TOW #10: "A rose place in a bullet hold through a window in Paris"

     Placed in bullet hole through the window of a Paris restaurant attacked during the November 13th terror attacks, the card tied to the rose asks "In the name of what?". The French people have been wounded beyond comprehension, losing over 100 of their citizens to suicide bombings and shootings in just one terrible day. The world has reacted by partaking in the “Pray for Paris” movement through social media, demonstrations, speeches from political leaders, along with shining red, white, and blue tribute lights, but no one is quite sure what to do about the horrific incident. Why did this happen? Why would people do this? In the name of what? Pascal Rossignol captured the essence of these questions in his photograph published in an ABC article. The note, written in average handwriting on a simple piece of paper, utilizes a rhetorical question while evoking pathos. People want answers for why the lives of their innocent fellow citizens where shattered like the cracked window. In addition, the strong metaphor of the rose amongst the tragic destruction spreads a strong message. Despite the ugly scar of terrorism now looming over France and other parts of the world, people will continue to have hope, fight against violence, and live beautiful lives despite the actions of crazed extremists. One does not have to speak French to understand this metaphor, which is why Rossignol addresses his message to the entire world. He intends to make people aware of the tragedy in France, the damage, the loss. But Rossignol also wishes to spread the unbreakable spirit of the French people and other peoples who have suffered similar attacks. The image calls for an end to the meaningless violence while also shouting that, despite the horrors people are facing because of terrorism, they will not let themselves be so consumed by fear that they cannot see the beauty in things anymore. With this simplistic yet powerfully striking photograph, Pascal Rossignol was able to perfectly capture the effects of the Paris attacks. 

TOW #9: "Local Teen Quits Club That Would’ve Been Tiebreaker In Admission To Dream School"

     An article published by The Onion September 22 of this year, "Local Teen Quits Club That Would’ve Been Tiebreaker In Admission To Dream School", the satirical news source mocks the college admission process high school students applying to college much go through. Nationally renowned for their wit and biting parodies of more serious issues, the article reveals how students are expected to have overwhelmingly busy schedules or else they will not be able to get into the school of their choice. The pressures modern day high school students feel are displayed in a bitterly humorous way, appealing to young adults who have or are going through the process, as well as informing older readers of the impossible standards todays student have to work for. The article employs mock seriousness saying, “local student Matt Reynolds, 17, reportedly decided this week to quit a club that would have set his application apart from others and secured his admission to his dream college”, while including an outrageous hyperbole worded as an understatement. The irony only grows throughout the piece, asserting later that the student’s “note to the club’s faculty advisor saying that he would no longer be attending meetings had, in essence, made the admissions officers’ rejection decision for them”. Such sarcasm emphasizes how ridiculous admissions expectations are, and how kids have to kill themselves with insane schedules to even have a chance at their dream schools. A direct quote for the student, Matt Reynolds, is included saying, “I guess I’d rather spend some time hanging out with my friends before I head off to [an undesirable second-choice] college” once again employing satire to show how high school youths have no time to have a healthy social life. It is sad how students lose the last few years of their childhood between school, homework, and a plethora of extracurricular needed to get in to good colleges. This article points out the negative impact it has on the lives of young people, as well as how ridiculous the standards are. The Onion was truly able to capture the flaws in the college application system. 

IRB Intro Post #2 - "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"

Written in 1969, a time of great advances in the African American civil right movement, Maya Angelou's renowned autobiography "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" rocked the nation. It tells her childhood, and all the struggles Angelou had to overcome at a young age to become the successful individual she is today. Themes of racial persecution, self esteem, coming of age, and feminism play huge roles in this profound journey. A book that sheds light on the issues individuals held back by racism and stereotypes have to overcome, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" exemplifies the fighting spirit of American underdogs.

TOW #8: IRB "Blink" (part 2)

The second half of Blink, by Malcom Gladwell, was just as interesting and elaborately detailed as the first. Gladwell is able to fuse his fact attaining skills learned from being a journalist with his clear and exciting writing style to produce a piece that serves as a real eye opener to his audience. Curious minds can gain so much from this book, which uses incredible studies along with other facts, examples, and situations to explain the human mind. Now that technology has opened up so many avenues to knowledge, scientists are able to uncover many things that mankind could never imagine being able to understand. Gladwell, through the medium of Blink, takes all of this groundbreaking information and connects the dots so that anyone with a desire to learn about something so amazing can attain a firm grasp on the intricate subject. The aspect of Gladwell’s book is his employment of layman’s terms rather than using advanced scientific jargon that would go over the heads of the vast majority of his audience. When explaining different terms, Gladwell thoroughly breaks things down so true understanding can flow easily along with his book. When explaining how snap judgements can lead people to the wrong conclusions, Gladwell employed a famous event, “the Diallo shooting”, and explains how it relates to the point. He says, “The Diallo shooting, in other words, falls into a kind of gray area, the middle ground between deliberate and accidental. Mind-reading failures are sometimes like that. They aren’t always as obvious and spectacular as other breakdowns in rapid cognition. They are subtle and complex and surprisingly common, and what happened on Wheeler Avenue is a powerful example of how mind reading works – and how it sometimes goes terribly awry” (Gladwell 197). Bedsides his use of simple, colloquial language that clearly communicates his conclusions, Gladwell also includes oxymorons such as “deliberate and accidental” to represent how complex the idea is. In his attempt to share his theories and the great thought of others in a way that a common person could comprehend, Gladwell’s well known book Blink flawlessly achieved its purpose.