TOW #3- "Attitude" by Margaret Atwood

         This week I read “Attitude” which is a speech written by Margaret Atwood. Atwood is a Canadian novelist and is one of the most honored authors of fiction. This speech was written to an audience of college graduates where she gave her insight on life. Her purpose in the speech was to explain, using humor, that the student aren’t prepared for life, but it’s all about the attitude they express which will either make life great or terrible. She goes into saying, “I’m here to tell you that it’s an armpit out there. As for your university degree, there are definitely going to be days when you will feel that you’ve been given a refrigerator and sent to the middle of a jungle, where there are no three-pronged grounded plugholes” (Atwood 1). In this quote there is a lot of humor and an analogy. Quotes like these were found throughout the speech and it truly made it enjoyable. For this reason it was very effective and got her purpose across.

         Another example of this wonderful humor can be seen when she says, “a liberal arts education doesn’t exactly prepare you for life. A preparation-for-life curriculum would not consist of courses on Victorian Thought and French Romanticism, but of things like How to Cope With Marital Breakdown, Getting More for your Footwear Dollar, Dealing With Stress” (Atwood 1). In this quote she effectively uses humor to add to the pathos of her speech. As a bonus she also expresses some credibility. She knows the courses are “Victorian Thought and French Romanticism” because she went through the same things as these graduates. So when she explains it, the addition of that information makes her speech all the more effective.

         I’m not sure if this is a rhetorical device but Atwood talked about how she was writing this speech a lot. She talked about her thought process and why she talked about what she did. This is probably a strategy of some kind and I thought it was very interesting and useful.

         I recommend this speech to anyone who is looking for a good TOW.

(A picture of Atwood in honor of her visit to West Point)

TOW #2- The Execution of Maximilian by Manet

(The Execution of Maximilian by Edouard Manet. 1867-1868)

            This painting was done by Manet who was a famous contemporary painter in the late 1800’s. He painted many modern historical events like the Civil War and he disapproved of Napoleon III.

            This painting depicts the execution of the Mexican king Maximilian and two of his generals. During that time period Napoleon III took over Mexico and put a ruler of his choice into office. This, of course, upset the Mexican people, so many militias rebelled against the new king. After, Napoleon gave up on Mexico he started to withdraw troops from the area and left Maximilian there basically to die. Soon the Mexicans overthrew he army and a public execution was held. In the painting you can see the troops in mid-fire as they point their guns towards Maximilian and his generals. In the back of the painting you can see the raised sword, which is the order to start firing. The painting is missing certain pieces due to damage, so not all of it is shown above.

            When analyzing this paining a good amount of devices are used to express pathos. The first is that in the painting you can gee the general holding hands with Maximilian as they are being fired upon. This handholding shows that they are scared and expresses innocence. This makes the audience feel for the king.

The other aspect is the fact that the backs of the Mexican soldiers are turned away from the viewer. This expresses that the Mexican people were against the audience and that they should be interpreted as enemies.

            When analyzing this painting the purpose doesn’t seem clear to me.  Manet was against Napoleon but in the painting he seems to depict the king, who Napoleon installed, as a good person. So I like to think that perhaps he liked the king but didn’t like Napoleon. And with this assumption I believe the purpose is to express to the French people, who I believe is the intended audience, what happened to him and to persuade that the Mexicans are bad people. If this is his intended purpose I believe he expresses it well with the pathos he expresses. 

Tow #1- More Evidence for Coming Black Hole Collision by Dennis Overbye

           This was an article written in the New York Times by Dennis Overbye. Overbye graduated M.I.T with a physics degree and has been writing for the Times since 1998. He is now the deputy science editor and writes about anything from the apocalypse to articles about black holes.

            In the article Overbye discusses recent findings which sheds light on an event which will happen in about 3.5 billion years. As of now there are two black holes that are gradually coming together and eventually going to collide. It was always thought that this was going to happen between the two galaxies but recent evidence has shown this is a fact. One of the quasars (a black hole where light is seen), is emitting light from the gas bubble that surrounds it. But what is different is that every couple of years the light increases and decreases in intensity. What has been discovered is that as these two black holes dance around each other, light is being given off in a type of Doppler-effect. This, along with evidence we will observe in the future, will give us a better idea of how this event will take place and how the collision will shake space and time.

(A picture from the article depicting two black holes orbiting one another)

            This article was written for a science-loving community. The language used was not too advanced but it gave vocabulary that not the average person would know. To this audience I believe Overbye was portraying the purpose of explaining the events that have taken place and then explaining how this new evidence ties into it. Personally I thought that he explained this message well and his use of rhetoric helped a lot.

            Right off the Bat the author used a great hook saying, “The apocalypse is still on, apparently — at least in a galaxy about 3.5 billion light-years from here” (Overbye 1). This use of rhetoric creates a sense of humor for the author. This strategy for pathos not only hooks the reader in, but it also establishes a good environment for the reader while going through what can potentially be taken as boring information. This along with the other humor and pathos related strategies made the read a good one.

This article can be found from this link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/22/science/space/more-evidence-for-coming-black-hole-collision.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0

IRB #1- This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein

       As my first IRB of the year I have chosen This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein. This is a book about out current environmental situation when it comes to global warming and how it affects government on levels. I am not big on environmental issues, but this book appealed to me because of how it takes a popular topic and shows it in a perspective I have never seen before. Plus this books is one of the best sellers of this year, so I hope it appeals to me like it has for everyone else who has read it. I am looking forward to this read!

This is a picture of the cover of the book. Its a simple cover but the title of the books really draws you in.