Reading Response #5

For my argumentative essay I chose to write about the topic of Gay marriage.  I chose this topic for a few different reasons. For one, I was quite pressed for time and so I needed to think of a topic that I actually felt ardent about and also a subject that I knew I could find a lot of information about.  I think that I used a lot of ethos, but not only ethos, in my essay and I think it is an essay that will make people really think about what I have to say.  And if someone in the audience group is completely against gays and the concept of gay marriage, I feel that my essay may give them a slightly new insight, possibly.  I also chose this topic because of the recent law that was passed in California- Proposition 8.  I think that with the changing of the times and as our society changes and molds into such a diverse culture- people should really give gay marriage a second look.  I feel that everyone deserves to be in a happy marriage and to be satisfied with his or her relationship.  I think that if I were an official or someone making the laws in the US, I wouldn’t have the heart to deny someone love or a relationship with someone they would like a future with.   My main argument is that sexual orientation should not prevent marriage.  I also argue that everyone should have a fair chance at love and a relationship.

I think that my audience in the essay is pretty broad because the subject is so broad and not limited to a certain age group.  There are young gay people, old gay people, gay teenagers etc. and the topic of gay marriage affects everyone because everyone wants a spouse and a family one day.   But the audience that I would like to target (with my advertisement etc) is a younger audience- like students in college or around that age.  I feel that students at this age are really getting a feel for their own opinions, starting to vote etc., and like to have their own judgments and feelings about things.  I also think that this audience is the most malleable in a since as well because teenagers are generally more easily influenced than say, adults.

I am thinking that I’m going to do a magazine article or something smaller of that nature and I want it to have little words for more impact.  I think that the picture should be the main focus and I already sort of have a plan for what I might do.  I think I'm going to get a picture of a gay couple like holding hands or sitting at a park or out to dinner or whatever (just enjoying themselves like any other couple) and then, I'm going to have in big bold words somewhere below- It’s their future too.  I think that this will appeal to teenagers and young adults because of course they have probably thought about marriage sometime in their life and expect to get married one day too.  But, when they see this ad they will really consider, “Wow, what if I couldn’t get married?”  For young adults, their future is something that they think about in all different aspects almost all the time.  I think below that bold sentence in smaller letters, I'm going to write something like- "For many gay couples, marriage is something that they will never be able to experience.  Support Gay rights for a more equal America."  

So my plan is pretty simple and I think it will be quite effective still.

Reading Response #4

            Mangu Wards essay, Is Privacy Overrated?, has a central claim that increased security and protection may have it’s benefits.  She reinforces her claim with the quote towards the end of her essay, “And more cameras and records, not fewer, may be the best guarantee against abuse of police power in the age of zero privacy.”  Mangu Ward explains that with more surveillance people may be more inclined to do well and also to watch what they are doing.  She also makes a valid point when she says that “but even the most paranoid among us still go in to pick up some beef jerky when we pay for our gas.” –This is completely true and I agree with the fact that most of us remain unperturbed, going about our daily lives as usual- even with the knowledge of being taped in most places.  Most of her research is off the top of her head and common, but interesting facts.  “There have been several smaller occasions where do-it-yourself video privacy violations have paid off, as in the case of recent LAPS brutality caught on a mobile phone or handheld camera.  Think Rodney King meets YouTube.”  I like her points in her essay and I just recently watched a special on the Rodney King event so it is quite touching and relevant to me.   She uses little to no personal facts and experience but does give relevant examples of where our privacy is invaded like in the beginning of her essay, “Have you ever attended a political event?  Sought treatment from a psychiatrist?  Had a drink at a gay bar?...”  I’m not really disturbed too much by her evidence and I agree that security and surveillance is helpful and necessary in the world we live in today, where crime is extremely prevalent.  I already knew that we were being watched in all kinds of places.  If you are a good citizen then you shouldn’t have a problem with the government being able to track down people who deserve it.  I have always felt this way. 

Joh makes a severe claim that we have little to no privacy nowadays and she definitely doesn’t seem to agree with it.  She sounds like she is shocked that the government is able to use our abandoned DNA – “any amount of human tissue capable of DNA analysis and separated from a targeted individual’s person inadvertently or involuntarily, but not by police coercion.”  I think it isn’t really a bad thing because there are people that need to be caught and dealt with, like criminals.   You can tell where she stands by one of her last sentences, “The collection of abandoned DNA by police threatens the privacy rights of everyone.  The law permits it, and the police seek it.”  Joh doesn’t support it and is actually quite worried about how much control the CIA and government have over our lives.  She worries that as “overly deterministic explanations of criminality could also be used to bolster race-based genetic classifications”.  While this could be true, it hasn’t happened yet and we live in a society of high-fear that needs protection.  I may not have known to what extent we were being watched but it still doesn’t affect me that badly, I don’t really care.  Again, I make my point- if you are a good citizen and don’t intend to do harm, then you shouldn’t be too worried about how we are being observed.  I believe that the CIA and governments main motives for watching us is for our own good anyways so why not?  It has also helped in many cases in catching criminals, bombers, murderers and other things.  There are cameras at ATM’s so if you get robbed, the records are there and can help you find the culprit.

 

Quarmby’s opinion is a little bit less clear but he is asking If we indeed need DNA identification cards or not.  He mainly just provides evidence that we may need more security because of our history and because of September 11^th, but he doesn’t make a clear opinion.  His conclusion sort of sways towards how DNA cards may be necessary when he says, “September 11^th may have touched our lives in more ways than we know.”  He leaves the discussion open to many different thoughts and provokes the reader to think about what our country really needs.  Most of his research seems primary- “ A card containing biometric information relating to fingerprints, while certain to be somewhat controversial, could in all likelihood be introduced without too much public opposition.” Quarmby barely broaches the idea that we have too much security and mainly talks about the ID cards.  He makes a point that “most Americans would not, in his opinion, be averse to disclosing the information required by such a scheme and seeing that information accumulated in vast databanks, despite the loss of privacy this entails.”  I am in this category and I don’t really have a problem with increased security or being watched.   Privacy is a huge issue in the US especially nowadays but it is also necessary with an increasing of attacks, robberies, murders and other crimes.  Also, as criminals become smarter and learn ways to find loopholes in the system, our protectors also need to become smarter, so that criminals don’t have a chance.

Reading Response #3

In Casassa’s essay, “The Coffee Shop”, she provides an entertaining and vivid look at how interesting an ethnography paper can be.  She not only writes about her research on the little coffee shop and it’s forgoers in Hopkinton, Massachusetts but also provides first-hand experiences and intimate details that you could only acquire if you were an employee at the Gourmet, which she indeed was.  She plays out the essay like a story; starting at six a.m. when the coffee shop is being prepared for the busy day ahead, “Brisk New England winds tumble into the coffee shop as I open the back door.  The warm aura of cranberry scones and dark roast beans confronts the frigid air.” And the employees are getting ready for the daily rush, “I fold a green apron around the waistband of my jeans; for three years as an employee at the Hopkinton Gourmet, I know too well the hazards and stains capable from steaming coffee.”  Andrea goes on explaining the different events and rituals that take place throughout the day at the Gourmet, providing colorful details and stories about the many “townies” and groups that come in and out of the coffee shop on a daily basis; which gives the reader a good insight to the way the coffee shop operates and it’s regulars.  Casassa effectively establishes the fans and workers as a sub-culture by describing their ardent passion and daily visits to the coffee shop.  After returning back to her hometown from a couple months away at college, Andrea sits down to interview Dennis, an old Gourmet regular, and finds that he believes “it’s not the building, but the coffee and the people” that make him return everyday.  I believe that Casassa effectively describes the culture that she is studying by following two of Ballenger’s main features of the form; “The bulk of the research takes place in the natural settings where group members gather.” And “Ethnography depends on close observation over time.”  By being an employee of the Gourmet Coffee Shop, Andrea was able to closely observe and experience what it was like to be part of the little shop and its sub-culture first-hand.  She has different names for the regulars that come and go everyday like “earlys”, for the eager coffee fans or passionate businessmen, and “soccer moms”, for the crowd that tends to take over the shop towards the early afternoon including young children and their busy mothers.  She reinforces how closely knit and how much of a group the people of the coffee shop are by providing her encounters with regulars throughout an average day at the coffee shop like with Paul.  “…The day would seem empty without them…Paul, with a scruffy beard and mustache, slaps three dollars on the counter for his large cup, leaving an extra dollar for my tip.  He tells me to wake up and grins.”  She then continues to recite his order, which seems to come naturally to this experienced employee.  Another example of when Andrea establishes how much of a ritual the people of the coffee shop have is when Martha comes into the storyline, a religiously attending member of the Gourmet subculture.  “…I see Martha in the crowd and I prepare her order before she reaches the counter.”  Casassa does a wonderful job enacting what we learned about ethnography in Chapter 10.  Dudley, on the other hand, provides more of an outsider’s prospective to his subject, nevertheless conjuring an intriguing essay about the values of laws governing Marijuana while focusing on a popular “head shop” in Boston called The Hempest.  He describes the sub-culture of the people that gather around hemp shops and indulge in marijuana paraphernalia as mainly “high-school or college-aged kids…Young adults are less likely to be frugal with their money, and will throw away a ‘C note’ ($100) for a piece of glass and the opportunity to “have a little fun”.”  Matthew also explains that the Hempest appeals to wide variety of customers including, “the legalization activist…the vegetarian naturalist…[and] the culturally fashionable teenager.”  Although Dudley attempts to write his ethnography essay in a different way than Casassa did, I don’t really like his piece as much and feel that it didn’t provide enough first-hand observation or interview material and also found it much less interesting.  Mathew effectively describes the culture that he is studying by providing descriptions of the peaceful store; “The smells of sandalwood and lavender waft from the constantly smoldering incense stands, calming the nerves, pleasing the spirit, and perhaps covering up any unpleasant smells.”  And also by offering descriptions of the types of people that might work in a Hemp Shop; “A set of bells jingles as someone enters, alerting the laid-back workers of incoming customers. …Cool, mellow jazz plays softly out of the raised speakers, further enhancing the stress-free, casual atmosphere of the store.  The clerks are always very polite, and never force a purchase, making The Hempest a very pleasant place to shop.”  Dudley sums up his interpretation of these types of laid-back yet somewhat edgy head shops by explaining that “most head shops thrive on the shadowy edges of American mainstream culture.”  I think that the main thing I can do to provide the kind of specific evidence necessary for a successful ethnography essay is to put in the hours and observe first-hand the topic that I am interested in.  I will need to go to the gatherings and take lots of notes.  Also perform in-depth and engaging interviews and really find out what it means to be part of that sub-culture.  The whole trick is to actually do the work and not just sit on the sidelines!

Tentative Topic for Research Essay

I'm really not too sure what my topic is going to be as of right now.  I'm considering doing something about living healthy (working out and eating right regularly) because I am interested in that.  The only thing is that I wouldn't be quite sure how to make that into a Research essay with a question and interesting information etc.  I could also do an essay on Multiple Sclerosis because my mom has been diagnosed with the disease for as long as I can remember.  That would be interesting to know more about! But, yep not too sure yet, still brainstorming ideas.

Reading Response #2

In my opinion, both Amy Garret-Brown and Jay Holmquist provide surprisingly intriguing essays while presenting a research topic simultaneously.  Both essays are not just pieces of writing that go on monotonously about a research topic; but provide interesting facts and also captivating stories for the reader to enjoy.  After reading both essays, the reader can easily grasp how a research essay is different from a research paper.  Ballenger describes what both authors accomplished almost perfectly, in this quote from Chapter 11, “The Research essay is much more likely to encourage the habits of mind that encourage genuine inquiry, including suspending judgment, beginning with questions not answers, and accepting ambiguity as a natural part of the process.” 

The overall controlling idea of Amy’s essay, “Why Do People Tan” is her question of why people would choose fake tanning in a bed over enjoying the natural bliss of the sun outside.  She wanted to find out what was so compelling about lying in a plastic bed full of UV bulbs and “…waste money and time on a prepaid tan that will only result in prematurely leathered skin and a much higher risk of developing melanoma or other skin cancers.”  She researches the topic and finds that most of the authors hold a thumbs down for fake tanning and natural tanning (something that she doesn’t necessarily consider bad for herself).  She finds that “2/3 of the teens say they look better with a tan and feel healthier, more sophisticated and 50 percent say they looked more athletic”, in a survey conducted by Seventeen magazine.  Throughout her essay, Amy transitions (through research) from the idea that “a nice tan once meant you spent your days on the beach playing volleyball and swimming…it was usually accompanied by fit and trim bodies and healthy smiles.  Now it means you spent 45$ a month building a base tan” to her final conclusion that, “people just like the way it looks to be tan.”  By the end of her story she even admits that she feels better about herself when she’s not “starkly white” and that “it just feels good to be in the sun.” 

The overall controlling idea of Jay Holmquist’s essay is that regardless of what some people might say about drugs, they are not safe and could eventually wind you up in a casket.  He begins the essay by introducing a crazy story about him and his friend, Eric, in a rave scene where they are offered for the first time to do acid.  He ends the short story there and diverges into his “research” aspect of the essay, leaving the reader hungry for more and motivated to finish the whole essay.  (A good writing tactic when your audience is a group of eighteen year-old English students who tend to have an attention span of about three seconds).  Holmquist spends the next few pages discussing multiple drugs that he has researched and really gives the reader a feel for what effect they might have on a person.  For someone who has never been involved in drugs and is unaware of all the different types of drugs and pills out there, it is a very interesting and informative topic.  I enjoyed this essay the best and did not even mind that it was much longer than Amy’s essay.  I like how he starts off the short story in the beginning of the essay and then finishes it at the very end, after he inputs all of the research that he has done.   He also adds a slight spin to the conclusion when he explains, “That’s why I don’t do them any more.  I like them too much…” He mixes a negative and positive sentence together and still manages to get his point across while smoothly summing up his topic.

             Amy makes her essay fresh for the reader by adding her own voice in and keeping the essay interesting.  By saying things like “…who made it cool for white people to be tan?”  She introduces her young voice and you immediately can tell that it is not going to be a boring essay.  Then she moves into her facts about tanning that she has learned while including her question if the natural sun should also be your enemy, and tops it all off with a conclusions that “there must be some middle ground”.  She provides hip talk and sturdy facts all in the same essay, therefore making her research essay a perfect example for us.  Holmquist does an even more exquisite job at incorporating both an interesting story and real facts about the dangers of drug use in his essay by providing a small story about his friend Eric’s near death experience, and stupidity to use again after the occurrence, and also writing many facts and statistics for the reader to gasp at.

            By reading these two essays and what Ballenger has to say about writing a research paper in “The Curious Writer”, I have gained a good feel for how a successful research paper should be organized and developed and have a slight idea as to how I am going to begin to write it.  

Reading Response #1

Both Hogg and Black effectively demonstrate multiple features of the form that Ballenger talks about.  First of all, both of the stories are written as Personal essays in the first person and show no “pretense of scientific objectivity”.  Both stories are easy to connect with and follow because of their accessible underlying themes and “down-to-earth” vibes.  Since they are both written about a personal story that actually took place in the author’s life, the stories are easy to relate to and also interesting to read.  Ballenger also talks about how “the subject is often commonplace” in a personal essay.  In both “I’m a Believer” and “The Joy of Mud” the subjects very much deal with the drama of everyday life and the events presented throughout the stories are quite tangible to the reader.  The topics in both stories are “humble” and not too “out there”.  In “I’m a Believer”, Hogg describes herself as a giddy young girl with a juvenile crush on a “big” rock star named Davy from ‘The Monkees’ back in the day, only to discover in her future that he really was only as great as she dreamt him up to be.  In the beginning of the story, she writes, “I listened to the Monkees Greatest Hits album nearly every day, playing the songs where Davy sings lead, pulling the record needle again and again to the beginning of “Daydream Believer” where he speaks with his British accent…”, expressing her sheer admiration and child-like crush on the British Rock-star. As the story nears the end, she describes the last concert she attended, when she was much older, where he gave her an autograph. “As I watch him write ‘David’ not ‘Davy’, I accept finally, that this person I know so well I don’t really know at all, and I, the daydream believer, am just a fan.”  The topic is not overly dramatic and is actually quite amusing once you finish the story.  In “The Joy of Mud”, the title says it all.  The story is actually about just that; the joy of mud to the author, Catherine Black.  The theme of her story is how working in the mud opened her eyes and presented her with a deep and passionate connection between her and her hometown that she had never experienced before in her sixteen years of living on the island of Hawaii.  Although the subject is indeed “commonplace”, the story is quite intriguing and provides a much deeper main idea to the reader.  Another commonality that both stories share with the ideas of Ballenger is the narrative aspect.  Both stories are written as personal narratives and include their personal experiences and observations.  In “I’m a Believer”; Hogg describes events that go on in her life from when she was just a child all the way to her mid-twenties.  In “The Joy of Mud”, Black talks about the life-changing epiphany that she experiences while working in the fields of Hawaii and what it means to her.  “I had always prided myself on being rootless, yet here I was experiencing rootedness in the most literal sense of the word, and loving it in spite of myself.  Dirty, sweating, and sun-burned, I felt solid and more connected to the living, breathing world around me than I could remember.”  Both of the stories also share the quality in which “the thesis can be implicit, and it frequently emerges late, rather than at the beginning of an essay.”  Both of the stories are about coming to know something and learning a lesson and in both of the stories, insight is earned later rather than at the start of the story.  In Hogg’s narrative, it takes her twenty-something years to realize that her childhood idol is not all that she cracked him up to be.  In Black’s piece, the author goes sixteen years before discovering how truly special her island that she calls home really is.  Both of the pieces tell stories and rely “heavily on details” of their experiences in life.  I would also agree that both stories are based mostly on the author’s memories and observations, like Ballenger describes.  Hogg talks about her admiration for Davy when she was younger and then follows through with a concert she excitedly attends when she is much older and wiser, which leads to the main idea of the story and the dying-down of her childhood obsession with the British rocker.  Black discusses how she spent most of her life growing up in Hawaii disconnected from the island and longing to expand her horizons, when ultimately she realizes that the most beautiful horizon is the one she’s been lucky enough to view every morning for the past sixteen years but hasn’t realized it until now.  I didn’t really find any differences between Ballenger’s features and the two pieces.  To me, the “so what” of Hogg’s and Black’s essays is something that you spend chasing (in Hogg’s case) or trying to escape (in Blacks case) your whole life, might not be what you think.  Hogg spent her childhood daydreaming about dreamy Davy and obsessing over his British accent and later found out that he really is just another person like her and everybody else.  But instead of leaving the concert with shattered dreams, Hogg realizes that maybe her childhood fantasy will always be better than reality when she finally comes face to face with him.  “I realize that I could probably drink and gamble with Davy all night long if I tried to.  But of course I already know that would ruin what magic remains.”  Black on the other hand spends her adolescents avoiding her Hawaiian roots “floating on the peripheries of an island home (she) never cared for…” and ends up “…(snapping) straight back into its cool green heart,” after working in the Hawaiian fields one sunny, summer day.

About me!

My name is Rachael Wells and I was born in Houston, Texas.  I moved to Singapore and lived there for eight years when i was two and then moved back to Houston when I was ten! I'm 18, a freshman here at TCU (loving it!) and I'm majoring in Psychology.  Go Frogs! :)