Thursday, April 17, 2008

what we can do, but dont always do is use logic

One thing that all people have but not everyone uses all the time is logic. Stephen Henderson uses logos to appeal to the logic of people, and he uses it very effectively. He uses examples and descriptions to make his readers use logic. He points out facts like all the garbage cans sitting out after garbage day without anyone else getting tickets, the fact that there are many run down buildings all around, and garbage piled in lots without the city doing anything to clean it up. Mr. Henderson gives clear cut facts that show exactly what wrongs the city is committing and does not allow for and questioning of his purpose because of the solid facts he gives. His use of logos is the driving force behind the column. He appeals to the reader's logic by giving many different supporting statements that all point to a common purpose. When the reader is faced with so many facts that all point to the same point that these people shouldn't be treated this way, the reader has no choice but to agree with Stephen. He gives so much proof to support and give logic to his readers that no one can deny what he is trying to say is true.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Darnell makes it easier to find hope in Detroit

Darnell Gardner writes essays as an expert in rhetoric strategies would. He uses many various strategies and they revolve around a commmon theme. He uses description, diction, compare, and contrast. He often intertwines the different strategies with each other to make his writing even more effective. His wide range of tools helps him to deliver his assertion and proof his points without misunderstanding.
Mr. Gardner adds many adjectives into his essay. His adjectives help him to prove his point more clearly. He uses descriptive words like "tax-paying single parent", "dilapidated neighborhoods", and "atrocious," just as a few examples. He uses these words to give images to the reader and makes sure his opinion of a subject is not misunderstood.
His usage of diction ties in with his description of objects or people. Why did he use words like "atrocious" and not "bad", or "dilapidated" and not "wrecked." He uses these words as imagery for the reader. Words like atrocious take bad to another whole level. The specific choice of words that Darnell uses shows his opinion not just in the syntax of the words but in the word choice itself. By using atrocious instead of bad, he shows his strong dislike instead of a mild dislike for the grammer.
Darnell also uses comparison in his essay to further his cause. He compares his neighborhood of 10 years ago to his neighborhood of today, he compares his old highschool to his current highschool, and his intellect to the intelligence of others. The point of these comparisons is to show how his neighborhood, the school system, and the intelligence of people in Detroit is deteriorating. His comparison of the safe neighborhood of 10 years ago and the shot up neighborhood of today gives perspective on how much worse the city has gotten while in Kwame's hands. His comparison of his old "fading gem" highschool to Davis Aerospace Technical High shows how the education system has been dulled down until it is not effective, and he shows how uneffective it is by his comparison between himself and other students. His comparison between himself and other students shows how much the education level of many people in Detroit has dropped and why it is an unsuccessful city, because there are fewer and fewer people being properly educated. All these comparisons he uses to show how the city has decayed while Kwame has been in office, and they just help to further support his assertion that "Kilpatrick should give us a break and please leave office."
Through superb usage of literary skills, Darnell Gardner creates an excellent essay that makes an assertion than uses proof, while discussing the proof at the same time, to support his assertion. His creative use of a wide variety of nouns and adjectives gives the essay life and description in every word and clearly shows the thoughts and opinions of Darnell. This essay is definitely one of the better writings in the world and if everyone in Detroit could write and think like this then the city would not be even close to as bad a shape as it is in today that is 100% fact.

Sunday, April 6, 2008

PVC, Prosecution Character Values

Kym Worthy's speech on the prosecution of Kwame Kilpatrick shows that she has a great zeal for her profession. Through her speech she shows the readers or listeners that the prosecution will be carried out through any setbacks or hard times because it is against the law. She is purpose driven and dedicated. Kym points out her purpose by using ethos. She has a determined and fair character, a desire to make sure the law is upheld, and she intends to see that it is.
Kym Worthy begins her speech with a review on previous actions and why those actions took place. She justifies her actions and gives strong moral and logical support to her arguments. She says "We serve you with independent thought – unbossed and unbought." This shows that she is backing up her actions with moral reasoning. Also she says "during an investigation, there are also rules that must be followed and I have no tolerance for deliberate obstruction." This passage shows that she backs up her actions with logical reasoning as well. The prosecutor creates ethos by showing the audience her character through moral and logical reasoning. This gives the audience an insight into her person and allows them to better understand and relate to her which will give her more support.
The speech also shows fairness and value of truth. She says "we also have to make sure that every defendant receives due process." The prosecutor wants to make sure that everything is fair so that truth may prevail, because truth is a valuable thing that leads to the right way. She shows this when she says "Witnesses must give truthful testimony. And we have to demand that they do." She places great worth in the truth because this case is about not telling the truth. She gives truth a great importance to show people that she is not prosecuting this case because of some moral wrong she thought Kwame committed, but because Kwame went against the law and didnt not speak the highly valued truth when it was required of him. She shows herself to be dedicated to the truth and this lets people believe her words and take her words for truth because she places so much importance on truth.
Finally Kym Worthy displays her understanding of the importance of her job. While the Roman goddesses are simply false gods and have no power compared to the One God, her comparison of the goddess of justice and the justice system show that she understands the prinicipals of her occupation. She discusses "the power of Reason and Justice," "the fair and equal administration of the law without corruption, avarice, prejudice, or favor," and "that justice should be meted out objectively, without fear or favor." Kym Worthy's belief in these principals portrays her as a master in her craft who can be trusted to complete the job properly.
So, through these points in her speech, Kym Worthy uses ethos to get her point across. She wants to make sure that everyone knows she will prosecute this trial properly without corruption, and that is why the people should trust her.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Kwame's literary prowess

Kwame uses literary devices to relate to his audience. One literary strategy that Kwame uses is diction. He uses words that get the attention of the audience. Some words were profane to show how serious the situation is. He uses words like unethical, illegal, hate-driven, and bigoted to show to the audience how morally wrong these actions against him are. He uses words like this to get people on his side so that he has supporters. He also uses pathos through diction and his tries to relate himself to the people of the city. He talks about his family and the suffering it has been through. By talking about his family, he appeals to the emotions of the audience and through this appeal to emotion he gained supporters because people related to him and that made it easier for them to forgive him and side with him.

Using literary strategies in speeches can significantly help make a good speech into a great speech. As seen in Kwame's speech, it is easy to use lit. devices even in short speeches. The rhetoric strategies helped Kwame relate to his audience. They are a powerful tool that can add significantly to a speech, as seen in the mayor's speech.

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Wrong?, Right?, or just Misguided?

Larry Elder uses a biennial survey to show the different perspectives between conservatives and liberals. He compares the different ratings that liberals gave conservatives and vice-versa to prove his point that liberals may not be all that open minded.

I agree with Mr. Elder's point that liberals may not be as open-minded as they are portrayed as. Some of the results of the survey may be people that were influenced by others without giving their own thought into their opinion, but most were probably liberals who just plain think that conservatives are evil without even giving them a chance to speak their opinions on world matters. That is not the meaning of being liberal.

Larry continuously points out how being liberal is being an oxymoron. He uses many various examples of liberals being well, not so liberal. For example he points out that "Sixty percent of these extreme liberals gave Messrs. Bush and Cheney a 0. In other words, six out of ten Americans on the far left found that no evil, heinous person in the world could be worthy of more hatred than Bush and Cheney." He recalls that "Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., compared the newly conservative-controlled House to 'the Duma and the Reichstag.'" When important icons of a people stand up, say something, and everyone follows them because they are an icon, that is not being opinionated. The 60% doesnt show that liberals are united in their thinking. It shows that liberals are not so liberal, but they follow their leaders without thinking their own thoughts. This meaning behind Elder's message is a mockery of all liberals and their limited thinking.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Behind the scenes of political campaigning

While many people may find this cartoon offensive because of the insult to the intelligence of people and candidates, i find there may be some truth within the drawn caricatures. The main point of this cartoon is that the media, more specifically the newspapers that support the party caucuses, are the ones who really choose the president. People have no bias to one candidate or another and they dont like to be wrong so they go with the one that has the most chance of winning. Since the authors in newspapers, such as the Des Moines Review, and anchormen on news channels can predict whichever candidate they want as highest in the poll, they are truly the only voters.