Author: ERICK NUNEZ

Creating an exhaustive document before stating a claim is much helpful than making your observations while creating a claim because this exhaustive document was able to provide us the writers more content and information. Using this information we are able to have a better understanding of what we are arguing for, thus having a stronger claim. Hengel states that, “consider thinking of your thesis at first as a question. It’s a whole lot easier to ask a question of a text than to assert a claim” (page 114), however I disagree with this statement. Asking questions would be helpful but could be answered when creating exhaustive documents after you fully analyze the text. On the other hand, creating an exhaustive document could make the rhetorical analysis process harder as it would take up more time just for creating a one or two sentence long thesis.

Abdurraqib answers the questions that Hengel asks by describing the atmosphere presented to him in the Carly Rae Jepsen concert. He analyzes how particular norms become irrelevant in the concert he went to as Jepsen’s album “Emotion” brings out the carelessness in people. He states how, “often there is shame attached to loving anyone publicly” and “Here, that shame falls into dust.” Here Abdurraqib points out the vulnerability of Jepson and what effect her music has on the crowd, thus answering the three steps/questions Hengel provides. He also describes Future and how he relates to his personal problems with his complex music style and the impact it has on him. It even distracted him from the real world for a moment as Abdurraqib is told to, “turn down the music because it’s distracting other customers.”

Coates focuses on what is left out of the movie because without all of the information present in a historical movie, people wouldn’t be able to fully grasp history. This especially is significant for younger audiences such as Coates’ 10 year-old son who doesn’t fully understand the history of segregation. These movies filter out these sensitive topics, most likely to give the audience a better experience. However, the inaccuracy of our history being portrayed can mislead audiences as mentioned before. It can also affect moral beliefs since movies make these negative topics seem less important.

An example of repetition in the text is the constant use of the word “video game” or “game.” This allows the reader to understand that this medium can result in a theme being portrayed as a result of an interactive experience. Coates also uses the words vast, uncharted, inconceivable as a strand of mystery to describe “No Man’s Sky” as a game. These words give the reader the impression that the video game is an exploration type of game. Also, an anomaly that stood out to me was the deep question Coates asked in the end of the text which was, “As the hours whirl by, a deeper question begins to form: Why am I here?” While this question is a reasonable one to ask, it was out of place as “No Man’s Sky” seemed to be described as an enjoyable game. This question lets the reader understand the author’s purpose of writing about the game; to answer this deeper question about life.

A moment that stood out to me in Rankine’s excerpt that moved me was when she described how Mariana Alves was “excused from officiating any more matches on the final day of the US Open” (Page 122). She made five bad calls in a quarterfinal match towards Serena Williams causing major backlash when Serena ultimately lost the match. This stood out to me because it made me wonder why Alves made such bad calls. Was it due to her bad knowledge as a chair umpire or a different racial motive? Regardless, I was surprised to learn that even though Williams considered quitting, she always decides to put these kinds of events “behind her as they happen” (Page 122). Such composure is admirable and a common characteristic I have noticed about Williams in this excerpt.

Rankine uses emotion (pathos) when addressing the incident of the 2009 US Open semifinal where a foot fault is called against Williams in a crucial moment. After stating, “What! Are you serious? She is serious; she has seen a foot fault” it is clear that Rankine feels anger and disbelief towards the situation causing the reader to have the same emotions as well. Also, Rankine uses exigence in the beginning of her excerpt where she discusses how Henessy Yougman’s video towards African Americans in the music industry undermines the black community and causes her to continue addressing the topic of discrimination towards them.

I communicated effectively towards my mother by proving to her that I am a hard worker through school. Before, she would see me as lazy since I struggled finding a job. I wanted to prove to her that my college life is difficult but I didn’t want to sound ungrateful for the opportunity I had. Instead of complaining about college, I spent most of my days on the computer completing my daily assignments and she has taken note of it. It wasn’t until she caught me sleeping on my computer where she realized that college is taking a toll on me. She is concerned but at the same time proud that I am working towards my goals towards business which is what I hoped she would recognize. Yes college is difficult but with the support of my mother my motivation to get my degree has increased tremendously. 

In my final draft, I used authority (Ethos) when speaking on the subject of hispanics and how they endure adversity when it’s learning English or in my case, learning Spanish. I used emotions (Pathos) to affect my audience by sharing my Thanksgiving story where, “The whole table bursted out laughing due to my aunt pointing out my poor attempt at Spanish.” By sharing this, the audience felt my embarrassment as much as I did. I also used logic (Logos) when speaking about my mother’s experience with learning English as her feelings of neglect could relate to mine.

The album “Welcome Home” by Aries is a 25 minute, 9 song adventure released on October 9th, 2018. It featured some of the artists previously released songs such as “Sayonara” or “Racecar” as well as a few new songs such as “Bad News” or “Amy’s Grave.” The album opens with a distorted piano transitioning into a light-headed beat with lyrics that include references to substance abuse and Aries’ failed relationships. This common theme is used in many of the other songs on this album. However, even with dark themes like this, Aries continues to use trap beats and alternative sounds to give the listener a brighter mood. It isn’t until the last song “Home” where Aries gives a heart-warming ending, concluding with him letting go of his past to greet a new future ahead of him. Aries used various marketing strategies to promote his album such as paying bloggers and going on tour. His album turned out to be a success as he gained much more followers after tour and took a year long break until releasing more music.

When writing about this analysis, I found myself being biased which is something I must avoid. Since this is one of my favorite albums of all time I subconsciously complimented the album rather than use general terms. Perhaps I could’ve gotten more in depth about the album however I’m not sure which details are considered relevant or not such as the process of making the album or moments leading up to the release date. Overall, I don’t have many questions and I feel confident going forward in this next writing. 

A detail that stood out to me from X’s literacy narrative was how he was inspired by another inmate to be on his knowledge level. Bimbi was his reason for learning and it’s amazing to think how if he didn’t meet him, Malcolm X would have possibly been under different circumstances in terms of his penmanship. Even before he began improving on his English, the diverse community that was around him during prison allowed him to gain more knowledge. It’s safe to assume that being incarcerated was a good thing that happened to him. It motivated him to work hard in order to succeed and eventually it paid off. 

One thing that I would want to imitate from these writers is their descriptive details when writing about personal examples leading to their main idea. However, one style that stood out to me the most was Anzalduas writing. Her constant use of spanish terms really connected with me because as a hispanic, I understood these terms. Even if the reader didn’t understand these terms Anzaldua made sure to translate them for everyone to understand. I don’t see this kind of writing often so perhaps I can include it in my narrative, especially since it is also on the topic of spanish.