TOW #19 - Article: "5 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Work Too Hard"

Writing Goal: Quote specific examples from the article to support my statements.

Reading Goal: Successfully identify at least three rhetorical devices/strategies.

“It’s just school.” For a student at the onset of his or her junior in high school, the message behind this simple piece of advice may be about as shocking as the fact that it was given by a teacher. Not only was this surprising to hear, but it was actually the opposite of what many students expected. But why? Why was the idea of making sure that we live a healthy and balanced life so astonishing? Brigid Schulte, Washington post contributor and author of the article titled “5 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Work Too Hard”, would argue that it is due to the “vicious cycle of ‘work and spend’” (Schulte) that is so evident in American culture. Through the use of extensive exemplification, powerful statistics, and explicit organization, Schulte attempts to convince her audience that the American attitude towards work should be reconsidered.

She first uses the new Cadillac commercial in which a “boxy, middle-aged white guy in a fancy house” (Schulte) questions European work traditions, such as stopping at a cafe on the way home from work and taking the month of August off, to ultimately point out that working hard and long is what ultimately allowed himself to live the affluent life displayed in the commercial. This example clearly shows the American work attitude that Schulte says contributes to the “work and spend” cycle. Schulte continues to provide examples of work-related policies in other countries, such as child “nurture days” in Denmark and year-long paid parental leaves for mothers and fathers in Iceland, that ultimately allow their countries’ workers to live a more balanced life. She then states statics that point out how much we really devote ourselves to working, such as the fact that the average American now works about an entire month more than he or she would have in 1976 and that Americans didn’t even use an estimated 577 million vacation days at all in 2013. 

These examples and statistics act almost as the rising action of her article as we finally reach the climax that explains their negative effects: Schulte’s five listed reasons as to why we shouldn’t work too hard. She explicitly states in bolded words and numbers that Americans spend more time sick and more money paying for healthcare, that we are far more stressed, that the increased stress levels lead to decreased brain function, that we are ranked near the bottom of the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development’s work-life balance scale, and finally that while we are working 70% of us are disengaged. These five reasons directly display the cost of working so much and leaves us to answer the question of whether or not all the work is worth it or not. She offers her final examples of leisure leading to innovation by using Bill Gates and the Wright Brothers before stating that “rather than working so hard to have stuff, better to work to have leisure, the Greek philosopher Aristotle said, upon which happiness depends.” Ultimately, I found the article to be extremely effective through its use of extensive exemplification, powerful statistics, and explicit organization. The only question left lingering in my mind after reading it was how long it is going to take for our country to rethink its work-related policies so that we may begin to shirk the serious detriments and enjoy the numerous benefits Schulte referenced.

MP3 IRB Intro Post

Wilderness survival has always been an interest of mine. From reading books such as the My Side of the Mountain series by Jean Craighead-George and Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, to actually having been an active boy scout and having gone camping and hiking very often with family and friends. That is why for the third marking period I plan to read the 1996 wilderness survival biography Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. It’s about the journey of a man named Christopher McCandless who, almost immediately after graduating college, hitch-hiked to Alaska where he attempted to survive on his own and with minimal supplies, forcing him to rely on what he could salvage from the wilderness around him. By reading this book I hope to gain more practical knowledge about what to and what not to do when trying to survive, as well as insight into what would actually cause someone to almost out of nowhere leave the life they know, and attempt to live on their own in the wild.

TOW #18 - Editorial: "The beauty, the art, and the good of snow" . . . Ehhh

In this editorial by Emmy award-winning reporter and anchor Tom Foreman of CNN, Foreman discusses the positive effects of all the snow we have seen so far this winter, nationwide. The first positive he mentions was about how all of the precipitation has helped to alleviate the effects of the drought experienced in the west such as damaged farming, decreased tourism, and even reduced city water supplies. To do this, Foreman introduces us to Brian Fuchs who works with the National Drought Mitigation Center. The editorial appeals to logos when Fuchs provides a statistic that states now only 37.5% of the country is considered in drought, as compared to last year’s over 50%. Foreman then says we should consider ourselves lucky in today’s modern society with advanced weather-predicting technology due to the fact that in 1888, there was an unexpected blizzard that swept across the Great Plains and killed over 200 citizens, many of which were children. By pointing out that the majority of lives lost were those of children, Foreman most likely wanted to elicit an emotional response, appealing to pathos. He continues stating positive effects of snow by saying that at the same time as that horrible blizzard in the United States, across the pond in Europe artists such as Monet, Renoir, Gaugin, Pissarro, and Sisley were at work capturing the beauty of all the snow and ice. Foreman brings the conversation back to modern day by noting how badly Russia would currently like to see more snow, as unusually high temperatures in Sochi are beginning to, “turn ski slopes into mudslides.” Finally, he comes to the conclusion that it is ultimately up to one’s own perspective to determine whether all of this snow is a positive, a negative, or both. 

Personally, I found the article ineffective due to a lack of relevant positives related to the snow. Perhaps because I am a 16 year old, providing more positive examples that countered negatives ones, such as the fact that many schools will have to extend the school year due to a high number of closures, would better persuade me to look at the snow as an overall positive. I don’t particularly care that all of this snow once helped European artists paint pretty pictures centuries ago. Nor does it phase me very much that the country has gone form over 50% in drought to only about 38%, which I would still argue is quite a bit. Overall, while this editorial may have been effective to those who more highly value the two examples I previously mentioned, it failed to convince me by unsuccessfully providing positive examples of snow that I find personally relevant. 

TOW #17 - Visual Text: Squarespace Super Bowl Ad

In honor of the event that everyone’s talking about tonight, I’ve decided to analyze one of the advertisements I most enjoyed watching during this year’s Super Bowl XLVIII. The ad is for a website creation company called Squarespace that is known for its clean, sleek, and modern designs. It essentially puts the audience in the place of a man who is being surrounded and bombarded with popular internet memes, ads, icons, and trends that become increasingly aggressive towards him. The main idea of the advertisement is stated at the end in a voiceover that states, “We can’t change what the web has become, but we can change what it will be. A better web starts with your website.” Just like almost all Super Bowl ads, this one mainly relies on humor generated by cultural memory and hyperbole.

The ad first effectively connects to its audience by referencing commonly hated internet pop-up ads, like those that state “Your computer may have a virus!” and “Meet sexy singles!”, through their human manifestations. The ad then connects to its audience by referencing other parts of internet culture in an exaggerated fashion. For example, the ad depicts a stay-at-home mom desperately asking for the commercial’s main character to “like” a picture of her baby, obviously referencing those pesky Facebook “friends” that message others with the intent of gaining likes. Additionally, the ad also depicts three college-aged girls with heavy makeup and party dresses on whose oversized lips are puckered up while simply staring into the camera without saying anything at all. This is a reference to the rise of “selfies” and/or the common face that girls will make in internet photos known as the “duck face”. These characters, as well as many other familiar internet icons, form a mob that is slowly closing in on the main character until the scene cuts to him sitting at a clean glass desk on his laptop in an all white room, which is when the voiceover starts. 

I found this advertisement to be extremely effective as it was made genuinely funny by referencing internet pop-culture that relied on hyperbole and cultural memory, and it also accurately captured the often overwhelming feeling one may have simply by surfing the web. By contrasting that feeling to the simple and sleek feeling created when the commercial cuts to the man in the all-white room, Squarespace effectively demonstrated the values of its brand and how it would make your website stand out from the rest of the internet.

TOW #16 - IRB: Section Two of The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Having completed The Autobiography of Malcolm X today, which is coincidentally also Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I have both a newfound knowledge and appreciation towards the leaders and participants of the Civil Rights Movement. Although I did have some basic knowledge about Malcolm X’s life before I read his autobiography, given that I come from two African-American Muslim parents who at one time were themselves members of the Nation of Islam, I am now far more aware of the personal struggles and sacrifices that he went through to leave the mark he did. I am, however, curious as to why MLK is discussed and taught about in school so much, but when it comes to Malcolm X, he is rarely talked about, if even mentioned at all. I understand that MLK had a greater influence than did Malcolm X, but I still believe Malcolm made more than a big enough impact during the Civil Rights era to at least be referenced in history textbooks and school lessons. Perhaps it is because, unlike MLK, Malcolm did not preach that one should be peaceful while being violently attacked. In fact, Malcolm encouraged blacks to fight back if they were unjustly attacked by anyone, including police. Regardless, he was a great man and I refuse to allow his legacy to be ignored and looked over, intentionally or not.

Photograph courtesy of Wikipedia

Aside from attaining more knowledge on his life, after reading his autobiography, the greatest takeaway I personally gained was knowing the amount and degree of sacrifice one must undergo before improving oneself or becoming successful at almost anything. Additionally, it reinforced the importance of networking and the idea that it isn’t necessarily all about what it is you know, but rather who it is you know. Overall, I’m very pleased I decided to read this book and would recommend it to anyone capable of both appreciating what Malcolm X went through as well as the circumstances he was under. 

TOW #15 - Article: "The Cold Makes Us Smarter" . . . does it?

In following the trend set by what may possibly have been the number one topic of conversation this past week -- I’ve decided to do my TOW based on an article that argues, and is appropriately titled, “How the Cold Makes Us Smarter” by Time’s Allison Levine. The primary rhetorical strategies and devices used are statistics and logic, thus heavily appealing to the audience’s logos. The author also attempts to appeal to both the audience’s pathos and ethos by referring to specific situations in his own life through personal anecdotes. In fact, the very first sentence of the article attempts to establish Levine’s credibility while also functioning as an effective hook, as the sentence itself is short, sweet, and forces the reader to continue reading. “I know cold...I have climbed the highest peak on each continent (the famed Seven Summits) and have skied to both the North and South Poles -- a feat known as the Adventure Grand Slam.” In the following paragraph, she goes into detail on one particular trip that she called her favorite, which also happened to take place in the coldest place on earth. Finally, in her last paragraph after her audience is fully convinced of her expertise on the cold, Levine finally gives up the one piece of information that she based her entire statement on. She states that because glucose is needed for the brain’s mental processes, and because cooling off when it is hot uses more glucose than warming up when it’s cold, that the cold is better for the brain because there is more glucose available for it to use than when its warm. Logically, her statement makes sense. A car will run longer if it has more fuel. However, I believe her article was ineffective because it fails to establish the specific importance of glucose and actually how much more is used when it’s warm than when it’s cold. If she had provided these two pieces of information, I would have found her article far more convincing.

TOW #14 - Editorial: Journalism in China

For this week’s TOW, I decided to read and analyze a Washington Post opinion article titled “China’s Wrongheaded Crackdown on the Media” which was written by the Washington Post’s Editorial Board. “Wrongheaded”, while its meaning may be more or less obvious, means to be misguided or to have bad judgement, which is essentially the argument that the editorial attempts to make about China’s leaders with regards to the freedoms is allows its journalists. The authors first attempt to do this by juxtaposing two different quotes about journalism: one from the Soviet Union in 1976, and the other from a study guide for Chinese news reporters and editors. Contrary to its more common use in which juxtaposition is used to point out differences, this editorial uses the rhetorical device to highlight some scary similarities. Both quotes stress the importance of being loyal to the governing political party and its leaders. The editorial’s authors continue to state that the Chinese president, “Has been championing slogans and ideology from Mao’s day and the pursuit of a Marxist Utopia, a pursuit that led to great suffering for hundreds of millions of people.” After making these two comparisons, it is apparent that the editorial suggests that because China is currently using old tactics similar to those that led to the Soviet Union’s demise, and strategies that originally led to “great suffering for hundreds of millions of people”, that China will see the same results due to using the same “outdated” plan. At the end of the editorial, its authors suggest a change in policy for Chinese President Xi which is that he should, “Let China’s journalists prepare themselves for tomorrow -- to get in sync with the globalized information revolution -- than to retreat behind the red banners of yesteryear.” All in all, I found the editorial to be effective in arguing against the current policy for Chinese journalists by mainly relying on the similarities between China now and the era of the Soviet Union/Mao Zedong.

A protester holds aloft a banner calling for freedom of speech near the headquarters of Southern Weekly newspaper in Guangzhou, Guangdong province on Monday.