Sunday, December 15, 2013

TOW#13: Text "Boy Comes Out On Facebook, Mother Writes Incredible Letter Of Support" James Nichols

Coming Out

Imagine how terrifying it is for a person to "come out of the closet". Will they accept me, or will they kick me out of the house? A boy named Zach wrote on his Facebook that he was gay. His mother happened to see the post and wrote a letter in response to it. She stated that she completely supported him and that his sexual preference did not change who he was. The mother uses humor and supportive words to show that she completely supports and loves Zach no matter what.

Zach's mother uses humor to show that there are more things important than his sexual preference. In her letter she states, "The only thing that concerns me is the number of empty soda cups and tea bottles in your room. Throw them away before ants come inside." The way she mentions the messiness of his room shows that she does not care that he is gay and that there are more important aspects of life than which gender someone prefers. She also writes this to end the situation in a funny note so that her son knows that she is okay with his sexuality, thus showing that his sexuality does not change how she feels about him.

Zach's mother also uses supportive words to show that in any case she is always on his side. In the letter she emphasizes that, "I love you unconditionally. I love you with my actions, not just my words. I’m so proud of you. You are the bravest person I know. I’ll fight for you always." Her encouraging words truly show that she loves her son regardless of his sexual preference and that what he did was very courageous. She is not only accepting of the fact that he is a homosexual, but she is supportive of the way he had the courage to come out. This way she not only showed that she still loves him whether he is heteosexual or not but she showed that no matter what he does in his life, she will love and support him always.

People like Zach's mother are the ones who give people the courage to come out of the closet. Besides the fact that she showed her love for her son regardless of his sexual preference, she showed that the type of people he likes does not define who he is and that anything he does, she will support him. Yet there are others who are not as accepting as Zach's mother. One day, will people accept everyone for who they are?



The letter written to Zach
 (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/04/mom-beautiful-letter-gay-son_n_3867793.html)

Sunday, December 8, 2013

TOW#12: IRB "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls

This Can Happen

This is an amazing story about a girl named Jeannette Walls who has lived an unsteady lifestyle her entire life. Her dad constantly makes the family move every time he finds a new job and he is an alcoholic. When Jeannette was younger, her dress caught on fire when she tried making her own hotdog. After she was rushed to the hospital, her dad sneaks her out to avoid paying the bill. Imagine living life this way throughout your entire childhood.

The most fascinating part about this story is that it is real. All the events told throughout the story were not made up. They actually happened to a person. Walls in retelling her life in words the way she remembers it. The fact that everything is true allows the reader to sympathize with the author more and also Walls is able to appeal to pathos and ethos. This story makes people think, "Wow! I never thought a person could go through something like this!"

Walls most likely wrote this story to share the world with her unique adventure. Never in a million years would people think of a true situation such as this. She most likely took more than one try in writing this book. She knows that her life was embarrassing and pitiful. Her writing this books seems to be a very courageous move. It isn't easy writing about your entire life when every moment is pretty much a bummer.

Walls seems to understand that there are many children who struggle with the types of parents they have. She probably wanted to relate with those people and to show them that they are not alone. But she also knows that her type of situation is very rare. She probably wanted to encourage those to speak out and to not be afraid to talk about their lives.

Reading this book, I was able to see another viewpoint of another person's life. The things that Walls was able to overcome amazes me and also the fact that she endured this as such a young girl is crazy. The fact that she tells a true story of her life ables her to appeal to pathos and ethos, thus being able to connect with other people who have family struggles just like she does.

Jeannette Walls
(http://www.gradesaver.com/author/jeannette-walls/)


Tuesday, December 3, 2013

TOW#11: (Visual) "Meet Otis"

Buying Dog Food Saves Dogs

A dog is a man's best friend. Not Otis. Otis is a bulldog that lives in a shelter because he was abandoned by his former owner. He waits everyday behind a fence for his new best friend. Pedigree, a dog food brand, offered to donate money to shelters in order to help dogs like Otis into a new home. To convince people in supporting this cause, Pedigree creates an advertisement, in which Otis is the center of the picture behind a fence looking sorrowful. 

Pedigree appeals to pathos in order to attract people into buying their dog food. Otis's sad facial expression allows the reader to feel guilty for him and makes them want to contribute to the cause. The way Otis is behind the fence gives off the expression of being trapped. This also makes the reader feel extremely guilty, which would convince them to buy Pedigree dog food. 

This is not just an ordinary advertisement that a dog lover decided to make during their spare time; this was the actual Pedigree company itself that created this advertisement. By doing this, they appeal to ethos because the fact that they are a legitimate dog food brand allows the reader to believe the advertisement more and pay attention to it more than if this were just a random picture with words. 

This advertisement may have been made a little while ago, however, there are still abandoned dogs today. Otis should consider himself lucky because some dogs may not even be fortunate enough to be in a shelter. 

The overall feel of this advertisement is depressing and pitiful. The advertisement is able to manipulate the reader into feeling remorse as if they did not help, then something horrible would occur to the dog.

The advertisement brilliantly conveys the "sadness" of the dog and is able to convince the readers into buying their dog food. They appeal to pathos by using a small, hopeless looking dog and by focusing on the unhappy expressions on its face. They are also able to appeal to ethos because they are a huge dog food brand, which gives them trust about this situation and the understanding of how serious this state is. Who knew dog food saved dogs? 


(http://wallstreetjobreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Pedigree_Adoption_Otis.jpg)
The sad and lonely Otis.