TOW #13 - Old Spice

            This image is an advertisement for Old Spice, a men’s deodorant. Old Spice was established in 1934, and has been making advertisements for a long time. This particular ad displays a man on a horse. With the use of text and facial expressions, the ad satirizes hyper masculinity while still selling a product.

            Seeing as Old Spice is a men’s grooming company, the audience of this ad are men. It was made to sell deodorant, as that is what the company makes. No one enjoys other people who sweat a lot, so this product battles that. This ad also enlightens hyper masculinity. By saying how important it is to be manly, they acknowledge the ridiculous notion that a man can never be weak, or smelly, or anything less than perfect.

            They address this hyper masculinity in a humorous way that inspires people to buy their product. Obviously, a purpose of this advertisement was to increase revenue on their products. However, the other purpose of this ad was to mock the importance of being the right kind of a male in today’s society. This leaves the effect that people who use Old Spice don’t follow the straight and narrow. The ad makes it feel okay to not always be strong and insensitive to everything.

            The author’s first purpose was to sell a product, but they also wanted to address society’s high standard of what it means to be a man. Current society expects men to be a certain way all the time, and that is simply not practical or realistic. I think the author achieved their purpose because it makes people question what it means to “Be a man, man.”

TOW #12 - Freakonomics

            Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores The Hidden Side of Everything is a non-fiction book about economics. It takes a look at peculiar questions that the average person wouldn’t ask, and gives the readers a clear answer. These questions include “what is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool?” Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner wrote Freakonomics. Steven D. Levitt is an American economist who is best known for his work in crime, particularly on the link between crime rates and legalized abortion. Stephen J. Dubner is an American journalist who is best known for Freakonomics, although he has written several other books and articles.

            This book is written to the average American. The authors bring up American crime rates as well as popular names in America. They also explain foreign concepts such as Sumo Wrestling. Freakonomics was written in 2005, and aims to inform people about unrealized economic concepts such as how the KKK compares to real estate agents.

            Dubner and Levitt utilize irony in their book. When they explain unrecognized comparisons such as how Sumo Wrestlers compare to schoolteachers, they use irony because they display the difference between what appears to be and what is really true. This has the effect of showing readers the importance of thinking outside the box.

            The author’s purpose in Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores The Hidden Side of Everything is to display the unrecognized similarities between seemingly random things. I learned that legalized abortion rates directly affect crime rates, and that Sumo Wrestlers are related to schoolteachers. I believe that Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner did an excellent job getting me to open up my mind by explaining these strange correlations.

TOW #11 - High School Art Programs

This text informs readers about why it is a good idea to keep art programs in the school systems. This piece was broken into sections explaining the current (poor) state of art education in schools, explaining the benefits of art education, and how we can bring these art programs back. The author, Valeriya Metla, is an established author on the Law Street website, as well as a few other websites.

Melta writes to the average American citizen. I say this because, in addition to explaining the state of art education in American schools, she explains what readers can do to bring art programs back. This text was written as a response to the decline of art education in the American education system. Metla's research shows a significant downward trend of how many schools offer art to their students.

The author of this piece established her ethos throughout the essay. Metla used facts and sources to help prove her credibility. This author displays her knowledge of the topic to her readers. The effect of this rhetoric is to prove to readers why they should trust this particular person when she says there are benefits to a high school art program.

Varleriya Metla wrote this piece because she believes that art education should make a comeback in America. She wrote this in an attempt to inspire other people to want to bring art back. Obviously, simply writing something does not wish it into being, but I believe that Valeriya Metla achieved her purpose. She teaches readers why art education is valuable, and goes on to teach readers ways to bring it back in schools were art programs have been cut.