TOW #14: Written Text- Homophobia in the World of Sports

As 2013 concluded it seemed to be another great year in the sports world, however with the recent news regarding Chris Kluwe and his former coaches some are having second thoughts on how great this past year was in sports. This article addresses the homophobic attitude that seems to be present in several sports across the board, even though there have been many courageous statements from famous athletes who have told the media that they were indeed homosexual. One athlete, Chris Kluwe was interviewed after his head coach clearly stated his anti-gay beliefs during practice one day.

The article is written by Hudson Taylor, a coach who also gives back to the community by helping those who are having a tough time admitting they are homosexual, therefore he sees how cruel the world is toward these individuals on a daily basis. With the context being today, the article is suggesting that possibly this next year of sports can be successful on the scoreboard and also for every athlete, no matter their personal beliefs. The audience is not a specific group, however with it being CNN it can be inferred that it is for the public to know because this issue is found throughout the world, not just in sports.

The purpose of the text is to inform the public of this issue of the sports world in which homophobia is present among many of the coaches, players, and even some fans. Taylor uses compare and contrast as a rhetorical device in order to achieve her purpose by using two different athletes in his text, quarterback Aaron Rodgers and previously stated Chris Kluwe. By comparing Rodgers (An elite quarterback) to a not so famous punter who supports same sex marriage, it helps Taylor with her purpose because Rodgers is loved by millions yet Kluwe is not known by many and Kluwe is more of the average player who is actually a free agent as of now. Therefore the league and fans show support against homosexuality, which is the main purpose that Taylor is trying to inform his audience in his text.

Former punter for the vikings Chris Kluwe, who was targeted by his coaches for believing in same sex marriage. The link to this article can be found at http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/05/opinion/taylor-sports-homophobic/index.html?hpt=op_t

TOW #13: Visual Text- War Propaganda

In the early 20^th century, America was soon to begin two world wars that would propel the United States forward into years of supremacy following the wars. However, In order to be successful in both wars and ensure victory, America would need to win through a powerful army. In 1917, this poster was distributed throughout the streets of the nation in attempt to have more men enlist in the military.

Since the context was 1917, World War I was almost over, however since the war ended in 1918, it is evident that this poster could have caught the interest of average Americans who wanted to fight for the nation and fight for a common cause: The United States. With the speaker obviously being the American government, or American military, they are attempting to have more men enlist in the Army as the nation endures a world war, and unknowingly, will enter one in another two decades.

With the picture of Uncle Sam as the character, it connects nationalism as he not only is pictured in the poster, but also he is looking right at the reader with solid eye contact. Notice how the “you” is also capitalized, as if the speaker is focusing on the fact that “you” are the quality individual this Army needs, and they will be ecstatic to have a soldier such as yourself. During times such as this there were members of the army, however in order to win a war it is a national effort, therefore these propaganda posters targeted the average individual who was not completely dedicated to the war effort. Henceforth, the simple diction flat out says, “I want you” in capital letters, which is right to the point and almost a demand, and since these are crucial times for our country it shows that Uncle Sam needs you, but moreover America needs you right now. Finally, the last phrase suggests how and individual can take action and join the military, therefore I believe it achieves its purpose because it suggests why a man should join, and how they can do this. 

TOW #12: IRB- Eating Animals

Jonathan Safran Foer’s Eating Animals, is a detailed investigation about how we “truly” obtain our food that we devour on a daily basis. While his purpose if to inform the public about the “sketchy” procedures of the food industry, and it definitely is under the radar of the public’s knowledge. With his book being the basis of an investigation, the audience is obviously and average American, mostly because in order to inform the public about what our food industries are doing behind our backs, he needs to inform the common man about this issue.

Foer uses a variety of devices in order to make this investigation more appealing to the common man, because for the most part, many Americans with the typical background would much rather read a text with some humor and facts rather than a textbook. Foer accomplishes this with the use of humor. For example, when describing an issue regarding with the chickens we eat, Foer calls this process “bullshit” and even follows it up with the Webster’s definition of Bullshit. Not only does this spice up his text and add some humor, but it allows his to achieve his purpose because it shows how this issue is absolutely ridiculous since we continue to eat, but not even know “exactly” what we are actually eating. 

Foer also uses the device of personal anecdotes to achieve his purpose. With starting the story with a personal anecdote of his personal predicaments regarding food such as him deciding on becoming a vegetarian or not, the audience will now feel that “common experience” since almost every person has that one scenario regarding their food choices as well. This device Foer used was crucial for his text’s success as it was the almost “hook” for him to switch from his personal experiences that would attract the audience, and then guide him to informing them about his purpose. Overall, I think Foer is definitely achieving his purpose so far (I’m only halfway done the book), and I think he orchestrated both an informative, but also interesting book about the food we eat everyday. 

TOW #11: Written Text: The Struggles of a Vegan

Mark Bittman, a writer for the New York Times wrote in his text published this past September about what it truly takes to be a Vegan, and titled it “Going Vegan, if Only for a Day”. With the context being within the last two months, the text is applicable to our society as many of our people are changing their lifestyles and diets in order to improve their health as they limit eating meat, or totally avoiding any animal products.

The audience is slightly unofficial as it was released to anybody with access to the website, however it was most likely intended for anybody who has debated on becoming a Vegan; and they would be attracted to this text based off its title. The purpose of the text is to not only inform on what a Vegan is, but to illustrate the difficulties a Vegan faces on a daily basis in order to maintain a diet that does not come in contact with any animal products.

Bittman achieves his purpose through the use of humor, which he exhibits at various times in his text.For example, he states, “I could live off pasta with vegetables for weeks” which is obviously sarcastic, but helps him achieve his purpose of informing his audience that being a vegan limits your options, and that may affect your health worse than just eating these animal products.  Also, Bittman’s title connects to humor, and ultimately his purpose, “Going Vegan, if Only for a Day” because it shows that many decide to join this lifestyle yet do not realize its near-impossible commitment and struggle vegans have finding foods not made form animal products.

I do believe Bittman achieved his purpose of informing the world what it really takes to become a Vegan, and with the use of humor to balance out his commanding tone to bring this ideal to the realities of potential Vegans, I think Bittman successfully informs his readers that this lifestyle is beneficial, yet is no easy task for those enduring the consequences of completely eliminating animal products from their diet.  

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/18/dining/going-vegan-if-only-for-a-day.html?_r=1&

TOW #10: Written Text: Kennedy Conspiracy

With the Kennedy Assassination anniversary only a few days ago, there were definitely many documentaries on TV about the possible conspiracy theories about JFK, therefore I decided to analyze a written text regarding the assassination for this week’s TOW. This CBS article has no author, however after reading the text it is obvious that the persona of the speaker is somewhat of a reporter since they tie many reports of the conspiracy theories together into one essay about a possible conspiracy of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Also, the article consists of reports from the last 50 years; thus, the purpose of the essay is to discuss possible conspiracy theories of the assassination because the government report that was given decades ago of the assassination of JFK is believed to be a lie by a large population of America.

In order to appeal to the logical reasoning of the audience, or logos, the author of this text compiles many different theories of the assassination. With a variety of sources that consist of everything between a book on JFK’s life to a computer animator who recreated the scenery of the assassination, it is obvious that this text truly a plethora of different ideas merged into one text, where the audience now has the option to read every theory and then compare them to ultimately pick one in which they believe could have happened.  Also, the parallel structure of the article enhances the text because each paragraph is its own conspiracy theory, therefore at the end of the text not only will the audience be introduced to many different theories, but the idea that the report given by the government is most likely a cover up.

I believe that this article definitely achieves its purpose of making the reader at least acknowledge that there could possibly be a conspiracy because with the inclusion of other sources it definitely enhances the text. While there are many quotations fro other related sources, the text maintains its own analysis and also statistics that make it different from every JFK article.  

                           

                              

TOW #9: Visual Text: Gun Laws Political Cartoon

With the recent debates in response to our gun violence, there has definitely been questioning about the second amendment to our U.S. Constitution. I found this image online, and it is clear that the subject of this political cartoon is in regard to the debate over our second amendment which allows American citizens the right to bear arms. Through the use of juxtaposition, the left side of the image has a militiamen from the colonial era of America, and on the right side of the image there is a 21^st century citizen holding an enlarged machine gun. The use of juxtaposition clearly shows the differences in the two society’s that are centuries apart, and how the need for this amendment hundreds of years ago is not really applicable to our modern society.

During the context of the 1700s-1800s, Americans needed guns to protect themselves from the British presence still within America even after the American Revolution, in addition to just having guns for protection. Because a majority of citizens had their own weapons such as guns, it was added into our Bill of Rights to protect the Americans right of the ability to own a gun for their own safety. On the right side of the image the juxtaposition proves to be effective with the statement “hundreds of rounds per minute-man” that clearly expresses the idea that the second amendment is only creating issues because it is not a necessity in country to own a gun anymore. Finally, the question on the top of the image suggests logos, by saying “what side makes more sense?”. Thus, the audience of the image is anybody who still believes in the justification of the second amendment, in addition to those without an opinion because this is image is persuading that audience in believing that the second amendment is not needed in our modern society.

I believe this image is successful in reaching its purpose through the use of juxtaposition to showcase the belief that our society has outgrown this amendment and change is needed in order to keep up with our modernized society. 

This image can be found at

http://www.startribune.com/opinion/187225401.html

IRB Introduction Post #2: Eating Animals By: Jonathan Safran Foer

With my second IRB selection for this year, I have picked "Eating Animals" by Jonathan Safran Foer. This book caught my attention back in 8th grade, when my Language Arts teacher Mr. Towarnicki had introduced me to the author Foer. I never thought about reading it until it was recommended by me on Shelfari, but now I have a chance to read this highly credited investigation by Foer.  I read other books by Foer such as "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" however I have never read a nonfiction book by Foer. This text is about an investigation into the meat industry and factory foods, therefore it caught my eye because I am interested in learning about how we obtain the foods we eat. I remember Mr. Towarnicki old us that this book will change our perspectives on the foods we eat; thus, I am excited to learn about the meats we are eating that we are told are healthy, yet we may regret eating these foods after learning about how they are processed. The audience for this text are average citizens of America, particularly parents because Foer wrote the book after having children and realizing these processed meats are not as healthy as they are preached by others in our society. The purpose of this book is to inform the world about the “unknown” processes the foods we eat undergo while being transferred from grower to consumer, and if Foer is successful in achieving his purpose, I will think twice about the eating the foods Foer mentions in his book “Eating Animals”.