Sunday, May 10, 2009

Draft1: Comparative Essay

Darkness engulfs society as personal aspirations, and manipulation leaves their mark upon society. John Connolly and Arthur Miller in their respective works have incorporated manipulation to emphasize the presence of evil as both stories unfold. Personal aspirations and manipulation have led to society’s bombardment of evil as protagonists are left with a last stand against evil. Most importantly, all writers who have spent a number of months on a novel or play can admit to the importance of character development.

Mischief, otherwise known as the Crooked Man in the Book of Lost Things represents the main antagonist as Abigail Williams has in the Crucible. The Crooked Man is known as the manipulator of mankind as he had cost the lives of many throughout the course of his life. The Crooked Man is a person that uses manipulation toward his advantage, throughout the entire course of the story in order to get David (protagonist) to give up his brother’s name. By giving up his brother’s name The Crooked Man can live the lifespan of the young child. This process of manipulation takes place in such a way that David starts to build hatred toward his brother. The Crooked man, whose actions are all intent on the benefit of him, goes on all fours in his attempts to corrupt David. If compared closely, the Devil (Lucifer) can be compared to Crooked Man, as the devil is always looking to ensnare mankind from righteous paths. No matter how hard mankind fights against the inner devil, the devil persists to torture mankind both mentally and physically. This torture is felt by David in the Book of Lost Things, as David falls apart due to hysteria, life lessons along the way help him strengthen his clout on the Crooked Man who eventually dies.

Abigail Williams is a person of self aspiration as all her ill actions are intent on regaining Mr. Proctor for herself. “I want to open myself! . . . I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I danced for the Devil; I saw him, I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!” Abigail spent the first act worrying desperately about the possibility of being disgraced for having cast charms with her friends in the forest. Tituba's confession, however, offers an example of a way out, and Abigail takes it. She confesses to associate with the Devil, which, according to the beliefs of Salem, means that she is redeemed and free from guilt. Then, as the next step in clearing herself of sin, she accuses others of being witches, thus shifting the burden of shame from her shoulders to those she names. These show prime intentions of evil as manipulation has once again started to bring mass hysteria upon society; with these accusations even the innocent is punished. Seeing Abigail's success, the other girls follow suit, and with this pattern of hysterical, self-serving accusations, the witch trials get started. All this corruption and hysteria were because of her lust for John Proctor for whom she had once worked; this lust eventually results in her black magic in order to kill his wife Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail Williams’s clout upon society subsequent to her confession was determined to make everyone in the village pay for bad mouthing her of Adultery although it was the truth, as revealed in the following quote. “I look for John Proctor that took me from my sleep and put knowledge in my heart! I never knew what pretense Salem was, I never knew the lying lessons I was taught by all these Christian women and their covenanted men! And now you bid me tear the light out of my eyes? I will not, I cannot! You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet!”

As the darkness had grown immense, light at the end of the tunnel had helped David break through and eventually over throw evil. It takes the good to have character; having character simply means that you are honorable and honest, have integrity and are reliable and responsible. Most importantly it means that you are courageous and determined to finish what had been started by oneself and this is the side of the spectrum where David falls. Unlike Jonathan Tulvey who had seemed to lack this character, which eventually led to his downfall and corruption. Ever since David’s entrance into the new world his challenge had been to develop character, and throughout his journey David discovers the inner beauty that is within him. The unique character that David had discovered within him, helped him overcome the mental and physical temptations of the Crooked Man. “Do not judge a book by its cover,” is a common quote that everyone has heard throughout their lives, however, the Crooked Man had not understood the meaning behind this quote. Upon David’s initial arrival, the Crooked Man was convinced that his intentions would succeed; however, the Crooked Man soon realizes that it was a grave mistake and as a result loses his life.

John Proctor is the protagonist in the Crucible’s tragedy. Proctor is a good man, but one with a secret, a lethal flaw. The only light to the tragedy relies on Proctor’s statement, but that statement comes with a price as it will ruin his name; Proctor is a proud man who pays great emphasis to his reputation. By the time Proctor finally realizes that he must reveal the secret, it had been too late, and matters have gone too far and not even the truth can spear open the truth from the frenzy that Abigail had whipped up. Proctor’s immense pride and fear of public opinion compelled him to withhold his adultery from the court, but by the end of the play he is more concerned with his personal integrity than his public reputation. Proctor still wants to save his name, but for personal and religious, rather than public, reasons. Proctor's refusal to provide a false confession is a true religious and personal stand. This personal stand is the final stand against evil, as Abigail prevails and all good is lost in the trials. Society only realizes this truth once Abigail flees in the final scene, absconding with the money of Parris. Proctors presence was the only light in the play, which was immersed in darkness, and with Proctor’s tragic last stand gone astray, society had fallen to the hands of evil and the play ends a tragedy.

"Reputation is the shadow. Character is the tree."(Abraham Lincoln) Personal aspirations and manipulation are two powerful characteristics of individuals that lead to corruption. As both stories have unfolded the audience is able to realize the differences between good and evil as major events unravel the truth behind personal aspiration and manipulation. These two characteristics corrupt society although one novel overcomes this corruption, another has fallen prey.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Good vs. Evil: How does film deal with these questions?

Film deals with these questions in quite a similar way when compared to literature; the main difference is that instead of reading, the audience gets a visual. Those who read books know clearly that the concepts of good and evil are represented in a similar fashion on the big screen, however, the downfall to film is the lack of content. Most importantly the creativity aspect of literature is diminished greatly as films have visuals of the environment, settings, and characters. Therefore giving the audience more of a perspective of how the writer/director intended the story to be portrayed.

For an example in the Harry Potter books the readers have more of an imagination involved in creating the looks of characters, settings, and environments. This option of imagination is deprived when a movie version is made; however, the movie tends to give more of an idea of how the director/writers wanted the story to be portrayed. This is because there are visuals for the viewer to better understand the concepts of good and evil, but it does lack the content of detailed descriptions as the books usually contain.

In movies the concepts of good and evil are mostly portrayed as universal because the questions of good and evil are consistent between those who view the film. Even though the opinions of viewers cannot be changed by movie writers, they still try to avoid subjective content within the movie. As in books the good characters are those who usually try to save the day, although not all actions are done with a pure heart. For an example in some movies the good character saves the day, however, causes significant harm to society in the process. Although the intent may be to just save the person, the action taken may have not been the best option.

Overall, film deals with these questions in almost the same way as literature does, like I mentioned before the main difference is the aspect of visuals vs. imaginations.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Good vs. Evil: How does literature deal with these questions?

Good vs. Evil is a very common theme in literature and there are many different types of story plots and almost all of the time there is the existence of “good” and “evil.” The conflicts of good and evil are usually considered a universal aspect to human nature and are also one of the most common themes in literature. Although in real life the concepts of good and evil are universal, the same cannot be said in literature as the concept becomes mainly subjective.

Not all readers have the same opinion on which characters are good and evil, there is still somewhat of a universal belief in what is good and evil. This universal belief comes from moral values and guidelines that were learnt from childhood. Basically, good and evil is shown through the characters; however, it is shown in more depth based on certain events that show the nature of the character. Usually in literature the subjects of good and evil are more detailed and the readers usually have their own ways of depicting these concepts based on their beliefs of good and evil. These concepts are usually displayed in literature by describing the actions of characters and the events that occur after those actions.

Overall literature deals with the questions of good and evil in a variety of ways, and each reader usually has a different perception of these concepts.

Good vs. Evil: How do various religions/philosophies deal with these questions?

“Good” and “evil” are considered very vague; however, religion and philosophy are very influential towards people’s beliefs on what is “good” and “evil.” The concepts of good and evil are different to everyone and there are numerous definitions for them.

Many people know what is considered good and evil based on moral values, religion and society. Although there are many different types of religions, the concepts of good and evil remain constant throughout many of them, however, it does vary upon how people look at certain aspects of these questions. When people look at religions the concepts are defined based on holy text such as the 10 commandments, although religions may have different names for these books, the message remains constant. The main difference between these holy texts’ are the wording, in most text good people go to heaven and bad people go to hell. Religion is used as a guideline in most places to differentiate between good and evil.

Philosophy is opinions with an extent of evidence to prove the points, and is quite effective in showing the differences between the concepts of good and evil. The basic messages and ideas from philosophies are universal and often relate to religion in certain ways. The theories of philosophy are used to deal with these questions as they still are looked upon in certain situations to differentiate between good and evil.

In the end major religions and philosophies deal with questions of good and evil in the same way.

Good vs. Evil:Can evil characters engender sympathy?

Yes evil characters can endanger sympathy because many acts done by evil characters aren’t always in the intentions of hurting people, however, they do engender sympathy. As seen in many books that the average audience reads because a character that may seem like a good person may end up evil, as a result of certain circumstances. In situations such as these the evil character also endangers sympathy.

For example throughout the Harry Potter series Professor Snape seems like he’s on Lord Voldemort’s side throughout the entire series until the seventh and final book. Professor Snape was once a part of Lord Voldemort’s squad of villains, however, his love for Harry’s mother (Lily Evans) has him supporting and saving Harry throughout the course of the books. Whereas to readers Snape is seen as an evil character who is trying to cause harm to Harry Potter, but turns out that he was and is helping Harry in his quest against Voldemort. This was only revealed after his death and engenders quite a significant amount of sympathy toward Snape. Although this example may be opposite to what I had mentioned above it still shows how a character that is evil can engender sympathy because their actions were an illusion to the true evil and all that he had done was with good intentions.

Another example in the same series is in the 4th book: Goblet of Fire where Professor Mad-Eye-Moodie is looked onto as a “good” character throughout the novel. However, all his intents were on hurting Harry and giving Voldemort a chance at revenge. This is revealed close to the end of the book where Mad-Eye-Moodie was a fake and wasn’t the real deal, in fact he was a death eater (Lord Voldemort’s squad of villains). This engenders sympathy toward the professor because of his foolishness to disguise as someone who was truly a “good” person.

Good vs. Evil: Can good characters engender Judgment?

A good character can engender judgment because their actions may be acts of evil that may have not been intentional, however, provoked by an external force. Not only that good characters can also engender judgment by disguises throughout the novel showing them as a “good” character, when they are truly “evil.” No one is completely immune to the bad seed that everyone has within them and in novels it is a matter of time before it is revealed through certain actions.

For example in the movie the Game Plan, starring “The Rock” shows how good characters can engender judgment. In the movie Joe Kingman is a star football player who believes in only himself, and wants to prove to the world that he is number 1. However, certain circumstances result in him having to take care of Peyton his daughter. As a result he finds out how much of a headache it is to take care of children, in the beginning he is seen as a bad father as he leaves his daughter in a night club alone. This would draw judgment from viewers that he isn’t a responsible father If you fast-forward towards the end of the movie you realize that Kingman finally learns how to take care of a child; however, at that point she is taken away from him and as the final game of the playoff approaches Joe’s Game Plan is shattered. Realizing her mistake his daughter rushes to the game after a half had already passed to find her father injured, however, she motivates him to get back in the game and they end up winning. This movie is an excellent example how good characters engender judgment; the actions of Joe Kingman early in the movie had showed him as irresponsible and selfish athlete, however, towards the end of the movie he is seen as an excellent father and athlete.

As I had mentioned earlier no one is completely immune to the bad seed within themselves, however, the little good deeds that are done along the path make a huge difference. It is this bad seed within characters that causes the audience to engender judgment.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Good vs. Evil: Are there clearly defined roles?

According to me, I feel there are no clearly defined roles for “good” and “evil” characters because there are always twists to stories a person who may seem as a good person may after all be evil towards the climax. Although in fairy tales it is quite easy to find the difference between the protagonist and the antagonist, however, the same cannot be said of most stories. For an example if in a story a character creates trouble, however in the end he may have done everything as a plot to hurt the protagonist.

In most cases the “good” character is usually the one who is caring, loving, kind-hearted, persistent, etc. The protagonist often represents the good and has to go through several hardships throughout the story, but in the end they’re the ones who usually prevail over the antagonist. The protagonist is usually liked by most of the characters throughout the story and is constantly looked as a savior for the rest of society. Whereas the antagonist is portrayed as cunning, evil, scary, etc, the readers usually expect the antagonist to be overcome by the protagonist near the end of the novel. Throughout the early parts of a novel the antagonist seems to have the upper hand and is usually represented as a horrible person because of their deeds. However, as I mentioned before these situations between “good” and “evil” occur usually in fairy tales and in some stories they are hidden from the audience until the climax.

As the stories of the books vary, authors tend to twist stories in order to make the protagonist seem evil and the antagonist good. The judgement of these characters usually comes down to the reader’s perspective. Just because a person does some evil deeds it doesn’t necessarily make them evil and the same can’t be said about people who take part in good deeds. This is because everyone has a little bit of good or evil within them and no character can truly be judged as evil or good. A character that may seem good to you may not be looked at in the same way by a classmate. Therefore a character can’t necessarily be judged as evil or good based on their actions and there is no real way of deciding the roles of good or evil character.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

What is the nature of evil?

The nature of evil consists of a strictly subjective truth as previously mentioned, although there is no “true” definition for evil, it is believed to be anything that is immoral, selfish or cruel. Many people judge evil solely based on consequences of evil actions and this judgment is inappropriate. Evil is the opposite of good and most people are aware of what good is, however, this all comes down to the moral values and depends on the person themselves.

Although evil is widely considered a subjective truth, there are many universal truths behind evil and they consist of the common beliefs on the constitutes of evil. There are many universal evils that consist of murder, theft, deceit, etc and every nation considers this as inappropriate. Many of the world’s evil were done by those who convinced themselves and the public around them that they were doing the right things; from the Nazi mass murderers, to the men who flew the planes into the World Trade Centre. “Any beliefs that come from the core of people can lead to destructive or constructive consequences depending on how whole and clear, or how broken and twisted, are the souls or psyches of those who hold them.” The war on terror and Hitler’s massacre of the Jews relate to the fact of using terror to induce the public toward their beliefs and actions. As an evil person they had taken advantage of terror and used it for their personal desires. For an example Hitler had every intention of killing the Jews, yet Nazi Germany followed his command and agreed with him on almost all his actions. The idea of evil is often used in a destructive and distorted way; however, evil tends to take a variety of forms and what is evil in one area will not necessarily be considered the same in another area.

“The lie of false righteousness is a lie to oneself… Our greatest evil flows from ourselves." Those who take part in evil are fully aware of their actions and continue to wreak havoc on this world. Anyone who enjoys watching or taking part in the suffering of others is considered evil.

What is the nature of good?

Many people have often said that good is “anything that helps others or yourself.” However to clarify things Good must be given from the bottom of the heart and only things that are given with good intentions should be considered good. Good is nothing more than a “pleasant feeling we give ourselves as a gift for fulfilling our personal preferences.” How many of us feel great when we act morally and help a person in need? Almost all of us get a sense of excitement and content about the fact that we had helped someone who needed help. Most people would agree that the nature of good is to act morally and selflessly by not doing good in order to get something in return.

The nature of good comes from within the heart and should be given out of the free will of people. For an example if you see a notice that a kid in the neighborhood had been kidnapped, people should not go help to look for the kid based on the reward after, but they should help the family without expecting something in return. The chances of getting a reward aren’t that great, but the family should be helped anyways for the vain that they will be going through without their child. A person of moral values who always puts other people before themselves in serious situations, would be defined as a good person. This goodwill should always come out of the free will of their hearts and when people do this they get a sense of accomplishment and happiness that they have done something “good.”

However this belief in the nature of good is subjective based on religion and the environment that people have grew up in. Many have different views on what is good and although there is a universal truth to good that everyone understands; that is living life to the fullest and following a set of moral values that benefit themselves and society. Most importantly bad intentions behind a good action certainly does have an impact on the nature of good; this automatically counteracts the good and makes it evil. On the other hand many believe something is good if it is mentioned in their religion, but I belief the nature of good is to act morally and selflessly by not expecting something in return.

Is it subjective or a universal truth about what constitutes “good” and “evil”?

The topic of “good” and “evil” is quite a controversial topic nowadays as people tend to complicate the issue about it being a subjective truth and others argue it’s a universal truth. However, they do take different forms nowadays, but it’s still seen as more of a subjective truth than a universal truth. The concepts of good and evil can be affected by the situation in the country, whether it is a war or political instability. In a country like Mumbai prostitution is legal, however here in Canada it is illegal, it all comes down to the society and the subjective truth of the matter of good and evil.

Whether the area comes down to a country or a city the beliefs of good and evil tend to differ greatly as you move around the world. Even as an individual my thoughts on good and evil may be different from my teacher Ms. C, as the number of people are narrowed the truth about good and evil being a subjective truth tends to shine over it being a universal truth. One of the hottest topics of controversy today is teenage abortion. Many people see this as evil because no one has the right to take a life from this world and by doing abortion the teenagers are committing first degree murder. This is evil towards some people, however others argue there is no point bringing a new life into the world where the teenager is not stable. By brining the new life into the world you’re basically killing the child slowly and more painfully through issues such as hunger, inappropriate care, etc. Even on an issue like this your own family member might not take the same side as you as to, what is evil and good in this situation. Therefore clarifying my point on how subjective truth is used more often to express the constitutes of good and evil.

Although much of the constitutes of good and evil are considered subjective, several universal truths do exist. The main universal truth is the issue about Heaven and Hell, no matter whom or how you look at it everyone in sees heaven as a good place and hell as a bad place. There will be no one in this world talking about Heaven mentioning how it is a mystical place where good people will go after death. “Hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife, often in the underworld. Religions with a linear divine history often depict Hell as endless.” However, when it comes to Heaven many people consider it as place of angels where the dead go to meet up with God.“Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy.”

The acceptance to whether “good” and “evil” are subjective or universal seems to change depending on the religion and environment of the person. However, “good” and “evil” is widely known as a subjective truth.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Debunking Media Violence

I found this piece quite entertaining to read, however, it didn’t seem like a formal piece right from the beginning as the author used a lot of reader inclusion. In this case it shouldn’t be used because it is a formal piece. As I had mentioned in my previous blogs the most effective of the four blogs was Henry Jenkins. Once again I find no competition in terms of argument, style, structure and the use of devices. However, the piece did involve a lot of allusions and anecdotes, which kind of made up for the use of reader inclusion. All the points were strong and supported by strong and reliable resources, but once again if it was considered an informal tone piece it would have been great. But as a formal piece it doesn’t follow the key differences between an informal and formal piece.

I felt that this piece wasn’t very organized as the points were all over the place and not synchronized as any persuasive piece should be; regardless of whether it’s formal or informal. Towards the end of the piece it got worse as it became a little more rushed and lacked flow between arguments. The involvement of examples such as Tom & Jerry could’ve been effective if used in the right manner. However, the jumping between ideas made this piece ineffective when compared to the others. The major upside to this piece was the use of statistics and facts to support all the opinions. Therefore the argument was enhanced to an extent.

Overall, I wasn’t satisfied with this piece, as a result of the lack of flow between the points and the inconsistency of the arguments.

Media Violence - Formal Tone

Media Violence – Formal Tone

This article has discussed the ways that media violence has seeped into today’s society. After reading the persuasive piece I’ve learned how a formal piece is suppose to be written. The rhetorical devices, style, structure, etc have all been used to the full extent in this piece. The involvement of statistics in the argument has made the argument quite effective; although I didn’t find this piece as effective as the informal piece by Henry Jenkins it still got its point through to readers. This piece points out that not everyone who is exposed to media violence is likely to react upon it, but it does clearly state in which ways it can effect teens and children based on their age.

However, I wasn’t satisfied in this piece as the other three it was well written as in facts, but didn’t flow as the other pieces did. I found that some points were scattered and the author could have done a better job of making the paragraphs flow. E.g. “As early as 1958 investigations were being conducted of the effects of television on children.” I wasn’t satisfied with this introductory sentence to the paragraph because each introductory sentence is supposed to interest readers; instead it had the opposite impact on me. As begin a formal piece it could have been written better and should be able to keep the reader entertained. Several points in this piece had gotten me the feeling of an informal piece and wasn’t quite effective in terms of argument as the informal piece by Henry Jenkins.

Overall I found this piece as a joke, from beginning to end it was inconsistent in flow and gave the reader hard time finding the main point of the piece. I think this was given to us on purpose to criticize because it wasn’t effective at all.

Media Violence- Informal Tone

Media Violence – Informal Tone

The persuasive piece by Henry Jenkins is an excellent example of persuasive writing because although his piece was quite long it gave a strong message across to readers like me. Every one of his opinions was backed by facts and evidence. This informal piece is far superior in arguments compared to the previous writers’ formal piece. Almost anyone who believes that Media Violence does affect children, surely won’t feel the same once they’re done reading this piece. This informal piece sets a high standard and shows that informal pieces can be just as effective as a formal piece.

The standard is set by Henry’s ability to back up all his points with effective evidence, but he did have a couple downfalls. As a writer he made a couple spelling mistakes, which gives the reader a bad impression on him. However, the strength of his arguments overcomes his mistakes and isn’t remembered after reaching the end of the piece. Some people might think bringing up the Virginia Tech topic will be a logical fallacy, I disagree because of the way the topic was used. Almost every argument is explained to a large extent because he goes through all the steps of how Mr. Cho wasn’t influenced by media violence alone, but was always weird when asked about by fellow students. I agree with the authors approach of explaining the incidents with steps and proving his point with each argument. The quality of his writing as in devices, structure, etc; was what made his piece effective.

The style of Henry’s opinion piece is vibrant and can be recognized by any reader within the first paragraph. His paragraphs flow together and his facts coincide with his opinions, and help strengthen his argument. Basically, he states his opinion, and then proves his points with facts and agreements. The high dictions used in his piece, makes it more entertaining and keeps readers interested. At the same time it is an effective method of getting the message across.

The piece’s effectiveness came from the use of examples and incidents that have occurred. In each incident/example Henry proves his point with force; that violence has been existing for as long as we can all remember. The fuss between the media and parents are just a waste of time, instead people should think of other ways to reduce the time kids and teens spend with media, by thinking of alternative activities. Although the piece is informal Henry avoids the usage of street language and colloquial words and once again makes the informal piece more effective. This is a well written informal piece and regarding media violence.

Adolescence and the Media - Informal Tone

Adolescence and the Media - Informal Tone

This persuasive piece was nicely organized with the subheadings it made it a lot easier to read and didn’t bore me out as the Media Violence (Informal Tone). The subheadings of the piece helped it seem more organized, and easy to read. However, piece was short and to the point unlike some of the other pieces. The criticism was quite effective in getting the message across and the coverage of the debatable topics was key toward the major points of the piece. The informal tone of this piece made the structure, content and style of the piece not as effective.

As far as content is concerned, I feel the author did a great job because he clearly describes how media violence affected children and teens. The explanation not only mentioned the impact on teen violence, but also involved drugs, sex, etc. As stated in the article children and teens are viewing at least one junk food or beer ad every commercial break. The ability to use statistics to give his opinions some support helped hammer his arguments. “There are more than 1000 studies linking exposure to media violence to real-life aggressive behaviour.”

To say the truth I find this topic quite stupid because of the arguments, each side continues to accuse the other of doing wrong things. The parents accuse the media; than the media accuses the parents again it’s all a circle that keeps repeating itself.

Most importantly I have found this article quite interesting and effective although it is an informal piece, the main argument gets across quite clearly.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Persuasive Piece: Reflection

Definition: a writer takes a position for or against and attempts to convince the reader to believe or do something.
Writing a persuasive piece is quite difficult as I have noticed with my first editorial. My mark reflects my work, but I’ve learned a huge lesson. This lesson has taught me that it is important to provide more statistics with the opinions that are stated because knowing the basics is not enough to convince the reader. The basics of a topic can be found easily, but knowing the depths of the topic is what becomes the key to the success of the persuasive piece. The more knowledgeable you are, that much stronger the argument becomes. Personally, I have a lot of work to do and I will not rest till I get up to par, but the research and time that is put into the topic is important.
It is essential to have the basic knowledge of persuasive pieces and it makes it a lot easier to write it. SESICU (Statement Explain Support Illustrate Connect Unite) will make a big difference if everyone follows the steps. The time and effort put into every type of piece is essential to the quality of it and the number of rough drafts also makes an impact on the final product. No matter what circumstance an outline is mandatory when writing any sort of piece and it gives the reader a better understanding of the format of the piece. This is something that I had missed out on and more research into my topic would’ve helped me quite significantly.
As far as marks are concerned for students, it will all come down to their effort and writing skills. If they’re not a good writer this course should be dropped immediately, but another persuasive piece assignment will do the class a huge favour. This is because it is a chance for those who did not do so good the first time around to redeem themselves and a couple days spent on this will not hurt. Especially, considering myself I feel I can do a much better job and another chance will be of great help.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Obama's Inauguration Speech

Obama’s inauguration speech has struck me like a cupid’s arrow. Although it may have not been as lengthy as the other two speeches, it was the most effective. His speech was addressed not only to Americans, but to political leaders globally. Obama’s ability to deliver his speech has touched the hearts of many, as well as myself. With the visions of a new America, Obama delivers his speech with clarity and the usage of rhetorical devices. “The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms.” The inauguration speech was both similar and different to the others in a variety of ways.

Obama’s excessive use of anecdotes in this speech was what made it different from the others. In this speech Obama constantly involves the audience as a part of his vision for the future. “Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many.” His involvement of the audience into almost every aspect of his speech is a key part to its success. "But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to - it belongs to you." It makes everyone feel apart of this historic time and gets everyone involved in his speech. A major difference in this speech was the involvement of the past as it was essential to the success of America. , “For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life….For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth…” Unlike the other speeches Obama goes into a little bit more detail about how America Foreign Affairs will get more involved in the crisis between Muslims and Christians, Iraq war, Afghanistan War, etc. Once again Obama has shown his ability to be unique and standout from past governments.
The similarity between the articles is Obama’s ability to use rhetorical devices to the greatest extent. Obama’s ability to impressively use rhetorical devices in all the speeches is crucial to how he gets his message across. "Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet (it)." Although Obama is not the script writer his ability to say the words was effective and the rhetorical devices were used effectively in all three speeches.
Most importantly I’ve enjoyed all three speeches greatly, but it is what I learned about rhetorical devices and their usage that helped me the most.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Obama's Victory Speech

Obama’s victory speech was amazing; when I had first heard it live with my parents it sounded even better. His speech involved thanking everyone who helped him and discussed some topics about his plans for the future. The historical impact that this victory had on society was huge; as Obama became the first African-American President.
After watching/reading Obama’s Victory & Acceptance Speech I realized that Obama speaks in a similar order in both situations. In both speeches he thanks those who helped him at first and mentioned his family before starting with the actual speech in both circumstances. Each issue was addresses one at a time and involved a lot of real life examples that helped the audience understand the message of his speech. Most importantly he not only speaks to those who votes for him, but addresses all Americans. “It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white… - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.” This is one of my most favorite quotes because of its ability to get the message across with such efficiency.
The most common rhetorical devices used in both speeches are: anecdotes, reader inclusion, chiasmus, etc. What makes Obama’s speeches so powerful is his ability to weave these rhetorical devices into his speeches. This not only makes the message stronger, but also more effective. Rhetorical devices were used right from the beginning of the speech right toward the end. The first rhetorical device that was used was Repetition. “If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.” Repetition was constantly used throughout this speech, but just one of them is enough to show the effectiveness of the device. Reader Inclusion is also one of the major factors behind the effectiveness of Obama’s speech, because of the ability to get the crowd involved. “Yes we can,” was a famous line during most of Obama’s speeches and almost every single time it was mentioned the crowd started to chant that very phrase. As these two devices were successful in getting the message across, so where the others.
These particular techniques were used because of Obama’s intellectual ability to know when and how to use them. Every single one of his speeches, I feel is a work of art. His creativity and ability to write is what makes the devices he uses effective. Most importantly, Obama also involves more than one rhetorical device that transitions perfectly to one another. This is effective because the use of rhetorical devices involves creativity and his ability to weave it into his speeches is astonishing.

Obama's Acceptance Speech

After watching and reading Obama's Acceptance Speech I was astonished at his ability to get the message across with such power and emphasis. After watching him speak I've realized that Obama's speech shows a lot about his character and style. His voice let alone persuades my thoughts and how Americans can think. The attitude that Obama puts toward rebuilding America is so effective, and rallies many allover America toward him. At the same time I've noticed that Obama involves diction in this speech with the repitition of words, this had a major impact toward the persuasion of the audience. Most importantly he's confident and poise during his speeches, always addresses everyone in the audience. Obama also involves anecdote by retelling a lot of past experiences during his life.

Obama's success during his speech involves his ability to use rhetorical, literary and narrative devices that has helped him get his message across to the world. The one thing that impressed me the most was the criticism of the "Bush Administration." Personally I hate Bush and for Obama to get out on the stage and reveal the mistakes of the past presidential term. His ability to hammer McCain based on the Bush Administration was also great because it showed how McCain agreed with Bush 90% of the time. This was an amazing strategy because it helped him basically destroy the McCain & Bush policies.

Obama's ability to use abstract ideas sounded well during his speech. At the same time Obama let known his plans for change when he becomes President of the "United States of America." Reader Inclusion was also an essential part during his speech, this makes the audience/reader feel like a group and makes everyone involved. Obama always refers to Americans as a whole and considers all Americans as family. " I am my brothers keeper...,etc." “And now is the time to keep the promise of equal pay for an equal day's work, because I want my daughters to have exactly the same opportunities as your sons.” This was my most favorite quote during his first speech because it involves everyone.

Lastly, I also found that watching or hearing the speech greatly enhanced my understanding of the speech because it gives me two tools. Difference wise, I actually felt the same way as I was reading because of Obama's choice of words. However, I enjoyed listening to the speech because of the way Obama presented his speech, his ability to get the message across with clarity played a major role in the success. Most importantly he made sure that every single part of his speech was heard & understood by the audience.

Gowtham

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Rhetorical Device is the use of language that creates a literary effect
heeyyyyyyy ppl