TOW #24: "Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal" (IRB)

Consider the very point in space that you are occupying right now. Now consider that within a mile of you, there are probably an abundance of fast food restaurants, waiting to exchange money for “happiness.” Eric Schlosser did not believe in this “happiness” however, when he wrote his book: Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. In his novel, Schlosser extrapolates on the hidden mechanisms that make fast food such a bad thing from his perspective. Through his use of statistics and an extended example, Schlosser is able to convince readers that the speculated “dangers” of fast food do exist.

Schlosser’s frequent use of statistics helps to convince the audience of specific dangers associated with fast food, due to their exemplification of hard facts. For example, when Schlosser discusses the In-n-Out fast food chain, he uses statistics such as the average salary of workers, the amount of each food served, and more to show to readers the contrast between In-n-Out and other fast food restaurant chains. These statistics are also used in other places in the text, especially when Schlosser brings up a difficult topic for discussion. In these cases, the statistics help to ground his examples with facts that more blatantly show the differences between fast food and home food. In this way, Schlosser’s argument becomes easier to understand with each topic, which is why Schlosser is able to convince readers of the dangers of fast food.

Schlosser also uses an extended example throughout the entire book in order to relate topics presented in various places in the text. The extended example he uses is the city of Colorado Springs, whose growth is analogous to how the fast food industry moved throughout the country. Colorado Springs is brought up multiple times during the text, as it allows Schlosser to tie in different concepts to something that the audience is already familiar with as the book goes on. As the growth of Colorado Springs in terms of fast food becomes more and more clear to readers, it serves as a similarity to the entire country. This characteristic was particularly effective in making Schlosser’s argument easier to understand. Therefore, Schlosser is able to convince his readers of the dangers of fast food.

Throughout the reading of this book, I found it quite similar to Freakonomics, a novel that I read previously. This is because the two books share the same characteristic of describing the hidden sides to topics. Fast Food Nation was particularly enjoyable and informative, and Schlosser’s rhetorical techniques made it very easy to understand and informative. At least for me, his purpose was achieved, I don’t think I’m going to step inside a fast food restaurant again.

            

TOW #23: Shell Ad (Visual)

                We have always been on the brink of new technologies, but at no time is this more necessary than today, in the 21^st century. As the last drops of oil are used up on the planet, it is absolutely necessary that we, as a society, find cleaner, better solutions for the energy of tomorrow. Ironically, one of the biggest names in oil, Shell, is launching a campaign of ads to prove they’re in the energy game to win it. One of their ads, depicting an energy challenge racing car, proves that Shell really is serious about pursuing new goals other than fossil fuels. Through the use of vivid colors and bolded words, Shell is able to convince viewers that the energy crisis is indeed important and Shell is very serious about the topic.

                The Shell ad starts on the left with a lively image of an Eco-marathon car flying through the wilderness. The image employs shallow depth of field effects to create a focus on the car itself, and not so much on the background, which is blurry. However the colors are very important to the image, as the car looks as though it is travelling towards the sun. This shows that there is a future for energy, and Shell is indeed part of it, since Shell is shown on the car to sponsor the event.

                Once Shell shows the image on the left side of the field, it turns attention to the bolded phrases on the other side of the page. Phrases like, “Let’s go further on one litre of fuel” and “Let’s Go” are lucrative quotes that show viewers that they are indeed part of the effort to find new energy solutions. It shows that everyone is in the same boat, and therefore, everyone is involved. Finally, the way that the quotes are bolded shows that those are what we need to emphasize. In this way, Shell is able to convince viewers that everyone is together and we, as a society, are on the right track for energy solutions.

                Although these types of ads are shown all the time, this specific ad is effective, as its use of pronouns helps gets its audience board. Overall, it is quite important to get on the energy bandwagon and continue to work towards the goal.

TOW #22: "Why I Love My Job" (Written)

            More than ever before, it seems like sports pervade our lives, crowding out the other activities we want to do throughout our days. In high school itself, sports takes up much of our time as students: going to practices, cheering other teams on, field day, and listening to announcements about successes from other teams. Even our TV News Team covers sporting events such as football very often. Rick Reilly, in an attempt to reinforce the greatness of sports, uses his career as a sportswriter to advance his cause in his essay, “Why I Love My Job.” Through repetition of key words and phrases as well as the use of inductive reasoning, Reilly is able to convince readers that sports are indeed, an excellent part of life today.

            Reilly decides to repeat certain key words and phrases throughout his essay, in order to bring the argument down to a conversational level and help his audience relate to his message. For example, he repeats the word “sports” at the beginning of a majority of his paragraphs, often following with a characteristic of sports that is sometimes extremely obvious or extremely casual. Although Reilly’s writing does yield a down-to-Earth tone, it is quite appropriate for his essay. Readers of a magazine, where this essay was originally published, would rather hear a conversational argument than a speech, which is why Reilly’s repeated phrases make excellent sense here.

            In addition, Reilly also employs inductive reasoning in order to make his argument more understandable to readers. Every one of his body paragraphs presents a new piece of evidence that reinforces the beauty of sports. For example, some of Reilly’s body paragraphs discuss the fact that sports cannot be faked, has honor, and is woven into American life. By presenting examples in each paragraph that support each one of these claims, they can then be used as evidence to support the main claim in Reilly’s essay. Therefore, his use of inductive reasoning is extremely important toward advancing the greatness of sports, as it helps make the argument easier to understand for a casual audience.

            As sports is woven into our lives deeper than ever, it makes sense to embrace it. Reilly’s essay was published in ESPN Magazine, a haven for sports news and editorials. Therefore, his essay further reinforces the audience’s already healthy love for sports. His essay is perfectly targeted to his audience, which is what makes it so effective.

TOW #21: "Leaving and Cleaving" (Written)

                Cellphones, television, and internet are all examples of communications technology changing our lives. The services that each of these devices offer, as David Brooks, a writer for the New York Times, argues, can have a major effect on communication between people. Through exemplification and personification, Brooks is able to convince New York Times readers that heartfelt communication is eternal to any relationship.

                Exemplification was especially important to proving Brooks’s point, since it provided a solid grounds for his argument. Brooks used exemplification throughout his essay, in order to better explain the difficulties surrounding communication. Early in his essay, he used an example of Instagram to show how instant communication did not entirely benefit a relationship. He states that instant communication raises questions, such as, “How do you gracefully change your communication patterns when one person legitimately wants to step back or is entering another life phase?” (par. 6) This question that he raises more deeply analyzes his example of following exes on Instagram. The question shows that instant communication, as made popular by websites like Instagram, can increase the pain felt by a loss of communication because the casual interactions between people are nowhere near as impactful as deep conversation. Therefore, he encourages his audience to understand the value of deep communication in relationships, whether it be between parents, friends, or lovers.

                Brooks also includes personification, although in this case, he introduces hypotheticals to exemplify a real human connection. He first starts by discussing a child’s interactions with parents during early adolescence, stating that, “the parents don’t create a space where the child can establish independence” (par. 17). After this, he continues on to discuss the child’s later years, showing that the child and parents are, “heading for a life of miscommunication” (par. 19). These statements help put Brooks’s readers into the characters’ shoes and understand just how important communication can be. In this way, Brooks is able to achieve his purpose and convince readers to value effective communication and put it into practice often.

                Although some may argue that instant communication technologies can help by increasing the apparent time with someone, Brooks argues that good relationships require some restraint, and instant communication avoids that. As one final ground for his essay, Brooks refutes a common counterargument. This is very essential to his essay, and it is just one of many ways he goes about teaching about the importance of communication.