TOW #25 "Parents: You’re all doing it wrong" By Kristen Chase

All over the Internet there are websites offering information about how to be the best parent or raise the best children. However, by digging through all of this information one would find numerous websites that contradict each other. The article by Kristen Chase “Parents You’re all doing it wrong” uses and juxtaposition and the personal you to show that there is no perfect way to parent.

            The article is written in a series of statements grouped in pairs that juxtapose each other explaining the drawbacks to each parenting method. For every choice a parent makes, there seems to be drawback, but overall these decisions do not have a right answer. To show this concept Chase arranges the article very specifically flowing from one topic to another and showing the contradictions within each individual decision. She includes reasoning’s not only about the children’s lives, such as allowing children to watch TV, or using store bought baby food, but also about the parent’s roles “You, who have never ever spent a night away from the children, you are creating an unhealthy co-dependency. You, who travel without your children, you’re creating a traumatic sense of abandonment” (Chase). By writing these two lines together Chase allows the readers to decide for themselves about what the best solution is, however, she shows that there is no clear, correct decision in parenting

            By speaking in second person throughout the article, Chase creates a personal connection with her audience to help them analyze the situation in their own lives. Chase places the reader in the role of a parent for each named situation, which helps them see that there is no perfect choice. She begins each statement, “You, who…” (Chase). By beginning personally and finishing the sentence with the consequence one can see that no matter what they do there is no perfect method.

         The choices made while parenting have many effects on the lifestyle of a family, but Chase explains that there is no correct decision. Using the contradicting statements and the personal you, she allows her audience to analyze their own solutions to help them come to the conclusion on their own. As I read the article, I thought about where my parents fall and saw that each choice does not stand alone and that the answers do not matter because I am who I am today because of it, and I like who I have become. So even if my parents have “done it all wrong” (Chase) because every choice has a consequence, I don’t care.

Goals:

Appropriate/relevant introcution

So what conclusion 

Intro IRB #4 Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick

            For the fourth marking period I am going to read Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick. Demick is a journalist who worked in South Korea for seven years to collect stories about what life is like in North Korea. The book follows the lives of the people she has interviewed who once lived in the city of Chongjin. I am interested to read this book because I have seen satellite pictures of North Korea where there is one light in the darkness, and Chongjin is one of the cities that’s lights turned off in 1990.

 

TOW #24 Unorthodox by Deborah Feldman

In a Jewish Orthodox community girls have extremely strict rules to follow all throughout their life. These customs allow women of all ages to be mistreated, emotionally hurt, and even harassed. When Deborah Feldman escaped her community she reflected on her past by publishing a book. Primarily she instructs about the life behind closed doors, that of an Orthodox woman, but also she enlightens young women about gaining the power to be one's true self. Feldman uses extended metaphors to explain her dual purpose in the book Unorthodox.

Using metaphors, Feldman reveals personal information and authentic stories of life in a Orthodox society. Often, things she experienced as young women were unlike those of a normal American citizens, however in attempt to make her story relatable she describes situations in metaphors. Feldman had an arranged marriage to a man who she did not love and this stressed her constantly. She described these feelings were like “the fight of someone under siege who knows she will run out of energy before her enemy will and that defeat is inevitable.” (Feldman 181). Although in today’s society many people do not have arranged marriages, her comparison allows anyone to understand the message. Feldman’s use of this language allows people outside of the Orthodox community to understand the complexities of it.

Throughout the text, Feldman describes an empty, unfillable hole she felt in her stomach that she ties to her secondary purpose. She wants girls, those in her position or not, to understand that they will only feel whole when they stay true to herself. As a young child Feldman kept many secrets of her desire to study english and read books. She felt a “burning hunger inside that gnaws at me when I think it isn’t satisfied” (Feldman 239). Growing up, as she attempted to fill this hole, she only felt the need to hide more and more of her life until she was living a double life, until her life became “an exercise in secrets, the biggest secret being my true self” (Feldman 233). Through metaphoric and descriptive language Feldman attempts to teach girls and women to be who they are.

In a memoir, Feldman describes her life through metaphors to teach her readers two important lessons. By making her story relatable she makes more people aware of the unique Orthodox community. Additionally, she shares her story to inspire girls to speak for their true selves. Unorthodox ties the two purposes into one into an interesting story about escaping one community to obtain real happiness.

Goals:

Good thesis statement

Strong analysis of rhetorical device