TOW 21: World War II Political Cartoon

This political cartoon is from World War II with no specific illustrator.

During World War II, there were numerous drafts to account for the many men that went away to or died in battle. Because of the large absence of males, women were forced to fill in these void roles. This political cartoon depicts just this; women dressed up in largely male attire saluting in loyalty to their country. The short but impacting text reveals that women "served," or worked jobs to assist those in battle. The soldier in the corner is clearly smaller than the women; emphasizing the importance of the women during this time. The men were able to enter battle and fight because of the assistance and professionalism from women. The three women also all have short, cropped hair, to equalize their presence to males. As women were still fighting to be treated as equals during this time, they desired to show their capability to work just like men, and they did this by attempting to be physically similar to males.

The rhetorical device of placement is emphasized in this poster. The man in the corner is obviously not the main figure in this painting, as the women's roles are being exaggerated and prioritized. However, this also goes to show the growing role of women. Without the females, the men would be unable to fight in battle because of the lack of uniforms, ammunition, or other necessary supplies. The role that women were playing during this time were crucial, and this is reflected through the strategic placement of the men and women in this picture.

This painting was intended for the general public. It may have been, however, specifically aimed at females, to encourage their presence in the workforce and show their growing importance and need.

The painter's purpose was accomplished. Depicting women as strong and capable most likely pushed women to play a bigger role in society to aid the men that would be unable to fight without their help. The strategic placement of figures helped further emphasize the women's roles in society.

TOW 20: Pastor Apologizes to His Denomination for Role in Sandy Hook Interfaith Service

After the shocking event that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School, many would reason that families of the victims and the whole community would come together. However, a Lutheran pastor named Rob Morris was heavily criticized for his participation of a joint worship in which he gave the benediction at the large memorial service held after the incident. Rev. Morris apologized for his "false teachings," and explained that his work was not one of worship, but of community service.

This article comes from The New York Times, published by Sharon Otterman.

The article was not too significant in context. Although the apology may seem like a shock, that facilitating a vigil service would deserve such backlash, this article included a sincere apology from Rev. Morris.

The purpose of this article was to tell of an incident in which the people under the Lutheran denomination were offended that Rev. Morris had seemingly gone against his teachings and gave a benediction at a worship with many other religions.

The audience of this article is the general public, however, those under the Lutheran religion may have impacted the most. Reading Rev. Morris's public apology may ease their tensions towards him. In addition, the audience for this article could have been those who were offended by and confused about why Rev. Morris was getting so criticized by his Church, as reasoning is provided; the Lutheran Church does not allow joint worship with other religions because such participation may give off the false impression that they are endorsing a Savior other than Jesus.

This article exudes ethos. In order to let the audience know that the content in this article is credible, many quotes from different sources were used, such as the main pastor from the Lutheran church. It also included direct quotes from Rev. Morris's apology. To gain credibility and show that her content is reliable, Otterman included direct quotations.

The author's purpose was achieved. Otterman summarized the criticism that Rev. Morris received as well as the reasoning behind it. She also included his public apology so that any misunderstandings would be erased.

TOW 19: Does it "get better" for bullied or bisexual youth?

With the issue of bullying growing to be a serious, nationwide issue, this article brings some hope. The overall incidences of bullying for being lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) decreases significantly after high school, as research as shown. Over half of teens from ages 13-14 are bullied for being LGB, but this number is drastically reduced to 10% when they are 19-20. However, this number did not drop for gay/bisexual males as males were more than 4 times more likely to report bullying at the end of the study.

This article was written by Georgiann Caruso, a CNN Medical Producer.

This article was important in context. Bullying is a very serious issue that has caught the attention of many schools, and this article displays studies that have been done on it. Although bullying seems to decrease after high school, it still continues to persist for males. This issue of bullying and the effects it has on the victims must be heard and learned about in order for it to stop.

The purpose of this article was to tell of a study that was performed in the UK on the statistics of students who were bullied for their sexuality, and whether this continued after high school or not.

The text was written for the general public. This is an article that can appeal to a large audience as even those who have no direct correlation to the topic of the article can be informed of the bullying that goes on. The LGBs may also read this article and gain hope that the bullying they are enduring now is most likely going to end after high school.

The article does not contain any conspicuous rhetorical elements, as most of the article consisted of results from the study performed and their implications on the future of LGBs.

The author's purpose was achieved. Through giving details on the study, Caruso was able to raise awareness on the growing issue of bullying, as well as possibly make people feel sympathy for LGBs. The fact that they are two more times as likely to get bullied is a horrible fact, and this may induce readers to become more open-minded and treat LGBs exactly the same as heterosexuals.

TOW 18: With River Blindness, 'You Never Sleep'

Voluntarily rubbing a red-hot machete up and down one's back was not an uncommon sight where river blindness was rampant. This disease, technically known as "onchocerciasis," is a rare tropical disease where one gets infected by flies. Getting bitten by one these infected flies will lead to its reproduction in the person's  body. Severe side effects can occur, such as blindness or intense itching when the worm dies. The rubbing of the red-hot machete was a practice to eliminate the itching, along with pouring boiling water on one's body, or even breaking a clay pot and using the jagged shards to itch. Great efforts have been made for the elimination of this disease, such as Merck's generous donations of a vaccine called "ivermectin," which kills and paralyzes the worms. Social consequences have occurred, as those infected are isolated. Because of this, marriages have been confined to those in one village so incest has been on the rise. Total elimination of this disease in Uganda by 2020 is a goal that will hopefully be achieved.

This article was written by Elizabeth Landau from CNN News.

This article was important in context. It tells of an underrated disease that is inflicting major harm on many people in distant countries. Pharmaceutical companies are already in action, donating medication. It tells the audience that such diseases are still widespread in developing countries, and it raises awareness that we can all do something to help.

The purpose of this article was to tell of an unfortunate disease that is widespread in Africa. Its negative effects on the physical body as well as the social consequences were discussed.

The text was written for the general public, but those in the health or pharmaceutical industries are probably going to be most impacted by this, as they hold some power to be able to bring positive change to these areas with medication and vaccines.

Pathos was used in this article. Landau wrote about one particular man named Semanza who had river blindness. He was isolated from his own family, and no one would approach or befriend him because of his skin from excessive itching and the flies that flew around him. After using invermectin, he gained happiness as well as a wife. This inspirational story really impacted the emotions, as it shows the positive, life-changing effect of one vaccine. It was also upsetting to realize that because Uganda is still a developing country, these vaccines are not widespread and are only available through the donations of large pharmaceutical countries, which probably compelled many people to do something to help.

The author's purpose of telling about the river disease was accomplished. Her usage of pathos to appeal to emotions, as well as her facts and real-life stories all contributed to our further knowledge of a majorly underrated disease that is currently impacting many in Africa.