TOW #3 | Visual - Dr. Seuss's "Wipe That Sneer Off His Face!"

Dr. Seuss, while now known as a famous poet and author of countless numbers of children’s books, was once a popular political cartoonist during the time of World War II. “Wipe That Sneer Off His Face!” was published in PM Magazine on October 13, 1942. Seuss utilizes this cartoon as propaganda towards American citizens in an effort to convince people to buy war savings bonds and stamps. Through the use of facial expressions and clever diction, Seuss is able to persuade his audience into buying war bonds and stamps.

The use of the word “sneer” combined with the stereotypical Japanese soldier with a facial expression depicting a “sneer” helps Seuss to portray the Japanese in a pretentious, cocky light. His audience is already aware that the Japanese are part of the Axis Powers in World War II, meaning that they are rivals of the United States, who are a part of the Allies. By Seuss portraying the sneering facial expression, he conveys that the Japanese think that they are better off than Americans in terms of winning the war. The American citizens, in turn, feel a sense of disgust and abhorrence for the Japanese, and thus feel the need to help the Japanese “wipe off” the “sneers” on their faces. In order for citizens to help soldiers win against the Japanese, they must purchase war savings bonds and stamps in order to do so. Therefore, Seuss uses the audience’s disgust for the Japanese through clever diction to persuade them into buying war savings bonds and stamps.

Seuss, being that he drew this cartoon in the midst of World War II, aims his audience towards American citizens not participating in the war. He establishes his audience through the place he published the cartoon as well as the cartoon itself. The cartoon was published in PM magazine, a popular magazine at the time that most of the general public in America read. In addition, the cartoon refers to an effort to overthrow the Japanese, meaning that his audience was towards those on the side of the Allies, which include the United States.

In a response to the dire need of monetary support for the U.S. military, Seuss uses facial expressions and clever diction in his political cartoon and successfully persuades his audience to buy war savings bonds and stamps.

TOW #2 | IRB - Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers

In the book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell examines the outliers of society and figures out their patterns to success. Author to many other bestsellers such as Tipping Point, Blink, and David and Goliath, Gladwell takes his previous writing experiences along with research to synthesize his findings into a series of short “stories.” He uses well-known public figures and statistics to appeal to his audience and establish his credibility.

When discussing his “10,000 hour rule” theory, Gladwell references many well-known, successful figures like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Paul Allen, Eric Schmidt, etc. to show how almost all of today’s successful people were born between the years of 1955 and 1956. By using well-known people to prove his point, the audience is able to find more credence in Gladwell’s theories. Because the figures Gladwell listed are well-known, the audience is aware that all the people he listed were people that were highly paid and successful people. This reveals that Gladwell is not and cannot make any sort of logical fallacy in this specific conclusive synthesis of research.

Throughout the book, Gladwell utilizes detailed statistics and studies to portray a specific relationship between a certain variable with the success of a certain type of outlier. On pages twenty and twenty-one, Gladwell displays the player roster of the 2007 Medicine Hat Tigers, and inquires his audience to “take a close look and see if you [they] can spot anything strange about it” (20). Giving the audience a full, detailed list of the basketball roster and asking the audience themselves to examine it further add to his credibility. Gladwell himself had to examine the roster and figure out a pattern between these top star basketball players and their success. By providing the whole roster, Gladwell allows the audience to see the relationship between the basketball players’ birthdays and their success themselves. Much like using well-known figures, by showing the audience all the statistics, research, and steps Gladwell took in reaching his conclusion, the audience is able to find believability in his research and points that he makes throughout the book.

Gladwell does not target a specific audience. As stated in the introduction, he uses Outliers to “do for our understanding of success what Stewart Wolf did for our understanding of health” (11). By using collective terms like “our,” Gladwell places himself in the same category as the audience, as well as directly addressing the audience in an informal manner. By doing so, Gladwell closes the gap between author and reader and makes the audience feel close, almost face-to-face, with Gladwell himself.

TOW #1 | Written - The Moral Bucket List

With curiosity and a determination to reach moral success, David Brooks explores the nature of “deeply good” people. Journalist and author of “The Road to Character,” Brooks adapts an excerpt of his well-known novel in one of his New York Times article, “The Moral Bucket List.”  He highlights the idea that such people are not born with this ability, but are instead “self-made.” Through the use of examples and counterexamples, Brooks expresses his idea of what attributes to a genuine, humble person and compiles them into what he calls the “moral bucket list.”

Brooks lists each attribute in his moral bucket list: “The Humility Shift,” “Self-Defeat,” “The Dependency Leap,” etc. before analyzing the nature of each through an example. One topic in his list, “Energizing Love,” begins with addressing a well-known author and journalist, Dorothy Day. He explains the reckless life she previously lived—“drinking, carousing, a suicide attempt or two, following her desires, unable to find direction”—before showing how the birth of her daughter gave her the energizing love she needed to turn her life around. By using examples of well-respected figures, Brooks is able to show his audience how with each attribute he lists, there is evidence behind his findings. Since Dorothy Day is someone that particularly is known for turning her life around, the audience is thus able to make a logical connection between how “energizing love” can make someone a better person.

In an effort to connect with his audience, Brooks uses relatable types of exemplification to provide counterexamples for his claim. He begins one of his topics, “The Dependency Leap,” by pointing out the commonality of gifting “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” as a graduation present. Using this relatable counterexample, Brooks shows how unlike the book, life cannot be an “autonomous journey” to achieve moral success. He takes the idea of individual will, reason, and compassion expressed in the book and places it up against the horrors of selfishness, pride, and self-deception. The familiarity of the book helps the audience to relate and understand the opposing argument that follows the counterexample. Because the audience is aware of the context of the book, they are then able to realize through Brooks’s argument as to why these ideas of individual effort cannot lead to moral success.

Not only does this counterexample clarify Brooks’s argument and compel his audience, Brooks’s exemplification emphasizes the audience he is aiming towards. Using “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!”, a common graduation gift, displays that Brooks is reaching for an audience that is in the transition between high school and college or is beginning college. He focuses his primary audience as these young adults, for in that time of people’s lives, many are focused on maintaining high grades, studying hard, or getting a good job instead of the moral success that Brooks believes is much more important. By distinguishing a specific audience, Brooks shows the struggle, but crucial importance to achieving both career or economic success and moral success.

In a generation where everything from social media to teachers emphasize the idea of self-success, Brooks argues otherwise. He uses both examples and counterexamples to show how with self-awareness, help from others, and a little love, one can reach a kind of success that money or a stable job could never buy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/12/opinion/sunday/david-brooks-the-moral-bucket-list.html

MP1 | IRB Intro - Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers

Amongst the myriad of his bestselling books—Blink, The Tipping Point, and David and Goliath being a few examples—Malcolm Gladwell is most well known for his book Outliers. In a world full of different people, environments, and occupations, Gladwell finds a way to connect each and every concept down to a familiar point: success. Along with being an avid reader of Malcolm Gladwell’s books, the term “success” always had a deep meaning to me. Although I strive to be successful, the “why’s,” “how’s,” and the definition itself inhibit me from reaching the success that I yearn. By reading Outliers, I hope to use the short stories to help me learn how to be successful, figure out my own path to success, and redefine success itself.