AOW #3- Political Cartoon

This political cartoon depicts illegal immigration as a growing issue in America. The artist, Kevin Tuma, is a well renowned political cartoonist who draws for CNS News (a well-established conservative news website). The context of this piece is causal because in this generation, more immigrants are entering America illegally per year. The purpose of this cartoon is to address America's leniency on illegal immigration, and how it is growing each year.  Kevin Tuma accomplished his purpose by including a historical element- the Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty, the icon of freedom and opportunity for immigrants to come to America, has a shocking expression on her face when she sees the "tsunami" of people entering the country. Tuma drew this to show that even the Statue of Liberty is astounded by the superfluous amount of people entering America illegally. The audience of this piece is the legal citizens of America who are angered by the large number of illegal aliens entering their country and taking up their job opportunities. The rhetorical elements in this piece are logos because it shows a quantitative amount of illegal aliens coming to America per year and ethos because it establishes credibility of the highly recognized and historical Statue of Liberty. Also, some visual elements include the placement of the tsunami being larger than the huge statue as she looks up at it, and the contrast of the dark cloud on top symbolizing death and bad situations.

"Immigration Cartoon by Kevin Tuma - Political Immigration Cartoons - Immivasion - Immigration Invasion." Immivasion - Immigration Invasion. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2011. <http://www.immivasion.us/cartoons/kt_tsunami2_w.html>.

AOW #2- Texting Makes U Stupid

This article argues the obsession teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 have with their cell phones. The author, Niall Ferguson, is a professor of history at Harvard University and a professor of business administration at Harvard Business School. In addition, Ferguson is a researcher at Jesus College, Oxford University, and Stanford University, which shows his high level of credibility. The context of this piece is causal because text messaging has been brought about by interaction between today’s generation and the past. This piece focuses on a rhetorical question that is the main purpose of this passage: how will the “civilizational illiterates” compete against America’s global rivals? The author’s intention is to propose the topic of text messaging as hindering teenager’s education, for they are reading less in their spare time and losing important knowledge from books. The audience for whom this piece is written is intended for parents of teenagers who are addicted to their cell phone, and have a high interest level on this topic. The rhetorical elements in this piece include ethos, pathos, logos, and paradox. The author accomplished his purpose because he established credibility by admitting he is guilty of text messaging, however he redeems his credit by stating that he reads books, which shows the reader that he has a high knowledge of how books stimulate the mind. Also, he proved his point by using statistics in this article. 

Ferguson, Niall. "How Will Today's Texting Teenagers Compete?" The Daily Beast. Newsweek, 11 Sept. 2011. Web. 16 Sept. 2011. <http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/09/11/how-will-today-s-texting-teenagers-compete.html>.

IR Choice

Title of Book- Outliers
Author- Malcolm Gladwell
1st. Break- Page 3-68
2nd Break- Page 69-115
3rd Break- Page 116- 176
4th Break- Page 177-270
I chose to read Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell for my independent reading because my aunt had previously read this novel last year, and she found it to be the most intriguing book she has ever read. The tidbits she told me from this book seemed to boggle my mind, and I knew I wanted to read this. With strong curiosity, I decided to delve into the world of social psychology with this novel.When given the opportunity to read this book in school, I decided to take it very quickly. I am eager to begin this book and see how it will change my perspective on success and the world surrounding us.

AOW #1- Woman's Quest to Avoid Mirrors for a Year Raises Questions of Body Image

This article is about a UCLA graduate student, Kjerstin Gruys, whose goal is to prove how significant appearance is to the lives of women. After battling with anorexia for over a decade and living in an image-based society, Kjerstin decided to challenge herself by resisting to look at mirrors for a whole year. The context of this article is prompted by a trend among women. With today's widespread media, women are being more influenced by the images they see of celebrities and an increasing number are beginning to obsess over their looks.

The audience of this article is intended for high school and college students who, during this stage in their lives, believe that beauty is necessary for survival in our society. The audience can connect to Kjerstin Gruys because she is a graduate student who dealt with similar issues about her image. The author's purpose for this piece is to make other women think about how much of an impact beauty has on their lives. The author effectively used a few rhetorical elements such as the Appeals, a metaphor, a hyperbole, and irony. Bonnie Rochman accomplished this purpose because she provided personal experiences about Kjerstin Gruys that allowed the audience to connect on a deeper level. 

This article came from the health section of TIME Magazine, which is a very well established and global magazine. Bonnie Rochman, the author, writes regularly for the health section and travels globally to report the news from different countries.

Rochman, Bonnie. "Woman’s Quest to Avoid Mirrors for a Year Raises Questions of Body Image – TIME Healthland."TIME Healthland - A healthy balance of the mind, body and spirit. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Sept. 2011. <http://healthland.time.com/2011/09/08/womans-quest-to-avoid-mirrors-for-a-year-raises-questions-of-body-image/>.