TOW #9- The Undress Code

        In Bonnie Tsui's article, The Undress Code, she reveals her past experiences as a victim of the disturbing situation between the clothes that women wear and the resulting reactions of men. As a current New York Times opinionist and successful author, Tsui has formed a variety of different relationships with coworkers in her past professions. Among them all is one particular man, who after seeing Tsui in a sweater with holes, paid her an uncomfortable amount of attention. Even after graduating college, getting engaged, and stabilizing her writing career, this man continued to follow Tsui's work and desperately tried to stay in contact with her. It amounted to an extremely creepy level, and made Tsui question why she was haunted by this man, simply based on the clothes she used to wear when they worked together.
        She addresses these annoyances with several rhetorical questions in her article, clearly representing how the reoccurrences of this man negatively affected her life. In paragraph 3 she writes, "Did I do something to encourage these advances? Was I being too harsh, and was he actually offering to help me? Then why did it feel so unsettling and not quite right?" This clearly exemplifies the unease that she felt during this period of her life, and allows for the audience to put themselves in her shoes and attempt to answer these questions themselves.
        At the end of the article she comes to a startling conclusion that the man had actually taught her a life lesson; "What a women wears can be used as a weapon against her." Through the repetition of the phrase "Nothing happened" in the final paragraphs, the audience is left to consider whether or not something actually did happened. Although she wasn't physically harmed or disabled by him, he left her with invisible marks that altered the way she viewed herself and other women around her. He forever changed her state of mind, although he did not hinder her strength. This ongoing, difficult relationship made her realize how important it is for women to defend themselves and stand up against the dominating nature of men.


Tsui, Bonnie. "The Undress Code." Opinionator The Undress Code Comments. The New York Times, 12 Nov. 2015. Web. 13 Nov. 2015.

IRB #2 Intro

For my second IRB of the year, I have chosen to read She Said Yes. This memoir, written through the eyes of Misty Bernall, focuses around the death of her daughter Cassie Bernall, a student at Columbine High School. As a prominent event in American history, the Columbine shootings marked a major change in the ways in which society viewed teens and the protections that should be placed on weapons. This book attracted me based on the fact that I already have slide knowledge of this event, but I am interested in learning more about it from a closer source. I think that this story will be incredibly powerful and moving, since it revolves around the death of a very special girl and the courage that she had against two dangerous shooters. This book received the 2000 Christopher Award and several complimentary reviews from a variety of companies, such as New York Post and People Magazine. I am curious to begin this book and unravel more information on exactly what happened during the Columbine High School massacre.

TOW #8- IRB #1 Second Half

          In the second half of the memoir, Hole in my Life, written by Jack Gantos, his true passion for writing and a desire to turn his life around is finally revealed. Peering through the bars of his prison cell, Gantos witnesses countless acts of violence that alter his life forever. These experiences, recorded between the lines of a book found in the jail library, cause him to severely miss the way his life once was. Prior to his drug incident and admittance behind bars, Gantos constantly struggled to find inspiration for his writing. Sadly, it was not until he began living face to face with hardcore criminals that he realized he had been surrounded by positive influences his entire childhood, if only he had taken the time to recognize sooner. After the end of his sentence, Gantos is free to leave and explore ways to improve himself, but disastrously discovers that the journal he has written in for the past several years is unable to come along with him. Despite this setback he still manages to attend college, and never again does he face the temptations of returning back to dealing illegal marijuana. He now fully understands his importance and role in life, and from that moment forward focuses all of his heart and energy into writing stories of his past for young teens. Primarily in hopes that they will follow the right path in their lives, and if not, be able to recognize and recover from their mistakes.

         Present throughout this story is the inclusion of irony, in which Gantos compares two different versions of himself- pre-jail and post-jail. During transition into his new life, he is hired as a Christmas tree delivery guy. “The last job I had in New York was pushing a shopping cart full of drugs down the streets to people’s apartments. Now I was pushing a shopping cart with a Christmas tree on it” (Gantos 198). This ironic situation represents how contrasting Gantos’ new life is to his old one, and satisfies the audience by allowing them to see his improvement. Also, Gantos utilizes short and direct sentence structure in order to add emphasis to each individual word. For example he writes, “The receptionist shrugged. He couldn’t care less. I looked into the lobby. There were two agents. It was sentencing day, and they didn’t want to lose me” (Gantos 140). This causes the audience to add immediate pauses between sentences and pay closer attention to the events at hand, ultimately adding more support to his overall message. Gantos wants to make it clear to all young members of society that critical decision-making is a crucial part of leading a successful, prison-free life. 

TOW #7- Stressful Workplace, Shorter Lives

        Work can be extremely stressful and challenging, especially when it involves maintaining two or more jobs in order to sustain the lives of a growing family. According to a recent study conducted by researchers at Stanford and Harvard, work reduces life expectancy. This tragic result originates from the educational achievement of an individual, “because the lower someone’s level of education, the greater the exposure to work-related stress from unemployment, layoffs, job insecurity, and lack of health insurance” (par 2). Although longevity varies depending on gender, race, and background, this study calculated that between a “10 to 38 percent difference in life expectancy across demographic groups can be explained by differing levels of stress on the job” (5).  This is a growing and startling statistic for all American citizens, both employed and unemployed alike.  
        Teresa Tritch, a New York Times editor and blogger, believes that in order to rid of this threatening outcome, several necessary measures must be taken. These include the establishment of a higher minimum wage, fair and even scheduling laws, and healthier workplaces. Through the usage of two different rhetorical devices in the form of questions, Tritch accomplishes her purpose of announcing that more action must be taken against the rising level of stress among workers in order for them to maintain long and prosperous lives. Starting her essay off with hypophora, she addresses American citizens by asking them several questions and posing possible scenarios. For example she writes, “What if work-related stress is chronic, as is the case for working parents whose employers do not offer regular schedules, sick days or other company benefits?” (1).  Shortly following, she addresses this question by explaining the effects that work stress has on life spans, and the many contributing factors to this issue. Then, with a rhetorical question, Tritch concludes her essay by proposing one final thought to the audience. “A more important question is how many people will die too soon before policymakers take corrective action?” (7).
        Both the usage of hypophora and rhetorical questions allow for Tritch to interact with her audience, and give them the opportunity to consider what a large number of citizens experience on a daily basis. She also raises alarm within the country, by forcing people to wonder just how many more deaths will occur until the government finally takes notice. This is her way of spreading the alarming news to the public, because the only way a change will occur is if large amounts of people know and speak up about it.

Tritch, Teresa. "Stressful Workplaces, Shorter Lives." Taking Note Stressful Workplaces Shorter Lives Comments. New York Times, 22 Oct. 2015. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.

TOW #6- When Prisoners Are Patients

            The act of providing menacing prisoners with free health care and hospital treatment when nearing death has been a hot debate for years. It seems incredibly ridiculous to give someone, who is treated so inhumanely in prison for their past actions, the treatment that less fortunate Americans are too poor to receive. Theresa Brown, a clinical nurse in Pennsylvania who has a variety of experiences working with felons, has constantly been stuck between sides on this issue. She regularly finds herself in situations of doubt and confusion, wondering how she should treat criminal patients and perhaps if she should be treating them at all.   
            As enforced by law, her role in the hospital as a nurse is to not question these types of patients of their history, or reason behind being in jail, as it could affect her ability and willingness to keep them alive. This can be extremely hard at times, as information is so readily available on the internet that the solution to nagging curiosity is only a click away. At the end of the day, however, Brown believes that it is her duty to care for everyone, including criminals, with their best interests at heart. Regardless of the backgrounds of others, if she is at work in the hospital these detestable criminals become important patients that need her help to survive.
            This entire article reflects the irony of prison and may seem morally objectionable to many. Millions of wonderful people across the globe are unable to receive treatment for their illnesses and conditions, whereas the lowest of the low are provided it for free without any questions. It would be expected for this scenario to be flipped around entirely, however sadly it is not. Brown stresses the fact that “if we give needed, accessible care to the most despised and potentially violent among us, surely we can try a little harder to provide it for all” (par 11). It is the passionate and clear tone that Brown uses that causes the American public to deeply consider this issue on a broader level. She encourages the idea of available health care for all, by denouncing the provided care that criminals are so unjustifiably handed, and truly showing society how much work this area of specialty needs.

Brown, Theresa. "When Prisoners Are Patients." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 3 Jan. 2015. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.                         

TOW #5- Boycott SeaWorld

In an advertisement funded by PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a pregnant 36-year-old supermodel named Marisa Miller poses to support the removal of SeaWorld. Known by many, SeaWorld is an organization that maintains countless theme parks around the nation in order to showcase killer whales and dolphins as entertainment for the American public. Within the past few years however, SeaWorld has drastically lost their fame and is now a corporation that is shunned by many. Countless cases of animal abuse, and the obvious evidence of unhappy whales and attacks on trainers, exemplify the pure mistreatment these majestic animals receive each and every day, and PETA is trying to put a stop to it. 

Joining forces with Marisa Miller, PETA created an advertisement to broadcast their feelings against SeaWorld and specifically target mothers and families to boycott the company. By clearly placing the word “SeaWorld” at the top center of the image, and adding their own derogatory twist to the definition, PETA reveals what really goes on behind the scenes. Each year innocent killer whales are ripped from their natural habitats and families to be placed in tanks and forced to perform tricks in front of large audiences. This may not seem like a big deal for many, but when put into the perspective of humans, and directly compared to events that could occur in our own lives, it makes the situation look a lot worse. No mother or family would want their child taken away from them, and that is exactly what PETA is trying to get the nation to understand. 

This type of targeting behavior and mood displayed by the advertisement appeals to ethos, and causes the audience to feel upset and motivated to make a difference. PETA achieves their purpose of raising awareness for the animal abuse and neglect that occurs at SeaWorld by inflicting this emotion. The only way a significant change could occur is if the general public gets involved, and shares their feelings towards the situation so that the company can be shut down entirely. The effective appeal to ethos and tragic mood that this advertisement displays truly pulls at the heartstrings of all Americans, specifically mothers and families.

TOW #4- IRB #1 First Half

      In the first half of my IRB #1, Hole in my Life by Jack Gantos, the beginning immediately starts off with the main character behind bars at the young age of twenty-one. Gantos, who is a prosperous writer, primarily of children and teen novels, is telling this memoir from his own first-hand experiences, which immediately establishes the credibility of the story. It highlights how his love and passion for writing was still able to thrive throughout his six-year sentence in jail, and how his experiences in prison opened his eyes to what truly matters in life.
      Following the introduction of the serious and twisted setting, the audience is thrown back in time to the events leading up to Gantos’ conviction, in which his troubled youth and rebellious behavior is deeply explained. He starts off as a successful high school student, but once his family moves to the Virgin Islands, leaving Gantos alone in Florida, he is unable to fend for himself. In attempts to meet back up with his family he travels to the Islands, but quickly falls into the wrong crowd and begins abusing drugs, specifically marijuana. This causes him to be rapidly thrown away from his family, studies, and interest in writing. The continuous lack of focus and constant partying that he displays gradually leaves him alone on the streets, and after countless drug exchanges Gantos eventually reaches his ultimate low. Tim, one of his closest friends and reason behind his drug usage, convinces Gantos to assist him in shipping two thousand pounds of marijuana to New York from their home in St. Croix. Upon approaching the middle of the story, their plan is then busted and Gantos is thrown into jail. The plot later returns to his jail cell, which the story initially began with, and explains how his exposure to this new environment has motivated him to get back into writing and whip himself back into the correct mindset.
      Countless rhetorical devices can be observed in the first half of Hole in My Life, such as the usage of foreshadowing and metaphors. On page 7, when Gantos’ father says, “These folks zigged when the world zagged. And once you cross that line, there’s no coming back. Mark my words," it is hinted to the audience that Gantos is going to lose his sense of self at some point later in the story, and that his neglect towards following his father’s advice is one of the reasons why. Also, metaphors such as, “The ship was a strange floating cell”, on page 80, help describe how trapped in Gantos and the crew felt when they went on their drug route to New York. They weren’t physically locked in a cell, but the limited ability for them to go anywhere and escape the sameness that they were surrounded by each day created insanity. Overall, these devices help Gantos get his message across clearer, and give the plot more support towards setting up his existence behind bars.