TOW #3 - Why I Let My 8-Year-Old Use Swear Words

     This article's uncensored title (in contrast to the one on TIME.com) was "I Let My 8-Year-Old Drop F-Bombs - And So Should Every Other Parent." It gives a pretty clear picture of the ideas to follow: the author has written this article to convince other parents that his controversial decision is a good one.

     Published late this summer, Tom Burns wrote the article after struggling with his daughter through some tough times. Burns is a respectable author, considering his writing has been featured by names such as TIME and the Huffington Post, and still the best ethos for this article comes from his experience as a parent. So he establishes ethos with vivid storytelling that also appeals to pathos.

     The article starts, "My 8-year-old kid has had a rough year. She's struggled with anxiety, school, friend drama, and her first experiences with orthodontia. Third grade has been much, much crueler than expected" (1). Immediately, the reader feels sympathy for both the parent and child. Then Burns juxtaposes that gloomy introduction with a shocking statement: "to instantly cheer her mood… I let her say "f---" occasionally" (2). Burns knows this isn't the norm of parenting; he knows that the whole article is rather provocative, so he goes full steam ahead and bluntly states the main point. His directness is effective because each point cuts straight to the reader.

     He also addresses the obvious counterarguments to letting a child swear: "I’m not giving her license to use those words to hurt other people. I’m letting her use those funny little taboo curses to express hurt, fear, and frustration in a way that hurts no one, in a way that makes her feel special" (29-30). His logic works well. Though I still don't completely agree with him, but I certainly respect his thoughtfulness in being a parent.

     Although the article's simplest purpose was to convince parents that letting kids swear is a way of "commiserating," it goes beyond that. Burns challenges parents to think deeper into the intentions and effects of each action by a parent or child. He turns what could have been a superficial, touchy topic into a thought-provoking investigation into parenting.

TOW #2 - Unmatched

     A few days into the 2015 U.S. Open, a set of Gatorade commercials were released featuring star tennis player Serena Williams. The lead video, titled "Unmatched," is based around a short clip of Williams as a young girl. At the start of the commercial, a young Serena is asked, "If you were a tennis player, who would you want to be like?" The video then transitions into her professional career, featuring clips of major victories and struggles, portraying her as a history-maker. The video concludes with Serena's response, "Well, I'd like other people to be like me," before fading to a black screen with the Gatorade logo and the tagline "Win from Within."

     The ad, timed with the media attention of the U.S. Open, gives publicity to both parties. Gatorade gets support from the best women's singles player in the nation (and at times in the world), and Williams gets some nice airtime with another crucial tournament. Most simply, the ad promotes Gatorade's sales and Williams' name - with that, the audience is athletes and athletics-admirers everywhere.

     However, it goes further into the promotion of a mindset built for success, an idea of self-driven perseverance. The main clip implies that Williams' ambition and determination, even as a young child, is what ultimately got her to where she is now. Showing Williams as grounded - with struggles, hopes, and victories - appeals to an unlimited audience. Perhaps, it's most aimed towards the younger ages, encouraging a fearlessness to go after what they want. In doing so, both parties build their reputations: Williams as a role model and Gatorade as a company that cares about its athletes.

     Ethos is immediately established by the fame of both Williams and Gatorade, logos by the use of Serena Williams' expertise to bring viewers to support Gatorade. An appeal to pathos is created by dynamic storytelling. We see Williams go through the best and worst of emotions. We see her as a confident young girl who isn't afraid to dream big. We see her as a successful professional athlete, passing on the wisdom she has gained over the years. The commercial is one minute of drama and realism that effectively fulfills both parties' purposes.

IRB Intro Post #1

My first book will be "Just Kids," a memoir by Patti Smith. I was initially drawn to this book because of its subject - romantic, dreamy, and edgy all at the same time. After I flipped through a few options, I chose "Just Kids" because it seemed the most appropriate - written well and fairly challenging, but less daunting than the brain-busting scientific jargon of option B and the textbook-sized option C. I'm excited to go on this journey with intriguing main characters and an unfamiliar backdrop.

TOW #1 - The Great Unease

     Roger Cohen is currently a writer for the New York Times, though he spent many years working and travelling through Europe and the Middle East. His real-life experiences in conflict zones - and his works on war and conflict - likely helped build the perspective he shares in this article.

     Cohen explains how society's obsessive materialism leads to a general "unease" and unhappiness that should not be in our lives. In making his argument, the main analogy used is that of the airport, which he compares to a "jewelry [store]. After the Sapphire members boarded came the Ruby members and then the Diamond folk followed by the Platinum people" (3). Cohen uses polysyndeton to emphasize the utter ridiculousness that comes from a concept of material "success."

     Cohen also uses antithesis to show the confusion created by such a world. He writes, "They have access to everything and certainty about nothing" (1). Cohen emphasizes how with so many options, people no longer know what is supposed to be the best. He describes a scene in which people ran "helter-skelter between 'fast-track' and ordinary track, seemingly unable to establish which was moving faster, tormented by the thought that they might somehow be losing out" (6). The imagery concretizes the idea of unease, shown by Cohen to stem from a fear of losing one's status and material wealth.

     From there, he develops the counterargument: material gain isn't nearly as fulfulling as emotional and spiritual growth. Once you stop worrying so much about losing a few spare minutes or dollars, you suddenly have more time and resources for others - "for acts of spontaneous generosity, for surprise visits, for being sidetracked, for idle conversation, for the gestures that forge community" (8). He lists these actions (enumeratio) to emphasize their importance, so often overlooked.

     The article is aimed towards everyone, though most simply the usual readers of the NY Times Op-Ed column. From those who guiltily recognize themselves as the airport-dashers to those who pride themselves on rejecting all things materialistic, the author manages to provide each reader with a take-away. The author accomplished his purpose, even if not to convince a reader of a life transformation but just to consider stepping back to think.

Aria: A Memoir of A Bilingual Childhood | Richard Rodriguez

     Richard Rodriguez was born into a Spanish-speaking family. Though that may have acted as a handicap at the start of his schooling, he graduated from Stanford, Columbia, and UC Berkeley; his writing can now be found in well-respected magazines around the world. This essay is a memoir that focuses on the role of heritage and family language in the development of individuality. The essay is a protest against bilingual education (cited as a way to preserve heritage and identity) - Rodriguez writes, "while one suffers a diminished sense of private individuality by being assimilated into public society, such assimilation makes possible the achievement of public individuality" (par. 38). His basic argument is that simply isolating one's heritage is not enough to create a unique identity, but rather children need to feel comfortable in public society before they can build their own identities.
      Rodriguez also describes how his assimilation into public society naturally led to a separation from his family life. He explains, "As we children learned more and more English, we shared fewer and fewer words with our parents" (par. 32). This use of antithesis highlights the idea that leaving behind one's private identity is necessary to build one's public identity, and therefore grow up. This message is hinted at in the beginning: "I turned to see my mother's face dissolve in a watery blur behind the pebbled-glass door" (par. 3). The use of imagery makes the statement stand out, and foreshadows his separation from his parents.

     Rodriguez successfully argues his position without forcing a straightforward persuasive essay, instead using pathos and narrative to support his argument. I personally connected with the essay because I am bilingual and do have a "home" and "school" language. Although I do not remember quite as much of a struggle between the two, I can empathize with the resulting separation from parents and the preference to keep the two languages separate. I agree with Rodriguez's argument that making the student feel comfortable in society is necessary to build a respectable identity. And one of the best  ways to do this is, of course, to make them learn the public language.

The essay discussed above was taken from Richard Rodriguez's autobiography, "Hunger of Memory." The book reflects upon his simultaneous acceptance into the intellectual community and separation from his family culture. (Source: Amazon)



Bop | Langston Hughes

     Langston Hughes was an American poet, novelist, playwright, and social activist. Of African-American and mixed descent, he strongly encouraged pride in heritage and race. The essay was written from the point of view of a white man having a conversation with a colored man named "Simple." At the start, they were discussing Be-bop music, a style of jazz known for a quick tempo, musical complexity, and impressive improvisation. Beyond that, Simple explained the division between races as a consequence of different histories and experiences. Simple observed that white musicians failed to mimic the soulful rhythms of Be-bop, purportedly because they lacked the same history of struggle and suffering. Simple explained, "That's where Be-bop comes from, beaten right out of some Negro's head into them horns and saxophones and piano keys that plays it" (Hughes par. 24). When the narrator reacted with surprise, Simple added, "That's why real Bop is mad, wild, frantic, crazy - and not to be dug up unless you've seen dark days too" (Hughes par. 30). The first example, which used a polysyndeton, concretized the idea that music is pulled from one's life experiences, in this case the suffering of an entire people group. The second example, which used an asyndeton, explained why Be-bop music was so special - "white folks do not get their heads beat just for being white" (Hughes par. 26).
     Hughes was able to provide insight to "white folks" on the daily struggles that stemmed simply from being born a colored person, and to present a different angle on the issue. The whole essay was written very well, working through subtext and colloquialisms to convey a greater meaning. Hughes concluded the essay with this clever use of parallelism: "’Your explanation depresses me,’ I said. ‘Your nonsense depresses me,’ said Simple" (Hughes par. 31-32). Yet again, the very storyline itself - the narrator's troubled reaction to Simple's ideas - wholly exemplified Simple's argument.

The photo shows Dizzy Gillespie, a famous Be-Bop trumpeter. (Source)

The Bloodiest Battle of All | William Manchester

     William Manchester was an American author and historian. Following in his father's footsteps, he served in the U.S. military as a Marine during the Pacific War. The essay was part-memoir and part-tribute, published in response to a memorial for the soldiers lost in the Battle of Okinawa. He reflected on the difference between how war is viewed by front-line soldiers versus everyone else. He wrote, "I could not reconcile the romanticized view of war that runs like a red streak through our literature... with the wet, green hell from which I had barely escaped" (Manchester par. 5). This initial horror slowly developed into an understanding - he realized he could never feel anything but hate towards war itself, but could still honor the friends he fought with.
     The essay vividly described his experience in the battle of Okinawa. One paragraph of imagery was almost too graphic: "The mud beneath our feet was deeply veined with blood. Blood is very slippery. So you skidded around... fighting and sleeping in one vast cesspool. Mingled with that stench was another - the corrupt and corrupting odor of rotting human flesh" (par. 29-30). This quote barely even discussed the actual fighting, only the surrounding circumstances, yet it was able to hit me right in the gut. It made me feel just a little bit of what he and the other soldiers must have felt. So he did his job of both admonishing and educating the general public that war is far from glorious, as well as providing fellow soldiers with statement to reflect upon.

     Although the essay was a bit confusing at first, with an organization that was almost chronological but not quite, it made an impact. One sentence effectively used an antithesis: "they sacrificed their futures that you might have yours" (par. 38). This quote struck me as the exact reason why we honor veterans and lost soldiers, whether by building a monument or writing an essay.

The "Cornerstone of Peace" is a monument dedicated to the remembrance of the Battle of Okinawa and the soldiers lost in the battle. More than 200,000 names are inscribed on the monument. (Source: Flickr)