TOW #3 - How Much is Too Much to Spend on a Sick Pet?

In How Much is Too Much to Spend on a Sick Pet?, Mark Oppenheimer writes about the decisions made when treating a dog with an illness.  Mark Oppenheimer, who is a contributing writer to opinion articles in magazines, has a Ph.D in religion from Yale University, and has taught at Yale, Stanford, Wesleyan, Boston College, and NYU.  Written for any pet owners, his main purpose is to show where the line is drawn when spending money for treated an illness for a dog.  Mark Oppenheimer appeals to logos and establishes anecdotes in his writing to help achieve his purpose.  Throughout the article he addresses many philosophers’ opinions to help add to his writing.  He says, “While the psychologist Hal Herzog has written that spending ‘$10,000 on chemotherapy for your beloved golden retriever is no more unethical than spending it on a two-week vacation in Tuscany,’ utilitarians, like Peter Singer, would caution that your money would do more good in Oxfam’s coffers than in a pensione.” (Oppenheimer). This quote helps establish logos to show different opinions of certain experts. This achieves his purpose by giving reasoning for spending money on your pet.  Oppenheimer uses yet another rhetorical device known as anecdotes.  As he refers to his own sickly pet named J.J., he says, “Ultimately, I reacted to my dog’s illness not too differently from how most of us react to the illnesses of people we love. We spend a certain amount of money without thinking twice. At a certain point, we wonder if we need to just let go. If the diagnosis sounds terminal, and the patient is already relatively old, that can simplify matters.” (Oppenheimer).  This is a great example of how this author incorporates anecdotes to help achieve his purpose.  By explaining his own personal story it gives reasoning to the reader and helps to show where to draw the line of spending money on your pet.  In my opinion, I believe that he achieved his purpose effectively, making me feel more prepared for a situation to come like this for my own dog.

TOW #2 - Communism: America's Mortal Enemy

In this cartoon, Dr. Fred Schwarz advocates for anti-communism in America.  Fred Schwarz was an Australian physician and political activist, who started the Christian Anti-Communism Crusade (CACC).  He became popular in the USA in the 1950's, specifically in California.  This cartoon was printed in 1956, right when McCarthyism was booming. Geared towards American citizens at the time, his main goal of this cartoon was to show how communism would negatively affect America.  This is shown through many rhetorical devices that Schwarz used known as symbolism and pathos.  Through the use of the drawing, Schwarz displays symbolism in its entirety.  The arm has the communist symbol written on it, while holding a knife, which is cutting directly through the country of America.  This symbolism is used to show that if communism enters our society our nation will fall apart and be destroyed which enhances the author’s purpose.  Another rhetorical device that Fred Schwarz uses is the appeal to pathos.  The author attempts to evoke emotions by comparing communism to “America’s Mortal Enemy.”  The use of this strong diction is an attempt to make the reader feel afraid or scared of the idea of communism.  Again, helping Schwarz promote the idea of anti-communism.  These types of political cartoons were extremely evident in this time period of America.  America needed all the help they could get to end the idea of communism in order to protect their democratic government.  Without these political cartoons, people’s opinions and emotions would not have been swayed, causing more room for communism to grow.  Many political cartoons like this one, helped to give the word communism a negative connotation which helped this anti-communist movement.  With the strategic use of these devices, Fred Schwarz achieved his purpose in convincing Americans if communism enters America, that it will have an extreme negative effect on the nation.  After looking at this cartoon, I felt that if I was in this time period that I would feel convinced of Fred Schwarz’s views.  
                               

TOW #1 - Sotomayor Racist?

In Sotomayor Racist?,  Abby L. Ferber explains the viewpoint that white conservative men have on racism, and why they have this opinion.   Abby L. Ferber is the author of White Man Falling: Race, Gender and White Supremacy and a Professor of Sociology and Women’s Studies at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.  In Sotomayor Racist?, speaking to the liberal community, Ferber’s purpose is to try to convince her side that changes need to be made about current conservative racial views. Throughout the text the author uses significant rhetorical devices such as analogies and hypophora to help support her argument.  In the very beginning of this piece, Ferber begins to ask questions saying, “Is it because the poverty rate for Black and Hispanic children is triple that of white children?” (Ferber).  Ferber quickly responds with a simple ‘No’.  The use of hypophora helps Ferber explain how senseless conservative viewpoints actually are, which backs up her purpose of wanting to make changes.  Another rhetorical device that appeared were analogies.  Ferber begins to explain an analogy of this current issue and writes, “There is an educational activity I have participated in, sometimes called the “Race for the American Dream.” Participants start out standing along a horizontal line in the middle of the room, all facing the front. We are then asked to take a step forward or backwards after each item in a series of prompts is read.” (Ferber).  She continues to explain how the white men end up at the front of the room, the white women end up in the middle, and the people of color end up in the back.  This direct analogy helps explain how everyone has a different perspective within society.  Many white males can have a narrowed vision of what is in front of them, which goes to show why their viewpoint is so unguided.  Through the use of these rhetorical devices, I believe that Abby L. Ferber proves that changes must be made.  By reading this, I gained a better knowledge of racism and it really helped me form my own opinion  as well.  

IRB Intro #1: The Gilded Razor by Sam Lansky

For my first IRB, I chose The Gilded Razor by Sam Lansky.  This book is about Sam Lansky's personal experience with drug addiction and his recovery.  I chose this book because a person who worked at the bookstore recommended it for me and I also really enjoy this topic.  I have read previous books about drug addiction and have found them particularly interesting, so I thought this book would be a great choice for me.  I hope to gain more knowledge about drug addiction and I am super excited to read The Gilded Razor!