TOW #3 - The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down by Colin Woodard

This picture is a popular depiction of Woodes Rogers with his family.  Rogers is portrayed specifically so that his disfigurement from a musket ball wouldn't be shown. Source: wikimedia.org

            In a section of The Republic of Pirates, Colin Woodard attempts to give an account of the adventures of Woodes Rogers, a famous English privateer who legally plundered merchant vessels for his country, to the audience of adventure-lovers. Rogers's journey started with a visitor named William Dampier, a formal captain of his ship HMS Roebuck. Rogers decided to support Dampier's plan of plundering the Spanish treasure fleets that were shipping unbelievable amounts of riches from the new world to Spain. With the two ships Duke and Duchess, Rogers and his crew started to head towards the Pacific on August 1, 1708. The group faced numerous adversities such as mutinies, dangerous ocean waves, scurvies, bubonic plagues, and quarrels between officers. Along the way, the crew met and rescued Alexander Selkirk, a castaway who was once a crew member of Dampier's ship who decided to "take his chances on the island" (Woodard 76) due to Dampier's poor leadership. Selkirk would later inspire Daniel Defoe to write his famous novel, Robinson Crusoe. Much time had passed without a single treasure fleet in sight, when suddenly a galleon appeared on the horizon. The privateers managed to take over one Manila ship, but when the privateers reached their homeland, most of their plunders were seized by the East India Company's agents. Rogers received about £1,600 for his three years of service, and most of the crewmen received nothing even though the riches the privateers got were over £100,000. Rogers, however, forever became a national hero for capturing a Manila ship and circumnavigating. Throughout the story, the author uses raw diction in order for the audience to vividly imagine the adventures of Rogers. Woodard describes  the privateer by saying, "Rogers, his face mutilated, his foot mangled..." (Woodard 84), which creates a gruesome picture in people's minds. I believe that Woodard's account is accurate because he supports his claim with statistics and quotes. Woodard is also an award-winning journalist, adding on to the story's credibility. I think that he accomplished his purpose by successfully using rhetorical devices.

TOW #2 - Fingerprint Passwords for the NSA by Tom Toles

Are people really protected by the government surveillance? Source: synd.imgsrv.uclick.com

            The cartoon shown at the top takes place in a modern U.S. society, and it shows a man who is pressing his finger against his Smartphone, and right next to him is a National Security Agency (NSA) building.  The man, obviously thinking that by scanning his finger he will be safe from government surveillance, is actually being monitored by the NSA. His plans are completely backfired because the NSA obtains his fingerprint that he scans on his phone. To make the matters worse (or funnier, whichever works), the organization uses the man's camera in the Smartphone to take some mug shots of him. NSA takes the poor guy's personal information without being suspected at all by using believable ads. Tom Toles successfully uses irony of a guy who accidentally gives out his personal information in the process of trying to get some privacy to create a sense of humor that appeals to pathos. Using this rhetorical device, the cartoonist is able to persuade the U.S. civilians that  although NSA's job is to gather secret information, it may also eavesdrop on a group of normal people like the people reading this cartoon. Toles probably wants his audience to be careful with anything that might give away any personal information because nobody knows what groups of people might get their hands on it. Although this cartoon is very humorous, there is an underlying message that is very serious. It warns that "YOU might be the next one to lose your privacy." I personally believe that Tom Toles did a great job showing his message in his cartoon strip. The way the cartoonist drew the man and the phone very simply seems to show that he is not referring to a specific person that this kind of event happens to; he shows that this can happen to everyone, so everyone must be careful. 

Tow #1 - A Bookless Library Opens in San Antonio by Josh Sanburn

This is an inside view of the Bexar County Digital Library, the nation's first all-digital public library. Notice how there are no printed materials, but only computers and e-books. This future library is now here. Source: http://bexarbibliotech.org

            In his writing A Bookless Library Opens in San Antonio,  Josh Sanburn makes the lovers of their e-readers consider whether or not a bookless library is really a library. The author starts off his writing with the description of Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff who opened the nation's first all-digital public library. The ironic thing is, Wolff used to detest the idea of digital reading, and he still does not own a single e-reader. According to Sanburn, the library that was built with county tax money and private donations are filled with computers, iPads and laptops, but does not have any printed material. The author soon explains that libraries are adapting to new technologies and drifting away from print to provide different programs and services. However, there are funding problems for libraries, and conflicts with publishers over e-book access that might hurt Bexar County Digital Library. Because e-books never has to be replaced and can be shared among multiple library branches, Publishers feel justified in raising the prices of the e-books or not selling them to libraries. This is a big problem for the library because people might not use the library if they cannot find the e-book they are looking for, but Wolff believes that everything will work fine if he supports the library with his annual budget. Throughout his article, Sanburn includes many statistics to back off his points, making his writing very credible. The author interacts with his readers by using the word "you" such as in the sentence, "Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff isn’t the man you’d imagine as the visionary for the nation’s first all-digital public library" (Sanburn). He also uses the irony shown above as a hook, which allows the readers to quickly grow curious about the topic. His writing gives straight facts to allow the readers to decide whether digital libraries are a good idea, which might be the reason why Sanburn wrote the article in the first place. I believe that he achieved his purpose by remaining neutral throughout the entire writing.

IRB #1 - The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down by Collin Woodard

                The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down by Collin Woodard is an extensive research on the history of pirates. This book not only reveals the origin of the swashbucklers of the sea, but gives many detailed stories of famous pirates such as Blackbeard as well. When I first came across this book, I knew that it was the perfect IRB for because the topic of 18th century piracy was always fascinating to me. Even though pirates were no more than nomadic groups of raiders, the idea of these people live on through the characters like Captain Hook or Jack Sparrow. Because I grew up with these characters, I eventually began to embrace the pirates and the wonderful adventures they had. Through this book, I hope to learn the rise and the fall of the pirates in the Golden Age of Piracy. I also would like to understand how the piracy system worked, how certain pirates became famous captains, and how the pirates became one of the most feared groups of people during that time period. I hope that with the information in the book, I will be able to relate how piracy affects the world and how it changes the course of the history.

Grieving

According to the U.S. Department of Education, only 45 percent of the professors all over the nation have tenure, which allows the professors to permanently teach in that college or university. According to the author, tenure is "the PhD's holy grail" (Durham 61). Source: laschoolreport.com

            Meenakshi Gigi Durham's story Grieving is about her husband, Dallas, and his passion for his job as a professor. The author, who did not like her job, could not understand how important teaching was for Dallas until he had been denied tenure at the University where he and Durham taught. The denial of the tenure came as a surprise to the whole family because Dallas was the kind of a person who "can walk into a room without notes or preparation and earn a standing ovation" (Durham 60). Unlike the author, he knew that he wanted to become a professor from the beginning and ran towards his goal until he was admitted to an elite doctoral program. Dallas had everything to receive the tenure, and yet he was denied, which caused him to grieve for a long period of time.  Dallas tried to persuade the administrator to review his file, and to reconsider the decision that the university made. Eventually, the provost reversed the tenure denial and apologized to Dallas that he had to "'go through hell in the meantime" (Durham 66). The author compares this situation with an another situation in which a woman was told that she had six months to live, but then the tumor she had miraculously disappeared. Durham uses this comparison to show how a life or a job will never be the same after someone experiences a grief. Because Dallas faced the denial, he was able to see the tenure in a different perspective, with a better appreciation. The author's purpose behind writing this story is to show the people who face hardships every day that without grief, many things will be taken for granted and will not be fully appreciated. Durham uses series of quotes and information that not only add on the credibility to the story, but also create a flow in her writing. I  thought that the author effectively wrote her story of her husband's experience to deliver her message and I now believe, as Ralph Waldo Emerson says, that "Grief too will make us idealists."

Long Distance

Forming a romantic relationship can be a challenge. It requires some guts to ask out for a date with an another person, a one of the reasons why many people are afraid to try to love. These people usually try to find an alternative solution, such as the online dating. Source: us.123rf.com

            Victor LaValle used to be a 350-pound man who used to date a fifty-year-old women named Margie by phone in his story Long Distance. For two years, LaValle kept this strange relationship with her, without ever actually meeting her once, because he enjoyed the phone sex they had together. However, when Margie's daughter's family moved in to her house, Margie had to stop calling LaValle because she couldn't risk the embarrassment of one the family members overhearing the conversation. The author uses a metaphor to show how he felt when he broke up with his girlfriend. He describes himself as an astronaut trying to reach Earth where "true couples dwelled," but the news blew him backward, "deeper into space" (LaValle 101). After that experience, the author tried to change to get a different perspective on relationships and sex. He lost about 155 pounds, started to date people for real, and had sex with a girl he really liked. LaValle was surprised by his transformation, which he describes as "my new hand, slim enough to show the wrist bones; the knuckles no longer lost in flesh" (LaValle 106). He finally was free from his self-loathing and found hope, and he most likely wrote his story to persuade other people to do the same, to take a new path and give it their best. The author probably wanted to leave a message that if he could lose weight and find a girl other than a fifty-year-old women to date with, the readers could practically achieve anything. In his story, LaValle includes a dialogue with Margie to illustrate how they were able to have phone sex. This particular part of the story seems to be the proof that he actually dated her, and all of the things he said, no matter how ridicules they sound, are his true experiences. I think that the author achieved his purpose by using humorous and creative style of writing that included slang words, metaphors, and interaction with the readers. 

Lucky Girl

These women are fighting for legal abortions which they believe go into women's rights. Before the Roe v. Wade case, abortions were illegal and unsafe, and unwanted pregnancy often had harsh consequences. Source: thinkprogress.org

          Lucky Girl by Bridget Potter is a personal experience of going through an illegal abortion, and it was most likely written to recall her past feat and to appreciate the freedom people have today in United States. When the author was nineteen years old, she had sex with her boyfriend, Michael, without using a birth control such as a diaphragm. When she realized that her period was late, Potter went to a gynecologist to make sure if she was pregnant, and when her pregnancy was confirmed, she desperately tried to get an abortion because unwanted pregnancy during her time caused women to be threatened by the law. Abortion, however, was a very difficult thing to do during pre-Roe v. Wade years, because it was illegal and often unsafe. Trying to find a cheap and safe one, the author eventually flew to Puerto Rico where she got her surgery for $200. After she came back from Puerto Rico, she realized how lucky she was to get a successful abortion. In the year 1962, "nearly sixteen hundred women were admitted to just one New York City hospital for incomplete abortions" (Potter 154), and way more than 17% of all deaths pertaining to pregnancy and childbirth in United States were caused by illegal abortions. These facts comes from the accounts from gynecologists, different institutes, and studies, making the author's story very believable. This story seems to be written for the people who faced abortions before so they could appreciate how they are living in post-Roe v. Wade years where they have more women's rights and safer abortions. These women also do not have to worry about being "'poor, alone, ashamed, threatened by the law'" (Potter 148) because of unwanted pregnancy. Throughout the story, Potter uses the technique of using short sentences such as "I used the pink foam. My period was late" (Potter 147) or "He asked my age. Nineteen. He shook his head" (Potter 152) to get straight to the point. Because she used reliable facts to back her statements, I believe that Bridget Potter is indeed a lucky girl.

Auscultation

Stethoscope is a symbol of a doctor for many people. It gives an impression of care and pain management. Stethoscope is used for auscultation, or listening to the internal sounds of animal or human body. Source: blogs.dixcdn.com

            Steven Church's Auscultation takes the sense of hearing to a whole new level for the people who 

cannot fully appreciate it. In four different sections, the author tells brief stories about the importance of the sound. In Chamber 1, Church starts off with the story back in August 2007 in Utah, where six miners were trapped 1,500 feet underground in a mine. The rescuers tried to rescue the miners by sending them a signal to make lots of noise, and then listening with electronic ears for any signs of human life, but the rescuers eventually gave up the rescue effort after they failed to detect any important sounds from underground. In Chamber 2 and 3, the author talks about the stethoscope, and how significant it is to a doctor by giving a humorous example of a doctor play-set that comes with a plastic stethoscope "because you can't dress up as a doctor without one" (Church 27). The author also gives his personal experience of the time when he first heard his daughter's heartbeats using fetal heart monitor, and tells the reader how significant the sound was for him. In Chamber 4, Church talks about an another case of mining incident, this time in 2002. The rescuers were desperately searching for the nine lost miners when they suddenly heard a constant hammering which was "the sole musical evidence of survival" (Church 30). Because of the sound that the rescuers perceived, the miners were saved. Through these loosely connected stories, Church shows how the ability to hear can be more significant than what many people think. By using real life experiences, events and facts, the author writes a very creditable essay. Church managed to use interesting techniques like the humorous example of a doctor play-set and the metaphor to describe the hammering from the underground to make sure that his story wouldn't put anyone to sleep. I am fully convinced now that sound is an essential element in life, thanks to the author's great examples and facts in his essay, Auscultation. 

What Broke My Father's Heart

This cartoon makes people wonder, "Is the treatment worth it?" Medical technologies such as the pacemakers can extend people's lives, but at a cost of extending people's sickness as well. Source: www.quora.com

What Broke My Father’s Heart by Katy Butler is a heartbreaking personal experience of the death of the author’s father, Jeffrey. Used to teach at Wesleyan University and coach rugby, Jeffrey started to suffer from dementia, a mental disorder that seriously affects people’s memory, thinking, judgment, behavior, and language, soon after he retired. His only source of lifeline was his pocket-watch-sized pacemaker that had been helping his heart to beat in a rhythmical pattern for nearly five years. The author writes that during those five years her family has been suffering from sharing her father’s agony. After realizing that the pacemaker was something that Jeff would have never implanted in his body, Butler and her mother decided to relieve him from his pain. Once the author's mother realized that dying naturally without the aid of pacemaker is the best way to die, she decided not to get any medical help during the last days of her life. This story brings up the ethics behind medical technologies that extend people’s lives. Could escaping death through pacemakers be the best answer? Could stopping someone's lifeline be justified, even if it is done as an act of mercy? Would the aftermath of relieving someone’s pain be better than that of letting somebody live on? Butler seems to have the answers for the people whose beloved family member is slowly dying. Through the story, the author warns not to try to escape death by the means of medical technologies because they will torture the users instead of helping them. She would most likely recommend the people to stop the pacemaker if they were to make a mistake of implanting one in sick family members or friends who are showing constant signs of agony. Butler went through this kind of situation for years and researched much about the ethics of pacemakers, thus making her suggestion more creditable. I thought that the author successfully accomplished her purpose to show how unnatural it is to extend someone's life by using symbolism such as “curious spiraled metal wires…mixed with the white dust and pieces of bone” (Butler 22).