TOW #10 - "It's Not Just Coffee"

      This painful-looking image comes from Starbucks Coffee, a well-known beverage company. It's an advertisement directed towards its customers, and the American public in general. It displays person, who appears to be a woman, having her eyelashes taped up, and she looks to be in panic. Most people would probably associate this action with torture, or scary movies, and it's known that people would feel uncomfortable from looking at it. Everyone knows that holding your eyelids open for even just a little while is extremely hard and all you want to do is close them. The caption, "staying awake will never be this painful anymore," is definitely a hyperbole because their audience isn't thinking of this picture when talking about how hard staying awake is. The whole image can be seen as hyperbole because of its exaggeration, but the company is using this idea as a way to reach towards the customers. Coffee is mostly seen as a way to stay awake and with this image. which could be seen as far reaching by itself, and the company's point is driven home. I think Starbucks was definitely effective in being able to show that their product's main purpose, besides just tasting good, also helps you to stay awake. Also, Starbucks wrote a catchy slogan at the bottom of the poster. It's short, easy to understand, and catchy enough for the average joe to remember it. It could be seen as a bit cheesy, but cheesy lines are a great way to get your audience to remember your product and choose it next time instead of your competitors, or in this case, Dunkin' Donuts. I think they were able to achieve their purpose, because Starbucks is known for being one of the most successful beverage companies all over the country, and possibly the world.

TOW #9 - "In Event of Moon Disaster"

This is taken from lettersofnote.com. 

William Safire, a speechwriter for President Nixon, wrote a speech in preparation in case the Moon Landing ended in disaster. He wanted to make sure that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were known for their sacrifice for the advancement of the country, and arguably the world. This purpose was undoubtedly achieved because of his use of repetition and an allusion. Safire repeats the phrase, "They will be mourned" multiple times throughout one paragraph, and it emphasizes how important their work has been, and how many people will be affected by what could happen. He also references Greek mythology saying that men used to look at the stars to see their heroes in the constellations, which is similar to what the modern people would do in the unfortunate case of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin's passings. A reference to Greek mythology also establishes credibility for the author, to show that he is educated. This idea of being heroes is carried throughout the essay, describing them as "epic men" and men that are trying to achieve "mankind's most noble goal" in attempting to "reach truth and understanding." This might be seen as a bit of exaggeration, but he does it to really show how imperative it is that people remember these explorers. Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong are still seen as "epic men," and are learned about in schools all over the country, so it proves that Safire's opinion and purpose was valid and achievable. In Event of Moon Disaster also gives instructions to the president (at this time, it was Nixon) in how to act before and after giving his speech. Safire says that before the president is to express his condolences to the nation, he should phone the widows. After the speech when NASA ends communication with them, a clergyman must adopt the same procedure as a burial at sea. This is how William Safire ends his speech, describing that their souls deserve the "deepest of the deep," further reiterating his point of how significant these men were.

IRB Intro Post #2

This marking period I am going to read Bossypants by Tina Fey. It is an autobiography where she highlights events on her journey to becoming a famous comedian and how she evolved into the inspiring person she is now. I am a huge fan of Tina Fey and I also wanted to read something that was completely different from my last IRB (which was about Nazi Germany). I am very excited to read a story with a lot of humor in it and can't wait to dive into this book!

TOW #8 - "The Nazi Officer's Wife" (Part 2)

After sharing information about Edith's (Grete's) life during the war, her experiences before the war began to slowly shine through as the book went on. Since her outstanding knowledge and study skills were so rare, she was asked to go to university in Austria, and later kicked out because of her religion. Then, the Nazis invaded Austria and things went from bad to worse. Her family was forced to move to a ghetto but Edith managed to escape. With everyone she loved separated from her, Edith felt alone until she met a man she fell in love with, and a woman who was able to give her fake documentation. These "Aryan papers" allowed her to live in Germany and be "safe" from everything that was happening to her people. Edith Hahn Beer's attempt at imagery and powerful descriptions led to an incredible amount of tension that I'm sure echoed her real life experience. This tension made this novel so easy to get through, and the fact that it is all non-fiction made me feel an emotional attachment to it. Also, the tension created an eerie atmosphere that made the reader question everyone, and see what happened next. It also made it really hard to read it because the whole time I was scared that something bad would happen to Edith, even though I knew everything worked out for her in the end. At first I thought the purpose was to share the other side of the people that were affected by the Holocaust and World War II, but now I think that she wrote this book purely to share how everyone's situation might have been different, but everyone was united in their struggles. She talks of other Jews and their experience, but also of the Germans struggling because of the war efforts. They were poor and had to give everything to benefit the war, and even though it was a different kind of suffering, I think she wanted to emphasize that no one was immune to it. Her effort made it easy for her to achieve this purpose, and made the reader sympathize for her as well as the lesser-known sufferers of this World War.