Thursday, April 17, 2008
Garbage-can ticket
It has been close to three years since I came to Michigan, USA. But I think it is my first time reading about a garbage-can ticket. Speed tickets for cars are understandable because it is directly related to the lives of people on the road. However, garbage-can ticket? you get a ticket and pay money for not taking your garbage can but leaving it out on the drive-way for just a day? This column does not surprise me too much but I think it is ridiculous. I know that there are certain stupid laws or rules that government or people enforce because they are s.t.u.p.i.d. While reading this article, I cannot help getting mad and frustrated at the same time. And I think the reason that I get emotional and get into this story is because Stephen Henderson uses some cool and good literary devices to make his point clear and effectively spread. One of his strongest device used in this column or article was pathos, the method that uses emotional appeal. When Quades got a garbage-can ticket which was $100, they said "that's as much as my uilities for the month," and "I never have bee so humiliated in my life as I have been with this stupid thing with the garbage container." By these quotes, it is possible to guess that they are not rich but innocent and sincere citizens of Detroit. Who would like to harm innocent and sincere people? Unfortunately, there are some. Therefore, these two emotional quotes of Quades are sufficient to move the readers' hearts and sympathize the situation. Another device that helps pathos to be more effective, in turn, that helps readers understand the article effectively, is description. It is hard to say that description alone helps this article make sound effective. But description used with pathos creates a new level of effectiveness and brings better comprehesion to the readers. Mr. Stephen Henderson describes the town which was Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's ambitious Next Dtroit initiative. He describes the bad conditions,such as burned out houses that are about to collapse. He describes about garbage day and so on. These description of poor condition brings pitiful emotion on the town and the people who live there.
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6 comments:
Junny, I agree with you he does a good job describing the neighbor hood and using pathos to create an emotional response, but he also contrasts the Quades with the surronding neighborhood and that contrasts creates the pathos.
I couldn't agree with you more because I used the same literary devices as you used with the addition of Ethos. You explained yourself well and used quotes that supported your assertion that you immediately explained afterward. Good Job :)
Jun! I like how you came up with the rhetorical strategy of pathos. I didn't think to even use that. Good job! oh...and I agree that the whole ordeal is s.t.u.p.i.d. :)
Dear Six Month,
Your choice of pathos as the literary device used was a great choice. If a trash can ticket is the craziest thing you've seen while in the U.S. than consider yourslef lucky.
Sincerely, Anonymous.
You have a very creative mind for making title for your blogs, just to let you know. Also i think that your newness to the United States really emphasizes how stupid Americans can be and how they cant see past the bump of a problem and focus on the mountain
June, How is the summer going?
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