3rd MP Independent Reading: Sections 2 and 3

                To finish up the third marking period, I decided to finish the remaining two sections of my IR Lord of the Flies by William Golding for my Article of the Week. In a dramatic and harrowing conclusion to the boys’ steady fall into anarchy, Golding displays the powerful theme of that inherent in every human being is an evil and primal urge for violence: that within each individual is the Lord of the Flies.

                The use of character and the sense of character development are integral in Golding’s interpretation of this theme. Standing as antitheses of one another are Ralph and Jack. Throughout the story, Ralph stands as the natural leader who adheres to civilization and community, as well as the remaining source of “reality” many of the boys on the island have. On the opposite spectrum of rationality and civilization stands Jack, whose desire for power and authority drive him to savagery, whose willingness to torture and use of manipulation to control the other boys makes him a model of innate evil within each person. Where Golding’s theme of evil manifests into the story is when Ralph, Piggy, and other supposedly more rational children also similarly engage in violent rituals of primal actions and even kill another individual, Simon. That all of the boys, even Ralph himself, become more and more violent as time carries on implies that eventually the evil within each individual cannot be avoided and always comes out.

                The most important symbol that plays the largest role in Lord of the Flies are the “Beast” and the actual “Lord of the Flies”. Golding, though portraying Jack as the primary antagonist against Ralph, writes the story to note that the unnamed “Beast” is the center of all the problems that sprout between the boys on the island. First interpreted as a large snake, this concept of the beast (as it does remain a concept for a long time) feeds the paranoia and fear of the island boys. The turning point of the story is when, at night, Ralph, Jack, and Roger (who is similar to Jack) see a shadowy silhouette and hears flapping. Running away in terror, they are convinced that the beast actually exists, when it is simply the body of a dead parachutist who fell upon the island when his plane was attacked. Simon, who is often considered to be even a Jesus-like figure in this novel, realizes this fact but is then killed when he attempts to tell the other children, who are engaged in their frightening rituals. This means that the “beast” that all the boys have been fearing for so long is actually nothing but their own instincts and fear, that they manipulate the world around them to fit their frights and perceptions. The beast is the manifestation of their innate evils.

Geico Commercials: Rhetorical Question

                Commercials fill our daily lives with essentially structured arguments that attempt us to purchase or use certain products. To do this, companies use humorous ways to ensure that we as customers remember them. The Geico Car Insurance Commercials are no exception. Through use of constant rhetorical questions and warrants, they firmly establish that we shouldn’t even have to ask or question whether or not “switching to Geico could save us 15% or more on car insurance”.

                The video presents a series of several Geico commercials that have the same individual (who appears to be the first James Bond) walking up to the camera from a simple backdrop, and asking that same question: “Could switching to Geico really save you 15% or more on car insurance?” He then proceeds to draw an analogy to this, following up this question with one involving something ridiculous or famous, such as “Does Charlie Daniels play a mean fiddle?” or “Did the Waldens take way too long to say goodnight?” The scene then switches to one proving the validity of the previous statement in an obviously exaggerated and blown up form, and then (usually with a humorous overtone or implication) the commercial restates that switching to Geico really can save you 15% or more on car insurance”.

                As mentioned earlier, these commercials created for the general public and those who need car insurance have within each a basic Toulmin structure for argument. For example, the claim is that switching to Geico saves you 15% or more on car insurance. The ground for this is that this saving of money is as true and obvious as, say, Charlie Daniels being good at the fiddle. The warrant to back these grounds and claim is that there is no doubt that Charlie Daniels plays a mean fiddle, and thus connects back to the claim and warrant.

The Onion: Best Part of Gay 12-Year-Old's Day Half Hour Spent Eating Lunch Alone on Staircase

                In the world of news reporting and journalism, The Onion presents the necessary comedic relief from the often drowning styles and intimidating amount of content that there is in the news. It is also known to take unusual or controversial stances on topics and makes them lighthearted and almost always inappropriate to some degree. The Onion’s “Best Part of Gay 12-Year Old’s Day Half Hour Spent Eating Lunch Alone on Staircase” is no exception to this trend.

                The article gives a special report on the daily habits and interests of gay seventh grader Ben McElroy. After being incessantly tormented for his high voice and feminine traits, Ben says his favorite part of the day is when he gets to sit by himself, alone, on a staircase. The Onion examines his habits that he displays throughout that half hour lunch, including humming to himself for several minutes, and laying out his lunch so that he can move through it piece by piece, a ritual that he carries out with much greater ease now that he is in his solitude.

                What always makes The Onion a joy to read is that its content and rhetoric go hand in hand, yet the topic itself is so absurd and treated so seriously that it adds greatly to the humor rhetoric present in the article. By using traditional methods of journalism, such as citing statistics and pulling quotes from the center of the article, but then applying it in ways that undermine the seriousness of the article are trademarks of this satirical news source. For example, The Onion cites that Ben has “been called a faggot 43 times this month”. The specificity with which such a statistic is stated usually is given only to “important” articles. When pulling quotes from Ben, The Onion writes how Ben states “I’d come here on weekends if they’d let me”. Such specific yet obviously ridiculous aspects of this article add to the humorous rhetoric of The Onion.

Chevy SuperBowl Ad: "Happy Grad"

                An integral application of rhetoric is in today’s advertising. A synthesis of both visual and textual/audio rhetoric, television ads surprisingly enough provide basic arguments that are effective because of their comedic nature. Chevy’s “Happy Grad” is no exception to this.

                The scene consists of parents congratulating their son on graduation. The gift they had given their son (based on the bow on it) was a mini-refrigerator; however, an ironically parked Chevy Camaro right next to it gives the son the impression that his parents had given him the yellow Camaro as a gift.  In total exultation and celebration, the son explodes in happiness as he tells random people, his friends, and even marries supposedly his girlfriend in what he declares, crying, as “the best day of his life”. During all of this, the parents patiently wait to tell him, believing that his craze will eventually die down as it just seems to heighten. The commercial ends when we watch a Mr. Johnston drive off in the Camaro that actually belongs to him. The graduate looks to his parents in total, comically extreme shock.

                By rhetorically analyzing “Happy Grad” for argument, we find the basic structure of Toulmin within this advertisement. The major claim of this advertisement is that if you buy your graduate a Chevy Camaro for graduation, he will go insane with happiness. This is backed by the grounds provided in the advertisement: Chevy suggests that your sons or daughters will too blow up with happiness upon receiving a Chevy Camaro. The grounds and claim are put under a rather sketchy warrant, but one that is humorous because of it. The warrant states that graduates and most likely people in general will go berserk if they were to receive a Chevy Camaro as a gift.