Responsibility threatens our way of life.

My Bucket List

Night, by Elie Wiesel, is an autobiography that recounts Elie’s days in a German concentration camp during the holocaust.  The holocaust represents a delicate and complex time in our worlds’ history.  That being said, I look forward to further understanding the horrors that the victims of the holocaust faced.

 Michael Dorris’, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, is a novel centered around three generations of Indian women and their different yet connected struggles in life.  Dorris writes with a fluid and emotional style that effortlessly conveys the ebb and flow of life that his characters endure.  Learning about the modern day culture of Native Americans is a subject that interests me and Dorris seems just the author to educate me on this subject.

 Emmy Laybourne Centers her book, Monument 14, around the end of the world…literally.  A group of students and a bus driver are trapped inside a grocery store as the world around them begins the slow trek downward.  I have always enjoyed apocalypse themed book for whatever morbid reason and Laybourne writes about such a gruesome event in a very riveting style.

 The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, tells the story of a friendship between two young boys in Afghanistan right as the country begins to fall into the throws of chaos.  Hosseini writes with a unique style that can most likely be contributed to his Afgani upbringing and education.  The political mess that is Afghanistan is in intriguing and somewhat understudied subject among teens today and learning more about the topic will serve useful and interesting.

 Anne Frank, a Jewish girl trying to survive during the holocaust, wrote a diary about her experiences while on the run from the Nazis that had over run Germany at the time.  WWII is a time in our history that left its mark on every individual involved, directly and indirectly and Anne Frank is one of the most well known victims of the holocaust, therefore I feel that her story is one that everyone should know.

 To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is an American classic that can be considered a timeless novel.  It tells the tale of an African American man accused of raping a young white woman in the 1930s, a time where racism ran rampant.  Harper Lee is said to have written this navel with wit and humor to lighten the gravity of the situation he describes.

 The Hitler I Knew: Memoirs of the Third Reich’s Press Chief, by Otto Dietrich, is a riveting novel that focuses solely on the individual that was responsible for WWII.  Dietrich writes with a simple and scholarly style that exposes the inner workings of Adolf Hitler’s twisted mind and enlightens the world to the complex ideology of the dictator.  This time in history was one of lies and deceit and Dietrich places us one step closer to understanding such a turbulent time period.

 John Green is an exceptional writer that captures the different aspects of a teen’s life in his various novels and I expect that The Fault in Our Stars will not deviate from his usual sense of humor and style.  The Fault in Our Stars is a novel that tells the story of girl struggling through a terminal battle with cancer.  Naturally this book falls close to my own interests and Green is also an author, with which I am familiar, therefore, it is only expected that I look forward to reading this novel.

 Sarah Dessen is a young adult fiction writer who writes love stories that can make a girls stomach turn because the novels are so overly sweet.  And yet we girls flock to her nonetheless.  I expect that, This Lullaby will be no exception as Dessen describes the life of Remy, a girl who meets a boy named Dexter that defies everything she thinks she knows about relationships.

 The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a true classic that tells the story of the wealthy Jay Gatsby and his life and love in the Jazz Age.  Fitzgerald is a well acclaimed author and his style is true to the age which he is writing about.  I expect great things from this novel that has entertained the American public since its publication.

Rebel Without a Cause: Not Rebelling Against Superficial Movies for Teens

     The 1955 film, Rebel Without A Cause  has been deemed a timeless film, a movie classic if you will.  James Dean, Natalie Woods, and Sal Mineo starred in the film directed by Nicholas Ray.  When this movie was released it was a highly revolutionary film.  It talked of love, violence, and the cruelty of teenagers.  Judy (Natalie Wood) and Jim (James Dean) were the two main characters.  Jim was the new kid who was a social outcast and Judy was "that girl" who, in the beginning of the film, was dating "that guy."  Tragically, Judy's boyfriend died in a game of chicken gone wrong.  Judy and Jim had been noticing one another from afar but with Judy's boyfriend out of the picture, the two teens were free to become involved.  Their friend, "Plato" (Sal Mineo)  was shot by local policeman because he appeared to be threatening the officers with a loaded weapon that was actually unloaded.  Judy and Jim, who both suffered from less than ideal home lives, were broadsided by the tragic death of one peer and one close companion in a very short time frame.  The film is left with an open ending, but the two teens presumably go on to live their lives haunted by the memory of their losses.
     Initially the theme of the movie is very basic and quite predictable; the social outcast that falls for the popular girl and is taunted by the popular boy that the girl is dating.  However, a twist occurs when the boyfriend is killed when he drives his car off a cliff during a game of chicken with Jim.  Jim immediately runs home after the death of Buzz.  His reaction is one of horror and sorrow for the untimely death of a fellow teen.  He also is left with a sense of guilt and feels as though he should go to the police and explain what happened, but his parents tell him to do otherwise.  This sense of responsibility that Jim portrays seems like a somewhat idealistic characteristic as opposed to a realistic one.  Judy reacts with tears, a very typical and predictable response from a teenage girl.  In the movie, Jim is the only character that is a truly developed character.  The reactions, emotions, and thoughts of other characters are viewed only in a very limited sense.  The grieving process for Buzz is a very short one.  It seems as though he is forgotten in just a few short hours after his death.  He is not mentioned after Judy, Jim, and Plato go to the abandoned house on the hill.  And only Plato's death at the end of the film seems to extract an appropriate emotional and psychological response from the characters.
     The whole movie moves very quickly from one scene of misfortune to the next.  No teens life is ever this plagued by death, violence, and parents that don't define the word responsible.  It loses any sense of realism in the unrealistic course of events that snowballs out of control and in the poor responses by the characters.  The movie itself lacks a sense of depth because each character, with the exception of Jim, is defined by a stereotype followed by a broad generalization.
     Rebel Without A Cause is no different then teen movies in today's society.  It sends a message of "anyone that isn't popular rules" and "even then your life still sucks".  The only difference in the 1955 version of a teen movie and the 2012 version is that there is no mention of sex or drugs and there is a very limited amount of foul language.  Even with these commendable cultural differences in movies from fifty years ago, the plot line, theme, and character development of films directed toward teenagers are shallow and basic at best.

Playing the Tupperware is Now an Art: Style Analysis of Dave Barry’s Bang the Tupperware Slowly

            Dave Barry mocks the over glorified profession of music and dance in his satirical article, “Bang the Tupperware Slowly”.  Barry uses contrasting tones, satire, and similes to subtly encourage his readers to understand that music is not a career to be impressed by.  His blunt usage of these rhetorical strategies creates a sense of pathos that is not obvious at first.  Barry merely hints and alludes, through his humorously sarcastic tones, that a musical career is not one to be proud of. 

            A tone of importance and suspense is created when Barry regally recounts his short lived Tupperware fame.  At the Tupperware party where Barry’s song was originally unveiled “the song was a large hit,” though “after the party it pretty much languished”.  As Barry is describing the unfortunate fact that his Tupperware song was a “one hit wonder,” he creates a tone that is far too serious for the occasion.  By creating such a tone, Barry is able to show his audience what a joke he considers musicians to be.  However, Barry does this in an inoffensive manner by creating a humorous atmosphere through his stark contrast in the serious tone of a not-so-serious situation.  When Barry and his band arrived at the “Tupperware convention center [they] became a tad nervous” for several reasons: many more people were in the audience than they had thought there would be, and they had never practiced as a band together, because they were too busy “deciding that [their] band outfits should include sunglasses.”  Barry once again creates a tone that does not match the situation at hand in an effort to describe the mediocrity of the music industry.  By creating this contrast of tone he points out that too many artists today sacrifice their music for their image.  He also depicts the music profession as an easy endeavor that does not require skill or practice or rhythm.

            Regardless of what article Barry is writing, his main rhetorical strategy is always his use of sarcasm to degrade the ways of society in some form or fashion.  Barry says that “[he] chose the members [of his band] very carefully”, however, Barry goes on to say that the members were chosen based on “their ability to correctly answer the following question:  Do you want to go to Orlando at your own expense and perform before Tupperware distributors?”  This sentence alone shows just how sarcastic Barry is in his writing.  He chooses his band members based on their loose wallets and not their ability, thus casting even more doubt on the issue of the legitimacy of the music industry.  Barry mainly achieves this sense of illegitimacy through his sarcastic wit.  As the “Urban Professionals [get] off the stage” Barry feels that their heads are already inflating and “that unless [they] hold their egos in check, keep this thing in perspective, we could start having the kind of internal conflicts that broke up the Beatles, another very good band.”  By saying that the same type of internal conflicts are beginning to occur in Barry’s Tupperware band that broke up the Beatle’s, Barry is using sarcasm to belittle the dramatics of a very famous and successful band.  Barry is also using sarcasm to undermine the talent of the Beatles by calling them a “good band” and putting his own band in the same category as the Beatles. 

            Similes are also a main staple of Barry’s subtle argument that the musical profession is a profession that has been made a sacred cow.  Barry doesn’t just degrade the musical profession; he also degrades the dance profession by comparing Lou, one of the “dancers” in Barry’s band, to a “Krispy Kreme jelly doughnut”.          By calling Lou, an overweight, middle-aged man, a dancer, Barry once again mocks an occupation that is overvalued by our society.  True dancers spend hours and hours practicing their techniques and timing, but Barry effectively undermines these efforts with one stroke of his pen.  Barry also compares Lou and Tom, the other “dancer” in his band, to the “The Temptations” as they “[wave] their Tupperware products in what they presumably thought was unison.”  The Temptations are a highly respected and well known singing group that broke through many barriers in their time through much hard work and dedication.  By comparing two uncoordinated goofballs like Lou and Tom to such a successful group, Barry cannot claim that he is doing anything but ridiculing the music profession.

            Barry has a definitive style in all of his writings and this article is no exception.  Through a fluid use of contrasting tones, sarcasm, and similes Barry belittles the careers of musicians and dancers.  Not only does Barry successfully claim, in a humorous manner, that the music industry is something to be mocked, he also questions the integrity of society.  Society is responsible for the over glorification of these careers and professions, therefore it is society’s ignorance that has led to such a meaningless past time becoming as idolized as the music industry has become.         

Kill 'Em! Crush 'Em! Eat 'Em Raw!

1.  John McMurty's essay begins with a personal anecdote about the results of playing sports-especially football-since childhood.  When he can no longer ignore his physical condition, he seeks treatment and is hospitalized.  How does the anecdote lend credibility to his argument?

John McMurty establishes ethos through the use of his anecdote by stating the nature of his occupation.  He explains that he bagan to notice his injury "when [he] reached for any sort of large book".  This statement alone signals to the reader that McMurty's job involves a great deal of academic knowledge and understanding since he is consistenly recquiring the assistance of "large books".  McMurty goes on to establish his specific occupation - "a philosophy teacher at the University of Guelph".  This job title establishes the fact that McMurty is a highly educated man, thus establishing a sense of credibility or ethos.

2.  Paragraphs 5-7 compare and contrast football and war.  Is this comparison convincing?  How does the comparison appeal to logos?

McMurty creates a convincing comparison between football and war by stating the similarity of their languages and their principles.  McMurty does not ask his ausience to take his word for either.  He gives specific examples of the common vocabulary shared between war and football.  "Field general," "long bomb,"take a shot;" front line," pursuit," "good hit," and "the draft" are specific examples that McMurty provides his readers.  He also provides his readers with examples of the common principles.  These examples include such things as, "mass hysteria, the art of intimidation, absolute command and total obedience, territorrial aggression, censorship, inflated insignia and propaganda, blackboard maneuvers and strategies, drills, uniforms, formations, marching band, and training camps."  This argument appeals to logos by presenting facts and fact based opinions.

6.  Consider the language of football, especially the words shared by the military.  What sports other than football have a militaristic side?

Not all sports have a militaristic vocabulary but they do have a militaristic mind set.  Every sport, from ballet to football, recquires extreme self discipline, respect for leaders, ability to perservere, and many hours of dedicated practice.  In sports and in the military there is no quitting, no whinning, and no disrespect.  Some of these militaristic motifs are good things, however, some are not.  High school athletes should not worry for their physical safety as much as an officer in the army. 

7.  Who is McMurty's audience?  Is it necessary for the reader to understand or care about football in order to understand what McMurty is saying about society?  Explain.

McMurty is writing to everyone in society but could possibly be specifically writing to the parents of high school athletes.  The reader does not have to specifically care about football in order to grasp the purpose of McMurty's article.  He is explicitly writing to speak of the nature of society to let a game become more than just a game and society's willingness to allow young men and women to become injured in the name of the gam.