TOW #28 Reflection

During the TOW cycles, I have noticed myself progressively moving away from using pathos, logos, and ethos as devices on their own. Instead, I have gotten better at explaining how different devices affect these points without explicitly mentioning them. This assignment really helped break me out of that mindset from the beginning of the year. I also tried to choose different kinds of texts to help prepare for the exam. I read essays, articles, and reviews, watched commercials, and looked at ads. I did sometimes try to find texts about topics I have little to no interest in so I could also be ready in that sense.

                While I paid attention to these things, I do feel like my organization was often lacking. A lot of the time, I was not pre-writing or even thinking about how to organize my analysis. I would just try to get what I had to say written, and because of this, the ideas did not flow as well as they could have. However, the TOW assignment made the analysis part of the AP exam easier and more natural. It made me that much more confident going into it knowing that I had been analyzing text for the whole year, and not just at the beginning. These posts have definitely served their purpose.

TOW #27 "Lost and Found" (written)

Lost and Found by Colson Whitehead is a short memoir about living in New York City, New York, and being a New Yorker. "History books and public television documentaries are always trying to tell you all sorts of facts about New York. That Canal Street used to be a canal. That Bryant Park used to be a reservoir" (para. 5). Whitehead argues that these are not things you need to know about New York City, and also may or may not be true at all. The overall tone is fairly casual and uses slang, contractions, and the voice comes across as very "New York" to the reader. It also seems a bit instructional to the reader because the author uses second person and seems to be talking to the audience, and almost directing them through a day in the Big Apple. The sentences are mainly kept on the shorter side making it seem more conversational as well. Very few of them are longer than 10 or so words. Whitehead also includes little moments of dialogue into the memoir. At the start, it had seemed the author held a negative light towards the grand city and was going to end up trashing it throughout the memoir. However, instead, int he end the author finishes up with the feeling of pride for ones own city, and even all of its little flaws.

TOW #26 "Fried Chicken"(visual ad)

In this image it shows a baby chick standing in a fry basket over a fast food fryer, and asks a thought provoking question: would you boil a chicken alive? Now, this may seem a bit hasty or out of the blue to ask such a question outright. This is an ad that is meant to convince people to “go vegan today” as it says. The small amount of text on it explains how in some chicken slaughterhouses, the chickens are decapitated and thrown in the boiling water meant to remove their feathers while they are still conscious. This would be effective to shock the audience and cause them to at least re-think their chicken eating habits—if only it had not started out with a very clear logical fallacy. “If you eat chicken, you are paying someone to engage in cruelty similar to dropping this little fellow into a vat of hot oil,” is a bit of a mix between a faulty analogy, hasty generalization, and a slippery slope fallacy. This ad is making it seem as if all places do this, and every chicken is treated cruelly like that, which is incorrect. Not to mention, at the same time, the ad is almost being accusatory towards the audience by turning them into the villain, which, in most cases, only ends with denial and not persuasion. Aesthetically, the text parts have been kept simple in a two-toned pallet. On the other hand, the actual image quality is fairly unpleasing and unprofessional. It looks almost as if it was taken from a post anybody made on the internet, and turned into a pro-vegan ad. This ad has very little visual appeal or any major eye drawing points other than the fact that the chick is in a fryer. If they were aiming to shock their audience, they may benefit better from a more morbid take on the situation. As it is now, the effectiveness is going down the drain.

TOW #25 "The Most Amazing Bowling Story Ever" (article)

                The title of this prose is more or less self-explanatory. It is about the most amazing bowling story ever. It starts out with a narrative description of a competitive bowler by the name of Bill Fong executing a perfect—or to him, near perfect—strike. The author, Michael J. Mooney, uses descriptive language and imagery to his advantage to describe the short moment. He also notably compares a human’s desired efficiency to that of a robot. He then proceeds to inform the audience that bowling a perfect 300, or twelve strikes in a row, is not the best one can do. The best, in fact, would be bowling a 900, 36 strikes in a row, since bowling is played in three rounds. Apparently, there have only ever been 21 people ever to achieve this on record. This article tells the story of a time when Bill Fong almost made that number 22. Mooney’s use of descriptive language throughout creates a suspenseful mood and makes the reader really feel like they are watching ever little fleeting moment and movement of the scene being described. The article then goes through a biographical section that talks about Fong’s life a bit more in depth. This then leads back to the narrative of Fong bowling. Normally, an interruption of this sort would seem abrupt and ill placed, but Mooney does well to make it seem more blended together and less jumpy. Overall, the narrative sections do well to attract the reader and would make any sport, even bowling, appear to be incredibly intense.

TOW #24 "Greek Religion" (IRB- 2nd half)

                In this book on the religious stories and figures in Greek mythology, the author explores different stories and tales that have influenced and expanded the Greek religion. Rather than sticking to the ones everyone naturally already know about, they used ones many have not even heard of very often to give more to the topic.  I have always been interested in Greek mythology and this seems like a great way to find out and hear stories I cannot find on Wikipedia. This book may also expand my mind on topics within Greek mythology and religion. I only have a general knowledge of certain gods, goddesses, and events, and I would love to know more. There are going to be many topics in this book that I have never even heard of, I can tell just from looking in the table of contents. It helps achieve his purpose since he is proving that there is more to Greek religion than most know, because he is using stories that many average readers may not be familiar with even if they thought they were someone that knew a lot about the Greek religion beforehand. I have learned new stories and new figures in Greek mythology and religion through this novel.

TOW #23 "Not Nothing'" (written)

                In this short essay by Stephen Cave, the concept of the daily balance of life and death are contemplated. Cave begins with a narrative section in which he describes a time when he accidentally killed a fly. He then addresses the fact that the audiences’ opinions of him at the time are most likely divided between those who think the death was insignificant, and those who think of him as a murderer. In another narrative section, Cave mentions the life cycle of frogs from the time they are eggs, to tadpoles, to finally frogs, and how the many deaths along the way are necessary for any pond’s life to flourish. I do not think he is trying to prove that death or life are good or bad, but he is trying to qualify that both are necessary and “are obligate symbionts, each wholly dependent on the other,” (paragraph 8). Cave then goes to addresses the ideas of Veganism and how it is very anti-death, as well as him not being the only person to feel negatively about the death of a fly and write about it. He uses the example of a poet by the name of William Blake and his short poem that sprung from a time when he too killed a fly by accident. This shows that the feelings of empathy occasionally associated with the unintentional killing of a popularly thought insignificant creature is not uncommon.

TOW #22 "Pope Francis Recalls..." (article)

                 In this article from The Onion, the author recounts how Pope Francis recalls the vast differences between his current job and his old ones when he was just starting out as a recently ordained member of the clergy. According to Francis, shortly after he started attempting to shepherd the faithful, he gave himself a five-year deadline to either become the pastor of his own parish or pack it in and get a real job. Recalling his early struggles, the Vicar of Christ admitted he was living mass to mass for several years. This article’s use of casual language and a few obscenities give a feeling of—well, just that—being casual. For example, even the caption under the image at the top of the article says “Francis says his current gig is a far cry from his early days, when he spent weeks on the road performing sacraments at a different piece-of-sh~t chapel each night.” The same profanity is even used in the article’s title, though, this sort of thing is just The Onion’s style. Francis added that he gets pretty embarrassed now when he thinks back on some of his “terrible” early material on the Holy Trinity and the Kingdom of God. The point just goes to show that even someone who started out small and average, can become someone known all over the world.

TOW #21 "Rentguard Insurance" (ad)

                In this Rentguard Insurance advertisement, they are advertising their flexibility when it comes to solutions and policies. The phrase “flexibility when you need it most,” is put in bold and much larger than the rest of the words on it since it is the main slogan of the specific ad. Next to the words is a dancer caught in mid jump (doing a firebird) with one leg straight in front of her, and the other bent behind as she reaches up and over with the same hand and an arched back. This move obviously displays and requires quite a lot of physical flexibility, which the Rentguard Company is comparing with their policy flexibility. The use of such a dynamic image is bound to catch their audience’s eye. The rest of the image is fairly simplistic and minimalist so that it does not detract from the important message of the ad. However, it also makes the image feel more effortless and easy, which helps communicate that not only are they flexible, that being so flexible comes easy to them, and with no hassle for the customers. It does specify that it is a United Kingdom insurance company, not only that but a leading United Kingdom insurer. At the bottom it also lists the things they insure like rent and legal protection. I would compare the arrangement of this ad’s argument closer to deductive reasoning rather than inductive. The main premise being that people need flexibility when it comes to insurance policies. The minor premise being that Rentguard does give their customers that flexibility. The conclusion: Get insured by Rentguard because they give you the flexibility you need when you need it most. The only thing I think would make the argument stronger would be to use some comparisons to other companies, and give examples of their flexibility. Though there is only so much you can put in one advertisement.



TOW #20 "Certainty vs. Doubt" (written)

In the sample essay I found using the same prompt we are, the author describes their view on the relationship between certainty and doubt. It takes a fairly interesting and developed stance that certainty does not exist at all and uses evidence drawn from philosophy and psychology in order to support it. The structure of the essay is organized; it does not feel forced into paragraphs but rather flows naturally. I noticed that the transitions are not obvious words, but rather ideas that clearly lead into each other. He or she does not use the typical transition words and phrases to move from one topic to the next. The author’s command of language is impressive as well adding a more sophisticated or knowledgeable air to the essay. I also noted that the use of second person in the beginning helps to pique the interest of anyone reading this essay as they ask you to “abandon your concept of reality; you must lose the certainty that binds you to your convictions and knowledge, for certainty is but a delusion, and doubt is the beginning of overcoming it,” which also doubles as his or her thesis.

TOW #19 "Greek Religion" (IRB- 1st half)

                In this book, the author explores different stories and tales that have influenced and expanded the Greek religion. Rather than sticking to the ones everyone seems to already know about, they used ones many haven’t even heard of very often to give more to the topic.  I have always been interested in Greek mythology and this seems like a great way to find out and hear stories I cannot find on Wikipedia. This book may also expand my horizon of topics within Greek mythology and religion. I only have a general knowledge of certain gods, goddesses, and events, and I would love to know more. There are going to be many topics in this book that I have never even heard of -- I can tell just from looking in the table of contents-- so I am looking forward to that. It helps achieve his purpose since he is proving that there is more to Greek religion than most know, because he is using stories that many average readers may not be familiar with even if they thought they were someone that knew a lot about the Greek religion beforehand. So far, this has remained effective and should continue throughout the novel.

TOW #18 "Fiber Castell: True Colours" (ad)

In this ad, Fiber Castell is advertising just how true the colors of their colored pencils are. They displayed this in an interesting and very creative way, having the back end of a dachshund being morphed into the point of a colored pencil that matches the coloring of the dog itself. This is used to show that when you draw and/or color with Fiber Castell pencils, you had might as well be drawing with the real this that is that color. The plain and simplistic background helps keep the audience focused on the strange spectacle in the center. It could also be a slight representation of the blank page an artist could be using their colored pencils on to create a masterpiece with their “true colours.” The ad itself is fairly eye catching even though the colors are muted and dull, but the thing that is eye catching about it is the morphing of the dog and the colored pencil. At first when I saw it I had no idea what it was supposed to be, but when I looked again, I could tell that it was a dog and a colored pencil and I thought it was really clever and innovative of Fiber Castell to have that for an advertisement. All in all, I feel as though it is something that you may start to scroll past, but before it can disappear, you will look at it again and it will be hard to look away.

IRB Intro #3 "Greek Religion"

In Walter Burkert’s book on Greek Religion, he sets out to prove that even though it has always seemed familiar, it is a historical phenomenon. I have always been interested in Greek mythology and this seems like a great way to find out and hear stories I cannot find on Wikipedia. This book may also expand my horizon of topics within Greek mythology and religion. I only have a general knowledge of certain gods, goddesses, and events, and I would love to know more. There are going to be many topics in this book that I have never even heard of (I can tell just from looking in the table of contents), so I am looking forward to that.

TOW #17 "Let's Die Together" (written)

In David Samuel’s essay, Let’s Die Together, he addresses the topic of the rising popularity of group suicides in Japan during the early 2000s. Samuel uses specific dates, statistics, and instances in which these events have taken place. The narrator even noticed a pattern in the reports. “The victims meet online, using anonymous screen names, and then take sleeping pills and use briquettes, charcoal burners, and tape to turn a car or van into a mobile gas chamber.” The narrator does keep the tone fairly neutral and stays informative. He doesn’t use much expressively emotion-driven language throughout the essay, giving it a rather objective feel and mood. The text seems almost like a report of the events to superior rather than an essay written for a general audience due to the author’s diction and phrasing patterns. Though, something that benefits average readers would be that he does give background information, an example being the mention of seppuku, the Japanese ritualistic suicide practice, as a possible explanation for why this group suicide trend has been so popular in Japan. He also talks about how difficult it is to pursue these situations since suicide is not a crime. Many of these group suicides have only been noted through minor reports due to them not being against any laws. All in all, the essay is mainly formally written and informative about the topic.

TOW #16 "Gunn's Golden Rules" (IRB- 2nd half)

                In Gunn’s Golden Rules, Tim Gunn takes the audience through times in his life that he has had to “make it work” in tough situations. He explores positive moments as well as some negatives, hoping others can learn from his own mistakes. His main goal is for others to have good manners, an open mind, and to not let a difficult time get in your way of what you want. He uses anecdotes to tell how each experience reflects his intentions on the reader learning from his mistakes and moments, while being able to connect with some as well. Other things that are of his own interpretation are his descriptions of other people. Gunn loves fashion and can therefore describe a person’s outfit accurately, along with his opinion on it. He is careful not to allow his opinion to skew the visualization of the person, though. Since it is autobiographical, there are plenty of opinions about things, situations, and people he encounters. A main component to the message is his view on manners. He then continues to portray the purpose of his writing. Even with the multiple events he recalls, the point is never lost. From reading it, the message is quite clear. In the book, Gunn takes you through moments in his life that changed his ways of thinking. He in turn hopes that the readers’ thinking can be changed as well.

TOW #15 "Tokyo Ghoul: The Ani-TAY Review" (written review)

                In this review, Ani-TAY explains both good and bad points of the recent, and fairly popular, anime called Tokyo Ghoul. He starts out with a brief description of the plot and characters, and later elaborates on specific points he finds “fantastic”, “not bad”, and “terrible.” He talks about everything from voice actors to censoring. In each separate topic’s paragraph, Ani-TAY gives his opinion and uses specific evidence from the show or others for comparison. Under the “fantastic” heading, he lists the tragedy aspect of the storyline, the fact that the main character is forced to give up part of his humanity, the range of the voice actors, and the beauty of the animation. He explains what he loves about each topic and why. An example would be how specific voice actors are put into roles that are very ouside of what their “type-casting” usually is, like Mamoru Miyano and Kana Hanazawa. In the “not bad” section, he lists the odd censoring and how they rushed through the last arc. In Tokyo Ghoul, they use two types of censoring. “First is the standard and craptastic "let's just cover all the offensive bits in black" type of censoring, the second is it will invert the colors of the scene.” Ani-TAY dose prefer the inverted over the random shadow, as many others do. If his exasperated tone wasn’t enough to realize that, he does outright say it. The sole topic under the “terrible” title would be the ending. Even though Ani-TAY hadn’t read the manga (original comic), he still felt the ending was a little abrupt. They did in fact end the first season in the middle of an arc, and anyone can tell. The author dubs Tokyo Ghoul (season 1) as “yet another member of the Disappointing Ending Club.” Though, all in all, Ani-TAY gave it a good review, being sure to give specifics in recommending and not recommending since it is a horror anime, there will be blood. He even calls it one of the best he’s seen since Another, one other successful horror anime.