Through the Wire of the Brewery

Throughout this semester we have responded to a variety of blog prompts. Given that this is my last blog for the class, I figured it’s time to throw in something a little different. Below is my attempt to compare the Milwaukee Brewers lineup to characters from HBO’s The Wire. I know it’s not perfect but here’s what I got:

Rickie Weeks (Michael) - Blue-chip prospect with the talent that everyone wants, starting to realize it
Corey Hart (Det. Sydner) - Doesn’t wow you, but does a little of everything to help the team
Ryan Braun (Marlo) – Running the show, the boss
Prince Fielder (Avon) – Number two in Milwaukee behind Braun, used to be the man
Mike Cameron (Lt. Daniels) – Just look at him
Bill Hall (Bunk) - “I’m just a broke Ass Mother Fucker with a big dick”, has that swagger, nicotine addiction
J.J. Hardy (Carver) - Sucked at the beginning, became an all-star, now a solid player
Jason Kendall (Prezbo) - Enough said
Yovani Gallardo (Chris Partlow) - Striking dudes out, doesn’t matter who
Ken Macha (Tommy Carcetti) – Behind the curtain pulling the strings
Brad Nelson (Jay Landsman) – 0-22 this year, fat, enough said
Craig Counsell (Lester Freeman) - Old guy that does solid work, everyone underestimates him but he comes through in the clutch

There are some major characters missing so I’ll throw in some other players from around the league

Jonathan Paplebon (McNulty) - Just watch him celebrate a postseason victory, get him a beer, I needed at least one member of the Red Sox in here
Barry Bonds (Omar Little) - A one man team with very few allies

That's All Folks

As I sit writing this final blog post, it has just dawned on me that the semester is indeed over. My table is littered with books and papers in the now nearly empty college library as I cram for my last final exam of the semester. In a little over six hours from now I will officially be on summer vacation. So yes, the semester does seem to have concluded and as I am now removed from the semester I can look back and reflect. I enrolled in English 201 in the hopes of improving my writing for the likelihood that I will be attending law school two years from now, and believe it was a great course to do that. Somewhere between that first day, after which I strongly considered the possibility of dropping, and seeing a completed portfolio in the drop box I learned a great deal. Whether the blogs, compositions, cohort work, final project, or in class discussions helped me the most I'll never know. However, I do know that having a class that allowed for the open flow of ideas, opinions, and arguments made for an outstanding semester overall. I hope everyone else enjoyed the semester as much as I did, and was able to benefit similarly. With that I'm going to return to the stack of books sitting in front of me and hopfully add an exclamation point to the real end of my semester tomorrow morning.

Thats all folks. Good luck with life!

One Last Note

Upon entering the classroom on the first day of classes, I was unsure of how this class would go. I had never had a class involving rhetorical analysis and the process behind creating an effective argument. This idea scared me a little when I first heard it as I felt that I, with more of a math mind, would probably struggle to learn new concepts involved in the writing process. As the semester wore on, however, I have learned to like the discussion of rhetoric and how it applies to various forms of public argument. As we progressed through the material early in the semester I began to realize how rhetoric affects every aspect of our lives-something I never really considered before. This idea began to intrigue me as I saw not only people who understood exactly what it meant to use ethos, pathos, and logos together for the kairos, or opportune moment, but I realized also that there are many people who just don’t seem to understand this. There are people who when trying to argue a point fail to realize that others might not come from the same situation that they are in cause a disconnect between them and their audience; even some advertisements seem to fail when it comes to creating a meaningful and memorable advertisement for certain products or companies. I have learned that realizing how to frame your argument for the situation at hand is one of the most important things behind an effective argument.

This class provided a great opportunity to discuss ideas presented in books and articles as well as granting us the opportunity to create our very own public arguments. I’ve enjoyed these discussions mostly because of the different perspectives people had on the various topics. Also, I have to admit that when I first heard that we would be blogging as part of our grade I was slightly worried just because I had never really done it before. From this experience I have found that I didn’t mind writing these blogs and for some of them even enjoyed doing so. All in all, I feel that this class has taught me a lot and I look forward to taking that knowledge and using it in the future. So with that I would like to thank everyone in the class and Christine for making it such an enjoyable one. Good luck to everyone in the future!

Closing Time

It’s been a long and rough journey throughout the semester, and the last thing I thought would keep me sane would be an English class. I have never been fond of the subject and made an effort to avoid it altogether, so far with a great deal of luck. Nouns, sentence structure, alliteration…none of it has ever done it for me. Don’t get me wrong I love a good book as much as the next guy, but I never understood the point of really spending a great deal of time on the little things. Numbers have taken the place of words for me. Which is clear to see from the major I have chosen. They just seem to much easier to make sense of. 2 + 2 will always = 4. But in the language department there are so many different ways to make something correct. I guess I need an objective answer to all life’s problems. Anyways, where was I? Oh yes. Every one of my other classes this semester has involved number crunching. And as much as I do love it, one can only look at a balance sheet or calculate a weighted average cost of capital for so long. A little after the midway point of the semester all the numbers and formulas from all my business classes started to blend together. I felt like I was losing it. But then I remembered that twice a week for 90 minutes each I could escape from the world of Wall Street. It was a privilege to listen to someone lecture, or better yet, lead or guide a class through a topic with such enthusiasm. There are few people in the world that truly love what they do, and your (Christine) passion for the subject is second to none. Thank you for helping me keep my sanity in this semester. It seemed like just yesterday I was learning the basics of how to rhetorically analyze a work or public argument, and now I’m writing my final blog. As Semisonic says in their song “Closing Time”, “Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end.” This is the end of the beginning of my education on public discourse, and I look forward to taking this new found knowledge of rhetoric and applying it to the new beginning and the next stage of my educational career.

Signing off, S.T.L.

How i Write

There are some guidelines that I try to follow whenever I am writing. At first I just try to get down all my ideas about the given subject that I am writing about. I just write whatever comes to my mind without paying attention to where it will fit later in the process. If I’m writing a sentence and something else pops into my head I’ll leave the initial sentence and start writing about the thought I just had. I will usually end up with a bunch of 2-5 sentence blocks of thoughts organized in no particular order. I do separate each idea by a bunch of lines, but that is about it for organization. This may seem chaotic and problematic to most people, but it is my way of brainstorming. I have trouble concentrating on things for a long period of time, so I have to skip around and then come back to my initial ideas (I have been doing this for all my blogs including this one).

Once I have all those blocks, I can mix some together, or use them as the bases of paragraphs. I mix and match until I have the base for my essay. Once I have this base, I can delve deeper into each of my thoughts to create the actual substance of the essay or whatever I am writing. I have not always used this process, but over time I have developed it, and it works well for me so I will continue to use it.

As far as rules, I don’t have any. Other than following the process described above, I just do what feels right. The rules I use are constantly changing as I go through different experiences and improve as a writer.

The Writing Tips I Live By

When I think about the rules that I implement in my writing, I find that being as simple and concise as possible really leads to clear, effective writing. When starting to write I like to outline my thoughts to make sure that I have some direction in my writing. If I think of a good line or topic sentence, I’ll make sure I jot that down so ideas will have a solid starting point. From there, I like to focus on a strong opening, with emphasis on making my argument very clear and organized. I feel like the opening paragraph to any piece of writing is the most important. It sets the tone for the entire piece, and is the best opportunity to spark the interest of the reading audience.

From there, I like to write whatever comes to my mind based on the topics of the paragraphs that I decided upon when outlining. When I was in tenth grade, a creative writing teacher advised us to write ‘shitty first drafts’ when starting to write. I like this idea because it takes pressure off of me to worry if every sentence is perfect or if every word is right. There is always time to go back and get everything right later. Getting core ideas down first gives writing a strong foundation that helps give credit to one’s writing.

The only other basic rule that I try to follow is not so much of a rule as it is a guideline: writing is a process. Writing can always be revised, edited or proofread. Language is such that there is usually no consensus for what is ‘perfect’ writing. It can always be changed, improved upon or even scrapped altogether. Good writing needs to be reflected upon and evaluated to make sure that each word is necessary and pertinent. Things that don’t fit or are forced in can be removed. I find that if I take my time and my words reflect well on my thoughts, I’ll be happy with what I write.

Best Writing Advice

As I’ve mentioned before in class, my favorite writer is the sports writer Rick Reilly. The man has been voted national sports writer of the year 11 times, so when he offers any sort of advice on writing it’s a good idea to listen. When being interviewed on how an upcoming writer could take his job Rick Reilly said, “[his] No. 1 goal in writing is to never write a sentence you’ve already read.” Now this may seem rather simplistic for such an accomplished journalist, but by following this style he makes outrageously interesting analogies, comparisons, descriptions, and the like that make his writing nearly impossible not to like. In that same interview he went on to say that, “[he sits] there for an hour sometimes trying to find another way of saying 'he beat the crap out of him.” Granted, Reilly is getting paid millions with the sole responsibility of turning in one page long weekly column for the back page of ESPN the Magazine. He doesn’t have guidelines or constraints, but has reserved for him the back page of one of the most widely circulated magazines in the country. Therefore, spending an hour on each sentence still makes for a pretty good work week.

The advice definitely has influenced my writing, especially when the writing is of a similar genre. Clearly there are many scenarios where writing a somewhat bland but succinct and to the point sentence is completely necessary. However, if creativity is involved in the piece I find it incredibly useful when both writing and editing papers to pick apart various things I’ve written and find a way to say a very common phrase in a unique manner.

It may seem strange with all the English classes I’ve taken and grammer I’ve been taught that the one piece of advice that really stuck came while reading about sports. However, this little bit of advice from my favorite author is foremost in my mind while writing any sort of piece requiring creativity.

Writing Tips

When I look back at the teachers that I have had and the advice that I have been given over the years on how to improve my writing style, I realize just how different some of my teacher’s writing advice has been. Because of the wide array of advice I have received from these teachers, I feel that I have benefited largely whether it be from seemingly insignificant advice to important concepts.

The first few lessons I find to be essential to understanding language and how to become a better writer revolve primarily around the conventions of writing. One idea, which one of my teachers required, was to take a piece of your writing and use four different colored highlighters to mark the different sentence styles that you wrote (simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex). This process allows you to adjust your paper to allow for variety in sentence structure, which helps to make your paper flow better. Another idea is to make a list of common overused words and phrases, such as these are, this was, is, etc. These words and phrases specifically often create passive voice phrases which can take away from the messages you are attempting to convey with your writing. By knowing which phrases you, as an individual, overuse, you can go through your paper after the fact and replace these phrases to create a stronger paper.

Other important words of advice are to write your paper, step away from your writing and do something else, and then come back to revise your paper. By doing this, you can clear your head and either get a new perspective when you look back at your paper or possibly rework sections with better and more focused ideas in mind. This piece of advice has help me in particular because when I attempt to write and revise all at the same time, my paper ends up rather choppy sounding because I don’t necessarily revise it as a whole because I’m too focused on the paper I just wrote.

One final piece of advice that I got was that when you begin a paper, you have to first of all know your audience and the hook that audience’s attention. To enforce this concept, this teacher would only finish reading your paper’s if the intro was enticing to the audience in question; this seemed harsh at the time, but now I realize that if you are writing a paper and the person reading it isn’t interested in it from the beginning, either they are going to abandon reading it or their mind is going to wander as they read it. Because of this, and introduction can be one of the most important way to capture the audience’s attention.

Though these pieces of advice only scratch the surface of all of information I have been given over the years about writing, these pieces of advice seemed to stand out in my mind as to what have helped me the most with my writing.

Our project focuses on the reputations of the University of Wisconsin-Madisoin. We look at the student perceptions, the administrative goals, and the national reputations through the lens of academics and social life. Our research plans include student surveys, traditional research, administrative interviews. Our end result will be a website directed at anyone and everyone who is interested in the topic.

The Engaging Strategies of Instructors

When considering the question of what engages me, the first thing that came to mind was instructors. Which professors are able to present information in a captivating way and how are the able to do this. Regardless of material, some teachers just seem to have an extra something that keeps my attention.

One of the best teachers I've ever had could have taught a class on toilet plunging and I would have gladly attended. The actual classes I had with him were in highschool called international relations and AP European history. I think the single greatest cause of his success was passion. It is difficult to hear someone speak about a topic that they are extremely and expressively passionate about and not also find it intriguing. By showing this personal interest in the material and letting his audience feed off of his interest, this teacher was able to teach an extremely difficult course while remaining one my favorites.

Another great instructor I had was during my freshman year in a class on American government. The element that he brought to the table was humor. This professor was able to take a topic that was at times dry (even to a person interested in politcs such as myself) and make the class enjoyable through the avenue of humor. He didn't stand up infront of class attempting some sort of standup rutine but rather was able to break up the hour and fifteen minute lecture enough to keep it enjoyable and stimulating. This allowed for him to balance the necessary ethos of a professor with keeping the class interesting.

Yet another individual who fit this mold of a successful instructor, I had for a criminal justice case my sophomore year. Her lecture style was to present information as is fairly standard, but then to always make sure to relate that information back to the audience. Although this seemingly shouldn't be terribly difficult to do I have found that few lecturers make the consistent effort to do so. By making this effort she was able to keep students actively involved in the lecture which encouraged them to pay attention.

Clearly there are many different strategies for keeping people engaged and inherently some people will be better than others at this. However, each of the aformentioned instructors do an exceptional job at demonstratting one way to do this. Passion, humor, and relation to the audience were each particularly successful at keeping me engaged.

Presentation Tips

Oral presentations can be very effective when presented in a way that engages the audience. How does the presenter do this; is there a set way to make the audience interested in your presentation? I feel that there is no one answer to these questions. There are several techniques one might use in order to help their presentation go smoothly and be heard by members of the audience. What I feel are some of the most important of these are to actively promote participation, to depict data and facts in a visually appealing way, and to relate the presentation to the audience on a personal level.

In order to actively promote participation, the presenter can use many techniques. One of these might be to ask questions to the audience in order to create a response to data presented. This not only forces the audience to look at data being presented but also causes them to actively think and process the data being presented as well. Also, I think that it helps if the person giving the presentation makes it known that he or she can answer questions; this way, if someone in the audience is confused about the topic or information, that person can clear up that confusion before listening to new information that might rely on what they are confused about.

Second, by using tools such as Power Point, information is presented in a logical and organized fashion. This helps the audience to follow along with the presentation. This does not mean that all information being presented should be put on a presentation and simply read from the screen, but by including a basic outline of ideas presented, the audience gets an idea of what the presentation will cover. Also, using graphs and charts when presenting data allows the presenter to draw conclusions. Instead of simply rattling off numbers with little to no significance to the audience, a pie chart or bar graph might help to show trends and differences between groups.

Finally, if the presenter can find a way to relate their topic to the audience, they will get a much more engaged audience. This often depends on the topic being discussed. How the information pertains to the audience? Does it, or will it, affect the audience in some way? Is the issue pressing and in immediate need of attention? Why did you choose this as a topic? These and several other questions similar to these can help to find a way for the presenter to peak the audience’s interest in their topic.

Experience unique to those who experience it

Can language capture the enormity of experience? The answer to this question has to be no. Experiences, especially enormous ones, are unique to those who experience them. You cannot capture the enormity of a jaw-dropping experience with words, that’s what makes the experience so powerful. Language can give the audience some idea of the experience, but ultimately the experience belongs to the people who were there.

Look at the difference between going to a playoff football game and reading about it, listening to it, or watching it. Reading about the game after it happens gives the reader no idea about what happened. Sure they have the outcome and a few important plays, but they can’t experience the game like those who were there. Listening to the game gives the audience a better idea of the experience, but it is still not close to the real thing. The audience depends on the reactions of the commentator to visualize the events. Watching the game on television gets the audience closer to experiencing the real thing because they can now see and hear the events. Still, watching the game is different from being there. In the end, the only way to capture the enormity of an experience is to be there in person. Language can bring the audience closer to an experience, but there is no substitute for being there.

Using a football game is a simple way to look at this issue, but the same principles apply to any experience. For an experience to be real it comes down to the five senses: see, hear, feel, smell, and taste. There is no way to truly experience something without all of these. The problem with language is that the audience has to use their imagination because they are not present for the experience. The audience will have their own experience but it won’t be the same as the writer or speaker. There is nothing wrong with this though. In the end the enormity of an experience is unique to those who experience it.

Language Can Never Fully Capture Experience

Just a few short weeks ago I was in Cancun, Mexico for spring break. I was staying in an all inclusive resort located right on the beach. The first morning there I awoke much earlier than I had planned. I threw the covers off, rose to my feet, and walked out onto my fifth floor balcony. Never have I seen a more beautiful sight. The sun was beginning to rise out over the Gulf of Mexico lighting up the sky in bright oranges and golden yellows. The waves were crashing elegantly into the beach. I could practically feel the mist from the ocean spraying on my face. It was gorgeous.

I called my grandmother later that morning to tell her how the trip had been going. I tried to explain to her the beauty I had seen that morning, but I could not find the words to explain that sight in as much detail as I wanted. I don’t believe there are words that would do such a sight justice. I explained the view to the best of my ability, and she seemed to understand, but I knew I had only scratched the surface. There seemed to be an infinite amount of detail that I was leaving out and nothing I could do about it. It was my own experience and no one would be able to fully understand the feelings and emotions I had at that particular moment in time.

Personally I believe language will never have the ability to capture the enormity of experience. It gives an audience a vague understanding of the situation, but will never truly capture the feelings and emotions of the author. Words only allow a reader to understand certain sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures, but there is no way for them to completely recreate every emotion or though running through a person during his or her own experience. You can listen to a basketball game on the radio, but no broadcaster will ever be able to give you the exact feeling of sitting courtside at that very same game. Reading or hearing about some experience is often a very good start or a gesture towards an experience, but personally I feel there are no words that have the power to recreate the enormity of a person’s experience. I’m not sure if there is some set of vocabulary, tropes, and schemes out there that has the capability of expressing one’s experience in full. Maybe there is, who knows, but I’m sure of one thing, I don’t know it.

S.T.L.

Fiction: Inherently Rhetorical

All forms of expression are inherently rhetorical. In terms of writing, regardless of whether the work is poetry, fiction, or nonfiction whether it is a biography, a novel, or short story, the author is making a public argument. Fictional writing, unlike others, provides authors with almost limitless opportunities to promote a public argument because all aspects of the story are fair game to be altered. The author is able to tailor the characters, plot, symbols, and themes to their desired message. This message, however, doesn't necessarily have to be explicitly stated and it likely won't be. However, all works without question will have a public argument in it.

In my opinion, fiction is as good a place as any to make a public argument. With nonfiction, the truth must be followed. For example, if an author chooses to write a book advocating principles of the Democratic Party through the person Barack Obama, there are definitely aspects of his life that wouldn't follow. Reality limits where an argument can be taken. There are factors out of the hands of the author, which in fiction would never happen. The author has complete control over every aspect. Every single word written, plot step, and character can be made to aide the public argument of the author.

Any work of fiction can be pointed to as an example of an author making a public argument. Whether it be an old proverb such as The Boy who Cried Wolf or The Tortoise and the Hare or a newer work it doesn't matter. The author or story teller is making some sort of public argument. It can be a moral life lesson such as in the previous two examples or an informative message or a persuasive action-evoking argument. Many times, the most effective of arguments can be made in the sphere of fictional writing.

Rhetoric in Fiction

Fiction’s ability to develop any sort of message through the plot, characters, and settings of a novel provides an easy way to form a directed argument. The advantage of fiction works over those that are based on real life scenarios is that rather than having to draw conclusions from what is happening in one case scenario, the author is able to compile many different instances into one work to develop whatever argument he or she is trying to make. For example, if an author wants to write a biography of someone who went through similar experiences as the “invisible man” in Ralph Ellison’s novel, this author would have a hard time finding one particular individual who went through these experiences in the same way that would formulate the same argument as Ralph Ellison did in this novel. This is because not only does fiction allow the author to create whatever type of situations and characters they want but also allows the author to introduce symbolism to reinforce the arguments they are trying to make.

In our class we have learned the different ways that people can advance an argument. We have discussed ethos, pathos, and logos which each can be very important in building an argument in a piece of fiction. The author can decide how best to frame the message he or she wants to get across and once the exact messages are decided upon, the author can determine how to depict these messages. Ethos and pathos are used in fiction just as they are in any other rhetorical work; authors can frame a message to draw on ethical appeals as well as on sympathetic appeals. In fiction, while atechnic, quantitative data may not be used for logos appeals as it might be used in works such as newspaper articles where the “wow factor” of brief, information-filled sound bites are used, logos appeals can still be found in entechnic, constructive styles. Ellison shows use of all three of these techniques in order to get his arguments across in Invisible Man.

I think that fiction can be a very effective form of argument. Though I have never really thought about fiction being a form of argument before, as soon as we began to discuss some of the arguments made in Invisible Man I realized how often rhetoric is used in the form of fiction works to formulate an argument. Not only are works such as 1984, Native Son, and Crime and Punishment advancing strong views and critics of societal problems, but they do so in a way with which no other medium of work could compare. By advancing these opinions in fiction, the author has full reign to develop their arguments however they want. Also, fiction works can potentially be forms of entertainment as well as forms of rhetoric; this gives these works a wider range of audiences than the more academic works might have.

Limitations on fiction works for advancing rhetorical arguments involve the basic issues such as money, time commitments, and limited audience reaches (in some cases) as well as a few limitations specific to fiction works. Because a piece is considered fiction, oftentimes people have predetermined views that the novel is just a “story”. The term fiction is often deemed to mean false and not based on reality. Just because a work is not based on a real individual and their true life story doesn’t mean that the story can’t be based around events or facts of reality. This limitation does not mean that the author’s argument will make no impression on their audience, but it cause problems with those who may disagree with the arguments made in the work because those people may simply say that since the work is a piece of fiction that it cannot be held to as high a regard as other works. If an author can get past this barrier then their argument can be just as effective, and sometimes even more so, than other forms of rhetoric.

Is Persuasion Dead?

Generally I don't like talking politics, but politics and persuasion go hand in hand. In the old days, there was no internet or television, and people did not have much knowledge about political issues. These people would go to debates, ask the candidates questions about their policies, and side with whoever had their interests in mind. Those people were genuinely persuaded. This was possible because they did not go into debates knowing the ins and outs of each candidate’s arguments.

Fast forward to 2009. Due to mass media, people can read up on issues whenever they want. By the time anything important pops up, everyone has already taken a side. At this point persuading someone from one side to join the other is impossible. Instead, politicians now focus on persuading people from their own side not to switch to the other. That’s why we have people such a Rush Limbaugh spouting out crap. He wants to get the wavering republicans from slipping into the middle where the democrats have the opportunity to persuade them. The thing is, the democrats wouldn’t persuade these people because they too are busy trying to prevent people from switching sides. Both sides are more obsessed with keeping people as far to their side as possible that they no longer even persuade undecided people.

It’s unfortunate that this is what persuasion in politics has become. That’s why anyone with half a brain realizes how much of a joke presidential debates are. A candidate is asked what he thinks about problem A and he goes on to talk about why he wants to fix problem B because problem A isn’t on his talking points. It’s total bullshit. You know what each candidate is going to say about each issue, and you know that they will deflect controversial questions and get back their talking points. The candidates aren’t worried about taking a stand and persuading undecided voters, they are concerned making sure they don’t screw up and alienate any of their supporters. Their lies the root of the problem. Politicians nowadays are more worried about losing support than gaining support from someone who is wavering. Persuasion has become a defense instead of a weapon as it should be.

Those are the facts of life and they probably will not change anytime soon. That’s why I try to stay out of politics as much as possible. The whole system is so screwed up that it isn’t worth my time.

The never-ending argument

Upon entering my apartment today after class I found myself walking in on an epic argument between two of my roommates. “Slumdog Millionaire did not deserve an Oscar for Best Picture.” “The Dark Knight was more deserving because more people saw it and it entertained more goers” says roommate X. “No that is the stupidest statement I have ever heard.” Roommate Y responds with. “Slumdog Millionaire deserved an Oscar because it was the movie with the best writing, acting, and directing. It was put together much better than The Dark Knight.” My roommates had begun an epic battle regarding what type of movie, or in this case what specific movie, deserved to be considered best picture. Roommate X took the stand that the most popular and most entertaining movie deserves to be awarded with the Oscar for Best Picture, whereas roommate Y believed longtime movie critics should decide because they have been trained in judging movie quality. They went back and forth for what seemed like an eternity spitting off random facts. I, being the bystander who knows his roommates all too well, knew most if not all of these facts had been made up on the spot. I was getting sick of listening to such childish bickering so I asked them politely to stop. This was definitely the wrong idea.
My roommates told me they would stop if I would choose who was right. I had a strong opinion on the subject matter, however I did not want to pick a side in this argument for the fear of dealing with the loser for god knows how long. I then told them that whoever could show me evidence as to why their side of the argument was the right one is the one I would choose. Little did I know no more than ten minutes later both roommates returned with pages upon pages of printed sheets off the internet as to why their side was the correct side. I quickly realized this was a battle that could be won by no one. They both tried to persuade me to believe they were arguing for the correct side, and in their minds they both succeeded. Being the stubborn individuals they are, neither one of them would listen to the other sides facts. They just closed their eyes to their opponent and continued to push their side. It was a battle of persuasion that will never be won.
I wouldn’t call persuasion in today’s day and age “dead”; however it is becoming increasingly more difficult to change someone’s mind due to the vast amounts of information at our fingertips. If there were only one website that agreed with roommate X, the argument would have ended right then and there. However it is so easy today to locate someone that takes the same stance as you; there is no reason to change. Persuasion today is not “dead” it is just becoming a more difficult task for those to dare to address it.

S.T.L.

The Charger Hybrid - It Burns Gas

At first glance this Dodge Charger print advertisement jumps off the page. A hotrod red, powerful looking, American muscle car poses in a desert exhibiting exceptional contrast with its background. At first impression the large bolded print implies to the viewer that Dodge has combined the concepts of traditional American muscle and hybrid technology. It appears as if the marketers have successfully delivered their desired message given the constraints. Their ad uses the given space and is able to hold the reader's attention. However, it is when a viewer actually takes the time to go beyond this first glance that the ad's rhetorical message comes into question.

The ad makes several pathetic appeals. The choice to use a red car not only allows the ad to stand out, but also conveys the symbolism that a red sports car holds in American society such as success, sexuality, and power. Furthermore, the word choice used throughout the ad gives off suggestion of an emotional appeal. The words "unleashed," "power," and "torque" as well as the suggestion of burning rubber all conform to the image of the American muscle car. Furthermore Dodge's well-known slogan, "Grab life by the horns" argues that driving a Dodge, as opposed to a vehicle from some other automobile maker, gives you some sort of power or control. However, despite these appeals it should be noted that obviously driving a Dodge Charger is unlikely to give you the steotypical characteristics of someone who drives a red sports car and certainly is unlikely to give you increased control or power as the slogan suggests.

The marketers also clearly attempted to achieve an advantageous ethical appeal. The primary example of this can be seen in the overall language in the smaller text which implies Dodge's expertise in the auto industry. Furthermore, in the bottom right hand corner, there is a symbol for "five star crash test rating," "Chrysler Financial," and "buckle up." All of these, except maybe the second given Chrysler's current financial situation, go towards the ethical appeal of the accompany. The marketers want to establish, through these symbols, a feeling of good will from the audience towards their company.

While the previous appeals are extremely common in advertising and no reason for alarm, the problems with this particular ad arise in the logos of their argument. When taking a look at what is actually written in large bolded print the audience reads, "The Charger Hybrid - It Burns Gas And Rubber." This is an absurd statement! The only logical argument for purchasing a hybrid car would be to decrease the amount of gas used (either for financial or environmental reasons). The very next line after announcing the hybrid car advertises that the car "Burns Gas." Continuing reading the audience sees many references to the power of the Dodge Charger but nothing more about the hybrid aspect (not gas mileage, not anything). The closest associated fallacy would be non-sequitur, but even this doesn't seem to fit quite right. The logic of this ad is just inherently flawed. While attempting to push a hybrid-muscle car Dodge marketers simply contradicted themselves in an illogical manner.

At first impression this ad appears to successfully achieve the goals the marketers had in mind, while at the same time practicing ethically sound rhetoric. However, if an audience dwells on the page at all, the logical fallicy of the ad is right in front of them in the form of large bold letters.

Overall, this advertisement accomplishes its goal of drawing attention to the Lake Tahoe Resorts. The image draws in the reader and leaves a statement with which anyone who has ever skied can relate. Most likely, this was found in some sort of winter sport magazine which would allow the audience to relate to the thrill of the jump. With a picture that emphasizes the details of the snow flying behind the skier as well as the way the skier seems to be flying through the air with his arms outstretched, the advertisement seems like it would pop out when flipping through a magazine. The message-to experience or even just see this happening in real life would be truly amazing or as described in the ad epic.

A closer look at the description underneath shows use of repetition. This repetition, or more specifically anaphora, emphasizes the message: “Epic snowfall. Epic vistas. Epic nightlife.” This is a fair description, though it is based on opinion and not fact, because to the audience that would buy this magazine, this would be true. As explained in the advertisement, there is only one word to describe a trip like this one. Ending the description by relating the last sentence back to the picture and the one word used in it pulls the ad together as a whole; no matter what happens and how the trip is remembered it will always be considered epic, just like this picture. To emphasize this further, a period is added after “epic” in the image making the statement seem more real and concrete.

Lastly, this advertisement draws on its reputation to give it a more reliable ethos. If people have been going to these resorts and to the Lake Tahoe area for fifty years, as stated in the description, it must be a fun trip otherwise people would stop going. This indirect use of the bandwagon effect is considered fair because their message doesn’t rely solely on it. Their use of this is an attempt to show how popular the area is for tourists and explain why this advertisement should be taken seriously. In such a quick glimpse into the area, one is immediately drawn into the excitement exhibited in the image and the wording used in to short blurb to describe it creating a strong and effective advertisement.

Can we forget the past?

Whether you are reading a text, listening to a song, or watching a public speech it is impossible to ignore any reputation the author might have be it positive or negative. We as an audience are forced into looking at past actions to determine how much we should take away from the content before us. This could ultimately help or hurt the author. A speech given by a well known and respected politician will hold more weight than a speech given by a local college student majoring in political science. As an audience we would much rather pay attention to someone with a history of successful achievements as opposed to a young adult with no political background. It may even be true that the political science student’s speech is far superior to the politician’s, however we trust the politician to add to his list of accomplishments as opposed to a student with no track record. Although there is a lot to be said about someone’s reputation, it plays a far too extensive role in the way we as an audience perceive a text.

Unfortunately for someone who wishes to change their appearance, their past actions play an enormous role in defining who the audience thinks they are and what the audience expect from them. A singer with a bubbly personality such as Jessica Simpson will not be taken seriously by an audience if she chooses to cross over into the rap genre of music. She could have some of the deepest and most inspirational rap lyrics ever written, however it is difficult for an audience to overlook her previous reputation and focus solely on her current works. Audiences need to try and discount past reputations whenever possible as complicated as this may be with the ever growing media exposure around today. Reputation can be a good indicator of how credible an author is, but we must remember that people change. A person ten years ago is not that same person today, and an author’s arguments ten years ago may not even remotely resemble his current arguments. If only we could ignore an author’s reputation we could see his or her work for what it truly is. But is this something we are capable of?

-S.T.L.

What's my reputation?

It is impossible to judge someone’s ethos without considering their reputation. If I give the same exact speech as Barack Obama, the majority of the people will not pay attention to me while they give Obama their utmost attention. It’s not that Obama’s speech is any better than mine, but he has earned the country’s attention while I have not. Obama has a good reputation and I have none. Aristotle argues that when considering a speaker’s ethos, we should look at that moment, and not the speaker’s previous reputation. If we are looking to make an unbiased decision, then Aristotle is right, we should only consider the rhetoric moment. In reality, it is not possible to look at a rhetorical moment without looking at the speaker’s past actions. Human society is built off memories of the past and these memories influence our thoughts and actions. We may try to be unbiased but that is ultimately impossible. Even if we do not realize it, we are influenced by countless things. Our parents, where we’re from, our friends, everything we have experienced contributes to how we view things. Because we cannot forget the past, it is okay to be influenced by reputation, but at the same time, we have to be careful with how much we are influenced. We cannot rely wholly on a person’s reputation when looking at their ethos in a particular moment. An individual who usually makes intelligent arguments may make a dumb argument, and someone that usually makes dumb arguments can make an intelligent argument. It is up to us to balance the influence of a speaker’s reputation with what they are saying in the given moment. If we are too influenced by reputation we are no longer thinking for ourselves.

So, how much should we consider reputation and how much should we consider the particular moment when determining a speaker’s ethos? There is no definitive answer to that question. The speaker can do all they want to demonstrate their ethos, but ultimately it is up to the listener to balance that particular moment with the past to judge the ethos.