TOW #7: Nannies and Children - Article

A New York nanny is suspected of murdering two children. Yoselyn Ortega was found lying on the bathroom floor next to the bodies of the two young children she was babysitting, with slits on her wrists and a stab wound in her neck. This article from CNN.com, a respected and reputable news site, has provided a harsh reality check for families trusting their nannies with their children's lives. Wayne Drash, a staff writer and senior producer of CNN, most likely wrote this article with the purpose of not only retelling a horrific crime that shocked the Upper West Side, but also of shedding light on an easily forgotten issue: nannies and children. He effectively makes the audience (more geared towards parents with young children in the care of nannies and babysitters) reflect upon their situation with the use of pathos. He evokes a sense of pity and sadness from readers such as parents in order to get his point across: are your children really as safe as you think? Drash also makes use of exemplum, the citing of an example or use of an illustrative story. Throughout the article, many different sources were cited when describing the children or the events that unfolded during that fateful night. The incorporation of both pathos and exemplum allowed for the audience to easily understand the childrens' personality and the mother's love for them. Drash strategically used pathos and exemplum in a way that they accentuated each other's rhetorical purpose. Overall, Drash accomplished his duty: inform people and force reflection upon themselves. He did a good job of subtley but effectively telling people to be careful when it comes to trusting their childrens' lives with a nanny or babysitter.

TOW #5: Illuminati Painting

This painting by David Martin, a freelance cover artist, depicts the effects of an elitist group on the world. It may have been created in response to the growing number of Illuminati conspiracy theories surfacing on the internet.
This painting reveals to anyone interested in the Illuminati, what this cult does. Martin literally paints a picture of the different mediums the Illuminati utilizes in order to influence the world: money, media, violence. Also, this painting addresses followers of this cult, letting them know their secret has been revealed. For unsuspecting people who are not familiar with the Illuminati, it is just another powerful picture showing humans being influenced by worldly things. But to those who are familiar with symbols such as the Eye of the Providence, they can associate this picture with the Illuminati.
This painting gets its purpose across mainly with symbolism. This rhetorical element gives the painting a poignant and intense feel. The Pyramid with the "all seeing eye" symbolizes the Illuminati and the wooden mannequin being controlled by a hand represents how humans are unknowingly controlled by the forces of the Illuminati. The four hands holding a gun, knife, film, and money, are all symbolic of what is used to influence the human race. In this painting, the Illuminati operates through the film industry and has enough money and power to cause events and kill people. Martin's painting forcefully gets his message across, which is that the Illuminati is everywhere, controlling humans. 
But is all of this real? One can only continue to wonder. 

TOW #4: Freakanomics - Chapter 1 & 2

Chapter 1 talks about incentives and how economy is the study of incentives. There are three types: economic, social, and moral. Incentives are used to manipulate human behavior. In chapter 2, Levitt and Dubner start off by talking about the Klu Klux Klan. A reason as to why the KKK was so successful during the 1940s was because of its secrecy. But then its downfall is caused by Stetson Kennedy, who became a part of the KKK in Atlanta, and learned of the group's rituals, handshakes, etc. Then the authors talk about information asymmetry, which is utilizing information as a means of gaining power at the disadvantage of others. This book was most likely written to further expand economists and people interested in economy's knowledge on economy and its correlation to gangs and real estate agents.
Levitt, a economist at the University of Chicago (Harvard undergrad, PhD from MIT) and winner of the John Bates Clark Medal, and Dubner, former editor and writer at The New York Times, are both credible authors. So far, I feel that the authors have accomplished their purpose of providing knowledge to those interested in economics as they present the information in an interesting and comical manner.
Logos was frequently used, one example is during an incentives study, parents were charged a $3 fee if they picked up their child late from daycare. This did not motivate the parents as the fee was too low. Also, metaphors were used, comparing teachers to sumo wrestlers.