Cruelty to Women Overseas

           Of the many hot topics on the political table right now, it seems abortion never gets far from center stage. Opinions are so polar that an answer is becoming impossible. A writer on the New York Times editorial board has written this article not on whether or not abortion should or should not be legal, but instead he presents another piece of abortion that many have overlooked. The author’s writes his article to argue that attention needs to be focused on helping women overseas who are dying from unsafe abortions that are rooted in the Helms amendment, which restricts the use of United States foreign aid money to finance abortions overseas, even in places where abortion is legal. It appears that the author’s audience is adults looking for a different view of abortions, not just what is going on in our country.

            In order to achieve his purpose, the author employs several rhetorical devices to bolster his argument. In assessing the different devices, it seems the most prominent device is the use of exemplification. The author uses several examples, whether in numerical or descriptive form, to appeal to his audience’s logic and emotions. When opening his argument, he writes, “Each year some 47,000 women around the world die as a result of unsafe abortions.” The use of these short but effective examples shows the audience the scale of this problem and makes it real. The examples humanize the women oversea who are suffering, and make the audience realize that they must act or 47,000 will soon turn into 60,000. Overall, the use of exemplification helps strengthen the author’s argument so the audience remembers and acts on what they read.

            To conclude, I do believe the author achieved his purpose of bringing people’s attention to an American amendment that is preventing the US from saving several thousand women. By making both a logical and emotional appeal through out the article, the author makes it so his audience walks away with something. 

The Disturbed Tree

         In the hustle and bustle lives many of us have gotten tied up in, enjoying the natural environment has been placed on the back burner in the list of priorities. In the ever changing and developing world that we have brought ourselves into, there seems to be little room for nature among the asphalt and skyscrapers. In his animation, Leo de Wijs, an animator who has developed the reputation of creating “pro-nature” art, uses the Aristotelian appeals to show his audience the strength of nature in an industrial society.

Through a scene depicting a tree breaking through an asphalt surface with a background of greenery and light, the image argues that the natural world will overcome the artificial constructions that human constantly build. In order to communicate his argument to his audience, De Wijs employs pathos through the composition of the piece itself. The unsaturated colors and the use of softly blended line-work create a misty effect that contributes to a calm emotional effect. If de Wijs had employed a different compositional technique, such as sharper lines or a higher-contrasting color pallet, the piece might have appeared violent or expressed anger. Instead, the emotional quality of the piece is calming and soothing, suggesting that the portrayed scene of nature overcoming human creations is nothing to be feared. Additionally, de Wijs uses logos through his decision to use an entirely artificial, computer generated, medium to make a comment about the strength of nature over artificial constructions. The image appears to have been created with oil pastels or paints, but is in reality a completely digital image. This has the effect of forcing the audience to think more deeply about the relationship between the natural and artificial both as depicted in the picture and as aspects of the composition itself.

Overall, De Wijs's use of pathos through his soft line-work and soft colors is by far the most clearly identifiable Aristotelian appeal that helps him to accomplish his purpose. However, the logical aspect of his image also helps his audience to realize the need for nature that we are becoming starved of. 

The Glimpse Traveler

           The Glimpse Traveler is a true story set in 1971 that recounts a fateful, nine-day trip into the American counterculture that begins on a whim and quickly becomes a mission to unravel a tragic mystery. Marianne Boruch, a poet and Professor of English at Purdue University, successfully recreates the early 1970s with the inclusion of such memories like hippie hitchhikers, anti-war sentiments, and dope-induced haze. Boruch finally decided to recount her story 37 years after her journey because as she got older and began to mull the journey over again, she realized that it was not meant to be a story that she kept to herself.

            Although I am hardly past the exposition of the novel, I believe the author’s purpose in writing this novel is simply to bring her audience along for the journey, and not put them in the back seat. An audience that would get the most out of this novel is anyone who lived through the ‘70s making it possible to relate to Boruch’s references. Boruch achieves this purpose by using a very informal and conversational diction with her readers, rather than using language that seems she is talking at us not with us. Boruch goes as far as referring to her reader as “you” when she writes, “So I had one day to get ready. You saw how I packed” (Boruch 8). Although a seemingly miniscule detail, the use of you really does pull readers into the story and makes them feel like they are walking beside her in the California mountains. In the previous pages, when she was explaining what she was packing for the journey, it sounded as if she was expecting a response to reassure her that she was prepared.

            Although it is too early in the novel to see if the author truly achieves her purpose, I would say she is at least on the right track. I do feel enveloped in the story as I read because of her conversational, informal diction. If this engagement remains constant, there is no doubt in my mind that her purpose will be achieved by the end of the novel.