TOW #13 - A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte

In 1884, artist Georges Seurat depicted a picture of people lounging at a suburban park on a Sunday Afternoon. This famous work of art has since been recognized as one of the first works of "pointillism". In these paintings, artists apply small dots of color to form an image. Seurat used the technique of "optimal mixture", to show the thoughtfulness of a Sunday after noon. Specifically, he illustrates the differences in class in Paris at the end of the 19th century.

By putting many colors together, Seurat is able to show how the many colors in this scene are a reflection of the differences between the lower class and upper class lounging. For example, the man with the pipe is much lighter than the couple next to him. What seems to be the couple's pet dog is also very dark compared two nearby wild animals. Seurat's use of contrasting colors illustrates the drastic differences in society at this time. He also draws a shadow by using darker shades against lighter shades. This is significant in that it shows how the light and dark are not so far apart from each other, suggesting that these lines may be coming closer together over time.

Seurat is persuasive in his argument that the barriers between the upper class and working class are becoming less prominent. The setting of “La Grande Jette” was known to be a place where both the rich and poor spent their Sunday afternoon, making it crucial for Seurat’s purpose to be demonstrated. Seurat as an artist is able to communicate a deeper message through his use of color and light. His style of painting was widely controversial for his time; maybe the same way his views on society may have been. This painting deserves its popularity, as it exemplifies a universal theme of differences in class.

TOW #12 - How Not To Die (IRB)

      Is the standard American diet also standard for disease? Can eating the right foods and avoiding certain foods better, or even reverse, your health? Apparently so, as evident by Dr. Michael Gregor's "How Not To Die". Founder of nutritionfacts.org, Gregor writes this book on how to prevent the 15 most common causes of deaths through simple adjustments in one's everyday life.

      The structure of Gregor's book aids its purpose. Each chapter is titled "How to Not Die from ..." with the chapters given disease. So far, Gregor seems to order his chapters as follows: a personal anecdote on patients he has seen with this disease, statistics and facts on the popularity of this disease, a list of what foods prevent this disease, a list of what foods to avoid. The anecdote gives Gregor both credibility, as he has seen wide variety of patients as a doctor and has healed so many through his practice, and emotional appeal, as we can tell through the way he describes his patients that he really cares for their well-being and firmly believes that his take on modern medicine will help. The facts also work in tandem to show the seriousness of taking Gregor’s suggested precautions.

      Gregor is very persuasive at his argument. At a time where we put so much reliance on drugs and treatments to heal us, it’s hard to believe that such easy fixes to what we eat in a day can cause such significant outcomes. In his chapter on kidney disease, he quotes a famous retired athlete saying, “life is so much better without those medications – they made me feel so tired all the time” (164). Clearly, Gregor is not fibbing us when he says that the choices we make every day on deciding what to eat will affect us later – thus, we should look down the road 20 years from now and take control of our lives today!

TOW #11 - Thomas Paine's "The American Crisis" Chapter 1

In 1776, the United States was faced with a question that divided its citizens: Are you for the revolution or against? The people for the revolution were called the patriots; against, loyalists. As a colonist, the decision as to whether one is a patriot or loyalist was difficult, especially if you were not educated enough to comprehend the high level pamphlets of the scholars and politicians. Recognizing this, Thomas Paine published "The American Crisis" in which he addresses the common man to support the revolt against the British.

Thomas Paine was knowledgeable in the rhetoric. Understanding that much of his audience were devout Christians, he appeals to the religion of his audience. He speaks of "the devotion of a Christian" and "that God may bless you" if you should "show your faith by your works" (page 4). This effects his audience on an intimate level by giving them a call of action not only to fight not only for their country but God himself. Paine also builds an argument by describing the previous attacks and events by General Howe and General Washington (page 2). Since these pamphlets are for the "common man" to read, it is crucial for this explanation to be easily comprehensive. If Paine would have addressed these events without explanation, confusion and lack of interest would occur.

Paine delivery and tone adds to the persuasiveness of the article. Addressing his subjects as “we” gives a sense of unity between the politicians and colonists. It helps to demonstrate that the U.S. is fighting for a common cause: independence. Paine uses a mix of minimal, short sentences and extremely long sentences to show both urgency and complexity to the situation. Lastly, he uses repetition of the word “tis” frequently to begin his sentences, gaining the attention of the reader. Moreover, it is obvious why Thomas Paine’s pamphlets have such a reputation and perhaps why the patriots won: the beauty of the rhetoric!