Ella's paralysis

Eli Pardue
2/27/08
AP Lang Comp
LaMags

Explain Wright’s response to his mother’s paralysis

Wright is very upset by his mother’s paralysis. He does not cry or show grief, but he is very troubled. He cares for his mother very much and worries about her; we can see that because Richard chooses to go with the uncle that lives closest to his mother. However, he ends up returning to his mother anyways. He learns that the bed he sleeps in had a child die in it. I think this unnerves Richard because he constantly sees his mother in a state close to death (or reminiscent of death) while resting in a bed. He leaves to go back to his mother to make sure she will not end up as the former occupant of his bed.
Richard also resents his mother’s illness because it its unfair to him. He has to work when she is sick. He has to care for the house when she is sick. He sees everything that is bad in his world through his mother’s illness. In his ideal world, only those deserving would be ill, and his mother would not be burdened by the problems of childcare and money. His mother’s state of health makes Richard question all aspects of his life. He questions why he much live in poverty, why he must be discriminated against, why he must always be hungry, and why he must not receive a full education.

HUNGRY

Eli Pardue
2/25/08
AP Lang Comp
LaMags

Why is Richard really hungry?

The literal answer to the question is that Richard and his family, being poor, never had much to eat. Richard never ate the food that was offered to him, and so he was constantly hungry. Richard was hungry for things other than food. He was hungry for attention. He made that clear through burning the curtains (which escalated into a house fire) and killing the mewing kitten. We were shown that he did not receive the attention that he thought he deserved after the house fire, when he was beaten and punished for his antics.
He was also hungry to get back at his father, whom he hated. His father ordered him to kill at kitten that was keeping him up at night, and instead of shitting the cat up, as his father certainly was hoping for, Richard took the literal translation and hung the cat from a tree. He did this to get back at his father, for his father could not punish Richard for doing something that he technically ordered him to do because it would compromise his position of authority. When Richard refused to eat the food that was offered him, I think that it was because he was hungry to show his parents that he was independent of them, specifically his father. At the orphanage, and at other places, Richard still refused to eat as an after affect of his feelings toward his father.

"nonacademic" education

Eli Pardue
2/20/08
AP Lang Comp
LaMags


I greatly value the nonacademic education that I receive. The early educational reformers in the mid 19th century strove to bring nonacademic education into schools because children were not receiving the moral and ethical education they would receive on a farm or through homeschooling because the population was becoming more and more urbanized. Traditional education was all about memorization and strict disciplinarian rule (like a ruler, haha get it? slapping you on the wrist?). This new, "progressive" education was about much of what our University High School is about today. They sought to teach children what it meant to be a respected member of a community and a society. The purpose of University's Core Values is to instill nonacademic education into its students because a school is the best place to learn. I greatly value the nonacademic education that I receive because without it, I would attend a school that pounds facts into children's heads (while calling it education) and slaps wrists (while calling it discipline). Also, by letting us express our individuality (i.e. multiple clubs, no uniforms, loosely set school rules), University shows more nonacademic qualities apart from the core values. It seems like I am doing nothing but glorify University High School, but I use University as an example not so much as to revere it, but because it is a perfect example of a school that uses a great deal of nonacademic education in its curriculum. I value my nonacademic education because i wasn't to be exposed to my peer's opinions and the world around me so that I am prepared for it when I leave University.

presentations 2

Eli Pardue
2/14/08
AP Lang Comp
LaMags

I liked how all of the presentations yesterday were very different, and people found rhetoric in different places. Finding rhetoric around the town I think would be more difficult than on the internet because the advertisements are much more subtle. We take them for granted because they are in our everyday life. On the other hand, Iesha's Axe body wash commercial could only be found on the internet because it was declared too racy to be put on national television. I also enjoyed seeing the comparisons of rhetoric between competing companies. There was the Gap Body versus Victoria's Secret comparison, the Costco versus farmer's market comparison I made, and a few others.
I think my favorite was the GapBody versus Victoria's Secret. It showed how Victoria's Secret played much more off of the lust and naughty attitude that all sexy women want to show. I think that also goes back to "Two Ways a Woman can get Hurt." It is a prime example of advertisements showing women hat they want to look appealing in a blatantly sexual manner. This kind of portrayal of women is an incentive for sexual assault. GapBody, on the other hand, advertised the white cotton panties "innocent" image to sell their product. I don't think that the advertisements were much better however, because it shows a cute young women looking shy and submissive. That is also a reason that sexual predators attack. However, the rhetorical appeal does indeed work when applying it to womwn who want to remain innocent, or to women who want to be seen as sexy.

Eli Pardue
AP Lang Comp

My favorite example of a rhetorical advertisement for the rhetoric on the town presentations was the one for West Clay. It love the way that they promote a close-knit neighborhood that is rather self-reliant. It is also interesting how they perceived that there would be a serious interest among the more affluent for a neighborhood that is so unique. It provides an alternative lifestyle when compared to the clockwork neighborhoods where all of the houses look similar (brick, concrete, wood, neutral tones). They adopt styles in the houses that are reminiscent of historical townhouses. Personally, I love those types of houses, but I cannot think of any other building project that exploits that kind of house and rebuilds them as new construction. Usually, one would move to an actual historic neighborhood to have that kind of historical experience, but West Clay attracts the affluent by providing top of the line, expensive homes that still take in that style. However, I disagree with Britteny. In her blog, she say that she can understand how people can be creeped out at the Stepford Wives setting that is West Clay. I think that West Clay is the opposite of Stepford Wives because of the huge variety of colors, houses, and the alternative living style that West Clay adopts. When I think of Stepford, I think of that clockwork place where all of the houses are majestic but exactly the same
(as well as the wives). The Carmel Mom stereotype is much more removed from West Clay than it is in other parts of West Clay

presentations

Eli Pardue
2/7/08
AP Lang Comp
LaMags

Today's Presentations

I found two of the presentations to be particularly affective. The first was by Derek's group. The commercial was affective because it appealed to actions that are common in a teenager's life. The commercial showed three students sitting in detention, bored. one student whips out a pack of Bubblicious gum, pops a piece, and appears to be having great fun blowing bubbles and dancing to the background music. she offers a piece to her friend, who takes it and start having just as much fun. The highlight selling point of the commercial was when the third student takes out a pack of Orbit, and throws it away. That established that Bubblicious not only makes you have fun, but it is better then the competition.
The other advertisement that I enjoyed was by Ethan's group. They advertised a caffeinated gum/ADD medicine. I liked the commercial because it showed an exact example of what the product can do for you. I already chew gum, and the product was an improvement of what I already enjoy, so why wouldn't iI want it. And besides, what high school student doesn't get bored in class? They effectively showed and stated why the product was a necessity fro all high school students.

store advertisments

Eli Pardue
2/4/08
AP Lang Comp
LaMags

Store Advertisements

In addition to using commercials, stores use floor advertisements to further advertise a product. Supermarkets such as Marsh and Kroger use three primary ways of advertising products on-floor products. They use displays, sample booths, and price markdowns.
A display is used to bring attention to a specific item by making a large, colorful, exciting setup. The idea is to convince the buyer that the product advertised is better than the alternatives. The alternatives may be other brand names such as Lays versus Ruffles. If sales are low on a product, a store will put out a floor display in attempt to boost sales for that product.
Sample booths have the same qualities as floor displays. The only difference is that there is a salesperson at the sample booth promoting the product. The samples are given out for free to let the consumer tell if they like the product or not. While sample booths are more effective than simple floor displays, they are not as popular because it takes additional manpower and money to pay for the used product.
Stores also create large advertisements that promote their products as cheaper or higher quality than their leading competitors. Oftentimes they tell the consumer to compare one of their store brand products to a major producer of the same type of product. The lower prices convince consumers to buy products even if they don’t really need them. They feed off of the impulse buy.

Wednesday's discussion

Eli Pardue
1/31/08
AP Lang. Comp.
LaMags

Blog 2/1/08

Wednesday in class we discussed the issue of women and sexuality in the media. While there were definitely two distinct sides in the argument, agreements were made about the way that violence and sex are used in different ways to exploit women as marketing strategies.
In commercial, capitalist society, a commercial’s purpose is to sell a product. Due to basic First Amendment rights, the press has the freedom to use whatever media it wants to sell a product. In recent years, feminine sexuality has been used to sell many products. Most recently, the use of this marketing strategy has expanded into areas that are dangerous for young viewers and our society as a whole.
Using sex appeal to sell a product is not wrong. But when the advertisement tells young audiences that being sexually explicit while using the product is all right, there is a problem. One such advertisement told young women to apply the perfume liberally so that he can smell you as you shake your head “no.” It is wrong because it promotes young girls to tease and act submissive, behavior that has been proven to increase the likelihood of sexual harassment and abuse.
Sexual violence is being used to appeal to men overseas. One such ad in Europe shows a man pointing a gun at a naked woman wrapped in plastic wrap with a bag covering her face. This strategy promotes the idea that the man will feel superior to women if he uses the product. This type of advertisement combined with promoting submissive, teasing behavior in young girls is reinforcing the idea that men really are superior to women.
The responsibility of someone who makes advertisements is to sell the product they have been given. Sex and violence happen to be the two most affective ways of selling a product. The problem does not necessarily come from the advertisement, but the way the subliminal messages the ads carry are becoming ingrained in society.