AOW 02/27: Oscars Preview

This week's article comes from Alan Duke of CNN News reporting on this weekend's Academy Awards. The article discusses the long list of films who were nominated for a variety of categories from acting to directing to editing. The article is very credible with accurate information and it also comes from one of the leading news corporations in the world. The author's purpose was to list the various films that were nominated and discuss a short summary of the films and tell who or why they were nominated. This article was written at the beginning of the awards show so Duke also wrote about the opening performance and monologue performed by Billy Crystal. The author uses the Aristotle Triangle very well by combining the elements of the subject, the Academy Awards, and by describing the films (context) to his audience. This is effective because many people may not have seen all of the nominated films and would like some basic background so they know who won or understand the jokes from Crystal. Duke uses a fair amount of anaphora to simple describe who is nominated for what. For example he says "Gary Oldman for 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.'" This helps illustrate his purpose by simply and directly saying who starred in what role and what film they were nominated for. Duke does an excellent job of synthesizing information from previous award shows such as The Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Gild Awards. He uses the information effectively to show how some roles and films are viewed as "better" than others because of previous accolades. This information also appeals to logos, pathos, and ethos because people remember the shows and see the logic in who won and the fact they are major shows. Duke accomplishes his purpose by effectively summarizing the evening.

IR MP3 1: This Side of Paradise

The beginning of F. Scott Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise, the story follows the life of Amory Blaine, a young man growing up in Minnesota with his mother Beatrice. Amory is a high-class individual and thinks very highly of himself and believes he has a promising future. This does get him into trouble often as he does not endure himself to his classmates.

Character/POV: Amory is a young "Aristocrat" who believes that he can become very successful with his charm and abilities. He lives in Minnesota with his mother Beatrice, where he believes he is much superior than his classmates. Eventually, he and Beatrice decide that he should attend a charter school in Connecticut to give him more opportunities. The changes in setting show how Amory is like many other adolescences with promising futures, except his pretentiousness makes him a pariah in Connecticut, whereas his peers in Minnesota are more accepting. The story is told in third person, but follows Amory and his actions. They also show how he conducts himself and how that connects to superiot thinking.

Setting/Plot: In Minnesota, Amory's family and friends are more laid back and Amory is able to excel in that environment. He thinks his status is elevated in Minnesota, but when he attends school in Connecticut, he is put into "even competition." When he moves to Connecticut, he must accept that the people there are like him; so he changes his attitude so that he is more accepting and will be able to succeed. He changes at school and becomes an excellent student, star football player, and successful writer. Amory was able to adapt to his new surroundings and that change showed how Amory confronted his problems and moved forward.

Theme: The story shows how Amory changes as person, but still believes that he is on a path of greatness. The story shows how Amory also displays the greed that people had and how they overlook those who are below them (socially). It is also mention that this book is a parallel to Fitzgerald's life as a young man.

AOW 2/13: Hamilton Press Conference

This week's article comes from a speech given by Texas Rangers outfielder, Josh Hamilton. This press conference was in light of recent revelations of Hamilton relapsing with alcohol; Hamilton has battled an alcohol and drug addiction since he was a prospect in the early 2000s. Recently he was found to have gone out drinking in two different bars in the Dallas area. He stated that he wanted to address the media about the incident and explain his side of the story. He is very credible because of his past experiences and the fact he was able to combat his "demons" and overcome his addiction. He is also considered to be one the most well spoken player in Major League Baseball. His purpose is to apologize to his fans for his recent relapse and to explain what had happen in full detail. In his speech, Hamilton was addressing both the media and the fans. His speech had a lot of pathos throughout the entire piece. The speech came directly from him and was not written out in advance or rehearsed. He stated, "I did not write anything before this. All I am saying is directly from the heart." This shows that he was speaking true emotion in his words to show how sorry and regretful he was of his actions. He also uses communal memory of his rehab and connects to those struggling with rehab and those who followed him through his journey back to baseball. This allowed his speech to be more credible by showing that Hamilton knows the pains of relapse and addiction in general. It also gives him a better chance to receive forgiveness amongst his fans, friends, and family. Based on the speech alone, Hamilton accomplished his purpose, but time will tell if Hamilton will receive full forgiveness and if the Texas Rangers will give him the extension he is looking for.

IRB MP 3

This Side of Paradise
F. Scott Fitzgerald

Beginning-Book 1 Ch.2 (included), Book 1 Ch.3-Book 2 Ch.1 (Included), Book 2 Ch.2-End