Rhetorical Appeals

Movie: Pineapple Express

Visual Elements: Feelings of euphoria, drug related violence among suppliers, drug dealing

Argument: By keeping marijuana illegal, people are forced to buy from black market, Drug wars competing for territory

Audience: College students and adults, smokers

Ethos: At the beginning of the movie, Dale is driving around smoking a joint. For work, he must deliver subpoenas to people which can be very boring and time consuming. To keep his spirits up during work, he smokes on the job just as employees smoke cigarettes during work.


Song: Legalize It - Peter Tosh

The message that Tosh is conveying is that eventhough marijuana is illegal, everyone still smokes it even the arresting officer. "Singers smoke it, And players of instruments too. Legalize it, yeah, yeah, That's the best thing you can do. Doctors smoke it, Nurses smoke it, Judges smoke it, Even the lawyers too." If policy makers, law enforcement officers, judges, doctors, etc. are going to sit here and tell us that we cannot consume smoke then they should be held to the same standard (Pathos/Ethos).

Visual Piece: Depicts officers after a drug bust with the costs associated with the bust such as the salaries of the troopers, police commissioner, and the value of the marijuana they confiscated and are not going to burn. (Logos)

4 Modes

Song: Legalize It-Peter Tosh

Movie:Pineapple Express

Visual Piece:


Book: Economics of Cannabis Legalization

Reading Reveiew: The Simpsons

The Simpsons, which first aired in 1989, quickly rose to become one of Fox's highest rated programs by offereing a sarcastic critique of the average American through hypocrisy within the education system, religious beliefs, American Political structures, and even capitalism. What gives The Simpsons a sense of uniqueness are the characters. "The characters," states cartoonist Matt Groening, "are caricatures of the ideologies the represent, they are all ruled by their impulses." As such, The Simpsons is driven by conflicts of ideas rather than that of personality which is what most sitcoms today are based.

Watching The Simpsons were an essential part of my childhood. What made the show so appealing to me were the social issues that were constantly being satirized and the absurd adventures that Homer embarked on which often ended in failure. To me, Homer is the heart of the show. Homer represents the average man, except for maybe intelligence, who takes whatever advice or information he receives literally and is unable to reason rationally.

To me, what makes The Simpsons a success is the fact that often times the show coincides with current events which provides writers a chance to express their opinions by creating episodes that often insult our government. However, the element that the writers rely on, conflict, is wearing thin. I feel that the newer episodes of The Simpsons are not as good as the older ones. I feel that the plots of the episodes have become so outrageous and absurd that I am no longer able to relate to the characters.

Songs

Feels Like the First Time - Foreigner

Hurts So Good - John Mellencamp

Reading Review: The Second Sex

The Second Sex examines the femininity and the negative social images associated with women, both past and present, and their struggle to create a world where women truly can be equal to men. In light of such the author identifies how women have developed the subservient image and how a male dominant world creates a caste system putting themselves on top and women in the lower class. In an attempt to illustrate the inferiority women feel, the author provides a comparison of women to the Negro in that even though the Negros have been emancipated, we still wish to keep them in their place. While women are considered to have equal rights to men, society still places limitations as to what jobs are appropriate for women, the statuses they may attain, and the opportunities available.

Feminisim,in and of itself, creates a duality. In one sense they want to be equal to men but at the same time, women also want to be held to a different standard. To support this I quote Dorothy Parker, "...men as well as women, should be regarded as human beings. But nominalism is a rather inadequate doctrine, and the antifeminists have had no trouble in showing that women simply are not men. While woman is, like man, a human being; but such a declaration is abstract...To decline to accept such notions as the eternal feminine is to say that none existed." To say that, in referring to a group of people--containing both women and men--as man, is to say there is only men, drawing a the conclusion that the women are not included. To remedy such, they wish to distigusish and separate themselves from the men.

While we do indeed live in a male dominated world, it is necessary to cite the hardships and challenges that women have overcome in an attempt to create a balance of power among men and women. The fact of the matter is that the social image of woman is engrained in history thus creating the predisposition that women are to be seen as below men. However, as of recent, we are beginning to see the rise to power of women taking on positions of high social status and a breakaway from the stay at home mom.

Questions:

1. Is there a catch 22 in the principles of feminism?

2. Does the role of the man as the protector create inferiority?

3. Do we have the right to classify a job as to dangerous for a woman?

5 articles citation

Schwer, R., Riddel, and Henderson. "Fiscal Impact of Question 9: Potential State Revenue Implications." The Center for Business and Economic Research 16 Oct 2002 10 Mar 2009 .

Tedeschi, Gwendolyn Alexander. “Drug Markets: A Classroom Experiment.” American Economist 51.1(2007): 75-84. Business Full Text. H. W. Wilson, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL. 10 Mar 2009 http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com.

Nave, R. L.. "The Economic Argument for Legalization." Illinois Times 26 Feb 2009 11 Mar 2009 .

"The Case for Legalisation." Crime and Punishment: Essential Primary Sources. Eds. K. Lerner and Brenda Lerner. Detroit: Gale, 2006. 4 pp. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale. LIRN. 11 Mar. 2009
.

Caputo, Michael R., and Brian J. Ostrom. "Potential tax revenue from a regulated marijuana market: a meaningful revenue source." The American Journal of Economics and Sociology 53.n4 (Oct 1994): 475(16). General OneFile. Gale. LIRN. 11 Mar. 2009
.

I-Search: Project 2

By implementing legislation and taxation on marijuana—the most widely used illicit drug—the government could take advantage of the thousands of new jobs created and the billions of dollars of new income. Due to our dire economic standing, we are in need of entering into new markets in order to stimulate the economy. Studies conducted by states that have decriminalized the drug and implemented taxes on it, have gained millions if not billions from the market.

Reading Reflection #4

The reading introduced the elements of the ordinary world and the call to adventure. Typically in the ordinary world is when the hero is first introduced to the audience. In addition to introducing the hero, writers also use the ordinary world to set the tone and an atmosphere. The ordinary world is used as a baseline for which the special world can be compared. The call to adventure is mainly used as a means to get the story rolling. It can take the form of a message or simply a need for change.

Vogler does a good job in breaking down several of the key elements that we often overlook in stories that are essential. One such example is the importance of making the ordinary world as different as possible from the special world so the we are able to experience what a dramatic change has taken place. Additionally, Vogler emphasizes that when characters make their first appearance that we must take note of what the character is doing the first time we see him as this may give us a deeper insight into the character or may even foreshadow a future event.

When I think of a hero, I often portray him as having an ability that others don't. However, Vogler focuses on the hero's lacking of a quality which then creates a need for the hero to fill in the missing piece. Similarly, he discusses one of the oldest ideas, the tragic flaw. He stated that every well-rounded her has a tragic flaw that makes him human and real.


Questions:

1. How do you know if a prologue is needed?

2. What is the difference between a backstory and exposition?

3. What is reconnaissance?

Peer Review

After reviewing my paper, Anastassia, my peer editor, showed me some areas that could use some revisions as well as areas that are strong.

Some things that need to be improved are some transitional elements and some grammatical errors.

On the other hand, she said that my story had a very good revelation at the end and that the story was honest.

Strenths and Weaknesses

I feel that the strengths were my introductory paragraph and the departure for the journey. The introductory paragraph seems to grasp the readers attention and makes them want to read on. Additionally i feel that the actual journey paragraph gives a lot of details allowing for the reader to create a vivid mental image of what is happening.

Two things that i think i could improve on is transitioning from one idea to another. Because the topic is not known to many people, it can be hard to follow and understand. Another thing that i need to work on is explaining the actual lesson that i learned because it comes off somewhat vague and not well thought out.

Archetypes

This section finishes describing the rest of the archetypes including: the threshold guardian, herald, shape shifter, shadow, ally, and the trickster. The threshold guardian can be menacing to hero but if properly understood, can be defeated. While the threshold guardian is not the main villain, there are often ties connecting the two.
A dangerous and often misunderstood character is the shape shifter due to its instability in appearance and characteristics. The shadow introduces the energy of the dark side or the unknown representing repressed feelings. Tricksters, embody attributes of mischief and desire for change. They cut the hero's ego down to size and connect the hero to the audience in addition to bringing about changes by pointing out the absurdity in a situation.

The reading examines the inner workings and behaviors of numerous characters and brings them down to a level that the audience can understand. Vogler took each archetype and described in depth the relationship the character has to the hero, his role in the story, and their psyches. This was especially helpful in understanding how stories and movies are able to develop characters that are compatible with the plot.

In discovering the various archetypes in a story, I see it only as human nature to compare yourself with that of characters in a story. I found myself imagining how I would perform in each situation and compared how I acted to the actual character. One thing I found intriguing was Vogler's statement, "It's often been said that a story is only as good as its villain" (Vogler, 66). When I read this, I immediately thought of the movie The Dark Knight. The Joker's lunacy and instability makes him a great villain because it forces Batman to rise to the challange and nearly break his only rule.

Questions:

1. Which archetype would Uncle George from "Indian Camp" fall into?

2. What makes the shape shifter such a dangerous character?

3. How has the sidekick evolved over time?

Reading Reflection 2

Carl Jung introduced the term archetypes, which means ancient patters of personality in describing common character types, symbols, and relationships (Vogler, 23). Archetypes are critical tools in understanding the how the character behaves in a story. In order to make the character in a story more relatable to you and I, storytellers choose characters and relationships that replicate the real life situations of everyone. Two archetypes that Vogler described were the hero and the mentor as well as their functions. He described the hero as someone who is willing to sacrifice his own needs for others. Vogler states that the archetype of the Hero represents Freud’s ego which is the part of the personality that considers itself different from the rest of the world in addition to the search for an identity and wholeness. The mentor is typically a positive figure who aids or trains the hero. The mentor’s key functions include teaching the hero the “ropes” and motivating the hero to take on the journey.

I found this section to be easy to understand mainly due to the self-explanatory nature of the text in addition to the numerous times that I have seen the hero and the mentor portrayed in everyday life. Vogler states that another way of looking at the archetypes—not as rigid character roles but as functions performed temporarily by characters to achieve certain effects in a story in addition to advance the story.

I found the section on the mentor fairly easy to relate to. I have spent the majority of my life as an athlete and have looked to my coach for advice just as any hero would do. What makes the mentor such a valuable character is the great wealth of knowledge that he has accumulated over his lifetime along with previous experiences which make him that much more of an asset. It is up to the mentor to guide his protégé in a direction that will lead to great success in the future.



Have any archetypes evolved throughout time?

Why would we give hero’s flaws?

What are some benefits of having a character with an inner mentor?

My Hero

My childhood hero is none other than the man of steel, Superman. Superman had every power that I would want such as super strength, super speed, and most importantly he could fly. It is fairly hard for me to relate to superman since he is not human but we do relate in one aspect. When it came to protecting what was important to him whether it be friends, family, values, etc. we are willing do to what is necessary to ensure their safety.

Elements of The Journey

The elements of the hero's journey are universal and have withstood the tests of time. Every story regarding a hero can be divided into three acts: the departure, the descent, and the return. Each act contains multiple elements that move the hero through his journey. The story tells of a "hero" taken out of his ordinary world where they receive the call to adventure. They are reluctant at first or refuse the call, but are encouraged by a mentor to cross the first threshold and enter the special world. There they encounter tests, allies, and enemies. When the hero approaches the inmost part of the cave, crossing a second threshold they endure the ordeal. Following the ordeal, the hero takes possession of his reward and returns home. On the road back, he crosses the third threshold, experiencing a resurrection and is transformed by the experience. Finally, the hero returns home with the treasure to benefit the ordinary world.

Due to the timeless structure of the story, along with its prevalence in society, we are all too familiar with how the story goes. As such, I somewhat feel that it is a part of me (in some way, shape, or form) because I spent many years posted up on the couch watching movies and tv in addition to playing numerous video games in which I played the role of the hero.

While the story of the hero has not changed over time, the hero on the other hand has. The hero of today usually possesses some kind of supernatural power that gives him an advantage over everyone else. When I think of the classical image of the hero, I always pictured him as an ordinary person who has no special powers but is able to overcome obstacles due to his wisdom not his brute strength. Additionally, I feel that because we see this "hero journey" so much, that somehow the hero is losing its valor.


Discussion Questions:

1. If you could change the structure of the story, what would you do and why?

2. How has the persona of the hero has evolved over time?

3. Do you think that the hero's journey should always be successful? Why?