EC 9/29: PostSecret

I decided to write about the one that says, "I stopped taking my bipolar medication so I could take LSD." This is an example of an explicit claim because it is a direct statement.  The pictures support it implicitly by letting us interpret what follows after the statement is revealed.  We can infer that the person will become unstable, possibly go crazy, and get addicted to LSD.  The visuals make it stronger because they are a great representation in support of the claim.  The author could be anyone as well as the audience.  The author could be someone who is worried about their life now or someone who has found inspiration from their rebellion.  The audience could be others in a similar situation or just anyone interested in the subject of drugs, the brain, addiction, motives, etc.  The way that the text is typed and the fact that the pictures look like magazine cut-outs make me believe that the author wants to remain anonymous.  They could be worried about the consequences of someone finding out or they simply just want to be relieved of their latest secret.

Hungry Planet

I think that the photographer is trying to show us how easy it is for the world to access natural food from Earth.  He is pointing out the fact that American food is not natural.  When compared to all these other countries around the world all of our food is processed or made by others instead of being grown, gathered, hunted, and cooked ourselves.  He also addresses the sizes of proportions.  The weeks worth of food for the American family is ridiculously more in comparison to a weeks worth of food for a family in Chad.  Even though the family's in Ecuador and Kuwait have about the same amount of food as an American family, it is mostly natural food that they have collected or grown on their own.

SWA #10 How to Become a More Responsible Eater in a Dorm Setting

1. Attempt to grow a plant in your window-  mint to put in your tea or rosemary for other meals.  Reuse a lemon by putting it in the garbage disposal to clean the blade and add a fresh scent to your sink.

2. Make your own food occasionally.  Start by maybe adding a homegrown tomato to your sandwich and then gradually try to create your own meal.  Take a break from the cafeteria, fast food, kraft easy mac, etc. and make something that only requires one pan or pot such as sautéed vegetables or chili (if you have a community kitchen).

3. Learn the origins of the food you buy, and buy the produce that is closest to campus.

4. Go to a farmers market on campus or in town and ask the farmers about how they grow their food.

5. Learn and research industrial food production when you can.  It is important to know where your food is coming from and how it was treated before it made its way towards you and inside of you.  Investigate online or ask whoever prepared it for you.

6.  Learn how to properly grow and raise your own fruits, vegetables, etc. Maybe you will enjoy gardening and want to grow your own herbs or vegetables.

7. Learn as much as you can, by direct observation and experience if possible, of the life histories of the food species.  You can do research in the library for more information.

SWA #9 The Cooking Ape

Wrangham claims that cooking has had a significant impact on humans when he compares the changes in food supplies between chimpanzees and gorillas.  When there is a shortage of food, the gorillas are able to adapt and collect different food. Their ability to adapt allows them to survive, whereas chimps cannot survive without the food that they are dependent on.  By noting this little difference between them, Wrangham is able to show us how humans have evolved from apes through even the slightest change, like cooking food.  Our bodies have adjusted to evolutional changes due to cooking.  We do not need large teeth or jaws for chewing raw meat.  Our teeth have gotten smaller because they have adapted to our simple needs of chewing cooked foods.  He notes how our ancestors "absorbed less energy" because their food was mostly indigestible materials with much more fiber than what we intake now.  Wrangham states that eating cooked food has caused an increase in the weight of women and an increase in the size of the human brain.   He then ties everything together by mentioning its impact on the social aspects of society through the years.  He explains how women received their role in kitchen by providing food for the man in exchange for protection.  In the past the protection would be to ward off other men, but now it is more like a gesture of gratitude for their working partner.  All of these points allow us to see how fire and cooking resulted in the development of humans.

ICW 9-20-11

• Are my points strong?
• Does it flow well?
• Does the reader understand my analysis?
• Do I need to expand on anything?
• Is the format written correctly? 

Radical Homemakers: Appeal to Ethos

Hayes creates a strong ethos throughout the argument.  Beginning with her background, she grew up on a farm.  She went to school and earned her Ph.D. in sustainable agriculture.  After receiving this degree she "questioned the value of a 9-to-5 job" (291).  She realized that she was contradicting herself by working instead of being sustainable in her own home.  Hayes went on to say, "we'd require two cars, professional wardrobes, convenience foods to make up for lost time in the kitchen ... and we'd have to buy, rather than produce, harvest, and store, our own food" (291).  This paragraph in her argument shows the audience that she means well with her words.   By saying this, she points out her concern for sustainability and her ecological footprint.  The audience can see her passion for the argument she is making.  She appeals to be very knowledgeable on the subject of homemaking.  Originally both sexes equally divided up the housework.  Then the Industrial Revolution sprung about and "men left the household to work for wages, which were then used to purchase goods and services that they were no longer home to provide" (292).  This tells the audience that she has a clear understanding of the history of homemaking.

SWA #7 Rhetorical Analysis Outline

Title: When Radical Seems Worthwhile


Thesis: Shannon Hayes uses passionate strategies to support her argument that Americans should return to the old ways of homemaking in order to improve our ecological footprint and create a better life for everyone.


 I. Hayes creates a strong ethos throughout the argument.

    A. She grew up on a farm and received her Ph.D. in sustainable agriculture. Then she realized that she was contradicting herself by working instead of being sustainable in her own home.

      1. "We'd require two cars, professional wardrobes, convenience foods to make up for lost time in the kitchen ... and we'd have to buy, rather than produce, harvest, and store, our own food" (291).  

       a. This paragraph shows the audience that she means well with her words.  By saying this, she points out her concern for sustainability and her ecological footprint.  Her tone informs us of her passion for the subject therefore allowing us to see her as a credible source for the argument.

   B. She is very knowledgeable on the subject of homemaking.

    1. Originally both sexes equally divided up the housework.  Then the Industrial Revolution sprung about and "men left the household to work for wages, which were then used to purchase goods and services that they were no longer home to provide" (292).  

     a. She clearly has an understanding of the "origins of homemaking."

II. The pathos appeals are supported by relatable anecdotes.  

  A. Hayes informs us of her monetary situations before deciding to become a homemaker.

    1. She mentions that her family's costs of living were too high.

      a. This can relate to most all of American families today.  Considering the current economic situations, many families are probably struggling to pay bills and support their families.  

  B. She defines Housewife's Syndrome to appeal specifically to women.

    1. Defined as "where American girls grew up fantasizing about finding their husbands, buying their dream homes and appliances, popping out babies, and living happily ever after" (292). 

  C. Radical Homemakers

    1. Hayes also appeals to a wide audience.

      a. She mentions that she visits single parents, divorcees, widows, married couples, etc.  Also people that live in rural, urban, and suburban areas. 

III. Tone 
  A. Hayes uses an inviting and innocent tone to appeal to her audience.
    1. "what, exactly, would be the repercussions for taking a pro-homemaker stand and seeking out others?" (291).


IV. Her audience is American families "suited to more than just women in married couples" (293). 
  A. At some point she has specific appeals to women.
    1. "Homemaking, like eating organic foods, seemed a luxury to be enjoyed only by those wives whose husbands garnered substantial earnings..." (292).
  B. She also appeals to more than just women. 
    1. "see what homemaking could look like when men and women shared both power and responsibility" (293).
    2. "I visited with single parents, stay-at-home dads, widows and divorcees.  I spent time in families with and without children" (293). 


V. Her argument is presented in three contexts.
 A. Social
   1. women could leave the home and start a profession
 B. Historical
   1. "origins of homemaking"
     a. evolution of homemaking throughout the years. "The household was no longer a unit of production.  It was a unit of consumption" (292).
 C. Cultural
   1. Different from "conventional American culture"


Conclusion: Hayes proposes a very valid argument towards her subject of "radical homemakers."  She strongly approaches a variety of people and has a surplus of knowledge on the issue to support it well.  Her tone and style are not forceful or extremely opinionated.  Hayes claims are reasonable and I think she will have persuaded her audience.  Although this is well written and supported, I'm not entirely sure that people will actually resort to this type of living even though it sounds like a wonderful way to help out families and society.

ICW 9-13 Radical Homemakers

The author strongly supports her argument by effectively appealing to ethos and pathos.  She has background information, personal experience, supporting anecdotes and reasoning to defend her argument.

SWA #6 Meet the Radical Homemakers

If modern society would go back to the traditional ways of homemaking, then we could improve our ecological footprint and offer a better environment for our families and communities.  Hayes builds her argument by giving her audience a variety of information while keeping a rather open opinion on the subject at hand.  She creates an ethos by first stating that after calculations, homemaking would actually save her family money as opposed to both her and her husband working two jobs and combining their income.  If she worked too then they would need to pay for "convenience foods" and daycare for their children, whereas if she stayed at home she could produce, harvest, and store her own food and watch the kids and the house, too.  Hayes also tells us "the origins of homemaking" (292).  She makes appeals to pathos by explaining the "housewife's syndrome" (292).  She strategizes in another way by actually meeting and seeing the lives of real "radical homemakers" in U.S. She then attempts to convince her audience that homemaking would help us all out by benefitting the sustainability and future of our families and ourselves.

SWA #5 Womb for Rent-For a Price

1.  Goodman is informing her audience of this "black market" of surrogacy that is becoming a common occupation for women around the world.  In India, the government actually sees this as a "growth industry."  Her main claim is that our world is so focused on the marketplace to the point where we are risking our own lives for wealth.  The marketplace is everyone's obsession and people will basically do anything for money, like becoming a surrogate mother.  I think Goodman is somewhat disappointed in the status of the world and is simply trying to let us all know of its existence.
2.  She makes great appeals to pathos by letting her audience see both sides of the argument.  Arguing against surrogate mothers, she says, "We cannot, for example, sell ourselves into slavery.  We cannot sell our children.  But the surrogacy business comes perilously close to both of these deals" (161).  Goodman also allows her audience to see a positive outcome to this occupation by saying, "A surrogate in Anand used the money to buy a heart operation for her son" (161).  She seems to show more support to the side that is against surrogacy, but at least she presents the other side as well by offering a legimate reason that a mother might succumb to surrogacy.
3.  How would this argument be received by different audiences?  This question doesn't really have much effect on my perception of Goodman's argument because I think she did a great job supporting both sides and not particularly expressing her opinion in a violent manner.  She lets the whole audience relate to the subject and allows them to see the other side as well.   Goodman does suggest that she is against surrogate mothers, but she doesn't harshly attack the side in support of them in her argument.
4.  In the article, Goodman mentions that women in third world countries get trapped into being surrogates because they are "illiterate" and fingerprint the contracts.  This is disturbing simply because I do not like to hear about people being taken advantage of, especially for something as serious as carrying  another's child.   At the same time, I am happy that the other mother was able to afford a heart operation for her son.  I understand that money is necessary to maintain a living, but I agree that surrogate mothers come "perilously close" to selling our children and ourselves to slavery.

ICW 9-6 Catharine Beecher

Catharine grew up in a religious family.  Her mother died when she was a teenager, so she had to raise her siblings in her mother's place.  She was a strong feminist and believed that women should be educated and be educators.  Even though she thought this, she did not support women gaining rights through politics.  This gives me a better understanding of why she wrote what she did.  In her time, women were taught to appreciate this role, but later women will decide that they want a new challenge.

SWA #4 On the Preservation of a Good Temper in a Housekeeper

A housekeeper could be defined as a wife, mother, and caretaker of the home.  An "equable and cheerful temper" is necessary for a housekeeper because without it the household will not be happy.  She has to be content for the sake of the rest of the family, because if she is not then the rest of the family is not.
   The housekeeper should see her tasks of the day to be a challenge for her to tackle.  This way, she will feel accomplished when she is done.  "System, economy, and neatness, are valuable" (251) for the well-being of the household.  The article also states that that she must "refrain from angry tones" (251).  Yelling may result in the outcome the housekeeper wants but it is not necessary; a calm tone will suffice.  A woman must listen to her husband and the other needs of the family and respond appropriately to fit them.
   I think that Beecher definitely has the right idea when she writes that the housekeeper should have a good temper.  I do not think that her writing reaches all women on the social hierarchy.  She represents a middle-class woman.  The upper-class would have maids so the women would not necessarily be the "housekeeper" she describes.  Women of a lower class would probably have more trouble being good tempered if they are always worried about getting the next meal on the table for their kids and keeping everyone in good health.  Generally speaking, I think Beecher has good ideas, but in modern times this article would have a completely different meaning and response from readers.