TOW #23: "Life and death at his fingertips: watching a brain surgeon at work" by: Erica Wagner

Reading Goals:

• find adequate (but new) devices
• be able to identify her purpose in using each device

Writing Goals:

• to be cohesive in the way that my points flow together
• a strong analysis of evidence

At the top of the article, “Life and death at his fingertips: watching a brain surgeon at work,” sits a simple picture of a wrinkled old man in scrubs. His hands are folded in front of him and he is standing against a white wall. His white hair peeks out of his surgeon’s hat and his round glasses match his equally round face. This is Henry Marsh, Ukraine’s best neurosurgeon. He is 64 years old and will retire next year. In this article, Erika Wagner, writer for the NewStatesman, examines his life and what it takes to be a neurosurgeon, especially in Ukraine, through imagery and a personal narrative.

Wagner’s imagery allows the reader to better understand the world of a neurosurgeon. Not many people can visualize what brain surgeons actually do, but when describing Marsh’s surgery, Wagner states that what she saw through the microscope was, “A glittering, undulating landscape of shining whites and greys and reds is revealed in vertiginous 3D,” she also compares the arteries and veins in the brain to “deltas of a river.” This allows the reader who does not know much about the brain or brain surgery to achieve a better understanding of the very basics of Marsh’s profession and the intricacies of surgery. Once the reader can really conceptualize the difficulty of Marsh’s day to day tasks, Wagner then can branch out and describe, through her personal experience with Marsh, what it means to be the best brain surgeon in the country.

Wagner utilizes a personal narrative in order to connect with Marsh directly, and thus examine his life more directly. Instead of taking a disjointed approach and describing Marsh’s life from a distance, Wagner speaks to him directly, and includes dialogue. “‘What proportion of the body’s blood goes to the brain?’ Henry asks me-- and for a moment my own heart is in my mouth, and I feel like one of the interns he questions in the meetings he holds every day at 8am.” This personal narrative gives the reader a stronger connection to both Marsh and Wagner. Not only that, but it displays their personalities as well. Wagner is able to add personal commentary as well. She thinks aloud: “Would I trust Henry if I were a patient, or a patient’s relative? I reckon I would.” This add an extra layer of dynamic to her writing, making Wagner and the story she is telling all the more interesting.

Wagner is able to capture the meaning of Henry Marsh’s career and the implications of what he has done so far in the surgery world through imagery which furthers understanding, and personal narrative which allows the reader to connect to Marsh and Wagner.

(http://www.newstatesman.com/lifestyle/2014/03/life-and-death-his-fingertips-watching-brain-surgeon-work?utm_content=buffered8d3&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer)

TOW #22 Save The Twinkie by: Nick Anderson

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Recently, there has been much backlash after Hostess, the company that makes twinkies, has discontinued them. To many Americans, Twinkies have been a staple throughout their entire life, and the thought of their childhood favorite no longer being available is, well, unthinkable. In this cartoon, artist Nick Anderson argues that there are way bigger problems than the death of the Twinkie, and that people should stop focusing their energy on trivial causes.

Parallelism helps Anderson to create his argument because it shows the difference between support of the two causes in this picture. On the left, there are two lone people holding a small “Save the Earth” sign. To the right of them, there is a mob with a huge banner reading: “Save the Twinkie.” The difference in support for the two causes are highlighted by the layout of this picture and the parallelism between the signs which differ only by one word. This helps to show the reader how ridiculous the amount of support for the Twinkie is compared with the cause that is beneficial to society.

Parallelism helps to bring forth the argument in a very prominent way, but the background colors and setting are more subtle devices that Anderson uses. In the cartoon, the setting is nowhere distinguishable. The ground is grey, and the sky in the background, is a blue-pink haze. This creates the feeling that the woman’s “Save the Earth” sign is targeting pollution. The simplicity of the background also works to draw the reader in to the central argument made without distractions. Thus, the argument is subtly clarified and the focus is drawn to the main image in the picture.

Anderson is able to make the argument that the hysteria surrounding the Twinkie dissemination is ridiculous through parallelism and a minimalist background. Thus, the reader is left feeling almost ashamed to be a part of a society that holds Twinkies in higher importance than the planet they live on.

TOW #21: Revenge is Sour by: George Orwell

George Orwell is a well-known British author who was prevalent during World War II. His article, “Revenge Is Sour” was published in the London Tribune in 1945. In his article, Orwell examines the true meaning of revenge when it comes to finally being able to punish the Nazis after the war. In order to fully examine the true effect of revenge, Orwell utilizes both similie and personal anecdotes.

In the beginning of his article, Orwell uses a simile to describe the officer he met when he visited a war criminal prison. Orwell describes how the Jewish officer who oversees the imprisoned Nazis kicked and verbally abused the men constantly. But Orwell makes an intelligent observation: “he wasn't really enjoying it, and that he was merely — like a man in a brothel, or a boy smoking his first cigar, or a tourist traipsing round a picture gallery — telling himself that he was enjoying it, and behaving as he had planned to behave in the days he was helpless” (para. 7). This simile is essential for Orwell to be able to examine the extent of the fulfillment of revenge because he is characterizing it in a tangible way for the reader. The reader can then understand that the officers only think they enjoy it because they would have enjoyed it when the war was still going on. Yet, they don’t now that the Nazis are pathetically easy to target. Not only do similes help the reader to conceptualize the concept of convincing oneself revenge is better than it actually is, but personal anecdotes help analyze this feeling too.

George Orwell uses a personal anecdote of a fellow journalist in order to appeal to pathos. Orwell writes how he was traveling with another young journalist on the only bridge into a decimated German town. Beside the bridge was a dead German soldier. The young journalist had never seen anyone dead before, and he immediately began acting different towards any German. Orwell uses this anecdote to appeal to the sympathy within the reader just as the journalist was suddenly sympathetic enough not to carry out his own forms of revenge (in this case by harboring remorse). This, by invoking sympathy within the reader, they finally understand that sometimes revenge just is not worth it.

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