TOW #19: To My Old Master

     Over the course of United States history, the idea of slavery has been ingrained into everyone's minds through various social studies classes. Often times, an average student will be taught the terrors of slavery and the times when a master may let their slaves go. An aspect of this time period that could possibly be ignored is how an African-American may live their life once they are freed. In a letter entitled "To My Old Master," Jourdan Anderson, a former slave, writes to his old master after he requested that Anderson come back on his farm to work. Through the appeal to pathos and rather abrupt diction, Anderson is able to explain his position on his old master's request.
     Often times, children are not always thought of when the word "slave" comes to mind. Anderson makes the issue with his kids known as he uses the appeal to pathos. He states that "the children [felt] hurt" when people made remarks about them being "colored people" who used to be slaves. It may not seem as important or saddening if an adult gets made fun of because that was normal for that time. But for children, getting bullied can be absolutely devastating, especially because children are commonly the most innocent among people. Anderson explains that the kids are doing well otherwise. They are going to Sunday school, they are successful at their school, and they have a comfortable home. The only thing stopping them from truly succeeding in life is the burden they have of being a part of a used-to-be slave family.
     A surprising aspect of this letter is the balance between the well-written story but the forward attitude toward his own master. To end his letter, Anderson includes a person that he would like to thank "for taking the pistol from [his master] when [he] was shooting" at Anderson while he was leaving. This was a rather sharp ending that seemed odd in a way that Anderson would talk to his old master like that. That being said, this also proves how Anderson owns himself now and he does not wish to return to the farm. He does not wish to return back to the life that he was so happy to leave and he shows that through his tone.
    To conclude, I feel the purpose of this letter was really nothing more than just to communicate to his former master. This also goes with the audience on how he did not have anyone different in mind than his former master. I rather enjoyed this letter and the new perspective it has given me.

TOW #18: Trump Visual Text

     The politics surrounding who the next U.S. President will be has held many captive because of its heavy media presence and some of the rather questionable candidates. Although many may talk about the ridiculousness of these campaigns, some statements and promises that have been made approach serious issues that have become a joke to many. This visual text, centered around one of this year's candidates, Donald Trump, explains Trump's plans to build a wall to keep "unwanted people" out and to protect the United States. This visual text shows rhetorical devices such as contrasting colors and the appeal to pathos in order to prove to the audience how many people should not feel too attracted to Trump's outrageous plans.
     The visual uses only black and white to paint its picture which can symbolize how Trump's ideas go directly against basic American core values. Not only does America believe in an open invitation to immigrants but also an open border between the U.S. and our Mexican neighbors. This is definitely the opposite to what Trump thinks. Trump has specifically said that he believes that many problems that America faces today is because of people coming into the U.S. that are not originally from here. These contrasting colors also create a dark mood to this cartoon. Trump is threatening many innocent people and this visual text strives to convince people how dark of a person he truly is. He does not believe in equality and and voters should know that this is what he intends to do once he is elected.
     But this is also not the only thing that this visual text was able to accomplish. Through the use of the appeal to pathos, this text was able to show how complicated and upsetting that this world has become due to this campaign. There have been many reports that state that Donald Trump is in first place in the polls and that people who are voting for him believe in the ideas that are represented in this cartoon. This is quite saddening as America is based on freedoms and equality, but many people do not share those same values. Many times, their values are to protect them and not to protect anyone. The ideas behind this entire cartoon are upsetting because this is oppressing many innocent people. This connects to its purpose of proving to people that his ideas should not be favored because of the possibility of him hurting a large amount of people.
     This visual text brings to the table a significant issue that has been the basis of Trump's campaign along with him highlighting racism and his feelings that feel that he is superior. This does not have to be just toward voters because this also reflects the problems of racism where everyone has to be accountable. Because of the media and the intensity of the campaign, cartoons have come out like this one but have not been able to convey the same message that this was able to accomplish.

TOW #17: Stay Sane America, Please!

     The election of 2016 is definitely one that will be remembered in the history books. Not only are the campaigns much more prevalent in many American lives, but the candidates and their stresses toward one another can be perceived as being rather entertaining. People who do not usually pay attentions to elections are waking up out of the shadows and starting to create political opinions while promising that they are going to participate in the voting process. An article titled "Stay Sane America, Please!" describes how this specific election is progressing and takes a humorous tone on how to handle this unusual situation in order to convince Americans to calm down.
     I rather enjoyed this article as it takes a lighter approach to the election. For non-political scientists and generally people are not too invested into the election, this article would be extremely helpful. It describes what is happening and who "is in the lead," but the author includes humorous phrases that change this serious and complicated situation into a simple and entertaining show that all American citizens have the pleasure (or displeasure) to watch. Just by the title, a reader can set their mind into the mood of the article. The author is basically calling out all the Americans who are obsessing over this election and making it a bigger deal than it has to be. Yes, this is the election that decides who will preside over all of us for the next 4 years, but the worrying does not have to start until the end of the summer.
     Not until the very end of the article does the author provide a logical approach to look at the situation. He asserts that "the electorate is going to realize that in an age of dysfunctional government, effective leadership capacity is the threshold issue. That means being able to listen to others, surround yourself with people smarter than you, gather a governing majority and above all have an actual implementation strategy." He then concludes by saying that Trump, Cruz, and Sanders (the candidates the article focused on) do not possess any of these capabilities. That being said, it helps out the reader by returning their sanity as they have just read all of these arguments about the candidates and may feel overwhelmed by how complex the election really is.
     Overall, I believe that the purpose of the article was really just to prove that the amount that the media is controlling this entire situation is astronomical. All people really talk about is their disapproval for these candidates and the author just wanted to tell people that it is not necessary to spend all your time on this absurdness. The election is an important time, but the voters involved in this decision cannot have a jumbled mess in their brain when they need to rely on it the most.