Hurricane Sandy

            This article was about the effects that Hurricane Sandy may have on the East coast and the precautions that people were taking.  It focused on tips on how to prepare for the storm and on what to do once consequences of the storm were experienced, such as power outages.  This article was written collectively by the staff of CNN, each person located in a different part of the country.  This helps show all of the effects and sides of the hurricane.  When this article was written, Hurricane Sandy had just hit the Caribbean and was headed up towards the United States.  It was still unknown on which exact direction the storm would take.

            This text was created for the people living in areas where Hurricane Sandy could potentially hit.  This is because the article wanted to make sure that people were informed enough to prepare and protect themselves during the storm.  It stressed being safe and getting through the storm.  In order to do this, the article used pathos through pictures of devastated villages and towns in the Caribbean that were struck by Sandy.  They consisted of wrecked houses and buildings along with people looking extremely sad.  This creates the effect of making people think about the consequences (even though they are extreme for the United States’ situation) before the storm, and it makes them more likely to prepare.  Also, the article used quotations from normal citizens getting ready for Hurricane Sandy by evacuating or purchasing special goods.  This makes other Americans think that if people in their area are preparing, they should to.  The article was sure to include the possible threat of Hurricane Sandy becoming a super storm and increasing in strength and length.  Because of the casual use of these strategies, the author was able to accomplish their purpose of informing and persuading people to prepare for Hurricane Sandy.

Link to Article

Enterprise College Athletes Commercial

            This commercial published by Enterprise showed how the company supports college sports and makes the claim that they hire former college athletes frequently.  The commercial does not focus on the actual functioning of the company, but rather just emphasizes how they support college sports.  There are many implied employees holding pictures of themselves playing their sport.  A major message from the commercial was that teamwork is carried over from sports to the customer service world.  This commercial was shown (and viewed by me) on the Big 10 network during the Michigan, Michigan State college football game. 

            As seen by the subject and the time that the commercial was aired, the advertisement is directed towards collegiate sports fans that could possibly be looking to travel or rent a car for another situation.  It tries to relate the viewer to the company through the use of sports.  The main intention of this advertisement is to attract potential customers to Enterprise; more specifically, it intends to attract people to the friendly service at the company.  In order to accomplish this, besides using sports as a connection, Enterprise uses a diverse set of people and sports in the commercial.  This will appeal to the maximum number of people possible.  There were no words in the commercial besides the logo at the end, forcing people to concentrate on the many, smiling employees talking about their college days.  As the commercial was well placed and shown, and the desired message was clear in the commercial, Enterprise accomplished their purpose in this advertisement. 

Link to Commercial 

Cave Made a Classroom in Syria

            This article is on the changes that Syria has had to make in their educational system because of their Civil War.  There have been bombing raids on over 2,000 schools in Syria, and because of that, one school decided to move their classes into a cave.  Although it was from CNN, the article is not completely credible as all of the facts are based off of social media websites (it was too dangerous for reporters to go investigate).  Therefore, there are some hesitations that must be taken when evaluating the facts of this text.  The civil war currently going on in Syria makes everyday life impossible for citizens there.  This prompted CNN to cover a story on the struggles that are normal life in Syria. 

            Intended mainly for people living outside of Syria, the article intended to portray the devastations that are occurring there.  In order to do this, as one would expect, the author uses both pathos and logos in order to shape the readers’ views on the subject.  Pathos was used in describing the dire situations and turmoil, and logos then backed up the descriptions with facts and quotations.  Also, the reader compares and contrasts the situation of the school with some of the beauties in Syria.  This is done to make the reader realize that the Syrian children and educators have lost the beauty and fun in their lives.  Even though the author uses these rhetorical devices well, he does not accomplish his purpose of trying to portray the harshness of Syrian life to the reader.  This is because his diction is very imprecise and his placement of ideas is poorly thought out.  For example, the article states in talking about the teacher, “While the cave's stone walls and its remote location offer protection, he says, it is still dangerous for the children to go to and from school. He groans about the lack of supplies, the small blackboard and the dim lighting” (Brumfield 12).  These two statements draw two completely different emotions from the reader when they read them, and it makes both of them ineffective.  Also, the title makes the article sound like something interesting and impressive that a school in Syria has done.  It was very shocking to realize the situation which put the students in the cave.

Link to Article

Boomerang

            Boomerang, written by Michael Lewis, is a non-fiction text about the financial crisis of 2008.  The book includes the development of the crisis, its extent and “symptoms,” as well of the global implications that it had, which is the main focus of the book.  The book shows how the crisis was much more than just the housing collapse in the United States; it stemmed from global investments in assets with inflated values.  Michael Lewis, the author of this book, was also the author of The Blindside and Moneyball, along with many other non-fiction works on economics.  This book was written in 2011, after the global economy suffered the worst of the effects of the recession. 

            A major repetition throughout the book was that nobody was looking at the correct data in order to foresee the downfall of the global economy.  Therefore, Lewis writes this novel in order to inform people on what they did not pick up on in the past.  However, most people who would take something away from this book would have at least a basic prior knowledge on the topic.  Lewis writes informally, yet technically and intelligently and the audience must be able to interpret the information.  In order to portray his purpose, Lewis develops ethos early and often by stating his background along with those of the people he quotes in the book.  Also, he uses humor and social commentary on different cultures that he experienced in order to keep the reader interested and entertained.  He splits up the book by focusing on one or two major places around the world (such as Iceland and Greece) for a chapter and hits them in a chronological order.  Because of the intelligent design and tools that the author uses to keep the reader engaged, Lewis does a good job of leaving an impression on the reader.