come off as a racist. The term now, is difficult to determine, which is what Wachtel stated, “no one owns a platinum dictionary that is the final arbiter of what the word “racism” should refer to.” (Rereading America) We need to be sensitive to the appropriate language used, and not make a speech based on political implications because most people in the media today use the word racism for political reasons and not as its intended use.

Socialization Process

According to Parrillo the socialization process is when individuals, “acquire the values, attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions of their culture or subculture including religion, nationality, and social class.” (Rereading America) This process encourages specific beliefs and attitudes, and what Parrillo believes is that the child conforms to the beliefs of the parents. The children don’t know any better, and don’t have beliefs of their own yet, so they often accept the beliefs of the parents to be true. As a result the children have their parent’s expectation of the world and not their own. For example, an individual has a choice to associate themselves with a particular political party. That individual might have just accepted whatever political party their parents believed in, accepting the beliefs to be true, and don’t even know why.

I think Parrillo oversimplifies it, and often we are influenced by our family members, but there are outside influences such as the media, friends, and teachers that can sway you personal opinion. There are multiple sources that will influence one’s social beliefs. It is okay to have the same views as your parents, but you have the freedom to change your opinion. I think often times the opinion of your parent’s stays with you because that is what you grew up hearing, and in the end you keep the same beliefs, which is what Parrillo was arguing.

Thomas Jefferson

In history class I have learned that Jefferson was a slave owner and also a defender of white supremacy. The Declaration of Independence stated that “all men are created equal,” but by this it was widely accepted that the only equal people were adult white males who owned land. My AP US History book stated that, “Jefferson suspected blacks were inferior to whites, yet he was a champion of democracy, limited government, and individual freedom.” (Carnes and Garraty) Jefferson actually owned slaves, and kind of avoided the subject of slaves altogether during his presidency. Since Jefferson believed that blacks were inferior to whites he would not be happy with the photo on page eighty-two. Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia stated that, “the blacks, whether originally a distinct race, or made distinct by time and circumstances, are inferior to the whites in the endowments of both body and mind.” (Jefferson) Jefferson believed that blacks affected both the white and black societies, so he would be unhappy that his family had become racially mixed and would have considered it “damaged.”

Review of Persuasive Speeches

Overall, I think that the speeches went relatively well. We could all definitely use some more practice in our public speaking because nerves tended to get the better of us. There were many aspects of everyone speeches that I liked. I was surprised that the majority of the class had taken time and effort to prepare a good speech. Getting up in front of our peers is something that we rarely get the opportunity to do, and it was actually fun. The statistics and personal stories that everyone used really helped to persuade the audience to give a ‘Donor Buck,’ and learn something more about the person and what they cared about.

I felt that Breanna did a good job of capturing the emotion of her audience with her personal experience with Riley Hospital for Children. We had discussed in class that capturing the audience with emotion is a powerful use of persuasion.

Steve Dobbs, had taken a more relaxed approach to his speech out of any of us, and it was easy to connect with him because he used texts that we have all read and talked about in class. I was really able to resonate with Steve when he talked about changing the materialistic view on the American Dream to more on what makes us happy so therefore the overall idea of the American Dream would be different or perhaps even better.

Lastly, I enjoyed Katie Gehret’s speech. Even though she was nervous, she calmed down and I resonated with the idea that when you find something you love in life, go for it.

Individual Opportunity

Willy Loman believed success came through the perception others had of you, physical appearance and confidence instead of the hard work and perseverance. Individual opportunity to Willy was to have both of these qualities. Willy instills his ideals into his sons, Biff and Happy; he always stressed the importance of having confidence and pride in oneself because in Willy’s eyes the American Dream was of easy success. His son’s don’t actually fulfill his hope that they will succeed where he has failed. Although, Willy was happy that both of his sons were well liked by many, especially the women. To me, Willy’s main flaw was that he failed to admit his personal failures, instead he kept wanting more. He was never satisfied with what he had, even as he aged, he still was looking for a better job that he didn’t have to move anywhere. Eventually Willy reached a point in his life where he just unraveled and started hallucinating and attempting suicide.

Arthur Miller, the writer of the play, believes that success is achieved through hard work and perseverance. The characters in the play that had achieved success through hard work were Charley and his son Bernard. Charley owns a successful business and Bernard has become a very wealthy and important lawyer. Willy was always jealous of the success this family had achieved. The character of Charley functioned as a person that Willy could confide in because he was grounded firmly in practical reasoned analysis. Charley’s son Bernard had the same qualities as his father. He was always looking out for Biff when they were growing up. There is an obvious parallel between these characters to balance out each other’s flaws. Arthur Miller most likely used the characters Charley and Bernard to show that you can be successful through hard work and dedication.

Willy Loman

Willy Loman is an old salesman who is essentially a failure in the business world, but he sees himself as very successful and is obsessed with that notion. Willy Loman had kind of a warped view on the American Dream, which caused more conflict in his family because he wanted the same thing for his children. Willy stressed the importance of popularity over the hard work and risk-taking over perseverance. On page thirty-one of the text Willy stated his popularity saying, “America is full of beautiful towns and fine, upstanding people. And they know me, boys, they know me up and down New England.” (Miller, 31)

The main flaw in Willy is that he refused to realize his personal failures, instead he reminisced on the old days when his brother was alive. He sees himself as successful, and “well-liked” when in reality he borrowed money from his friend Charley. Later, Charley offered Willy a job for him, but taking that job would make him confront the idea of not being successful. At one point early on in his life, he was successful, but eventually his success falls apart, which is why he remains stuck in his past life when he was successful.

Cora Tucker was not successful according to the perception of the American Dream today. However, she views herself as successful and Willy does not, but at one point he did. Cora had made a life for herself helping others, and by that way she achieved success and happiness even though the money she makes is very small.

Both are starting to live a life not for the money, but for what makes them happy. Even though Willy is not very happy with his success or income, he starts doing things that make him happy such as planting a garden. Cora makes herself feel successful and happy by helping those around her. In a way Willy was concerned for the success and happiness of those around him like Cora Tucker. He was constantly giving “advice” to his sons.

Persuasive Speech

Habitat for Humanity is an international and local organization. There are many Habitat for Humanity programs in Indiana. The main goal of this charitable organization is to join with low-income families and community partners to give the opportunity of hope and home-ownership in order to express God’s love to those who are less fortunate. One may argue the selection process that is used when deciding what families deserve the services of Habitat for Humanity. One could ultimately overlook the less fortunate who are unaware of the process to qualify for a Habitat for Humanity home, and not receive their services.

Today it costs more than ever to be self sufficient, and Habitat for Humanity provides a home that allows those who live in poverty to pursue success and self-sufficiency. The new Habitat homeowners won’t have to rely on those around them for shelter because they will now have the opportunity to become more independent.

Cora Tucker

Cora Tucker grew up working as a sharecropper and with very little education. She had gotten married at the young age of seventeen and had worked in a factory to make money. I think that Cora Tucker considered herself successful because she achieved the house that she always wanted to have and became a successful civil rights activist. However, in terms of the idea of the American Dream today and the materialistic view that we take on it, Cora Tucker didn’t achieve the success of the American Dream.

Today, the American Dream is often perceived as the middle-class family with a beautiful home, with the two kids, and a dog. Cora Tucker was in the minority, which we as we discussed in class had major disadvantages when trying to achieve success and she was also born into poverty.

Cora Tucker’s form of success was to reach out to those who didn’t have the same opportunities that she had, and even when she was sick she reached her hand out. This lady compared to the Ralph Waldo Emerson’s idea in the article of Self-Reliance. She had set her own goals, and explored new opportunities, and didn’t let anyone else influence her decisions. Cora Tucker even stated, “If you stop doing things because somebody says something bad about you or does something to you, then you’ll never get anything done.”(Rereading America) Cora had been successful because she reached her self-happiness by reaching out to others even though she hadn’t attained the material wealth associated with the American Dream.

Self-Reliance

Ralph Waldo Emerson points out that the best way to achieve success is the concept of self-reliance. This is setting goals that we want to achieve, and exploring new opportunities as they arise in our lives. It is the whole notion of living the way we want to live, and not letting others influence our decisions. In reality, some struggle with this more than others.

At the end of the article Emerson stated, “Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles.” That principle is self-reliance. Emerson discussed that everyone in a perfect world would be able to achieve all of the same benefits from the same amount of effort exerted. However, this is not the case in our world today. We have read articles about how minorities and different social classes cannot always reap the same benefits. That’s why we can’t rely on others to give us the accomplishment of success. This is where we got into the discussion of politics and should my hard earned money go to those who haven’t achieved the same level of success?

I agree with Emerson, however, his notion of self-reliance is very hard to accomplish. In my opinion, everyone no matter what social class or minority you are born into; it’s what you do with your life that makes you successful. Complete self-reliance maybe hard to achieve, but attempting to become self-reliant is what makes one successful so that we don’t have to rely on others to give us our success.

Class in America--2003

No, I don’t believe that the essay makes a case that the wealthy are exploiting the poor. This essay focused more on recognizing class distinctions, and that we hold a set of beliefs that obscure the reality of class differences. However, the rich are impervious to the notion of what a poor class has to face everyday. Gregory Mantsios had discussed a study that was completed by Susan Ostrander. She had asked some upper class people if they considered themselves part of the upper class. The two people mentioned that they hate the term upper class, and would rather be considered fortunate. Although neither end of the economic spectrum necessarily like the word “class.” Gregory Mantsios talked about the idea that anyone can make it America, but not everyone achieves that dream, and the upper class especially are unaware of what the poor class has to go through. Because of the unawareness of the upper class, it is hard for each class to exploit one another.

Gregory Mantsios doesn’t exploit one group over another in his data. Rather, he shows the difference between the two social classes. He gives examples of profiles of people that are in different class positions to show the spectrum of how each class lives. In some way this data is used to appeal to our emotion helping us understand how a lower class lives.

Themes of Cruz and Alger

The piece called Stephen Cruz is about a Mexican man who had never really questioned the American Dream. He was fortunate enough to attend college, and become very successful in obtaining many jobs and climbing up the economic ladder. Cruz was convinced that, “if you worked hard, you could make it,” and, “the American businessman was omnipotent and fair.” Eventually Cruz started to realize that race was a factor and that the American dream was not based on education, hard work, or opportunity, but through fear and power. Cruz was one of the few people in the minority to overcome the racial barrier and become successful in life. Even though Cruz was successful, he came to the realization that the American dream is more elusive, and that, “the dream is being governed by a few people’s notion of what the dream is.” He was disappointed in the workplace and the American dream. In the piece called Horatio Alger, conveyed that we all have a shot at reaching our true potential through hard work, and persistence. Dalton talks about the Alger myth and the realities of racial equality. He talked about how there are some people who because of racial inequality that discourage people of race to possess a job and some opportunities.

The similarities between the two pieces are that both authors talked about the factors of race and how they affect opportunity and economical advancements. However, even though the authors share the same view on race, they have different views on how the American Dream is actually achieved.

Ragged Dick

In the Ragged Dick by Horatio Alger, Dick saves a young boy from drowning and is rewarded with a well-paid job, and a beginning of a new lifestyle. The implicit argument that Horatio Alger made was that courage and bravery can bring great opportunities, and sometimes, looking out for the wellbeing of someone else will have more benefits.

The whole story was about being at the right place at the right time. Dick was at the beginning of the piece struggling to find a job. It was due to his, “peculiar way of speaking and use of slang terms had been somewhat modified by his education.” (ReReading America, 264). All of a sudden, after saving the young boy, he was giving a job, and nice clothes without having to work extremely hard for it. The boy’s father who Dick saved offered him a counting room job with more than he had ever earned and clothes that he could never afford. The fact that Dick remained modest and didn’t think of the benefits of saving the child is powerful. Implicitly this piece showed that if you care about other people, and aren’t always thinking of yourself good things will happen. If Dick had not saved the boy, then he would still be looking for a job. By selflessly sacrificing part of himself, he received rewards that changed his life. Sometimes, we get caught up in our own lives that we forget about others. However, when we do remember the others, something good always comes of it.

Color Plate G Rhetorical Triangle

The triangle for color plate G would look like this-

Exigence- is to sell a car that informs people of the affects that cars have on the environment and its ability to handle any environment.

Purpose- is to encourage car buyers to buy a durable all terrain vehicle that can also be interpreted in this ad as an eco-friendly car.

Audience- is anyone who is interested in buying a new car.

Logic- is that cars should be environment friendly and one should invest in the Saturn VUE, which will decrease the harmful affects to the environment and has the ability to withstand any type of environment, like the forest.

Credibility- is the wildlife around the car, which might signify a fuel-efficient vehicle. It could also be the vehicle’s description in the white box. (The agile handling)

Emotion- appeals to our fear of harming nature and the want of a new vehicle.

The Style, Diction, Syntax, figurative language are lacking in this because it mainly focuses on the visual argument. Except for, “At home in almost any environment.” There is only a brief bit of writing, but the main focus is on the visual aspect.

Visual Arguments

In our society, we are increasing the appeal to visual arguments. Visual arguments can enhance the, “logos, pathos, and ethos of an argument by supporting or clarifying an argument’s logical core, moving audiences imaginatively and emotionally, or enhancing the writer’s credibility and authority.” (Writing Arguments, 161) As appealing as visual arguments are, it does have one flaw. It is harder to make a connection between the verbal and visual parts of the argument.

Although the written arguments don’t have the special fonts or photos, it justifies to the audience the point that is being made. In a visual argument the audience has to interpret the point of the argument because it is not as straightforward.

I find that visual arguments are more appealing due to photos, and fonts that grab the attention of the audience. However, written arguments can also have this grabbing affect, but in a different way. The arguer really has to examine the audience they are making their point to and choose a visual argument or a written argument depending on what they think will grab the audience better.

Ethical Responsibilities

When ethos and pathos are used correctly, they can make an argument clear and effective when capturing the audience. Pathos, appeals to the emotions of the audience. It improves the understanding of the writer because it allows the issues to come alive and the arguers can connect their claims to the reader's values which either triggers a positive or negative reaction. Ethos is used to show the writer’s credibility. This means the writer must demonstrate knowledge about the topic, understand and empathize with other points of view, and finally using shared values and assumptions.

As far as the media and the government today, they do use both ethos and pathos correctly, but usually it is the emotions of the writer which make it difficult for the listener to discern between fact and fiction. There are many different news channels all broadcasting the same news, but each one tells it from their own prospective. It is up to the audience to find the truth, and decide what they believe. The media and government do use ethos, but usually don’t always emphasize with the other points of view, which is why we, as the audience, have to decide for ourselves what to believe.

David Langley's Article

David Langley’s piece on skateboarding was based mostly off of personal experience, and the piece by Michael Levin used more hypothetical situations and a few real life examples in order to possibly persuade the doubter and make them a believer.

David Langley presented many personal experiences to better his argument. He was able to give insight to the reader, which allowed the reader to learn more about skateboarding and relate to him. In addition to his use of personal experience, he does explain the other side of the story, and offered sufficient evidence as to why the opinions of skateboarders were false. For example, he stated, “for one thing, skateboarding tears up public and private property.“ Because Langley presented both sides to his argument he would be more likely to sway the opinion of the reader from maybe a doubter to a believer or vice versa.

However, personal experience doesn’t always connect with a reader because it can be hard for them to relate to the writer’s point of view. Michael Levin’s piece used hypothetical examples, and in class we had discussed that sometimes these types of arguments aren’t convincing.

Real-World Arguments

In the Writing Arguments book, it stated that, “real-world arguments seldom prove anything.” This means that although a writer may supply and support an idea, they only make a case for the argument. The extent the argument would either, “strengthen the resolve of those who agree with you or weaken the resistance of those who oppose you.” Real-world arguments don’t have ‘grounded’ statements or beliefs, they are very abstract. These beliefs often go unstated, but this can lead to problems because the audience and the writer don’t “share the same assumptions.”

Since with a real-world argument you can’t change the opinions people have, we should learn the Toulmin System. The Toulmin system doesn’t just direct the argument to those who are already in favor, but also to those who are not. With the Toulmin system the opinions of the audience may change easier because, “it reminds us to answer opposing arguments fully, without rancor, and to present positive reasons for supporting our case, as well as negative reasons for disbelieving the opposing case.”

Pseudo-Arguments

A pseudo-argument lacks a reasonable argument, which doesn’t allow the possibility of growth and change or the evidence to back up claims that have been made.

Each person involved in the argument are fanatically committed to their positions. Usually a rational argument requires, “reasonable participants who operate within the conventions of reasonable behavior and potentially shareable assumptions that can serve as a starting place or foundation for the argument.” (Writing Arguments) A pseudo-argument doesn’t have one or both of these conditions. It also doesn’t allow the participants of the argument to reach a common ground.

For example, I have witnessed a pseudo-argument about whether or not eating a good breakfast helps you do better on a test. There are two sides, one side continues to do well academically and they don’t have to change their opinion, and there is the other side that thinks otherwise. Because the student is doing well in school they don’t have to change their opinion, therefore common assumptions cannot be made.

Biotech Foods

One of the most debatable topics of the twenty-first century is the biotech food debate. Biotech foods are now commonly found in stores and kitchens. Proponents of biotech foods have indicated that the products are similar to organically grown products, and the opponents say that there are dangers with the biotech industry.

This topic is debatable because of the potential health risks. The food products should be labeled so that the consumers who want to purchase biotech foods can and those who don’t want to purchase biotech foods don’t have to. By law the food and drug administration (FDA) requires all products to be labeled with nutritional content. Until such time that we are able to scientifically prove that there is no difference in the health risks. The biotech foods should be included on the nutritional content on the product.

Once again, we must not put the average consumer at risk. By labeling the biotech foods, we allow the consumer to participate in the decision process when buying biotech food products.

Ad vs. Cartoon

The cartoon uses the genre known as visual arguments. Visual arguments can be photographs, political cartoons, drawings or anything that isn’t accompanied by text. As stated on page thirty-seven of Writing Arguments, “Visuals make strong emotional appeals, often reducing complex issues to one power perspective.” There are other forms of genres, such as the blog that I am completing now, but the genres vary depending on the audience. The ad uses evidence to support their claim, as well as a visual aspect. The genre that the ad uses would be the public affairs advocacy advertisements because its published as posters, fliers and paid advertisements which use condensed arguments to influence the audience opinion on certain issues.

In these two cases, the powerful perspective is solely aimed on the purpose of genetically engineered food. The political cartoon on page one has a hippy holding a piece of corn saying, “you don’t want this it’s genetically modified.” To me, this implied the controversy that genetically modified food has surrounded. The cartoon represented nature, and even the poor or homeless should not be deprived of nutritional foods. The ad showed that there was a hidden message, that we were all missing, and that everything that is genetically modified should be labeled and that the ad is modified to fit the average consumer.

Explicit vs. Implicit Arguments

An explicit argument states a claim and supports it by reasoning and evidence. An implicit argument doesn’t always look like an argument. These arguments are often conveyed in the forms of a photo, story, poem or cartoon. However, both types of arguments persuade the audience to a specific point of view.

The photo and the poem on page five exemplify an implicit argument because there is no ordered structure such as a thesis, reasoning or evidence. Although, the photo and poem don’t have this, they do capture vivid details and evoke powerful emotions. The words that Wilfred Own used like; vile, dim, smothering and bitter, depict an emotion of how corrupt war is and that soldiers give their life for their country.

In photography class, we would always talk about point of view, and how one photograph can capture an emotion of the viewer, and that it might change depending on the person looking at it. The photo on page five, captures emotions of the audience by urging the viewer to find the deeper meaning and make connections about the photo.

Both implicit and explicit arguments use strong persuasive power and because of this implicit arguments can be incorporated into an explicit argument.

A Memory

We usually have to park behind my grandparents house by a nursing home because their driveway is so small the rental car doesn’t always fit, and we walk down an uncleared path of leaves and branches and go inside to a house that usually smells like vinegar and bacon. My grandparents always greet us with a hug and a kiss.

After we settled in, and everyone else was in the other room my grandfather took my hand and led me into this small room. He turned on the light and there was all this equipment that I had never seen before. He sat down and I sat on his lap, he told me that it was a ham radio, and that I was old enough to talk to people on it. He showed me the buttons and how everything worked. The microphone was huge, and he precisely called into it W3FYA and people responded. I got to sit and talk to people from far away places such as Ireland and all over the United States that had Ham radios. To this day, he lets me sit in the Ham radio room and talk to people. It was just special to do this for the first time when he presumed I was “old enough.” That same trip he told me all about his experience with the Great Depression, and World War II stories that I will want to pass on to my kids some day because that was a first hand experience that needs to be told.

Class Reflection

AP English is what I expected it to be. The atmosphere of the class has been very comfortable and laid back. The group discussions that we have are very thought provoking and I especially enjoyed the discussions on the Great Gatsby.

There was a lot of information that I didn’t pick up when I read the book and I had interpreted the book very differently then what we discussed. So it was interesting to learn about the hidden meanings behind the book, as well as the meanings my classmates gave. This is kind of what we were talking about with the “I Could Tell You Stories,” and will talk about with, “Memory and Imagination.” Everyone remembered something for a reason that stuck out to them and it might not be the same as the person sitting next to them. The readings have all linked indirectly to each other, and with class discussions it’s easier to come away with a variety of ideas then when we started talking about the American Dream.

To be able to develop your own opinions and then manipulate them until you have developed a strong thesis statement develops the skills to make a good reader and writer.

Language

Language evolves, and is continuing to evolve today. Over a long period of time, the English language has evolved from Old English and has been infused from other languages. The society is growing and changing, and there are a lot of new ideas and with those ideas, our language will also change. What I mean by this is that any time there is a new invention a name is come up for it. These new words can arise accidentally, or inevitably and people just use them from there. A lot of people today use slang, and educators may worry that because of the use of slang, language is becoming more informal.

As for myself, I do feel like my language changes, especially when I‘m around different groups of people. When I’m around my friends, I find myself using more slang, but I don’t intentionally do it. Throughout the years, slang has been used much more, and being exposed to it, you start to pick it up. As I have gotten older, my vocabulary has increased and because it has increased there are much more word choices, and hopefully that will occur with everyone throughout life.

Everyday, people say new words, and they soon become popular to say. This will continue to happen and language will change, but I hope it doesn’t change too much because our language might become too informal.

Count Your Blessings

I had known a boy named Joseph. He had cerebral palsy and a heart condition, which were already hard enough to deal with, but in 2006 he was diagnosed with leukemia. He died on August 13 of last year, and his memory still lives on with me. He had touched my life in a way that I never thought a person could.

My family has known Joseph ever since he was a toddler. We used to go to Indians games together, and I would see him sitting in his wheelchair happily next to his mom. Joseph would always have a piece of thread that he would look at twiddling it around and admiring the multitude of colors. I was fascinated with his curiosity with the thread. Although Joseph couldn't read or write, he was always expressing his love and happiness. He would openly stretch out his arms and embrace you in a hug. It always made me wonder how he could be so happy when he was so sick.

As the leukemia progressed, his mother Vivian, had started a website that she would update everyday on how he was doing. When I checked his website for the last time, he had passed away at six in the morning, which was when I began my day. On the day of his passing this year, at six in the morning I got up, and said a prayer. It’s amazing how one child can touch a person’s life, even if you have only met them a few times. It makes me grateful for what I have in my own life.

Hamlet Lines 81 to 119

Marcellus: Please, whoever knows, come sit down and tell me. Tell me why with the strict guard schedule so many cannons are being produced in Denmark? And weapons are being brought from abroad? The shipbuilders are building so hastily they don’t even rest on Sunday. Is there something about to occur that makes the night workers and the day workers one in the same? Could someone explain this to me?

Horatio: I can inform you Marcellus. Or I can try to explain what you have heard. As you already know, the ghost we just witnessed was that of our late king. He was the rival of Fortinbras, who was the King of Norway. Fortinbras had challenged our late king to a battle. During this battle, the valiant Hamlet (that is how we thought of him) had killed old King Fortinbras. King Fortinbras had to surrender every territory he owned along with his life and it was all on the basis of a legal document. If Hamlet had lost, then he would have to do the same as old King Fortinbras, giving up his life as well as his land. Now the son of old King Fortinbras, who was also referred to as Fortinbras, gathered many criminals that lived on the outskirts of Norway. The criminals were given food in return for their service to Fortinbras. The main goal of young Fortinbras was to take back the land that was lost by his father, old King Fortinbras. This is why I believe that we are posted here and there is so much commotion occurring in Denmark. 

Feed

Feed is about a society that has progressed in the technological age and has developed chips that are implanted in the back of the head. Many get the chips at an early age, and most of them lack the ability to read and write.

            The main characters of the book, Violet and Titus meet each other on the moon. As their relationship grows Titus learns that Violet is able to read and write unlike most teenagers their age. She had gotten the feed installed at the age of seven so it wasn’t as “snug” as the other feeds.

            Over the years we have made large technical advances and we continue to progress and develop new ideas. Now we have cell phones that have the Internet, and can be activated with a touch of a button. The iphone can take a picture of something and identify it. This technology has made our lives more resourceful and efficient, but with the access to this information we don’t always learn from it. You see this in Feed. The characters have all the information possible at their fingertips, but they aren’t able to assimilate the information. They use the information they need and then dispose of it failing to learn.

Technology is great, but with it rapidly increasing we may become lazy. It is scary that one day our society could be less educated if our technology increases to the extent of Feed. This book has really made me question who we are as a society and how much we have changed over the years and where we will be as we advance into the 21^st century.

Parents often say that our generation has it easier and doesn’t work as hard, but it may be related to advances in technology. This might become a trend, which ultimately would make generations to come helpless. This is represented in the book. For example, when Titus, Quendy, Link and Violet were all in the hospital with their feeds down, they didn’t know what to do with themselves, let alone think for themselves. The technology, in this case, the feed, didn’t exercise the mind as much as reading or looking up information in other ways. The author has attempted to show the reader the risks of a society that comes dependent solely on technology. 

The storyline of Feed is based on a futuristic world, and is written as if a teenager were writing it. I found that the quality of the writing would be unacceptable to most English teachers and I struggled through the introduction, which did not motivate me to continue reading. M.T Anderson did make a valid criticism of the future and the book was thought provoking. The writing style didn’t appeal to me and I would not recommend this book for others to read. 

Black in America

Watching “Black in America,” helped me to realize that many people are discriminated against based solely on the color of skin. It is sad to see that skin color still contributes to our judgment in life. 

Black in America expanded on the stereotypes of African Americans. Some stereotypes that are associated with African Americans are sagging pants, drugs, sex and the possession of weapons. This is a generalization. There are many successful people in our country who have broken that stereotypical person, such as Will Smith, Oprah Winfrey and Michael Steele. Will Smith is a successful Hollywood star. Likewise, Oprah Winfrey has created a popular hit talk show. Michael Steele is an African American, who was recently chosen as the representative for the Republican National Committee. Stereotypes may discourage people from excelling, but by persevering and working hard you can become successful.

The television series demonstrated that these stereotypes are often created because of the lack of a strong father figure. For example, a little girl named Celia was born out of wedlock. The father rarely supported Celia and the mother. As the children grew older, they turned to drugs and violence to ease their pain. Only 60% of children grow up with a father figure, but what about the other 40% that don’t.

In one example from the CNN special an African American man had lived in an almost all white society, who at some points was not considered not “black enough.” He showed his children what a father figure should look like. He made them join boy scouts, and was constantly there for them. This proved worthwhile because his children became very successful. One child, Jonathan Warren became a district attorney. He served as one of two black attorneys in his county. Having a father figure around makes a difference in a child’s life because someone was there to provide an example.

 A lack of a father figure is not the only draw back, but also the treatment in schools. In the series an African American teenager was told that that he should be a sanitation worker. Other students believed that “education isn’t a black thing.” This isn’t true at all, some of the smartest men in the world are African American, and this is another stereotype. I learned that both the mistreatment in schools and the loss of a father figure contributed to this vicious cycle. This cycle has yet to be broken, and until more do these percents will remain high. Not enough African Americans have broken this trend and until they do the stereotypes will still exist. Racism surrounds our society and prevents us from looking at the accomplishments that people achieve as opposed to the color of the skin. The recent election was living proof that race is still something that is talked about.

In my opinion, it is time to put race behind us. Mistakes have been made and the media has focused too much on racial prejudice. To move forward as a society we need to recognize everyone for their individual talents and not the color of skin.

 

Last Days of Summer

The book, Last Days of Summer, is not written like a style that I am familiar with. The book uses an epistolary style, which means that it is written with letters. Although this is new to me, the author’s letters help you develop a deeper understanding of the character’s lives. When reading Last Days of Summer, you come across letters, report cards, and newspaper clippings.

The book opens with a mischievous boy, Joey Margolis, who is determined to get the attention of his favorite baseball player on the New York Giants, Charlie Banks. Joey Margolis is one of the main characters of the book. He is a smart, educated twelve-year-old boy whose father had abandoned him and his mother. Since Charlie doesn’t have a father figure in his life he turns to the help of Charlie Banks. Charlie Banks is the third baseman for the baseball team the New York Giants.

We learn that Joey makes up his own rules, because he is in a police station for peeing in the reservoir. Soon after this Joey starts contacting Charlie Banks.  Since Joey was Jewish many of the other children in the neighborhood beat him up. He would get beat up on account that he was the only Jewish boy in the neighborhood and he lived in a time of great prejudice. These are not normal beatings; these boys were causing lacerations on his face. So Joey reaches out to Charlie Banks to prevent this from happening to him. This is how the letters start. Joey makes up diseases to get Charlie’s attention, after many failed attempts Joey turns to an archivist that gives Joey information of Charlie. It doesn’t take long before you can tell that Joey and Charlie develop a good relationship because the tone of his letters changes. In the beginning, they were not nice to each other, but later they were calling each other nicknames.

As their relationship grows, each characters persona is developing. Charlie does not appear to be as well educated.  His letters contain numerous misspellings and misstatements. For example, on page 187, Charlie answered Joey’s letter and said, “This is my favorite part. But make sure it was L. Armstrong who said it because I think it might have been Satchmo.” Satchmo and Louis Armstrong are the same person!

 Charlie Banks and Joey develop a strong bond that is evident from the letters. The reader learns their political affiliation, love life, and secrets they have been keeping. On page, 85, Charlie writes to Joey saying, “Harlan was my big brother. He was the best friend I ever had and the only one I ever loved until Hazel. When he got hit in the head from a pitch he hung on for 4 days before he died. That’s what kind of kid I was.” Later in the book Joey finds out that Charlie is keeping to himself how Harlan really died.

Because the book is written in an epistolary style, the writing also exhibits attitude. The report cards tell us what kind of attitude Joey has, because the teacher comments on his behavior. The newspaper clippings that are also included the book show that Charlie is quick tempered because of the many brawls he gets in during baseball games.

The style that Steve Kluger uses allows the reader to go deeper into the character’s lives, and really understand what is happening, as they grow older. One can relate to their own personal experience and perhaps even see a little of themselves in the characters on the book.