TOW #7: "Last Meals of Executed Innocent Men"

Notice in particular the color scheme of this advertisement.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/copyranter/last-meals-of-executed-innocent-men

Amnesty International made this advertisement sharply-defined and well focused to center the reader's attention. Before even reading the text accompanying the image of the prisoner's food tray, judgements are automatically made about the meal. It appears unappetizing and bare; certainly not something anyone would want as an important meal. Once the viewer reads the text underneath the image, a sort of shock-value is added. Amnesty International used minimalism, viewer's prejudice, and shock-value to help this advertisement spread awareness surrounding the injustice that is the death penalty. This image is an argument against the death penalty. It takes one of the primary arguments against the death penalty– chiefly, the idea that an innocent person could end up dead– and translates it into a daunting view into the victim's sufferings. This advertisement was formulated and distributed by Amnesty International, an independent organization whose primary focus is on human rights. In 1977, the organization was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Produced by Amnesty International in Puerto Rico, this advertisement was included in a series of four images entitled "Last Meals of Executed Innocent Men". This purpose of this advertisement is quite obvious: Amnesty International wanted to, if not just convince viewers to side with them, at least provoke a response within the reader. This series of advertisements (and this advertisement in particular) was composed for Puerto Ricans. The extended audience is anyone involved with Amnesty International, and hopefully those who support the death penalty as well. This advertisement was especially effective thanks to the coloring the advertising team chose. I do not believe it is a coincidence that the tray is orange; since neon orange feels very insincere and artificial, it makes this man's last meal even more depressing. The color scheme and the way the text was phrased below the image were particularly effective.

TOW #6: "Unusable Words"

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2013/10/unusable-words.html

Thesauruses: both widely used and commonly misused. 

Source: http://theharperstudio.com/2009/07/logomaniacs-verbolatrists-and-epeolatrists-rejoice-the-world’s-largest-thesaurus-is-coming-to-town/

While students and teachers alike are generally eager to replace weak words with strong synonyms, thesaurus users must be wary of words that– stated or not– are considered unusable. Brad Leithauser explains why certain words contradict themselves and how others have simply been overused. In "Unusable Words", Leithauser explores an interesting idea; he discusses how words can be unusable. Certain words, called auto-antonyms, have two contradicting meanings. When used, auto-antonyms are sometimes too confusing to actually help the author and the reader share an idea. This essay was written for students, writers, teachers, and just about anyone else who would ever need to use a thesaurus. The author's purpose is to inform readers about the dangers of using certain words. Knowingly or not, writers can put readers in the precarious situation where the meaning of a word could be one of two contradicting meanings. Leithauser aims to help writers help readers avoid situations such as these. Leithauser uses anecdotes from his time as a teacher, irony, and classical examples to warn readers of unusable words. He describes how words that were once considered inappropriate for a classroom setting were now perfectly reasonable, showing the reader that words can go from unusable to usable or vice versa. He uses irony to show how vague words that are auto-antonyms can be. Lastly, Leithauser proves to the reader that words can also become unusable when a famous figure has already essentially trademarked them. As a poet, author, essayist, and teacher, Brad Leithauser graduated from Harvard Law School. He is a part of the writing seminars presented by Johns Hopkins University. He has written seven poetry collections, seven novels, and one essay collection, all of which make him qualified to talk about unusable words. Leithauser certainly convinced me to learn a little bit about a new word before using it, if only because I want to make sure it has the desired effect and isn't already compromised either because it's an auto-antonym or because a famous author has already "claimed" it.

TOW #5: "Will Work for Inspiration"

The evolution of New York

Source: http://amazingstuff.co.uk/places/the-world-now-and-then/#.UltXexYfpSU

While New York still has an exciting, enticing reputation, few may actually understand (and even fewer may expect) the change in New York's culture. David Byrne writes "Will Work for Inspiration" as a longtime citizen of New York and an artist whose band has deep roots in New York. Byrne is a musician, director, artist, and writer who has written nine books and produced seventeen albums, and directed six films. Upon reading more of his essays, I realized that Byrne has a pessimistic view of the contemporary world in comparison to the 1970s and 1980s. He writes about the progression of culture in New York City while focusing on the creative crowds that have always been drawn to NYC and how the city compares to other highly "ranked" cities. The motive of the author in writing "Will Work for Inspiration" is multi-tiered– Byrne wants to inform readers of the sad state of New York's cultural environment and to persuade any and all New York residents that something needs to be done in order to ensure that New York retains its splendor. I definitely believe that David Byrne accomplished his initial purpose. Although my interest (since, to be fair, I am included in his audience) in New York hasn't changed all that much after reading "Will Work for Inspiration", I now feel like I've been enlightened regarding the true state of New York. The primary technique he used that appealed to me was his vivid comparisons. This article was written for a narrow audience; however, the actual audience is much broader. The author intended to write to New Yorkers and soon-to-be New Yorkers, but Byrne more generally speaks about the preservation of (any) culture. To achieve his bold purpose, Byrne employed several rhetorical strategies. He uses statistics to generate logos which prove to the reader that New York may not be all it's built up to be. In addition, he uses comparison, which evokes logos and pathos. To establish ethos, he demonstrates his knowledge of New York, making the essay overall a worthwhile read.

Article source: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/07/new-york-1percent-stifles-creative-talent

TOW #4: IRB Post

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

This far through Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris has covered several topics. He has, respectively, talked about his speech impediments as a child, his attempt at learning how to play the guitar, his father's career as an engineer, his short-lived life as an artist, his younger brother's upbringing in contrast to his own, and his family's history of pets. Each topic has evolved around Sedaris's childhood and young-adulthood. This collection of short memoirs follows David Sedaris's childhood through a somewhat cynical lens. David Sedaris's external purpose in writing Me Talk Pretty One Day is to shed an interesting and entertaining light on everyday experiences. His internal purpose could be to show that perspective means more than the actual event. This book was written for anyone who can appreciate humor and needs to see that the same event can be understood and remembered differently. Potentially anyone can read and enjoy this book. In order to achieve his purpose, Sedaris employs various rhetorical devices to generate logos and pathos in particular. He uses sarcasm to make his life seem more melancholy, and since readers (and people in general) are entertained by despair, it only serves to hook readers. Also, Sedaris uses first person, which helps the reader connect with the ideas expressed in his essay. Lastly, he varies sentence structure to keep the reader interested. All of these techniques make the book more entertaining and prove that perspective dictates the outcome of an event (more so than the actual event itself). David Sedaris has (at least to this point) succeeded at entertaining me and helping me to understand the power of perspective. He did this through humor and excellent control of the English language. He uses a certain melancholic type of humor which works perfectly. Me Talk Pretty One Day is a number one National Bestseller. The author, David Sedaris, is an American humorist and author who has been nominated to receive a Grammy Award for his achievements.