TOW #25: "The End of the Hangup", Ian Bogost

Goals:

Have effective transition sentences

Use devices that I have not used in the past

Read an essay from a new source

Many would think that the technology of today would put us at an advantage to those who lived in the past, except when it comes to hanging up the phone. Ian Bogost, writer for The Atlantic believes today's phones put us at disadvantage when it comes to being able to purposefully hang up the phone. In his essay, “The End of the Hangup”, he uses onomatopoeia and a commanding tone to prove how today's technology prevents people from being able to meaningfully hang up the phone.

Bogost uses onomatopoeia to show the power of hanging up an old phone. He describes his experience as a kid watching his dad hang up his families Western Electric model 554 phone, “An inbound wrong number dialed twice in a row, or an unwelcome solicitor. Clang! The handset's solid mass crashed down on the hook, the bell assembly whimpering from the impact.” The use of the descriptive action words to bring life to the scene enables the reader to understand the frustration that his father had with the phone call. In the past, people were able to take their emotions out on the phone by fiercely hanging it up, and the person on the other end feeling the wrath. Unfortunately, people can no longer release their anger by hanging up the phone because calls can be ended by the simple pressing of the end button. Bogost’s use of onomatopoeia allows him to show the loss of emotion involved in today's phones that used to be present in older phones.

Bogost also uses a commanding tone to allow the reader to picture the scenario that he describes. Bogost writes, [...] try to hang up your iPhone or your Samsung Galaxy. I don't mean just ending a call, but hanging up for real, as if you meant it. For a moment you might consider throwing the handset against a wall before remembering that you shelled out three, four, five hundred dollars or more for the device [...].” The commanding tone of these sentences causes the reader to imagine themselves performing these tasks. After imagining completing the task, the reader can understand the loss that today's technology has when it comes to hanging up the phone. Because hanging up the phone can be assumed as a dropped call or an accidental pressing of the end button, there is no longer a purposeful meaning to ending a call. Bogost’s use of a commanding tone allows the reader to feel a personal loss when it come to not being able to end a call with meaning.

Although many would choose to possess a phone adapted with today's technology, Bogost proves the limit that today's phones have when it comes to hanging up a phone call with an emotional meaning. To achieve this purpose, Bogost uses onomatopoeia and a commanding tone. Bogost puts into a perspective of how today's technology is taking away human qualities and actions that were present in the past.

IRB Intro #4: Jeffery Marx, Season of Life

For the fourth marking period I will read Season of Life by Jeffrey Marx. I expect to read about a coach and his football team, but not the average sports story. I am expecting to read about the relationships and lessons that the author learned throughout his life with sports that he can now reflect on as an adult.

TOW #24 John Cassidy, "Another Good Day for the Conservative Backlash"

Have a strong final sentence

Have a good hook

Good transition sentences

           Today, many people would like to believe that racial discrimination is nonexistent in the United States. Unfortunately, minorities are still suffering from discrimination, and John Cassidy, a writer for The New Yorker, believes that the Supreme Court is at fault. In Cassidy’s essay, “Another Good Day for the Conservative Backlash” he uses historical allusions, as well as quotes from Supreme Court justices to prove through a recent Michigan trial how the Supreme Court is turning America backwards.

        Recently, the Supreme Court ruled in a Michigan trial that colleges can not use the race of an applicant when determining whether to or not to accept a student. Cassidy uses historical allusions to help the reader understand the context of this issue. Cassidy mentions, “It’s been almost fifty years since Richard Nixon settled on his “Southern strategy” of mobilizing white voters alienated by civil-rights reforms. Almost the same amount of time has elapsed since the John Olin Foundation and other conservative groups set out to rein in the nation’s courts, and, in particular, the Supreme Court, which had played a key role in expanding the civil-rights agenda.” Cassidy uses this allusion to show how civil rights have been a major American issue for a while, and that the people who were to blame for discrimination in the past are still in the supreme court today. The allusion also shows that Cassidy does not agree with the recent supreme court ruling since he claims that the conservative supreme court justices that are ruling today, were the same ones that were ruling against the civil rights movement.

Cassidy also uses quotes to show how the supreme court is turning America backwards. Cassidy quotes Justice Sotomayor, “Between 2006 and 2011, the proportion of black freshmen among those enrolled at the University of Michigan declined from 7 percent to 5 percent, even though the proportion of black college-aged persons in Michigan increased from 16 to 19 percent.” This anecdote helps Cassidy prove his point that the supreme court is going in the wrong direction by ending affirmative action because in 2006 Michigan colleges were no longer allowed to use race as a determinant to accept an applicant. Since there was a decline of African-American students at a Michigan college, the need for affirmative action is shown. Cassidy’s inclusion of Justice Sotomayor’s statement shows how the supreme court is hurting a minority group by banning affirmative action.

During a time in which race should not be a barrier between people, the supreme court recently banned affirmative action, which helps those who are at a disadvantage when applying to colleges because of their race. John Cassidy wrote, “Another Good Day for the Conservative Backlash” to prove how the banning of affirmative action was wrong, and is pushing back American progress with racism. Cassidy proves this through his use of historical allusion and quotes. Cassidy raises the question of whether the banning of affirmative action is just one of the many issues that the supreme court will decide upon that will set America back to the problems of the 1950’s and beyond.