TOW #13: Dodge Commercial

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyGlqb1s_n0

What is more American than owning an American made car? This is why Dodge made a commercial that relates their cars to one of the most important events in American history, the Revolutionary War. The commercial shows the British lined up to battle, as well as George Washington and many other colonists driving Dodge Challengers to defeat the British. Dodge uses symbolism and humor to advertise their Challenger as America’s car.

There is no war more important to America than defeating the British in the Revolutionary War. This is why in order for Dodge to create the feeling that their car is America’s car they related it to the war. They use George Washington as the driver to create a feeling that if a Dodge is good enough for him, than it is good enough for you. By using symbols like the Revolutionary War, George Washington, and the American flag, Dodge was able to create a patriotic feeling towards the car. By creating a patriotic feeling, Dodge was able to convince the viewers that the Challenger is America’s car.

To grab the viewers attention, Dodge uses humor throughout the entire commercial. When making an advertisement it is important for the viewer to remember the advertisement. This is why Dodge uses humor by relating their car to a very serious event that will cause the viewer to never forget the commercial. By having the Americans defeat the British by driving cars at their horses during a time that was still far away from the invention of the first car is very humorous. It creates a sense of pride for people who purchase the car because it is showing that the car is capable of defeating the British, who at the time of the Revolutionary War were known as the best military in the world.The commercial then concludes by stating, “There are a couple of things America got right, cars and freedom.” This humorous quote shows that America takes as much pride in the cars that they make as much as they take pride in winning their freedom. By use of humor Dodge is able to convince the viewer that the Challenger is America’s car.

Dodge uses symbolism to create a patriotic mood as well as humor to create a sense of pride to convince the viewer to purchase their Dodge Challenger, “America’s car”.

TOW #12: IRB; Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer

How can an author properly describe his/her emotions in an event that changes his/her life dramatically?  Jon Krakauer, the author of Into Thin Air dealt with this difficulty when writing about his experience during his Mt. Everest expedition. Because of the strong emotions that his experience created, Krakauer writes a letter and provides pictures for the reader in order for the reader to understand his emotional difficulty when writing the book.

Krakauer felt so passionate about the events that he experienced during his expedition that he went against what many other authors advised him, and wrote this book shortly after his experience. Krakauer knows that this may have caused him to not have had the time to completely accept what had happened to him, so he wrote a letter warning the reader. By informing the reader his need to have written the book so shortly after the disaster on Everest, allows the reader to understand his emotional connection that made the rest of the story so difficult to write. Also by providing a letter to the reader before the book, Krakauer is able to warn the reader about what the story entails. Krakauer’s choice to include a letter allows the reader to understand how difficult it was for him to write the story because of the emotional impact the disaster caused him and may cause the reader.

Krakauer also provides pictures and maps before the story begins. He does this for the reader to understand the significance of the book. The impactful images that are labeled with events that occurred at the locations, such as the sight of where his fellow hikers’ bodies were found, allows the reader to see that the truth of the story does not necessarily have a happy ending. Because the reader is able to see that the story will involve death of the author’s companions, they can understand that the expedition did not end well for him, and understand why he may have had difficulty conveying his emotions in the story. 

TOW #11: "Higher Calling", Steve Coll

            The holiday season approached quickly, and many began to see their inability to have a very merry holiday season because of their low income. Steve Coll a writer for The New Yorker, wrote “Higher Calling” to show how a raise in minimum wage will provide workers with economic independence. Coll achieves this by using statistics and brand names that the reader can relate.

            Coll enables the reader to understand the problem of minimum wage by sharing statistics that are common to people that live off of minimum wage. Coll states that nearly twenty seven thousand people living in Seattle live in poverty. This means that many of the people are living off of around $15000 a year, far below the federal poverty line of $23,550 for a family of four.  Living in a tech savvy city like Seattle, these people have difficulty being able to enjoy the holiday season, let alone the rest of the year, with a minimum wage budget that does not get them very far. Coll’s use of statistics enables the reader to understand the severity that the minimum wage is causing.

            In order for the reader to feel the need for a raise in the minimum wage, Coll shares situations that people living off of minimum wage experience. Coll states, “This holiday season, activists have been excoriating WalMart because one of its stores organized a charitable food drive for its own low-paid employees. McDonald’s was taken to task for suggesting, on a company Web site, that strapped employees could raise cash for presents by selling belongings on eBay.” If companies are telling their own employees that are receiving minimum wage to find other ways to make money, it is time for the politicians to see the need for a raise in minimum wage. It is not right for people to have to sell their own goods on top of a full time job to mak ends meet. This is why Coll connects to the audience by sharing situations like these to get the reader and politicians to see why a raise in minimum wage will create economic independence for many.

TOW #10: "At Super Bowl, New York and New Jersey Will Be Top Rivals", James Barron

On Super Bowl Sunday, not only will there be two of the top football teams competing, but there will also be a rivalry between New Jersey cities and New York City. The Super Bowl is know for directly helping the economy of the hosting city. This year the super bowl is being played at Metlife Stadium, home of the New York Giants and New York Jets. To this date, many still do not know that this stadium is located in East Rutherford, New Jersey rather than New York. James Barron a writer for the New York Times and author of “At Super Bowl, New York and New Jersey Will Be Top Rivals” juxtaposes the cities of New Jersey and New York City to show the difficulty that New Jersey will face when competing for tourists during the Super Bowl weekend.

When making the decision of where to stay as a tourist, the decision is easy to many, New York City. As Barron describes, New York has some of the top restaurants, hotels, and many of the best attractions in the world, so why would someone want to stay in a New Jersey city that is over powered by the great city across the river. By comparing the two options of where to stay side by side, the reader can understand the dilemma that New Jersey is worried about. Barron then goes onto describe New Jersey’s and New York’s efforts side by side to gain tourists. He states that companies in New Jersey are being trained on how to welcome tourists to their cities. Where as on the other side of the Hudson, “All New York City has to do every day is wake up, take the crust out of its eyes and it’s open for business.”(pg 2) By describing the situations for both cities, Barron is explaining how this rivalry is becoming a one-sided affair. James Barron effectively explains the odd rivalry between the two states by juxtaposing the cities side by side to create an awareness of the importance of the Super Bowl’s economic impact for the host city.

IRB Intro #2: Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

For my IRB for the second marking period I am reading Into the Wild, written by Jon Krakauer. It is about a man named Christopher Johnson McCandles who came from an affluent family, graduated from Emory University and then gave away everything he had to go into the Alaskan wilderness. His body was later found by moose hunters, shortly after Jon Krakauer was asked to write an article for Outside Magazine about the events. Krakauer was so fascinated by the story that he decided to do enough research to write a book. In the book I can expect to find uses of imagery and other forms of figurative language in order for me to connect and form emotions to the events in the story.

Tow #9: Christmas Day Games

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6wdPJEWrAc

As always, the NBA came out with its yearly commercial to reveal the special christmas day jerseys and games.The NBA always selects the best teams to play on Christmas day, so the commercial is a creative way for the fans to see for first time which teams were selected to play and what the jerseys will look like. This years commercial gets the attention and relates to the emotions of the consumers by using the stars of the NBA to market the jerseys and by getting the consumers attention by using a song that everyone knows and can relate to.

This years commercial includes: Derek Rose, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, James Harden, Steve Nash and Lebron James. By using these players, the NBA is accomplishing two goals; they are showing the fans which teams will be playing on Christmas day as well as marketing the special jerseys. When a fan sees their favorite player wearing the jersey they will want to go out and purchase the jersey to be able to wear it on Christmas as well. So not only are the players being used to market the jerseys but they are also being used to market the Christmas day games. If fans see their favorite player on the commercial than they will know to tune in on Christmas day to watch them play. The use of the NBA stars allows the commercial to connect to the fans’ emotions.

The commercial needs to advertise the importance of the games. Much like football and Thanksgiving, basketball goes with Christmas day. They are not just any other game, they are the Christmas day games. In order to show the difference of these games, the NBA took a different approach for the commercials. Rather than just showing highlights of the teams that will be playing, they had the players do something much more creative. The players in the commercial are shooting basketballs into nets that play the well known Christmas song, Jingle Bells. By use of this song the fans are able to tell when the games will be played as well as remember to watch the games on that day because of the creativeness of the commercial that makes it memorable.

By using the best NBA stars in a creative way makes the commercial memorable to the fans and markets the Christmas day games unlike any other games of the season.

TOW #8: The Accidental Billionaires, Ben Mezrich

A risk must always be taken in order to receive a big reward. Ben Mezrich, the author of The Accidental Billionaires, told the story of the risks that Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin and the other founders of Facebook had to take in order to become billionaires. Mezrich connects with the audience by his use of a third person omniscient to tell the true story of how Facebook was founded and the relationship between Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin.

Mezrich effectively keeps the audience interested and connects to their emotions by telling the story using third person omniscient. By sharing the story in third person omniscient, Mezrich was able to express multiple characters‘ emotions rather than just one viewpoint. This allows the audience to see different events, such as Eduardo’s shares being cut down, from different character’s viewpoints and to begin to form their own opinions because they are not focused on the viewpoint of only one character. The use of third person omniscient was also very effective for this story because it allows the reader to understand what Mark Zuckerberg and others were debating in their heads when making business decisions. For example, the reader is able to understand why Mark did not want to work with the Winklevoss twins. This use of narration enabled Mezrich to share the thoughts that the characters felt and helps the reader to further understand what went into the creation of Facebook.

The use of third person omniscient also helps describe the relationship between Mark and Eduardo. To keep the book more interesting, Mezrich includes the drama in their relationship. The choice of narration enables drama to be created because the reader can understand how Mark and Eduardo viewed each other from an outside perspective. The story begins with both of the characters at a party for the Phoenix, an exclusive club at Harvard. Mezrich describes Mark as someone who looked very out of place at the party, whereas Eduardo caught the eye of the members and was selected to be further evaluated. The ability to share events like this from an outside perspective allows the reader to be able to see the jealousy that may have been created from Eduardo’s selection into the Phoenix. 

Mezrich’s use of third person omniscient allows him to effectively tell the story of the founding of Facebook as well as add drama to the story by sharing the relationship of Mark and Eduardo.

TOW #7: Pick a Side. Nets or Knicks? Scott Cacciola

The Nets and Knicks rivalry has never been very competitive. When ever the Knicks were talented and competitive, the Nets were in a rebuilding phase. The teams switched between these two roles on and off throughout recent years. Now that the Nets have moved to Brooklyn and acquired new players, for the first time the two teams are competing to be the best. Scott Cacciola, a sports writer for the New York Times, wrote Pick a Side. Nets or Knicks? to share his and many other sports analysts’ opinions on what makes a fan either a Knicks or Nets fan. Cacciola and the other analysts use statistics and appeal to the fans emotions to show what makes a Nets or Knicks fan.

The Nets’ move to Brooklyn last year resulted in many fans abandoning their old teams to pick a new favorite. Cacciola and Kenny Smith, a TNT NBA analyst, share the facts about the new fans for the Nets. Smith describes Knicks fans to be more “wine and cheese”. The Knicks are New York’s original team, and the older, true basketball fans in New York can not switch away from the classy team that they have loved their whole lives. Due to this, the majority of Nets fans are younger and less extravagant, and do not share the history with the Knicks that the older fans have their entire lives, so they have the ability to form a love for a new team.

Every sports fan wishes to see their favorite team win a championship. In New York, fans have a choice between the two teams. With Carmelo in his prime for the Knicks, and the acquisition of old superstars for the Nets, New York fans have a chance to see either team win a championship. This is why fans’ connections to the teams plays a large role in deciding which to root for. As Howard Beck, the NBA Bleacher Report columnist states, “Having stolen the headlines and the Knicks thunder, the Nets are poised to steal the title as New York’s best basketball team.” The signing of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry along with the hiring of head coach Jason Kidd are projected to mold perfectly with the superstars already present in Brooklyn. It is difficult for many to not jump on the Nets bandwagon as they are the newest team and projected to be one of the best teams this NBA season.

TOW #6: The United States of Texas, Why the Lone Star State is America's Future, Tyler Cowen

Davy Crockett’s saying, “Gone to Texas” is becoming very popular for many Americans. Many Americans are leaving their stressful lives in states like California and New York to move to the Lone stare State, Texas. Unlike the people in the 1800’s who were fleeing to Texas to escape debt or the law, many are now fleeing to Texas in search of a chance to start over economically. Tyler Cowen wrote The United States of Texas in Time Magazine to explain the popularity of many Americans moving to Texas, and how other states could mimic Texas’s qualities. Tyler achieves this purpose by sharing personal accounts of people who have followed this trend, and by providing statistics of why people feel that they have a higher chance of success in Texas.
Tyler’s use of personal accounts gives insight of why so many people are moving to Texas and escaping their stressful lives in other states. Tyler tells the story of Tara Connolly. She moved from Brooklyn to Texas in 2005 and has since got a job. She pays a mortgage for a house that is half the cost of what the rent of her Brooklyn apartment used to be. Tyler tells this story to help prove his point of why people are moving to Texas. He uses Tara as a perfect example of someone who left their stressful life and moved to Texas, where they now have a job and a larger property for less of a price than their property in the state that they came from. By using personal accounts, Tyler appeals to pathos. He connects to other people’s lives by telling stories like Tara’s to show how people can benefit from all that Texas has to offer. 

The use of statistics helps show what other states lack and could learn from Texas. Tyler shares the poverty rate, home prices, tax rate and many other statistics to show why Texas is attractive to so many Americans. Tyler shares that in the last 12 months 274,700 new jobs were created, that is 12% of the total number of jobs created in all of America last year. By sharing this statistic, Tyler shows that many Americans are moving to Texas to find job opportunities because the states that they currently live in do not have as many. Tyler shares statistics to appeal to logos to explain why many people are moving to Texas, and what other states can improve on.

Tyler’s use of sharing personal accounts and use of statistics appeal to both pathos and logos. These rhetorical devices help Tyler show why there is a popular trend of moving to Texas, and what other states could do to mimic qualities of Texas.

TOW #5: What Brotherly Love Truly Means

The Philadelphia Eagles struck gold with their newest commercial. The commercial is located on flyeaglesfly.com, a website owned by the team. The marketing team of the Eagles made this commercial to excite the Eagles‘ fans and encourage the fans to support the Eagles in anyway possible. The commercial achieves this goal by the retelling of stories, repetition, and by creating a exciting tone. The commercial connects to the audience by retelling plays and games that every fan can relate. Whether its 44 to 6 against the Cowboys, 4th and 26 against the Packers, or both of the Miracles at the Meadowlands every fan can relate to the joy that they felt during these events. The retelling of stories appeals to pathos, and allows the fans to feel the emotion they possess when the Eagles play well. This leads the fans to expect a great season from the Eagles and share their support for the team so these emotions can be felt again. 

The commercial also connects to the fans by using the repetition of we, us and our. The fans feel connected to the team when the commercial mentions that Philadelphia and the Eagles are ours. The commercial states that we wear our hearts on our sleeves for the Eagles. By saying we in this statement and all of the other times we is mentioned, the fans feel that the commercial is about them and that they have a whole city with them when rooting for the Eagles. The repetition of possession words appeals to pathos, as it connects to the fans emotions by reminding them that the Eagles are their team, and that the history of the Eagles is their history as well.

The commercial attracts the audience by using an exciting tone. The commercial gains the exciting tone by the music that the commercial uses. By using slow music at first, and then fast music, intensity builds up while famous plays are being shown. The fast pace music, with the exciting plays creates an entire tone of excitement. This excitement, as well as the connection that the fans feel convince them that their is a great season ahead and that their support is well needed.

TOW #4: Athletic Art: 3 Acts And 3 Points, Bill Pennington

A field goal from start to finish takes approximately 1.2 seconds, but is one of the most difficult acts in all of football. Bill Pennington wrote Athletic Art: 3 Acts And 3 points in the New York Times to describe how the 1.2 seconds of a field goal are an intricate production. Pennington uses interviews with the Giants’ members of the field goal team, many analogies, and statistics to help the football fan understand the stress and intricacy that goes into every field goal and extra point. The three main components of the Giants’ field goal unit are the snapper, Zak DeOssie; the holder, Steve Weatherford; and the kicker, Jake Brown. 

Zak DeOssie has snapped the ball over 25,000 times to prepare for his job. By use of repetition, Zak learned that the ball must rotate two and a half times in order for the laces to be facing the sky when the ball reaches the holder. Zak describes the defenders across from him as menacing; but he makes sure the ball has two and a half revolutions every time in order to make the job for the holder and kicker easier. Steve Weatherford is the punter, as well as the holder for the field goal unit. He has the task of catching the ball from the snapper and setting it up perfectly for Jake to kick. Steve has been the holder for a few pro-bowl kickers, so he has plenty of expertise. Although Steve has a lot of experience, he claims that you do not have to be that athletic to be a holder. He relates his job to shooting free throws. Steve uses this analogy to prove that anyone could do his job with a lot of practice and repetition. Jake Brown is the final component to the field goal unit. As the kicker, he has the most stress, because he is the one that finishes off the three points. He describes the players and fans trying to distract him from making his routine successful. Pennington effectively shows the intricacy of the 1.2 seconds that it takes to make a field goal. He explains the stress and viewpoints of the players to show all that is involved with every field goal and extra point. 

TOW #3: The Class of 2025, Jon Meacham

Jon Meacham wrote Time Magazine’s The Class of 2025, to question whether or not students are being prepared correctly for opportunities in the future. Jon Meacham wanted to shed light to the idea that students may not be properly prepared by universities for jobs in the future. Jon Meacham quoted businesses in saying that they had trouble finding employes qualified for open positions. This causes people to question the approach that universities are using to teach their students. Some argue that their should be set requirements of knowledge that each student should know; whereas others believe students should be taught skills that would prepare them for jobs. Jon Meacham does not take a side in this debate, but informs the reader of the two sides. 

Jon Meacham successfully provided insight on the debate of how students are being taught in college. He quoted employers and university alumni to counter both sides of the argument. He also informed the reader about the rising cost of college, and the hours spent studying in college going down. Today, the average student studies for 13 less hours than a student in 1961, and the price of college today for four years is almost as expensive as the average single family home. Providing these statistics causes the reader to buy more into the argument. The choice of providing statistics appeals to pathos because the reader feels connected to the argument because they can connect the price of college to their income. The reader now begins to see the importance and take a side in this debate as they will one day have to pay the rising cost of tuition for their children in the future. Jon Meacham successfully provided insight on whether or not the direction of college education is right for opportunities in the future, as well as manage to get the reader to see the importance of this debate.

Tow #2: A Simple Hit

A Simple Hit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlFl1OKRnEM

The Old Spice commercial consisting of Wes Welker in a snow globe instantly became a hit. So simple, yet so popular. The commercial is sixteen seconds and consists of Wes Welker sitting down in a locker room smelling deodorant; until the viewer finds out that he is really in a snow globe. What makes this commercial so popular is the rhetoric that is used by the creators/filmmakers. Old Spice has a clear target market of men, so they went at the one thing that all men have in common, sports. Using Wes Welker in the commercial allows the audience to connect to the deodorant because he is a favorite football player among many fans. Wes Welker makes the audience want to go out and buy the deodorant because a player that they look up to uses it. The use of Wes Welker helps the audience remember the commercial and in the creators’ hope, buy the deodorant.
The speaker, Old Spice, affectively achieved their purpose of reaching their target audience of men, with a commercial that they would not forget. The simple commercial is much more thought out than what meets the eye. It seems so simple, yet deep thought went into picking the team that would be represented in the commercial. In order to use a snow globe, the team of best fit would have to be the Denver Broncos because they play in  the mile high city. Using this team allows the makers of the commercial to put Wes Welker in a snow globe rather than just a locker room, because of the physical appearance of Denver. The ending of the commercial adds the final touch of humor that allows it to be so successful. Old Spice made a hit in this commercial, and it will not be forgotten when men are making the decision of which deodorant to purchase.

IRB Intro: The Accidental Billionaires

I have selected to read The Accidental Billionaires written by Ben Mezrich as my independent reading book for the first quarter. The Accidental Billionaires is about the lives of Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin, and the founding of Facebook. I have selected to read this book because I am interested in reading a nonfiction book that is a story rather than an essay. I am also interested to see how the book differs from the movie, The Social Network. From reading the first chapter, the formation of the relationship between Mark and Eduardo already differs from the movie. By reading this book I will explore how a real event is turned into an intriguing story rather than just an informative essay.  The Accidental Billionaires will help me with nonfiction writing by teaching me new styles of writing, as well as hopefully inspire me with the story behind the founding of Facebook.

TOW #1: It’s Time to Pay College Athletes, Sean Gregory

Should College Athletes be Paid?

“Should college athletes be paid?” That is the question presented by Sean Gregory in his Time magazine article It’s Time to Pay College Athletes. Gregory shares his opinion and gets the reader to pick a side in the most controversy topic in all of college sports. Top SEC (South Eastern Conference) and other major college football schools make hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue each season. This revenue is made because of their student-athletes’ success on the football field, and yet the players make no salary in return. Gregory states his side and belief of the need for salaries, and he does a good job in showing the counter-argument to his claim. Gregory informs the reader that other college fans believe that a four-year scholarship is more than enough for a salary. He then disputes the counter-argument by sharing factual information to disprove it. This controversy recently came to light as the Texas A&M quarterback, Johnny Manziel was accused of taking money for autographs and had the chance to face suspension from the NCAA officials. Gregory used this event to support his claim for the need of salaries for NCAA players. He used factual information to prove his point and raise awareness of others.

            Sean Gregory wrote It’s Time to Pay College Athletes to raise awareness of the controversy of whether or not college athletes should be paid and to provide his opinion. Gregory used his style to do well in supporting his argument by providing a counter-argument and then disputing it with factual information. Not only did Gregory share his opinion on the topic, but he also provided a solution on how colleges could pursue giving their athletes a salary.  Sean Gregory did a great job of achieving his purpose by sharing his opinion on the situation. He informed all sports fans alike of why he believes college athletes should be paid. 

Topic of Cancer

Before his death, Christopher Hitchens wrote about his great “struggle”. This “struggle” was him being diagnosed with cancer. Christopher described his denial to be short-lived as he tried to continue to make the appearances he had scheduled and continue to sell his books. Christopher described his fate to be ironic; just like the way that his career as a writer is based on irony, his fate was also decided by irony. On the day that his book hit the best-seller list, he found out that he had cancer. Christopher described the pain he experienced during his treatments. He felt as if he was “shackled to his own corpse”. He was not expecting the awful side effects that came along with his treatment. After describing his treatment as “chemo-poison”, he talked about the two different groups that were formed. Based on his writing and the way he lived his life there was a group that wished him to be ill, and another that was formed by physicians and prayer groups that prayed for his health. Christopher ended the essay by saying, “On both of these I hope to write next time - if as my father invariably said - I am spared”(89).

Christoper Hitchens wrote this essay with intent of sharing about his experience during his cancer treatments. He wrote this in hope to be spared, and have the chance to write again. Christoper achieved his purpose as he did a great job using figurative language to help describe his experience, as others are not able to directly relate to his pain. Christopher’s choice to write in first-person helped the reader understand his emotions even deeper. He had the ability to express all of his thoughts as he began to face new experiences, helping the reader understand his feelings. Christopher Hitchens left the reader with the exact emotions that he intended them to feel, while achieving his purpose of writing the essay.

The Man Behind the Essay

NANCY KASZERMAN/ZUMA

Christopher Hitchens was a controversial writer. He wrote on many topics such as politics, religion and history.  He received many awards on his writing. He died at the age of 62 (1949-2011) due to complications from esophageal cancer.

After The Ice

Winter is symbolic of death. Waking up on an icy winter morning in Arkansas to the phone call of death, was what Paul experienced. This morning would always be remembered by him because it was the morning that he got the phone call to report to the hospital. After sitting in the hospital for hours, the death of his nephew, Keith, was pronounced and it was presumed that it was not accidental. Keith’s step-father was charged with murder. Paul, to this day can not get two images out of his mind; the image of that icy morning driving to the hospital, and the image of Keith’s step-father in an orange jump suit handcuffed in the courtroom. Paul does not understand why the step-father committed this awful act, and he continues to imagine the amazing life that Keith had ahead of him. The memories at the age of seventeen become even more powerful, as Paul’s family grows older because he now has kids older than Keith was when he was murdered. Paul continues to imagine the relationship between Keith and the step-father, and what act could have caused the step-father to murder Keith.

Paul Crenshaw, an assistant professor at Elon University, wrote After the Ice to share and recreate his feelings after the murder of his nephew, Keith, for the reader. Paul recalled the feelings and emotions he felt “after the ice” when he heard the news that Keith’s step-father was to blame for his death. Paul achieved his purpose of having the reader feel the pain and confusion that he felt about the murder of his nephew. By explaining all of his memories with such detail, the reader was able to feel as if they were memories of their own. Paul Crenshaw achieved his goal, as the reader is left off questioning what could have drawn the step-father to murder Keith, and what life Keith could have had.

A Symbolic Time

JONATHAN NACKSTRAND - AFP/Getty Images

In literature, winter is symbolic for death, as well as a time of reflection. The picture above helps convey the emotions felt by Paul, as he had to wake up to the death of his nephew on a winter morning. Paul also reflected on the death of his nephew, Keith, in the essay, connecting to the symbolic meaning of winter.

What Really Happened

Written in a commanding tone, Madge McKeithen tells you, the reader, what to do. “Find the North Carolina Department of Correction Public Access Information System website. Enter the name of the offender. Write down the seven-digit offender ID number. Click on the box to see the photograph”(137). This was her first step and your first direction in asking the offender the questions she and you had been waiting forever to ask. A mother, wife, and your best friend, had been murdered by this man. This is the moment you have been waiting for, and finally grew the courage to do. Madge walks you through the steps of the entire situation. She connects you to her feelings during the event. You feel puzzled when you receive the answers from the inmate that she received. You have to deal with the struggle of going through life asking yourself, “Why you get to be alive”(139), and not your best friend. Grow up, to see her kids grow up knowing that their mother was not there, and only be able to imagine the love their mother possessed.

The feelings and experience that Madge McKeithen created in What Really Happened are incredible. You feel yourself feeling the pain and emotions that Madge felt when facing the courage to talk to the offender that took her friend’s life. You can feel the struggle Madge had and frustration that was created when the offender did not give her the answer that she wanted to hear. Due to this, Madge achieved her purpose of making the reader feel all of the emotions that she felt. By writing the essay in a commanding tone, the reader is able to feel all of the emotion Madge felt because the reader is following in her footsteps. Madge Mckeithen created an incredible experience for the reader, while achieving her intended purpose in writing, What Really Happened.

The Dream

Sherrydayne Abroad

The white picket fence resembles what every mother dreams of having. A happy, safe and loved family was what Madge wanted her best friend to provide to her family. This was why she felt the need to ask the man who murdered her best friend, why?

Travels With My Ex

Susan Straight recalled many events from her and her ex-husband’s life as she drove to Huntington Beach. She introduced her three daughters: “The Scholar”, “The Baller” and “The Baby” by telling why they were given these nicknames. They were going to Huntington Beach with The Baller’s friends and boyfriend to celebrate her eighteenth birthday. Susan and her daughters were discussing how more and more people  they knew were being pulled over. They believed this was because the police officers were trying to make “revenue”. Susan expressed her dislike towards traveling to Huntington Beach, and her dislike grew when they were pulled over. Her ex-husband believed that it was because they had a van full of  black kids. This act caused Susan to recall different events that occurred to her and her ex-husband because of his race. Susan expressed her belief of the racism that police officers possessed towards her husband. When they first began to date, Susan described a time in which the police officers yelled racial slurs at her ex-husband and told her she was in the wrong place. Both Susan and her ex-husband called the reason for them being pulled over as the police officers making “revenue”.

Susan Straight was trying to achieve her purpose of telling about her dislike towards the police officers because she believed that they were trying to make “revenue”. Susan recalled events from her past to help her audience understand why she possesses the dislike that she does. She sarcastically described her husband as being “scary”, as a way to sarcastically approve of the police officers’ actions. This helped her audience connect to her thoughts and feelings. Susan Straight has won many different literary awards for her short stories. This is why she was successful in achieving her purpose of sharing her dislike for the police officers trying to make “revenue” by using an argumentative essay.

Rodney King

Matt Sayles/AP Photo

Susan mentioned Rodney King in her essay when she mentioned the racism that her and her  ex-husband experienced from the police. The racism was one of the main reasons why Susan had the dislike that she possessed. 

Port-au-Prince: The Moment

Mischa Berlinski explained his experience, “Faces in the days to come would reveal weariness, despair, misery, grief, and very often joy. But everywhere I went on that first day after the quake, I saw a facial expression I had never before seen”(11). Mischa, his wife and child Leo were working in Port-au-Prince Haiti in 2010 during the earthquake that changed the lives of many. Mischa and his family moved to Haiti in 2007 when his wife got a job with MINUSTAH. He was alone when the earthquake hit. His family’s safety was the first thing to come into his mind. Once Mischa found his family safely, the other people they met in Haiti came to mind. Fortunately, for Mischa and his family, their property was not badly damaged; but this was not the case for many others. Much of Port-au-Prince’s buildings were not structurally sound and suffered great damage during the quake. Mischa went to observe the damage caused by the quake. He saw the crowds of people trying to seek safety with expressions of despair on their faces. The quake made new sights for Mischa as many buildings collapsed to one story, crushing people and leaving their bloody corpses insight.

Mischa Berlinski wrote this essay to inform the reader about his experience during the earthquake in Haiti. He was fortunate to survive and felt the importance to share his experience. Mishca did a great job achieving his purpose because his style helps the reader understand what Mischa experienced during the quake because he shared the different emotions that he felt during the event. Due to his connection with the New York Times and experience as a novelist, his story was able to get out on such a great scale. Mishca did an excellent job portraying his experience during the earthquake in Haiti to his audience.

Hotel Montana

Bruce Ely/The Oregonian
The picture shows the crumbled Hotel Montana that Mischa visited the day of the quake.