Knoxville: Summer of 1915 (Text TOW#14)

       Written as a prologue for James Agee’s prize winning work “A Death in the Family”, “Knoxville: Summer of 1915” is a surprisingly serene and peaceful piece. Though written in 1938, on the eve of the famous and devastating Second World War, the family portrayed by Agee is still living in the summer of 1915, enjoying the sunshine, the flowers, and the natural scenery of American South.

       James Agee himself, perhaps, was never really a man of worries. Graduated from Harvard University, Agee always found jobs when he needed it, including offers from the famous Time magazine. Ironically, his piece, now universally acceptable to all type of audiences to read, at that time probably was mainly for white and literate readers, sadly leaving a tint of racial inequality in such peaceful work of art. His intention toward the piece, however, was never infiltrated by racial prejudice. Instead, the piece contrasts between the void and beauty of life, giving the readers a sense of emptiness mixed with appreciation.

       With a mixture of poetic narration and imageries, Agee gives the reader a picture of life in its most indelible form. Descriptions of how hoses in the garden “turned to the size and style of stream as any violin” (Oates 172), how “sleep, soft smiling, draws children unto her” (Oates 175), and how “[homes] but will not, oh will not, not now, not ever; but will not ever tell people who they are” (Oates 175) instantly gives readers a poetic first impression of life, then a contrasting second impression toward living. The alliteration and harmonizing syntax Agee chooses to use simply is a sign of brilliancy, drawing readers into the poetic world with the prose as a bridge. In addition, the contrasting impressions the poetic sentences build upon the reader, the sense of musical, even ethereal beauty, juxtaposed with a sense of uncertainty, of ambivalence, almost pushes the readers off the cliff named “life” and forces them to experience both the beauty and void, both the exciting and boring----in essence, the common, banal, and every day, aspects of life.

       And life in its most natural form is presented.

The Diary of a Napoleonic foot soldier (IRB TOW #13)

       “Peace” is a term many people in the modern times take for granted, especially those living in fairly well-off societies. However, little did they thought of the men, the regular Napoleonic foot soldier who fought for his very life few hundred years ago, the lucky yet terrified survivor from Napoleon’s erroneous Russian campaign; little did they thought of Jacob Walter. Written in the form of diaries and eventually collected into a coherent book, “The Diary of a Napoleonic foot soldier” details the story of Walter when he served in the Napoleonic army and contrasts in vivid detail the state of war and peace.

       Walter himself, when writing the diaries, probably never expected his writings to be a precious primary source for both the historians and future citizens to read and reflect upon. His writings were meant to be a self-reflection, a way for him to memorize the struggles he went through as a Napoleonic soldier. Yet, the apparent juxtaposition of tone and imagery Walter used from the start of his hellish Russian campaign to his eventual survival and retirement transcends his initial purpose of preserving memory, and to modern day readers, the text establishes a convincingly portrayal of the ineffable value of peace.

       The anxious tone and despondent imagery that characterized Walter’s description of his Russian campaign was distinctly contrasted with the joyous tone and delightful imagery of Walter when he reached his town and was at peace at last. The horrifying anxiety and sense of foreboding, the belief that “I might be taken over by the peasant village and killed”, the need of “to ride as quickly as possible over crack of ice to avoid the villagers” (Walter 97) changed imminently to the happiness of seeing his friends, “the feeling of heavenly joy, of the providence of God, and of the miracle of nature” (Walter 107) when he returned to a state of peace. No longer does Walter feel the danger of being killed nor the need to ride quickly. His peaceful position, as the tone portrays, allows Walter to slow down and feel happiness, feel God, and feel nature.

    
   Walter is lucky; he is one of the few who truly comprehends the great value of peace.

Imagine (visual TOW#12)

Lego is becoming an increasingly popular and globally recognized children product in modern society. People, children and parent alike, find it fascinating how the tiny squared shape pieces can produce such an abundance of varieties, ranging from sky-reaching towers to baby toy trucks. The Lego Company, from the instant they released their product, knew the essence of their product’s success lies in the infinite possibilities it can produce, and more importantly, the consumers’ imaginations.

Targeting primarily children but also adults, the Lego Company decides to produce an advertisement emphasizing the magic of creativity to appeal to even more potential customers. The advertisement looks simple, and it is designed to be so. A yellow piece of Lego standing conspicuously in a light green background, the first impression of the audience centers immediately on the eye-catching Lego; yet, the picture does not look intrusive or blunt. The Lego Company ingeniously chose the light green background to give both the children and adult a subtle hint of lightness, of calmness, of, at the most basic level of human interpretation, peace. “Lego is appropriately fun” is the essence of the message. The Yellow Lego is the center of attention and an attraction to many as the product is already so popular, and the calming light-green background is the brilliant supplement asserting to little children and their parents that the fun of Lego is peaceful and friendly.

   The emphasis and the money-making contrast in the advertisement, however, are not between the background and the focus, but between the focus and the imagination. First glance, a yellow Lego stands out in a light-green background. Second glance and most people will see the shadow of the yellow Lego is casting a shape like a dinosaur. Upon scrutiny, the audience will soon realize that the shape of the yellow Lego is like that of a dinosaur. Of course, the Lego Company does not endorse dinosaurs, nor does it believe dinosaurs will earn them more customers. The shadow is meant as a symbolism to imagination, and the shape of the Lego is meant to be seen as the infinite possibilities a Lego set can produce. The Lego Company knows their product’s success depends on its appeal to imagination, so they explicitly showed their audience, who will likely become their customers, of the possibilities awaiting them.

“To infinity and beyond”

The Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Soldier ( IRB TOW#11)

       “Desperation, grueling, and apathy”---- Jakob Walter, a German soldier who served in the Napoleonic army from 1806 to 1813, had personally experienced the hellish meanings behind these words. Born in a Middle Class family, Walter was at first attracted to the glories of a seemingly undefeatable giant at his time, Napoleon. However, war, as he becomes gradually intimately familiar with, was far from what he expected, and his diary, the only known diary from a regular soldier in Napoleon’s army, reflected a gradual loss of innocence.

       Walter, of course, was little aware of the historical significance of his diary as he wrote it. The diary to him was more for his family and himself. His narration from the relatively light Prussia campaign to the all-out terrifying Russian disaster reflected more of him trying to lighten his heart than anything else. Yet, unintentionally, Walter’s diary also manifested itself as a compelling argument against warfare and brought revelation to the real war-time experience of a normal soldier.

       Walter seemed to be especially talented at using imageries and tone to convey his thoughts and mood. He started with playful imageries in describing his Prussia campaign, how “Soldier Hummel wanted to frighten people for fun, so he took his rifle, cocked the Hummel and shot; soldiers were running wild at the time”(Walter 4). From there, the imageries gradually became increasingly depressing, finally reaching the zenith during the Russian campaign when “the banks on both sides of the bridge were filled with dead piled three and four deep”(Walter 54). The deliberate use of increasingly despondent imageries perfectly described the increasing pressure he is feeling for his life. As for the contemporary readers, the imageries blatantly portrayed the inevitable process of losing innocence.

       Assisting the rich yet gruesome imageries in Walter’s diary is his change of tone. Walter’s tone portrayed his thoughts and character. His initial respect toward “Emperor Napoleon” when he “was given good quarter and food everywhere”(Walter 1) turned into bitterness and depression toward “Napoleon” when he “run away from the Russian enemy like gypsies” and constantly “expected the utmost famine”(Walter 39). From “Emperor” to just “Napoleon,” from “good” to “famine,” Walter is slowly collapsing due to the terrifying campaigns. His change of tone portrayed his escalating depression, and to the contemporary readers, portrayed the inhumanness of war.

       Rest well, Walter.

Graven Images by Saul Bellow (Text TOW#10)

   Immortality, power, and fame are what many people pursue in life and why, according to Saul Bellow, photograph is so powerful. Published in 1997 in the “News from Republic of Letters”, “Graven Images”, one of Bellow’s later essays, contemplates on the increasing role of digital photography in human society and its relationship with human ambition and privacy. As a winner of the literature Nobel Prize and numerous other literary awards, Saul Bellow continues to amaze the literary society with a brilliant essay

       Though the essay is open to everyone, the primary audience is mainly the literary citizens in advanced societies, such as in Europe and the United States. Bellow is clearly assuming that his audience knows the photograph phenomena he is describing, and will have the ability to reflect upon his own contemplation of digital photography and human nature, which, in Bellow’s eyes, is both fragile and grandiose.

       In discussing the nature of photography and human, Bellow most prominently used imageries and an intimate diction to both condense his reasoning into a concrete and seeable form and encompass the audience into his essay. As he described the fragility of human privacy and the power of exposure of photography, he used an image, saying “photographs will meaninglessly enlarge the pores of my skin and the huge paisley-shaped bruises under your eyes” (Oates 565). When Bellow portrayed the power of photographs to bring immortality, he detailed a photograph of his grandfather, “his beard is spread over his upper body; his elbow rests on the top of his walking stick and his hand supports his head”(Oates 568). The images Bellow describes are powerful as they show, not tell, the nature of photographs and human.

       The intimate tone Bellow uses consistently throughout the essay simply adds on to his brilliancy as a writer. As he discusses human desire for approval, he states “Amour prompre, with all its hypocritical tricks, is the product of your bourgeois outlook.” (Oates 565). When he turns the topic to photography and humanness, he wrote “photograph reduces us to two dimensions.”(Oates 567). The use of an intimate diction encourages the readers to connect with the text and impose their own reflections on the topic, not only from Bellow’s point of view but their own.

       Photography is new, but the humanity it portrayed, as Bellow successfully asserts, did not change.

Coatesville by John Jay Chapman (text TOW #9)

A black man was tortured and put to death on August of 1911 in Coatesville, Pennsylvania. Dozens of American citizens committed the heinous act, hundreds of American citizens stood idly witnessing the event happen, and one man, after reading the tragedy through news, was enraged and depressed. The man is called John Jay Chapman, and he was a then a mildly known lecturer and literature critic. The speech he delivered in Coatesville the following year, however, went beyond the boundaries of either academic discussion or literature analysis. Chapman articulately condemned humanity’s tendency of inaction and questioned humanity’s belief in educational progress At first, only two people attended to his commemoration of the black man and heard his speech, but many more gradually became aware of his address, even to the extent that the speech was recognized in “Memories and Milestones”.

       Chapman’s speech did not become great because it compelled listeners to reflect upon their unconcern The speech became great because of itself, because of how Chapman crated it. Chapman deliberately opened his speech with heart-touching imageries to emphasize on his views of humanity’s natural sinfulness. He described how “a few desperate, fiend-minded man had been permitted to torture and burn a Black man(Oates 71), he emphasized on how “hundreds of well-dressed American citizens, idly watching, made no attempt to stay the wickedness”(Oates 71), and he then remarked “I seemed to be looking at the heart of a criminal” (Oates 72). The American people, the educated and well-dressed people, were permitting evil to happen. Chapman saw the education but not the heart.

       Chapman, after overwhelming his listeners with disturbing imageries, then brilliantly connected the imageries to his listeners and even the American public through the emphasize on “we”. He anticipated a possible rejection to his argument, saying “some may argue we cannot act” and gave a forceful answer “we can, we are involved, and we are still looking on” (Oates 73). “we” to Chapman represents the nation, it represents humanity, and Chapman’s speech, as himself stated, represents the “truth that touches all age and affects all souls in the world”(Oates 74).

       The truth, as Chapman asserted, is still with us today.

 

IRB Introduction- The Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Soldier

Napoleon is forever remembered as a military genious, and his army, a fearsome war machine. However, humans are more than just what they had accomplished, and to show the world that Napoleon is a man, that his army are composed of people made with flesh and blood and soul, Jakob Walter, a common foot soldier in the Napoleonic army, wrote the first and the last collection of memories about his general and about himself. Spending over 6 years in the famed Napoleonic army, Walter's memoirs span from the initial Prussia campaign Napoleon used to secure his ditatorship to the infamous Russia campaign that caused Napoleon's downfall. The book catched my attention while I was searching for a good non-fiction primarily because of author seemed to emphasize more on the cruelties of war than glories. Walter not only describes the fallacies of the great general but also his own gradual lost of innocence and the pain of many others. So many people say great things about Napoleon, it will be interesting to see the contrary. Hopefully, a fuller depiction of Napoleon and his man will  be presented to me.

Atomic fear (TOW #8Visual Text)

       World War II was a time period characterized by ambiguity and depression, and the overarching fear of humanity’s destructive potential was, ironically, manifested at its height during the end of the gruesome war, characterized most prominently by the devastating power of atomic bombs on Japanese land. Responding to the fearsome atomic bombs, on August 8 of 1945 an American newspaper, The Anderson Independent, published the political cartoon “We have come to stay” and straightforwardly and effectively questioned the future of humanity under such precarious foundations.

       Both the newspaper’s influence and the cartoon’s simple manifestation helped readers to instantly grasp the core idea of uncertainty in an atomic age yet to come. The newspaper was popular and widely read throughout the United States, especially in the South, and in turn the political cartoon targeted all Americans in the United States, literate and illiterate, with a strong certainty that it will receive many readers. In addition, the simple outlines with dark and white contrast also made the whole message of the cartoon explicit to the readers. The two gigantic monsters, shaped like the common perceived representation of death, in the picture each carried a suitcase that together became “atomic bomb”, directly referencing the horrible and possible long-lasting effects of atomic power. On the other end, the human is portrayed as defenseless and weak, with only an umbrella to protect himself. The image instantly allows the reader to contrast the mere strength between atomic bombs and humanity, and forces the readers to consider about the huge destructive potential of atomic bombs and the uncertain outcomes of the future if these bombs continue to exist.

       What made the implications of the political cartoon seem even more convincing was its use of historical reference. When the cartoon was released, the news of Japan being nuked was widespread around the world, and most, if not all, of the American people were probably aware of the fact. In the cartoon, the human wearing Japanese traditional clothes, shoes, and umbrella is definitely an representation of Japan. The atomic bombs had already visited Japan, the readers knew it and the author knew it. Yet, what neither the author nor the readers knew, and what the author was driving toward, was if the United States, if humanity, would follow the same fate as Japan in the future.

       The answer was and still is uncertain.

The Future is Now by Katherine Anne Porter (Text TOW #7)

       Written in the 1950s, a time period of uncertainty and fear, of the over-arching shadow of atomic bombs, The Future is Now presents a new perspective of viewing destiny and another reason to be progressive. Though initially aimed at mainly mature college readers as the essay was first published in Mademoiselle, a young adult magazine, the essay gradually diffused throughout the American public over time.

As it was primarily written to encourage the doubtful people of their brighter future ahead, the article itself is an intricate philosophical reflection detailing the narrator’s puzzlement about the inescapable depression of the atomic age and his final regain of faith in human progress. Porter knew the silent suffering of not knowing what the next second will become as she admitted her puzzlement over “why waster energy on a table that was to be used merely for crawling under at some unspecified date” (Oates 194). However, she also wants the people to know that life is far from over, that “when people want something better, they may have it” (Oates 198).

Yet, what made Porter’s essay successful was more than her message; it was the way she conveyed the message. Porter as an author had already won several writing awards, including the Pulitzer Prize, before she wrote this essay. The fame of her being a renown writer already adds sincerity and trustworthiness to her insight. In addition, Porter convinces her readers that she know their silent suffering of uncertainty. She knew the horror living under the atomic age, that “real safety seems to lie simply in being somewhere else at the time, the farther away the better” (Oates 193). Yet, all uncertainty , both her’s and the reader’s, was washed away when she offered a simple anecdote, a men cleaning his table and her realization that “he is doing something he feel is worth doing” (Oates 195). The action itself is trivial, but the power of the men to focus on the present and trust in that the future will be rewarding to the actions taken in the present, that the table will not be used simply as a shelter for bombs but as a faithful company to the men, is insightful.

       Trivial actions are being performed all the time, and in these actions, Porter argues, hold the key to the future.

How it feels to be colored me By Zora Neale Hurtson (Text TOW#6)

      Published in The World Tomorrow in 1928, Zora’s essay, How it feels to be colored me, stands incongruous to its surroundings. At a time when racial segregation and racial identities were emphasized heavily, Zora portrayed to her audience an African-American girl accepting and embracing the melting-pot American society. Such an idea of human uniformity may be a shock to many at the time period, especially since the essay is published in a popular American magazine consumed by people of all races, but it fits perfectly for Zora, as an anthropologist and human rights activist.

Through her description of an American African-American girl accepting the shared culture of America, Zora attempted to convince her readers, the American public, that similarity people share is much more important that their differences, such as color. As she appeals to her audience, Zora emphasizes upon the value of individuals, and cautions the readers not to categorize anyone simply based on race and color.

 What makes Zora’s essay successful and impactful to her audience is the fitting use of imagery and analogy. She remarked “When I set my hat at a certain angle and saunter down Seventh Avenue, feeling as snooty as the lions in front of the Forty Second street… the cosmic Zora emerges” (Oates117). The actions and feelings of Zora, how she sauntered down Seventh Avenue and felt as snooty as the lions, gave Zora a human face for readers to connect to. Zora, in this description, is enjoying life and ignorant of the racial problems in the world. She gave the audience an impression that she is Zora, an individual belonging to neither race nor time. In later paragraphs, Zora also presented her audience an imagery of bags, “white, red and yellow” (Oates 117) and how the bags can be “all be dumped into a single heap and refilled without altering the contents greatly” (Oates 117). Likely many readers are more insensitive to “bags” instead of “race” at the time. Zora, instead of talking directly about race, chose to talk about different color bags so that she can connect to all parts of the American public, and let all of them at least ponder about the similarities shared by human beings.

Bags are universal. They can be dumped and refilled without changing much; Zora asserts, so are human.

Hiroshima by John Hersey (IRB TOW#1)

       Life was never the same again for the people who experienced the flash known as the atomic bomb in Hiroshima in 1945. Millions lost their lives, families were torn apart, and cities destroyed. John Hersey reflected all of these tragedies in his chronicle Hiroshima and examined the fate of two doctors, a clerk, a widow, a Japanese pastor, and a German Jesuit whose lives were changed forever. However, beyond drawing the public’s attention to the impact of weapons, Hersey also put much emphasis on how the six main characters coped with the disastrous change in the latter of his book, and he spent over fifteen years researching and interviewing the Hiroshima survivors in order to do so.

       The final version of Hiroshima, included with the complete follow up of the six main characters, was translated into many languages and published in1979, a time period characterized by change and uncertainty through events such as the Cold War. Many people were overwhelmed and uncertain of the future. Yet, Hersey thought otherwise. He looked at change from another angle and his chronicle of the aftermath of Hiroshima bombing presented a universal theme of the continuation of life.

       An important device Hersey used to comfort his readers of changes was anecdotes, and he did so through the detailing of how the six main characters lived after the Hiroshima atrocity in a third-person perspective and an objective tone. While describing the life of Dr. Sasaki, one of the survivors, he wrote “Dr. Sasaki decided quit working for the hospital and to set himself up…”(Hersey 103); when describing Jesuit Takakura, he wrote “he felt enterprising, and, had builders add two rooms in the chapel.”(Hersey 113). Though bombarded with changes, none of the characters Hersey detailed gave up, which fits the theme of life’s continuity and appeals especially to readers who were in times of change themselves. In addition, not much imaginations can be associated with these descriptions, which gives the author a sense of authenticity and authority and makes events seem believable from a historical perspective.

       As readers began to be drawn into the anecdotes of survivors and their strong hold on life, Hersey then successfully sent out his message to society: life moves on.

Evolution of Dr. Pepper (Visual TOW #4)

 

With simple colors in contrast, the visual text presents an image of a primitive monkey at a supposed “pre-pepper” stage, an evolving monkey at “pepper-discovery” stage, and an evolved monkey, known as humans, at the “post-pepper” stage. The advertisement is one of many created by the Dr.Pepper cooperation, a soft-drink company, in 2012 and can be found in many places on the internet. However, despite its ubiquitous appearance, the advertisement is clearly not aimed at all potential buyers of Dr.Peppers. The very act of associating Dr.Pepper with the principle of evolution in a mutual relationship offends potentially all religious people who look upon evolution with a high critical, if not disdainful, eye, and the context in which the visual text is presented does not necessarily fit its targeted audience.

  Despite the visual text’s controversial means of presenting its message, the message itself is simply and explicit: buy Dr.Pepper because the drink tastes good and assists in the bettering of mankind as a species. Though obviously exaggerated, the advertisement posed by the Dr.Pepper company does catch audiences’ eyes. There is little reason to associate the idea of evolution with the idea of drinking Dr.Pepper, so at first sight many people’s attention will naturally be drawn to this incoherent image. Only under further scrutiny will one read the description “evolution of flavor”, and understand that the evolution is not about organisms but about the flavor of Dr.Pepper.

       In addition, the simply color and imagery usage of the visual text also enhances its clarity and simplicity. Audience will not be bombarded by flowery colors or complex imageries characteristic of other advertisements. All they have to deal with is a simple mixture of red and white and general images of monkeys and human. In doing so, Dr.Pepper cooperation assured that the audience can get the general purpose even with a busy glance so that their impression will likely be “Dr.Pepper is good” instead of “that ad took me so long to comprehend”.

       Despite the visual texts positive attributes, it is probably insufficient in achieving its purpose. The way the text is presented will likely offend many religious people, and since the text is widespread across the internet, there really is no way to limit the range of audience, and therefore the text may likely cause Dr.Pepper to lose as much support as it can gain.

Bop by Langston Hughes (TOW #3)

       Music comes from people’s souls, and Be-bop, a form of American “colored folks’ music” (Hughes 191), tells the struggle of Black Americans in the 20^th century.

       “From the police beating Negroes’ head” (Hughes 191) is how Langston Hughes explain the origin of Be-bop. In his essay, Hughes used a conversation about Be-bop music between an African-American tenant and an African-American landlady to extend the meaning of prejudice against blacks. “Most white folks can’t play Be-bop”, Hughes writes, “ [because] Bop comes out of them dark days” (Hughes 191). Most white folks can’t play Be-bop not because of their ability in music, but because of their different history with the suffering African-Americans. Be-bop in Hughes eye clearly goes beyond its surface music value. It is a symbol for the blacks’ scarred history, a reminder of how Blacks were used to be abused.

Hughes did not forget the struggle, and he does not want other African-Americans to forget either. As a known civil rights activist and famed author with many world-recognized writings, such as the Weary Blue, Hughes published Bop in The Chicago Defender , a popular newspaper within the African-American community, in 1949. The essay itself emphasizes on the struggle of blacks against racial prejudice in the American society and cautions the young African-Americans who want to forget about the darkness of their heritage.

By deliberately juxtaposing a naive African-American tenant with a knowledgeable elder, Hughes shows his African-American readers the importance of knowing their past.When the African-American tenant heard about the origin of Be-bop, he responded, “your explanation depresses me” (Hughes 192). The landlady, portrayed by Hughes as someone who is aware of African-American’s struggling past, said “your nonsense depresses me” (Hughes 192). The tenant is not someone who knows his people’s past very well, and Hughes criticizes such person through the response of the landlady. Through an allegorical conversation between the innocent and the mature, Hughes urges his audience to be more mature, and he seems to be successful. The African-Americans, no matter what time period, will know the essay is talking truth. The automatic ethos Hughes brought with him into this essay and the built up ethos through his description of black sufferings will likely make the African-American readers to pause and think.

Hughes does not deny that the past is depressing; he is stating that being unaware of the past is even more depressing.

Hiroshima By John Hersey (TOW#2)

 

With a noiseless flash the atomic bomb was dropped on the citizens of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, the beginning of the end of WWII; similarly, with a serene scene Hersey started his narration of the horrifying experiences of six survivors from the Hiroshima disaster: two doctors, a clerk, a widow, a Japanese pastor, and a German Jesuit. The bombing of Hiroshima may be a fading memory for many, but to Hersey and many others that are affected by the bomb the attack seemed just as vivid as if it happened yesterday. Many people remember Hiroshima bombing as simply an event in history, but Hersey does not, and he stated it loud and clear by writing the book Hiroshima, a book resulted from 15 years of interview of survivors and research and a follow up with the survivors decades later.

       The goal of Hersey’s writing is clearly not sympathy but empathy, and he did so through the realistic yet humanized depictions of six individual survivors from the Hiroshima disaster. By describing how “Dr Fujii was settling down cross-legged to read the Osaka Asahi”(Hersey 1) and how Father Wilhelm Kleinsorge reclined in his underwear on a cot on the top floor…” (Hersey 2) to how “their mouths were mere swollen, pus-covered wounds” (Hersey 52) and “She discovered her family were all dead” (Hersey 63), Hersey did a amazing job at convincing the readers who see Hiroshima as a mere event as something more personal, something more devastating to the nature of humanity.

After all, the opening of the book was just like contemporary life experienced by many; people relax, read news, and worry about daily matters. However, the gradual development of the narration made a dramatic turn. The six survivors, who the readers can relate to perfectly at the beginning of the book, suddenly began to experience things beyond ordinary comprehension. They began to see true suffering in great detail, and the serene imagery was completely replaced by that of similar to hell. Yet, the readers were still able to follow. Not because they desired to but because Hersey had already tied them with the survivors at the beginning of the book. The readers had connected to the survivors, and therefore feel their pain, and as the readers feel the survivors’ pain, they then also began to feel Hersey’s purpose.

Hiroshima is not going to be the same again.

IRB introduction- Hiroshima

Everybody can connect the atomic bombs with Hiroshima and Nagasaki; however, not all of them really understand the impact these bombs had on the lives of people, of specific individuals- of mothers, daughters, brothers, and friends-of Hiroshima. To inform the public of the true stories of atomic bomb survivors, John Hersey spent years on interviewing and researching atomic-bomb survivors, and composed his non-fiction book called Hiroshima. The book mainly tells the story of four survivors from Hiroshima with different backgrounds: one being a German priest, another a Japanese doctor, another a book-shelf keeper, and another a community leader. Each of them had different social relationships and lived a life subtly different from one another; nevertheless, the atomic bomb tied them together, not necessarily as friends but as empathizers, and their stories lived on. When I saw this book, my curiosity was immediately aroused. Afterall, all I heard about Hiroshima are generalizations. I want to know more about Hiroshima and the reaction of its citizen toward the atomic attack; I want to know about specific events and feelings from real human, and hopefully, as a goal, I can be more empathatic toward these war-time survivors after the read.

How to say nothing in 500 words

To many inexperienced writers, “In my opinion, cats have ousted dogs” are just as the same, or even more suitable, as “cats are better than dogs”; however, 20^th century famous linguist and writer Paul Roberts responds to such thinking with a loud and clear “NO!” For the benefits of inexperienced writers, Roberts collaborates with Pearson Education Company and publishes the didactic essay about what constitutes a good writing: How to say nothing in 500 words, a succinct, specific, and meaningful piece of work. Though aim primarily at college writers, the essay’s comprehensible text and simple organization has broaden its audience to any writer wishing for improvement.

       Starting from the very first paragraph, Roberts shows his reader what good writing is. With an amusing anecdote about a student’s thinking process on a college paper and his eventual disappointment, readers are both captured by the text and educated about “bad writing”. However, the anecdote is only a beginning. Roberts then structured his writing into distinct categories about lessons learned from the bad writing, such as “avoid the obvious content” and “get rid of obvious padding” and supported his teachings with specific examples, both good and bad. How does one put words in the right place at the right time? Roberts answers the question with “there are few useful generalizations one can make… but there are perhaps a few” (Roberts 65). The clear examples and categories used by Roberts help the readers of the essay to have a deeper and more immediate understanding of the content. In addition to the beginning anecdote the readers can reflect upon as they read, they are also assisted by numerous distinct examples provided in the essay. To say the least, readers definitely will not say “good grief and turn on the television” (Roberts 65).

       With the closing of the last page of the essay, Roberts’s purpose of both to inform and educate are well accomplished. The strategies and structures Roberts employ in his essay makes his teachings not only simple to understand but also simple to accept with specific examples supporting every claim. The readers, even if they cannot immediately apply their understanding, are now surely aware of what is a good piece of writing.

What are master-pieces and why are there so few of them (Gertrude Stein)

What are master-pieces and why are there so few of them

 

Famous for her unconventional writing style, Gertrude Stein explores the depth and origin of what people called “master-pieces” in this particular essay and explains this concept to all those educated who ponders on the topic. Though the world was troubled by financial depression and threats of war, Stein decided to focus her attention on human nature and human identity, or maybe that was the reason why she did so.

Stein herself had already lived an impressive life compared to many others: she studied psychology and medicine at Harvard and Johns Hopkins, in addition to her renowned literature works. However, in this particular piece, she purposely cautions her readers of the destructiveness of human nature and identity to the creation of a master-piece. In her words, “…no use in being a boy if you are going to grow up to be a man”(Oates 137). Memories and identities are but what constitute as limit of self, of human nature. They are mere aspects of “time” and “knowing”. To Stein, a true masterpiece should trespass all time and knowing; it should create entity, something that does not have an end or beginning in human society.

In presenting her argument of what a master-piece is, Stein does an extremely well job despite the ambiguity results from her lack of punctuations. She uses a classification structure to govern her whole essay, classifying what master-pieces are and are not. She makes allusions to well-known master-pieces, such as Hamlet, and explores the innate nature of its timelessness. Honestly, the repetition she uses alone can persuade many readers of her argument. It is hard not to as the ideas of identity and time are just continually hammered into one’s mind. Most importantly, the coherent and logical syntax makes this essay seem very authentic. Words such as “therefore” and “to come back” connect the paragraphs and formalize them. Therefore, because of these rhetorical devices she used, I believe the author has accomplished her purpose, which is to persuade the reader of the definition of “master-piece”.

Timelessness

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Illumination round (Michael Herr)

Illumination round

“War” is simply a term people read about nowadays; a term people know but do not comprehend. Yet, only several decades ago, war is quite real for many people. There are the Vietnam War, the Korean War, and the World Wars. Each one is a nightmare beyond imagination: a nightmare not just physical but also mental. To help the people living in the comfortable parts of this world to truly understand war and to help reveal a little about war itself is why Michael Herr wrote this essay.

A former war correspondent and a talented writer, Michael Herr wrote about his experience of the Vietnam War. His words perfectly describes his feelings when he arrived, “…It’s not real, it’s just some thing they’re going through that isn’t real…”(Oates 328).

War is a terrible thing; a terrible thing that not just take away lives but also people’s humanity. Through anecdotes, imagery, a somber tone, and refusal toward euphemism, Herr shows the readers just that. His writing with stories after stories of confused soldiers and bloodlust shakes the readers’ soul. Furthermore, there is no playfulness. He writes what the soldiers said, sometimes necessarily inappropriate for children. He writes how a soldier married to a Vietnamese woman commented in just months after their marriage that “[he] think [he is] going to get out of there”(Oates 335); how a Marine lost his leg and cried, “you lied to me, Father… you…sucker” (Oates 333), and how an major commented about the blood and horrors of war, “I sort of miss them now” (Oates 341). These experiences are not all necessarily tragic, but they are all abnormal to many of the contemporary people enjoying long years of peace. Many families don’t easily break apart, many people don’t get amputated, and many humans don’t grow senseless. Yet, many do during war. Herr vividly hammers the image of “war” into readers’ mind, and her serious tone makes the imagery she created ever so convincing to many people, including me.

Guernica

 

 

 

 

 

 

Picasso

 

Corn-pone opinion (Mark Twain)

Corn-pone Opinions

Though America had become united and slavery had been abolished, Mark Twain’s conception of the meagerness of humanity was only slightly shaken. His essay serves as a caution to all people who feel too highly of themselves; his essay serves as a declaration for those who cannot, or are too busy, to reason; his essay serves as a manifesto for the nature of change in a society.

Human conformity is the main topic surrounding Twain’s interesting essay. In his terms, the rational explanation for the desire of conformity is self-approval, and everybody has the need for self-approval.

Twain himself also lived an interesting life. Though his early writings could be categorized as “light”, his later writings were overshadowed by a mood of despair toward mankind. Although he was widely acknowledged as a great thinker and writer, some even gave him the title “father of American literature”, his shift in tone could also possibly be attributed to his financial troubles and family deaths later in his life. Nevertheless, the strategies and rhetoric Twain used to convince his readers in the essay is powerfully gripping.

       With amusing anecdotes, both historical and personal, Twain proves his idea of human conformity by slowly moving from the basis of an individual to a nation. At first, Twain only uses interesting personal stories, such as how a slave preached and said, “…gits his corn pone, tell you his ‘opinion”(Oates 1), but the reference becomes bigger as the essay goes, and by the end it is about nations, and how their parties operate: not because of rational, but because of personal feelings and the desire for self-approval.

       Twain has deeply persuaded me of conforming to his opinion, and therefore achieves his purpose. The first anecdote in his essay has already aroused my interest to move on, and as numerous other examples are listed afterwards, I cannot help comparing my experiences with those. Microsoft was overcome by Apple; tablets gradually replaced laptops… How many people can really list the improvements between these products? Not many, probably.

 

 

Homogeneous society

 

 

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