TOW #24 IRB

Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman, tells the story of Richard P. Feynman, an eccentric physics nobel prize winner. Mr. Feynman is a hilarious atomic physicist who has traded work with some of the greats such as Einstien and Bhor along with some other wacky shenanigans. This book is full of different rhetorical devices that translate Feynman's brilliance  to the reader. Feynman's main use of rhetorical devices are the ones that transfer his ideas and images to his readers. To best analyze this text I am going to use SOAPSTone. The speaker of this text is Richard P. Feynman, a scientist and nobel prize winner and in the story he speaks as a narrator in the first person while he tells the story of his life. His position as a storyteller gives the readers a good sense of his thoughts as well as a good grasp of what's going on in the particular anecdote. This story is written as a retelling of the influential moments of his life and occurs over a large span of years. Feynman's audience is mostly people who enjoy the field of science or are familiar with him as an accomplished scientists. This makes him alter his diction to include jargon from the field of science. His purpose is to convey just how zany his life has been and how that has influenced his career and his accomplishments. He makes the subject of this story is himself because it is an autobiography. His tone is very light and joking to convey how funny his life has been but also fascinated to show hos interested in his field he is.  

TOW # 23 Dave Barry "Revenge of the Pork Person"

"Revenge of the Pork Person", what kind of literature is that? Will they be talking about some mutated pigs that have become bipedal and started to walk? Well in a way it does. Dave Barry, the author of "Revenge of the Pork Person", is a passage about how the false standards given to women are making them uncomfortable with themselves and how they fit into the clothes that they buy. Dave Barry uses hyperbole to create humor and subconsciously convince women that these standards are unobtainable and unwise to try and meet. Barry's first example of hyperbole is his description of a male. He paints a picture of a greasy, gross, old man who can still be considered attractive. This is meant to convince women that they don't have to be perfect, or even to look that good to be attractive to someone, which is hopefully a confidence booster. He then tells the story of his neighbor who looked fine but was self conscious about her ankles not looking good. By giving an example of something ridiculous like that, the women in his audience can hopefully find a way to laugh at how ridiculous their insecurities are, much like how that thought the woman's were ridiculous. Finally, Barry describes the look of a perfect looking model. He describes a modern model as a person is tall like an amazon, who has been nipped and tucked, and is abnormally thin. This humoring of the model physique gives the impression that the standards set forth for women are completely ridiculous and should not be taken seriously.

TOW #22 RFK Speech

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/rfkonmlkdeath.html
This speech given by Robert F. Kennedy, brother of President John F. Kennedy, is in memoriam of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In this address to the public of America, wrote artfully and used many rhetorical devices not only make the public aware of the tragic happenings that had gone on but also to convey MLK's message of racial harmony. One would expect the diction in a remembrance address would be soft and non offensive, RFK did not follow this pattern. He used blunt diction all through out his speech. He first, instead of talking of MLK's "passing" or another euphemism for death, he directly stated that he was "shot and killed." RFK also instead of trying to sugar coat the issue if racial separation, he addressed the two races as black or white. This unyielding diction conveys the serious condition of their situation. Bluntly referring to his death as a death and not something softer makes people realize that this was not just a "passing away" but a serious and deliberate shooting. By labeling the races as he did creates a greater divide between them, which makes MLK's resolve even more pertinent. RFK also makes an allusion to "his favorite poet" Aeschylus. He alludes to a poem of his about stepping past pain and moving into acceptance and wisdom. He then uses this poem to help teach the black community to forgive but never forget about what ha happened that day.

TOW #21 Superman milk ad

This advertisement for milk may only seem like a promo for milk which is selling out for Supermen, but it is actually chock full of rhetorical devices. Superman is a large and iconic character which one would not often associate with milk, and this ad uses that to it's advantage and argue that you should drink milk. This article uses an allusion, juxtaposition, and a deductive argument to convince its readers to drink milk. The first rhetorical device that this ad uses is an allusion. The ad alludes to one of the most famous super heroes of all time, Superman. By alluding to Superman, one of the strongest and best of the superheroes whose name has become synonymous with being great, and implying that he drinks milk makes the reader think that if they drink milk, they will be a "superman". This article also takes superman and juxtaposes him with their blurb about milk. They paint an image of a strong human in their description of what calcium does to your body; but by juxtaposing superman with those words, they create a basis to compare to and make the readers think that by having their calcium they will "become superman". This article also structures their argument deductively. The article implies that it is good to be super, they say that the calcium in milk will make you super, so therefore you should drink milk. This argument is not only easy to follow, but also makes its readers feel like becoming like superman is easy to achieve.