TOW #7 The Wanderer By Samanth Subramanian (From Longreads)

In his essay full of self-reflection and, well sorrow almost, a man (Samanth) realizes the importance of family, and getting to know them. However, he realizes this too late, and because of his appreciation for what he has now lost, the story takes on a saddening, heartfelt tone. It is because of this tone that the story is most effective in achieving its purpose. Since Subramanian feels as though he has failed his family in a sense, broken the bonds that made them connect to history, he tries in this piece to have others come to the same realization that he did; family is more important than anything, and we should appreciate them while they are still here. His audience is not people who are like him. Instead I would say that he directs this at anyone whose grandparents are still here, whose culture is alive and vibrant, especially the young people of today’s world. Subramanian serves to inspire them to connect (or reconnect) with their culture, and to appreciate people to their fullest potential.

One way that Subramanian does this is through the gorgeous imagery with which he tells his story. ONe of my favorite examples is when he says “The air around him crackled; his aura was so strong that invariably, towards the end of each of these sessions, ripples of doubt would run through my mind” (I would cite this but I can’t). I am not sure why I liked it so much, but I just felt that it stood out, and made the grandfather seem larger than life to this man. The detail with which Subramanian tells the story of his grandfather emphasizes the mans importance in his life, even if he only discovered the importance when it was too late. Because of his attention to detail, the story hits home, and I think he will indeed inspire people to appreciate others through it.

http://www.aeonmagazine.com/being-human/the-mystery-of-my-grandfathers-vagabond-past/?src=longreads

TOW #6: Howard Zinn Chapter 4: Tyranny is Tyranny (ZINN IS CRAZY MAD)

Wow, Howard Zinn is opinionated... And BOY DOES HE LIKE TO SHOW IT. Throughout his entire book, I believe Howard Zinn has several purposes.  There are two purposes that stand out among the others.  On one hand, Zinn is (quite literally as you can tell from the title) offering a new spin on history. It is so often told from the view of the winner (understandably of course, I mean who wants to record personal loss? Especially in detail?) and therefore is glorified and made to seem much more glamorous than it actually is. Instead of conforming to the traditional ways of telling history, Howard Zinn chooses to provide facts and information on the other side of history. 
On the other hand, Zinn serves to do much more. He criticizes government and society, all supported in his writing of the ways of history. This book is his professional platform for expressing his political views and criticisms. His use of primary sources hits home for readers as a giant appeal to pathos. In fact, I guess you could say that this whole book is an appeal to pathos. Zinn tries to get people to feel anger and hatred for the oppressors in history, and sorrow for those who were affected so harshly. In doing so, Zinn casts the anger onto modern government as the people feel that these historical events are the fault of their own leaders, as if they had something to do with it (they may have in certain cases). Even though he offers a very clearly one sided view of history, I believe that Howard Zinn’s intentions in writing this book were not ALL about casting a terrible view on modern society and government (although it was definitely a factor). I think he really did want to offer the people new perspectives and I think in that sense he truly achieved his purpose.

TOW #5 A Political Cartoon on The Gov. Shutdown (AKA the most popular visual text topic, I assume)...

The author of this political cartoon, Bill Day, is a frequent editorial cartoonist who comments on modern occurrences through his artistic renderings. The (HILARIOUS) cartoon here is split into two different pictures, immediately referencing the juxtaposition between "The Employed" and "The Unemployed."The immediate split makes you think that there is a huge difference between the two groups, but when the cartoon is examined closely, it will be found that this is simply not the case. In fact, that’s what is so incredibly funny about it. 

When people hear the word “unemployed” they may think of a lazy bum who has no motivation or drive to do anything with their life, but mostly they think of someone who can not afford basic necessities in life, hence the picture of the poor man who must use trash as a pillow and a bench as a bed. He is suffering dearly in these difficult times as many Americans are and can not provide for himself efficiently because of lack of jobs and opportunity, but also because of harsh taxes etc. 

The government, in an ideal society, is supposed to look out for its people, protect them, and help them in hard times. They need to create jobs and laws and work hard to make sure that the people they are representing can live freely without worry. Currently, the American government (really always actually) is having trouble with doing this. They are ineffective, and can not agree on anything, as you know, and therefore the government has been shut down (am I the only one who doesn’t see how this is a good idea? Seriously, what?). The government officials who are still “employed” are now able to do absolutely nothing (which they are taking advantage of) and STILL GET PAID. The image below the first depicts an official who is sleeping in his office, not doing anything to solve the issue that he has created. To add humor, and a tinge of accuracy, his name is congressman wing nut, which means the author is calling him out as a man very set in his own beliefs who will not succumb to compromise. 

It’s funny really, (hence the comic) that the lazy politician can mope around all day doing nothing and get paid while the average man suffers.

TOW #4 All The President's Men, an IRB post (IRB POST 1)

SUCH. A. GOOD. BOOK. I know, I know, what was I expecting? After all, it is most often said that "the book is better than the movie". I really enjoy the way this book was written, and I have a feeling that I know why. As much drama, intrigue and flair that the book holds for readers, the most interesting part is that everything in it actually happened. I guess that's what makes nonfiction so downright interesting. The story as it unfolds may seem unbelievable at times (understandable, I mean, we're talking about the Watergate Scandal. It's pretty crazy.) but it isn't, it can't be, because it is true. That would be the whole premise of the novel so far, Bob and Carl are attempting to figure out exactly what happened. The book uses the third person, which I thought was a bit odd considering the authors were the discoverers of the scandal, but that only makes it more interesting. Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein use a lot of different rhetorical devices and strategies that allow the reader to become part of the examination of the incident, the uncovering of the scandal. The one thing that they do really well is use imagery in their story. You can just picture the big office on a lazy Saturday morning, the frustration on the faces of the authors as they hit wall after wall of dead ends. The imagery in the story makes you feel, understand the story from a whole new perspective. By offering the specific details of each encounter through imagery, the authors allow audiences to become immersed in the discovery, almost as if they will figure it out for themselves by the ends, just as Woodward and Bernstein were able to eventually. I can’t wait to read more!