TOW #7

This is a campaign ad created by the Web Design Core as part of their campaign to end smoking. The picture depicts a women holding a cigarette, the cigarette smoke forming into a noose around her neck. The bottom of the ad reads, "Kill a Cigarette and Save a Life. Yours. " The author of this ad used metaphors, dark color tones and relatablility to convince the audience to stop smoking. The author used the metaphor of the smoke as the noose to express the high costs of smoking. It expressed that even though it may not seem like it, smoking over time can lead to death. This appeals to pathos, evoking fear and sadness in the audience of smokers. Any one who smokes does not want to see that they are essentially killing themselves. Along with this, the author uses dark color tones to set the mood of the ad. By using only black and white, it tells the audience that it is a serious topic, and the white smoke stands out against the black background. Alone witht this, the ad is very relatable. The person is a normal looking person who anyone who smokes could see themselves as. Along with this, the sentence at the bottom reads "Save a life. Yours" By using yours, and emphasizing it by making it its own sentence, it stands out to readers. It shows them that this ad is made for them, and that if they continue to smoke then they will end up like the person in the picture, killing themselves. The authors effective use is very convincing in getting people to quit smoking. I don't think you can go as far to say that she got everyone who saw the poster to stop smoking, but I think many people who saw this poster and were smokers were greatly effected by it. 

TOW #6

               Hannah Greenwald is a High School student from New Jersey, who's blog was published in the Times of Israel. Hannah's article was about an experience she had with an Uber driver. Hannah is Israeli, and her driver was a Muslim. The beginning of the article discusses the numerous tensions between the two groups, and summarizes a recent killing of Israelis. She explains her hesitation when the app informs her that her driver will be Mohammad, but she proceeds with the ride anyway. Once she was in the car, Mohammad started friendly conversation with her. Eventually, it came up that Hannah was Jewish. However, instead of Mohammad being hostile to her, he was immensely intrigued by her religion. They both began discussing their religions, informing one another on the similarities and differences, and what they thought was interesting. Greenwald even speaks the small amount of Arabic she has been learning for him. Throughout the piece, Hannah Greenwald uses dialogue to appeal to pathos in order to prove to her audience that society should not judge a person based on stereotypes that were given to their religion, ethnicity, etc. Towards the end of her story, she writes,
 "“And here, people think we’re all terrorists. When they see my name, Mohammad, they don’t want me to drive them"
And at that moment my heart broke for him and his people.
“Why do you want to learn Arabic, anyway?” he went on to ask.
“Because I don’t think you’re all terrorists.” I responded.""
This dialogue triggers similar feelings that Hannah experienced in the audience. This helps put the audience in Mohammad's shoes, and have them realize that the stereotypes society has put against him are unfair. Hannah, who's 'people' have been persecuted by his 'people' has no trouble understanding this. She knows that just because he is Muslim means he has prejudices against Jews. This is very important, because if Hannah can get past the stereotypes, then society can too.
           As a Jew myself,  I easily connected with this piece. I have heard the common stereotypes, and it is hard to grow up in a world surrounded with negative groupings to grow up unbiased. However, luckily I live in a part of the world where I do not need to worry about being attacked for my religion. This is why Hannah's piece spoke so much to me. It was able to express the necesity for learning to understand other religions. If both sides approach this learning with an eagerness, rather than skepticism, then there should be no conflict. I think a new generation with Hannah and Mohammad's attitudes can be a start to ending the tensions between religions.

TOW #5

One of the most controversial topics in America is gun violence. In an article written by Timothy Egan for the New York Times, he takes a new approach on who should be held responsible. He begins his article with a criticism on the political approach to gun violence. He mentions many political figures, and directly attacks their responses to the issue. Once he establishes his view on the politics of the issue, he moves on to the main point of the article. He believes moms are the ones who are truly responsible when it comes to gun violence. Egan is able to argue that moms should be responsible for gun violence by using real world examples. The author believes that a major part of the reason mass shootings happen is that the mothers of the shooters give too easy access of guns to their sons. Egan references multiple real life examples of shootings where he believes this can be the case. In reference to the Sandy Hook shooting, he writes, "Can we blame the mother of Adam Lanza, who let a mentally disturbed child arm himself to the teeth just before he slaughtered 20 children and six adults in Newtown? The home was an arsenal, supplied in part by the mother" (Egan para. 8). Referencing real life occurrences appeals to both ethos and pathos. By including an example like Sandy Hook, Egan establishes his credibility. The majority of American adults, which is his audience, have heard of this shooting. This reference is bound to get their attention that the author has some sort of idea of what he is talking about. It also applies to pathos. The references of shootings themselves stir emotions within readers, but Egan brings it one step farther by accusing mothers. Everyone has a mother, and many feel relatively protective and close to their's. Trying to put part of the blame on mothers can either make feel more connected to the issue, and understand the importance of good parenting, or create a defensive reaction, people being offended at the accusation of a loved one. Personally, I understand the logic behind Egan's reasoning, but I do not believe that if the mothers of shooters such as Adam Lanza did not have guns in the house, then they would not have occured. Of course, if his mother knew he was mentally disturbed, she should not have allowed him any sort of access to guns. But that does not mean the shooting is her fault. Lanza could have gotten hold of a gun some other way. Maybe not that day, but definitely at some point, and a shooting still would have occured. 

TOW #4

         The first words Laura Hillenbrand writes in the book Unbroken pull the reader in. Before the book even began, her dedication was adressed to "The wounded and the lost" (Hillenbrand). Immediately I was intruiged. Next came the preface, which jumped right into the middle of the story, telling readers how Zamperini had been stranded among miles of ocean for 27 days. The second page of the preface had me on the edge of my seat, for she wrote how they were finally discovered by a plane, after almost a month of barely surviving, only to find it was an enemy plane, who began to shoot at them. That was how the preface ended. The next page was Part I, talking about Louie Zamperini's childhood. By including such an intruiging preface, I was eager to read on. This is a stretagy the author uses throughout her book. By including a large amount of suspense in Unbroken, Hillenbrand engages readers and demonstrates that people can overcome the hardest obstacles in life and achieve greatness. Because she uses so much excitement and suspese, Unbroken reaches a very large audience. It is not limited to only people who enjoy war stories, because this biography is much more than that. It tells the personal struggles of an individual, and the crazy events in his life. It can appeal to anyone who is old enough to understand the language.
         Louie Zamperini, the person Unbroken is based around, is a main demonstration of someone who was able to overcome obstacles to reach greatness. The beginning parts of the book focus on his childhood, before he was even part of World War II. As a young child, Louie was the face of misbehavior. He continuously robbed stores and people's homes for food, got in fights with other kids, and made trouble at school. This went on for years, with his parent's and teacher's numerous attempts to tame him having no affect. Most people began to give up hope for Louie, expecting him to grow up a failure. However one day, his older brother Pete, marched into the principles office and demanded his brother an opportunity on a sports team. He said he believed that Louie would stop his behavior if he began to recieve positive reenforcement rather than the negative punishments he had been recieving his whole life. Pete convinced Louie to join the track team. The first race Louie ran, he came in last, and shamefully tried to quit the team. But Pete urged him to continue, making him train countless hours a day. Soon, Louie was the best high school track star there was, breaking records left and right. It wasn't long until he was racing for a spot on the olympic team. Hillenbrand writes, "With heads thrown back, legs pumping out of sync, Louie and Lash dove fo the tape. With just a few yards remaining, Lash began inching up, drawing even. The two runners, legs rubbery with exhaustion, flung themselves past the judges in a dinish so cloes, Louie later said, "you couldn't put a hair between us'" (Hillenbrand 26). The suspense she created in this sentence not only kept the readers engaged and curious to see who won the race, but showed how far Louie had come. 20 pages earlier, Louie was a trouble maker with no hope for a future. Now he was one of the most beloved members of his town, and was head to head in a race with Lash, the best runner in the nation. Not to mention that Lash was 26 while Louie was a mere 19. Hillenbrand utilizes the use of suspense in her writing in order to create a sense of desperation in Louie, and to show how he can overcome obstacles. Although I have not finished the book yet, it seems very clear that this style of writing will be consistent throughout the book.

Zamperini and Lash in the final qualifying race for the Olympics