AOW #16

 Peanuts cartoon by Charles Schulz: http://www.lixohumano.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/brown-sad.jpg

In this cartoon, Charlie Brown once again displays his tendency towards disappointment.  He listens to a song that evokes sad memories, however, even in his glumness he chooses to listen to the song again. 

Rhetorical elements include non-sequitur and appeal to pathos.  It uses non-sequitur because Charlie's last statement does not seem to logically follow his previous words.  It is strange and unexpected that he would like to listen to the song again since it makes him sad.  There is also the use of communal memory, because everyone who has been truly sad understands what Charlie feels and acts this way.

The context includes the Charlie Brown comics.  One who is familiar with the series knows that Charlie Brown is often a very pessimistic boy.  In other words, he is often down in the dumps.  Further context would include the experience or scenario Charles Schulz draws upon.

The author's purpose is perhaps to share an experience, and to relate to the audience, which is most likely his readers.  He wants to create a sense of sympathy and empathy.  This works because he has made good use of communal memory. 

IRB: The Audacity of Hope

The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama

Barack Obama writes about the beginnings of his career in government: the obstacles he had to work around and the harsh reality of politics.  He includes personal reflections on the current state of politics as well, in which he thinks has gone off course.  While partisan politics may have worked at one point in time, Obama suggests that it has become inefficient.  Furthermore, he writes about his early conversations with everyday Americans and how we can change our politics.  Obama's moderate tone and intellectual consistency makes him seem very level-headed.  By avoiding extremes and backing up his claims with honest personal experience, he opens up his readers.  Other rhetorical elements include dialogues from his memories, qualifiers and some historical references.

Barack Obama is the 44th and current President of the United States.  Before he became President, he was a community organizer for a rough part of Chicago and also Senator of Illinois.  He is of mixed heritage: his dad black and his mom white.  He attended Columbia University and Harvard Law School.

In Obama's first memoir Dreams from my Father, he managed to remain very honest about not only himself but his observations.  It is this element that made him very respectable.  However, that was before he became a well-known politician.  Now, critics are interested to see if he can maintain that same integrity.  Barack Obama acknowledges this and that is part of his purpose as the writer: to show that he has not lost touch.  Therefore I think Barack's audience is mainly his supporters and even skeptics.  Another purpose he has is to promote healthier politics.

AOW #14: The Art of Listening

NY Times article by Henning Mankell, best-selling author

After spending nearly 25 years traveling back and forth from Europe to Africa, Mankell distinguishes key differences between Western and African culture.  One of which is sharing, but the main one is listening.  As Mankell eloquently puts it, the reason we have "two ears and one tongue is that we have to listen twice as much as we speak."  He also goes on to explain the different styles of rhetoric used between Westerners and Africans.

The context includes basic differences between Africa and Europe.  It also includes a bit of background knowledge on the author, who has spent a worthy portion of his life in Mozambique.

Rhetorical elements include compare and contrast.  Mankell juxtaposes the traditional linear European style of writing with the anachronistic African approach of writing.  He also does a lot of reflection, which comes from his memory and experience.

The author's purpose is to share important insights from his travels.  He wants to make evident the key part of story-telling in humanity and instill the idea of "listening" into people.  In this way, he can pass down his learnings.  I thought what the author had to write was rather interesting.  I think just his experience and worldliness credit his observations.
 

AOW #13: In Search for Alien Life

TIME science article written by Michael Lemonick, a science writer who previously wrote for Discovery as well as Science Digest

The article is about different ways of categorizing life on other planets.  Since the Kepler telescope has recently discovered more than 2000 other planets in the universe, there must be a way to somehow anticipate what kinds of life can be found.  The first standard is EMI, which is Earth-based and used to find life similar to that on Earth.  The second is PHI, which is much looser in its restrictions.  It is very open with how different types of life can sustain different conditions.

The context includes the theory that there may be other forms of life in the universe.  Earth is perhaps not the only planet lucky enough to possess such livable circumstances.  Context also includes recent findings and breakthroughs in space research.

The author uses a conversational type of writing.  It is as if he is casually yet professionally talking to us.  This is evident through such elements as humor, rhetorical questions, and speculation.  Other rhetorical elements include scientific terms such as EMI and PHI.

The author's purpose is to update readers and those interested about the search for alien life.  Being someone who has always been interested in mysteries and aliens yet knows little about them, I thought this article was very interesting.  The simple discovery of water on Mars (which I did not know about) made me consider a whole new range of possibilities.