Maura Ewing, a writer for the online storytelling studio Narritively, has written a story about inmates in a correctional facility that shows a different side than what most people think. Bill Canaday Jr. is an inmate at Osborne Correctional Facility located in Connecticut. He has started volunteering his time within the facility by becoming a hospice nurse and caring for other inmates. His current patient in this article is Carl Stevens who is dying from cancer. By writing this story, Ewing introduces a new type of community in this correctional facility.
Ewing starts out her story by talking about how Stevens and Canaday met. Without both of them serving time in this facility, they may have never crossed paths. After spending countless hours together for two weeks, the two men have established a sense of community within themselves, and a level of trust and friendship that may not have been there without these circumstances. Ewing shows ethos and credibility within the article by using quotes directly from Canaday and others in the facility. By using these quotes directly from these people, she provides a true inside look into this community and what is going on “behind bars.” Ewing’s argument about this community is showing the compassion and care that is within these two men. She writes this story about these men to show that not everyone is as tough as they are seen, and to show readers that even in facilities like this, people are still getting treated well when they are going through this stage of life, and can’t be surrounded by their loved ones. Pathos is evident in her story when she uses direct quotes from Canaday. The story in general creates emotion within the reader because of the situation that Stevens is in, but also through the level of care that Canaday is giving him. One quote that stands out is Canaday talking to Stevens and telling him that he gets to go home on parole. Ewing writes “I held his hand and told him how much I love him, and God bless him and stuff like that. I thanked him for allowing me to work with him and sit with him. He smiled and he squeezed my hand to let me know that he heard me.” By putting this quote in there, Ewing is showing the relationship these two men have, and is creating pathos in the article and showing how much Canaday has done for his patient. The overall argument being made about this community is to correct the stigma that all people within a correctional facility are bad people. Different stereotypes and media have depicted these people in a negative way, but Ewing’s story shows a more touching and caring side to the people within this community. She uses the frame of the two main people to tell their story and show how even in this situation, people can still care for one another and befriend them despite what they did to put them in the facility. Canaday didn’t have to volunteer his time and help Stevens in the ways he did, but this story makes it evident that Canaday did care about his patient, and has helped so many other inmates during the time he has served there. Ewing also uses the framework of their interactions with one another to show her argument about this community. The main purpose of this article is to show readers and the outside world this community that exists within the Osborne Correctional Facility. Ewing writes this story about these two inmates to show people that even after they have done something wrong, that doesn’t mean they can’t still do something good in their life. Canaday shares a quote from Stevens that he was told days before he passed away “He told me I was a good person. You don’t get that too much in here.” By including this quote, Ewing is adding to her argument to show how these people can still be good and caring people despite what they have previously done. This type of community is important within this kind of facility to provide care and a sense of “family” when you can’t be close to yours, and Ewing shows this throughout her story.
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The online encyclopedia commonly known as Wikipedia houses a wealth of information that a physical encyclopedia would never be able to hold. Pages within this “encyclopedia” focus on a specific topic, but then use hyperlinks to link to other pages about people or topics that are mentioned in the article. Some users of this encyclopedia have questioned the accuracy and credibility of Wikipedia page since they don’t state a real author of the article. By taking a deeper look at the ethos, pathos, and logos, we can find the credibility of the information on these pages. For this assignment, I decided to take a deeper look at the Wikipedia page of the band The Lumineers.
When looking at a Wikipedia page, some people are often question the credibility behind each article. By focusing on the ethos of the article, readers can find the credibility in what they are reading. The first place that credibility is built on this page is in the first sentence of the opening paragraph. The article states “The Lumineers are an American folk rock/Americana band based in Denver, Colorado." By reading this first sentence and continuing reading more about the band’s origin, readers can see exactly what it is they are reading about and can decide from there whether to keep reading or not. The second and biggest way I think the author builds credibility in this article is by taking direct quotes from the band members. As the article continues, the author highlights their history, the albums and songs the band has written, their musical style and influence, and what awards they have been nominated for. Not only do the direct quotes build credibility on this page, but they also give a deeper connection to the credibility and story of the band as a whole. Each subheading starts off with a direct quote from a band member, and then continues with analysis and information from that quote. In the Musical Style paragraph there is a quote from lead vocalist Wesley Schultz that says “I write the lyrics, and I co-write the songs with Jer," adding "It's never the same thing with each song.” The inclusion of this quote from the lead singer shows the audience of this article how they write music, but also gives them credibility in this statement with the fact that it is coming directly from the lead member himself. The use of direct quotes from band members in this article shows ethos and reassures the reader they are getting accurate information because it is coming directly from a member of the band. The last way this page uses conventions of a Wikipedia page to build credibility is by using various pictures throughout the article, and the extensive list of resources that is located at the bottom of this page. In addition to these conventions, the author of this article has also included many hyperlinks within this article that show the reader the validity and truth in the words of this article. Trying to identify logos and pathos within a Wikipedia page can sometimes be more difficult than ethos, but there are ways that authors include them. I think that pathos is the hardest to identify in Wikipedia articles, just because a lot of articles don’t have an emotional appeal to them. The main purpose of Wikipedia articles is to give information, not to give the reader an emotional story. With that being said, the author of this article does show instances of pathos by including direct quotes from the band members, which can provide emotion within the article. The author can also show logos by providing pictures of the band performing, and the tables and charts about the awards the band has received, and the overview box that gives the reader a quick glance at the band as a whole. Although logos and pathos aren’t the main topics of Wikipedia pages, the author still finds ways to put them in their article. Wikipedia as a whole serves many different purposes for users. The main purpose behind this site and these articles is to house information on individual topics about subjects or people, and contain hyperlinks within articles to link to other outside information. The purpose behind the Lumineers Wikipedia page is to give their fanbase more information about their band, and general information to anyone looking at their page. The audience is anyone who is wanting to learn more about this band. With sharing information about these topics on Wikipedia, the author uses ethos, pathos, and logos to get their point across to their audiences in these articles. From the Backstreet Boys, to the Super Bowl 52 halftime performance, and the countless concerts in between, Justin Timberlake has become an icon of the music industry we all listen to today. All though he is most known for his musical presence, he also carries a strong voice throughout his social media, and Instagram in particular. Between his recent performance and new album releasing, he has had a lot to say and post to his 48.8 million followers on his Instagram page.
As one might be glancing at his overall page, you can tell that Timberlake likes to carry this fun and positive persona throughout his page. As of right now, his posts have mainly been focused on his halftime performance at the Super Bowl where he got to debut many of his new songs from his album he just released. Timberlake has posted numerous backstage photos and videos as he has geared up for this performance that many of his fans got to watch. By posting about all of his various adventures backstage, he is getting his audience and fans excited and anxious to see his performance. Timberlake here is showing logos in his posts. He is giving fans an “inside look” into his performance and persuading them to watch it during the Super Bowl. While keeping his audience and followers up to date on his Super Bowl adventures, Justin Timberlake has also been keeping his fans on their toes by posting nonstop about his new music he just released this past Friday. After not producing a new album since 2013, fans have been eager to hear what new musical things Timberlake has been working hard on. In his posts about his new music, most of them have been videos with little sneak peeks at the new songs he has produced with other artists, and how he made them. In these posts, Timberlake has been using ethos and pathos. He is using ethos by singing his new songs in his videos to convince fans to listen to his new songs. Timberlake also is showing his fans and emotional connection side to his new songs by telling them the story behind the songs. Justin Timberlake is using all of these things to persuade his fans to listen to his new music, convince them that his songs are worth listening to, and showing them emotionally what they mean to him. Aside from his musical endeavors, Justin Timberlake has also been posting about a social movement called #TimesUp. This is a social movement about sexual harassment that Timberlake feels strongly about. In these posts, he is using pathos to show emotional appeal to his fans. By using his Instagram page as a platform to voice his support and emotion for the victims of sexual assault, he is advocating for this issue and making others aware of it. He even adds another aspect to emotional appeal by posting a picture of his child with shoes on that say “women’s rights.” Timberlake here is using another aspect of his life to voice his opinion on real social issues and movements. On a more positive side, Timberlake also posts about his family. Here is showing pathos and showing an emotional connection to family that many of his fans can relate to. This is one way he can also share with them another side of his life that is outside of music. After analyzing Justin Timberlake’s Instagram page, I have picked up on a few things. His posts all come directly from him and you can tell that by what he posts and his voice in his captions. His audience is all of the fans he has accumulated over the years, and he wants to keep their support by posting updates on his life and career that they can partake in also. Between his pictures and videos he gets the opportunity to share different things in his life to his followers whether it be a social issue he feels strongly about, his family, his music, or anything else. On Justin Timberlake’s Instagram page, he is presenting himself not only as a performer, but as a father, a musician, and an advocate for social issues, and trying to normalize and share his life as much as possible. |
AuthorAbby Fauss Archives
April 2018
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