The end

The point of this blog is to review what I learned in class. More than anything, I learned that a few mistakes do not define who I am or where I belong. I have also learned how to provide a strong argument and how to back it up with the ethos, logos, and pathos. I should just make a list of what I learned, but oh well. I also learned how dangerous squirrels are to students on campus. We weren’t taught it in class, but I learned that the people you meet and activities you do in class are sometimes more important than the class itself.

            I also learned how important it is to keep your audience in mind when you are writing.  Ever since mastering this I have kept my audience in mind as I write chapters for The Soul Circle Quadrilogy, trying to think of how they would react and what they would think. I have also tried to apply this to the papers I have written throughout this semester. I have also assimilated some of the tools of rhetoric. I am still trying to master them all, but I am on my way. I may have been a procrastinator and a very lazy student, but I now know that it is still possible to go to class if you wake up twenty minutes before it starts.

This was a great semester, not necessarily for my grades, but I learned a lot about life instead. Writing and Rhetoric was one of those classes that helped me learn about how life should be prioritized. Professor Elliott, do you remember my first paper in this class, and how I wrote about my horrible experiences in most of my English classes? I am glad to tell you that Writing and Rhetoric 150H was not one of those classes. It was my favorite class by far, and I learned quite a bit. Thank you.

Signing out – Ian Lucas

Blog #10: Pros and Cons

For my topic I've decided to use violence in video games and how it affects society. The two sides of this topic is that violence in video games contributes to youth violence while the opposite position is that it does not. Both sides have many valid arguments, but I am going to side with those that believe violence in video games does not transfer into real life youth violence. One comparison that I found interesting was between the FBI and Secret Service. The FBI lists playing violent video games as a common behavior of people in school shootings. On the other hand, the Secret Service states that school shooters showed much more interest in other violent forms of media (movies, books, and their own writing) than in violent video games. Another source as to why violent video games do not contribute to youth violence is that, since the rise in popularity of violent video games, violent juvenile crimes have decreased 49.3%. A reason as to why this is happening is because aggressive behaviors in adolescent boys are reduced because it serves as a substitute for "rough play." Youth replace "rough play" with multi-player video games like Modern Warfare or Halo to establish dominance among their peers.

                One problem that source claims is that violent video games desensitize players to violence in real life. Another study shows that adolescents who play violent video games during the beginning of the school year were more aggressive later in the year than those who did not. To counter this, an interview of the authors of Grand Theft Childhood reveals that adolescents who played no video games were at a much higher risk of being a part of violent actions in school than kids who did play video games. Another example is between teenagers who committed murder in the United States and those in Japan. Teenage murders in America were significantly higher than those in Japan, and the per capita sale of video games in japan was also significantly higher than those in America. These shows that video games do not contribute to violent crimes and may even reduce them.

Blog # 9: Rhetorical analysis

So, my rhetorical analysis was of John F. Kennedy's acceptance speech. It's the one with his famous, "ask not what America can do for you, ask what you can do for America" speech. It was okay I guess, but writing analysis's and research papers isn't my cup of tea. I much prefer writing fiction. Anyway, I thought I did pretty well on it though.

#8: 50 words on me subject

To start out, I'm analyzing John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address. Kennedy's speech is very pro freedom and has many throwbacks to the pledge of allegiance. It also has many christian beliefs in it. An example is that he wishes to convert "good words into good deeds, for a new allegiance."

#7: Letter from Birmingham Jail

"Letter from Birmingham Jail" was very powerful. Martin Luther King Jr. uses a palpable amount of ethos in his argument, using such examples as comparing the black situation for children to that of white children. It's all very heart wrenching and definitely evokes a response of deep thought and re-prioritization. It is difficult to forget and definitely gets his argument through.

#6: What Christians Believe in

In "What Christians Believe in" C.S. Lewis brings to light the ultimate discussion of humanity: is there a God?
The first issue is why a God would create such a "cruel and unjust." The two views are that of most religions and Pantheism. I for one thought the idea of Pantheism was very interesting, that God created this universe like we create books, or art, or any number of creative pieces. Despite that, I still believe that the God that created this universe is an active God who cares for us like a father to his children: letting them learn lessons themselves, but helping them when they are in over their heads.

Blog #5: Veil of Fears

I thought Veil of Fears was a very interesting piece. I never really had an opinion or very much knowledge of veils, but it is interesting to know that there is quite a controversy over them. I believe that women should be allowed to make their own choice, be it to continue wearing a burka or to don more westernized apparel. The battle between feminists and multiculturalists should really become a non-factor. After all the ultimate decision comes down to each woman.