AOW December 18

     The article, “Obesity Rate Falls for New York School Children” reports that the number of obese children in New York City fell by 5.5% over the past five years.  This is the largest decline for any large city in the United States. 

     Anemona Hartocollis is a writer for New York Times and covers health issues for New York City.

     This article is written in response to a report published by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Their studies show that declines in obesity were higher among middle class children than poorer children.  Also, declines were higher among white and Asian children, compared to black and Hispanic. 

     The purpose of this article was to offer a glimmer of optimism about one of the country’s biggest problems.  Dr. Thomas A. Farley, the city’s health commissioner talked about the 5.5% drop: “This comes after decades of relentless increases.  What’s impressive is the fact that it’s falling at all” (1).   Because this problem of obesity is so stubborn, this small reduction is an affirmation of public health initiatives (2). 

     The audience intended for this article is readers of the New York Times and people interested in learning about the effects of switching out high fat foods in school for healthy and nutritional foods.

     One major rhetorical devices used is an appeal to logos.  The author used countless statistics and facts, for example, “By age group, the decline was highest among 5 and 6 years olds, at 9.9%.  By race, the drop was highest among white children, at 12.5% and Asian children at 7.6%...” (3).  Hartocollis also references obesity experts.  She quotes doctors and authorities, for example, Marlene Schwartz, deputy director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University.

     The writer does achieve her purpose.  She used so many facts and statistics for a purpose that is fairly agreeable on, so I was convinced.

http://www.nytimes.com/schoolbook/2011/12/15/obesity-in-new-york-children-on-the-decline-officials-say/?ref=health

AOW November 11

     This article entitled “Americans, Thou Shalt Shop and Spend for the Planet” by James Livingston argues against the idea that consumer culture is bad for the environment and the economy.  Economist, journalists and  politicians make people believe that buying desired things  is “turning the earth into a landfill,” “wrecking the economy” and leading to a “vapid, empty life” (1).  However there are positives to shopping, contrary to what those authorities believe.  For example, consumers have been the first to demand alternatives to environmental problems like fossil fuels. Forty years ago, consumers switched to Japanese cars as they cost less, lasted longer and got better mileage.  The same switch has been made for American hybrid cars.  Consumer spending has also attributed to the growth to the growth of the economy, not private investments which is what many economists believe is the difference.  Though it is said that shopping leads to an empty life, it’s what you do in your free time when you’re not working.  
    James Livingston is the author of Against Thrift: Why Consumer Culture Is Good for the Economy, the Environment, and Your Soul.  In addition to being an author of four books and a contributor to History News Network, he is a Professor of History at Rutgers University.
    This article was written in response to his new book Against Thrift coming out this month.  Also, this is the time of year when people are shopping for holiday gifts, they don’t want to feel guilty about purchases. 
    The purpose of this article was to explain that economists, politicians and journalists are wrong in many ways for saying consumer spending in bad for the earth, economy and self worth. As stated in the summary, he argues against their claims and proves that people should be enjoying the holiday season.  Therefore, people should enjoy themselves, as Livingston states: “Happy holidays. Get to the mall and knock yourself out” (2).
    The intended audience for this article is readers of Wired magazine and anyone who no longer wants to feel guilty about spending extra cash for materialistic things.
    Rhetorical devices used include: parallel structure and an appeal to ethos, pathos and logos. Livingston uses parallel structure as the base of his introduction.  He uses “you feel”, “you want”, “you know” as the first part of every sentence.  This works to form a connection to the reader and is a strong appeal to pathos.  He writes, “You’ve been conditioned to feel ashamed of excess. You know that you consume too many global resources, that you save too little. You know that when equipped with credit cards or home equity, you can’t delay the immediate gratification of your desires” (3).  He appeals to ethos, again with that introduction.  He’s basically saying that he understands what you’re going through and it’s easy to control impulses based on what many people are saying.  Livingston establishes credibility with this and then goes into argument.  Logos is used in his argument with statistics and facts.   He uses “you” throughout the entire article, making himself seem relatable and more convincing.
    Livingston does achieve his purpose.  He probably could have used a few more facts for those more doubtful people.  However, I think he poses a very interesting argument and many people will be intrigued. 

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/11/st_essay_consumers/

Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith IRB #1

     Anne Lamott is a novelist and non fiction writer.  Her non fiction books are mostly autobiographies and cover themes like alcoholism, single motherhood, depression and Christianity. Lamott’s first book was written in 1980 and she has continued writing popular books up to 2010.  She is the author of seven novels and five non fiction books, many of which have been best sellers. 
     In Grace (Eventually), each chapter consists of a story, all unique and different.  One was about skiing, another about teaching Sunday school, helping at a special-ed dance class.  In the chapter, Ski Patrol, Lamott describes a vulnerable and painful fall of a chairlift.  She was in need for a helping hand and eventually a “short, plump woman… with acne and chapped cheeks and small brown eyes” (1) comes to assist.  The woman warmed her gloves, gave her food and water and comforted her until she was ready to ski back down the mountain.  Lamott used this experience as a kind of metaphor for “journey” with God and faith.  She was troubled, someone helped her, she picked herself back up and continued on.
             Grace (Eventually) begins with a prelude in which she describes her life at 21.  She had dropped out of college, was heavily using drugs and being cheated on by the guy she loved.  She spent her time getting wasted and reading books, both of which, she enjoyed equally. After reaching her lowest point , she started praying everyday and stopped drinking and she’s been sober for 20 years when the first chapter begins. This plays a large part in the inspiration for this book.
     The purpose of the book is to explain to others what she believes about her faith and religion.  However, each story Lamott tells has its own purpose.  For example,  in the chapter entitled, “The Wailing Wall” Lamott is teaching a Sunday school class.  She tells her young students about the wailing wall, where people place their thoughts, worries and prayers on sheets of paper as a way of letting go.  Though she was the teacher of the lesson, Lamott leaned a few things about patience.  She had to let go of the worry that these young kids might not understand her message.  The purpose was that not everything will be easy, but you can’t obsess over it.  It’s better to leave worries behind you.  When it comes to books on religion, the purpose is often interpretive and relative.  The audience will take away what best relates to them. 
     Grace (Eventually) was written for middle aged women.  Many jokes and stories have to do with raising kids, losing weight and going through menopause.  Things that a 16 year old certainly has trouble relating to.
     Lamott uses similes and sarcasm. Examples of similes: “I felt like Icarus, near death in the snow, with melting skis instead of wings” and “I felt like a weed, like one of those orange flowers that have sprung up lately…”and “I can hardly describe how I felt when it was over: like a manatee alone in an aquarium”
Referring to an  apple fritter from Safeway, Lamott writes sarcastically: “I had not been attacked by random lust for just any old sugar-and petroleum product” Another example of sarcasm: “Sometimes I think Jesus watches my neurotic struggles, and shakes his head and grips his forehead and starts tossing back mojitos”. 
Similes and sarcasm create a humorous tone which balances with her deep analysis on faith.
     The author did accomplish her purpose.  Though I have trouble relating to her, the stories are entertaining and I can see how they are significant.  I am not a deeply religious person, so I do have trouble with cheesy metaphors about “the journey called life” however, Lamott is funny, so this is different than many other religious books.