TOW #6 - Don't Dress Your Age

In the New York Times article, “Don’t Dress Down,” author Julia Baird preaches to women, trying to persuade us to dress as we wish. Julia Baird is actually an Australian journalist for The New York Times, broadcaster, and author so she is able to write to women in Australia and The United States. Baird’s purpose for sharing this with her audience is because she was “old shamed.” She retells an anecdote from when she was looking for a vintage dress and her former husband said in her ear: “You know, there comes a day when wearing old-lady dresses is no longer ironic.” Not only was that a rude thing to say to her, but it made her feel old. She was only 36 at the time so she wasn’t even middle aged. She uses a metaphor to express how she felt that she was dressing, “And apparently not even a lamb dressed as mutton, but fast approaching mutton dressing as jerky.” So what exactly does it mean to “dress your age?” How does someone dress at 16, or 21, or 42? Women are criticized for wearing things that make them look "too young" or "too old," so where is the happy medium? The media and popular culture are one of many reasons as to why women feel so discouraged when they step out of their homes. Once you turn 40, you should use "plenty" of conditioner and avoid getting your haircut into a bob, according to a fashion writer in The Telegraph. A Daily Mail survey showed that women a quarter of 50 year old women and up are afraid it wear high heels. Titles like "Are You a Middle-Aged Fashionista Who Just Doesn't Know When to Quit?" are very crestfallen, because women deserve to feel good and look good. Julia Baird did reach her purpose, in my opinion, because she advised her readers that whenever someone tries to "old shame" them, just brush it off because women merit the right to appreciate and love themselves.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/23/opinion/sunday/dont-dress-your-age.html?_r=0

TOW #5- "The Allegory Of the Long Spoons"

When I was on snapchat I saw a video that really opened my eyes. It showed six people sitting around a platform that held a bowl of soup. But what made this more interesting was that the platform that the soup was on was surrounded by an abyss that would "lead to your doom." The audience then sees the six people in black and white, the only color coming from the soup. They are all sitting on the edge and are trying to get some of the soup, but because their spoons are so long, they cannot reach their mouths. After a man accidentally spills soup on another, a fight breaks out and the people end up with five spoons instead of six. After a few moments of silence, we see another spoon into view, trying to feed the man whose spoon broke. Once the man gets a small taste of the soup, the images around them are no longer black in white. The space around them is bursting with vivid color. After some research, I found that this story was an ancient Jewish parable. The parable is supposed to show the difference between Heaven and Hell. In Heaven the people there eat at long tables and feed each other with long spoons and are always full. Whereas the people in Hell only try to feed themselves, which leads the audience to believe that people in Hell are starving. This parable is most often told at church sermons. In my opinion, this piece conveys dramatic irony. I believe that because the people in the audience know how the problem could be solved, but the people in the actual piece do not. Although the original artist is not knows, I think his purpose was to get more people to follow Judaism because if they weren't active in their faith, they would end up going to Hell. The author, in my opinion, achieved his purpose because Judaism is one of the oldest Abrahamic religions and is still practiced all over the world. Without this, then maybe the Jewish church wouldn't exist.

TOW #4 - IRB Review The Glass Castle

I finished reading The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls and it was a very frustrating book to read. Don’t get me wrong, Jeannette Walls is a very talented author, I just felt that the people in her book were lazy. Jeannette never really had a chance to be a kid. Her father was a drunk and her mother was “free spirited.” Her mother never really paid any much attention to Jeannette or her siblings because she wanted them to learn on their own. In some ways that could be beneficial, but in other ways it can be very harmful. Since Jeannette had to take care of herself, she set herself on fire at three years old while making hot dogs. Something that I found very sad was that Jeannette shared that she liked staying in the hospital because she never received that kind of attention at home. Her father on the other hand was well liked by Jeannette. On several occasions, Jeannette called herself “his biggest supporter,” because one day when he found enough gold, he would make them a dream house. But instead of actually looking for gold, he spent his money on alcohol. This book is obviously made up of many powerful anecdotes. I remember that during one of the many Wall's family moves, Jeannette's father grabbed the family cat and threw him out of the window. After, her mother scolded Jeannette and replied, "Don't be so sentimental"(Walls 18). This really shocked me because this shows the tone that her parents had with Jeannette and it definitely was not a loving tone. Another important device that was used in this book is imagery. Not only does Jeannette convey imagery to create a setting, but she uses it to express her emotions and feelings. On the first page of the book, she tells her audience about her mother "dumpster diving." She describes her mother's appearance and makes it easier for her audience to visualize what her life was life. Although this book frustrated me at the beginning, it made me see how strong Jeannette was and the things that she had to overcome.