TOW #24 - Going Under the Knife, With Eyes and Ears Wide Open

Having to get surgery is a very anxious thing for a person. Their life hangs in the balance of a surgeon who went through years of training in order to gain the experience required to save a person’s life. In the New York Times article Going Under the Knife, With Eyes and Ears Wide Open by Jan Hoffman, keeping the patient awake is starting to become a more accepted, more appreciated thing from patients as they are able to view what the doctors are doing inside of their bodies. Most of these surgeries are occurring for minor surgeries that help keep the patient more involved with their surgery. They also occur with patients who need dangerous brain surgery. When these surgeries take place, it is essential so the doctor is able to successfully perform the surgery with knowledge that the patient is awake, and alive. Both of these reasons to keep the patient awake has been beneficial for a successful surgery. Being able to see the surgery brings comfort to the patient. If the patient was not given this opportunity, the person may not feel comfortable with going through with their surgery because they will not be able to know what is going on inside of their bodies. I believe that it is important for a person to have the option, because then even if they don't take that opportunity, they would have had all of their options. In the article, Hoffman states, “Patient satisfaction, however, tends to be high” (Hoffman). Being able to have a comfortable patient throughout the entire process is very important for doctors as they want to have a comfortable relationship with their patient. By being able to provide them with everything they need, doctors are also able to perform the surgery without the patient having to go under anesthesia. This requires less pre-surgery and post-surgery work that the patient has to deal with. The option to stay awake during surgery has not only provided doctors with a way to be able to talk to their patients throughout the entire surgery, but provided the patients with a way to understand everything that was going on inside their body during the entire surgery.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/25/health/surgery-awake-anesthesia.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

TOW #23 - Impeach Trump Cartoon

In this political cartoon by Steve Benson on USA Today, there is a man in blue holding a sign in capital letters that states, “IMPEACH PRESIDENT TRUMP”. On November 8, 2016, the United States of America voted for their next president of the United States. The election that terrified many American citizens came down to Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Both of these president-elects had their supporters but they also had people who were against them becoming president. Many people searched through the depth of the internet to find evidence for why Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump should become the next President of the United States. After November 8^th occurred, many were devastated in these results hoping that Donald Trump who became president of the United States would be impeached. Trump was never given a chance at presidency before people started to protest against him. These people who followed Hillary Clinton during her race for presidency, continued to back her up even after the election occurred. They still showed support of her ideas and what she was truly trying to fight for during her candidacy. However, these people need to realize that if they impeach Donald Trump, his ideas would remain with Pence who is currently the vice president. There would have to be a way to turn back time for these people to fully receive the leadership they believed would have been positive for this country.

                The rhetorical devices used in this cartoon are imagery and its appeal to pathos. The imagery is shown to express the man’s determination to protest Trump’s impeachment. He is wearing the color blue which demonstrates democracy and shows the side he took during the 2016 election. The cartoon appeals to pathos as it makes people feel emotion about the election. Whether they are angry at this cartoon or can easily connect with it. I believe that this cartoon proved its purpose as it clearly identifies with people who believed Hillary Clinton would have been the better president. These people are against Donald Trump’s ideas and believe he should be impeached because he will not be the president that the United States needs for the American citizens. 

TOW #22 - Eat, Pray, Love

In the memoir Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, Gilbert shares her story of how she turned her life around after she went through a very difficult divorce. She faced depression through a period of her life as she tried to pick life back up. This memoir is about Gilbert’s experiences in Italy, India and Indonesia where she was able to obtain good food, her spiritual side, and love. All three of these locations helps Gilbert rehabilitate her mind as she grows into a stronger person. Elizabeth Gilbert is and American author best known for this memoir, which has become a New York Times Best Seller. Elizabeth Gilbert wrote this memoir to share her story with the world about how she was able to learn how to live and enjoy her life after all of these positive experiences she had.

The rhetorical devices used in Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir are metaphors, and personification. She uses both of these rhetorical devices in order to enhance her memoir and make her audience feel they are able to connect with the memoir better. Both of these rhetorical devices are used throughout her memoir to help her successfully deliver her story she wants to tell to her audience. One metaphor she uses she compares emotions to a slave. She describes how one’s thoughts are deeply influenced by emotions. An example of personification used in Gilbert’s memoir is when she describes how much she loved the pizza she ate. She questions if the pizza might actually love her back. She uses this rhetorical device to effectively describe how she has become much happier than she was previously. She uses the pizza to describe that there is hope for her life to become better.

I believe that Elizabeth Gilbert proved her purpose because she successfully shares her experiences with the audience and proves how her life changed for the better. Gilbert has proved that with determination that if one wants to change their life around, they have the ability to do it. 

TOW #21- Oscar's Mistake

After the Oscar’s occurred, there was a lot of controversy due to the mess up for which movie won best picture. This cartoon from the New York Time Syndicate displays all of the confusion that occurred as the Oscar’s corrected their mistake of announcing La La Land as the winners instead of Moonlight. When La La Land was announced, the cast and crew who were at the venue at the time were very excited. They stood up and went on to the stage thrilled that their movie was being acknowledged for the best award at the Oscars. Unfortunately, the actual winners of this award was Moonlight, making this the biggest mistake that has occurred in the Oscars. This mistake reminds me of when Steve Harvey said the wrong name for Miss America. However, the reactions at the Oscars were very controlled as they were very calm and the cast and crew of La La Land showed their excitement for Moonlight. The man in the cartoon is the director of Moonlight and his face represents all of the people because they were all extremely confused about what had happened.

                The two rhetorical devices used in this cartoon are imagery and symbolism. They effectively used imagery to represent the two movies, Moonlight and La La Land. The two people are drawn as if they were in a relay race and the Oscar trophy is being passed. The man’s confusion is clearly displayed on his face and the exaggerated excited face is displayed on the woman’s face who most likely represents Emma Stone. The symbolism in this cartoon is shown by the moon in the sky which represents the movie Moonlight. This moon is towering over everything like it is the most important part of the piece. The woman is wearing a dress and in the same famous position of Emma Stone’s character in La La Land. During the Oscar’s, Emma Stone had just won best actress and she is handing the trophy off to Moonlight for best picture.

                I believe that the author proved their purpose because the author clearly displays the emotions people were feeling when Moonlight won the Oscar instead of La La Land. The author effectively shows the audience the reactions of the people and how the mistake made one movie surprised and one movie excited.