Blog Post # 4: Descriptive Essay

As I stood in the rectangular door frame of my room, which I used to share with my little sister, the first thing I saw was my bed. On top of it was a multitude of different colored pillows paired with a soft, striped blanket and matching bed sheet. A sturdy canopy, made of polished and refined wood towered, over my bed. It was covered, from top to bottom, with an ivory pigmented curtain. The curtain took me back to the time of my sister’s wedding day, as it reminded me of her beautiful, silky wedding dress. At first, I was opposed to anything white in my room, but the memory of how happy my sister looked that day and the warm, milky color of the silk curtain enticed me, so I bought set for my entire house. As they hung prettily in front of my tall windows, the sunlight streams through the small gap, bringing warmth and the hope of a new day. Occasionally, a small gust of wind would take hold of it and cause it to do a beautiful dance, as it flowed smoothly with the wind as its dance partner. Outside one of the windows was a balcony that looked over a large garden teeming with an unimaginable array of gorgeous flowers. The trees, some tall and some short, lined the perfectly cut lawn. In the center of the garden, there was a cute little pond flowered with fresh lily pads and a wooden bridge. The balcony, that projected out of the side of the mahogany colored building, was a concrete ledge, square with rough edges and a rusty rail  - that my parents have been wanting to replace for a long time but never got the chance to - that took me back to the times when I was little when I wasn’t allowed to touch it.

Journal Entry/Blog #3: Discrimination in our Society

Discrimination is Still Alive and Well in Our Society

            No matter where we look, whether it’s in the primarily homogeneous society of South Korea, where about 96% of the population is South Korean, or New York, an incredibly diverse place where one classroom itself can consist of students belonging to various ethnicities, we’re bound to see some differences in power, status, wealth, and position in society. Although we have definitely surpassed the time when African Americans were seen as “savages” who were used as slaves and a woman’s sole purpose in life was to be a housewife, showing how we as humans have improved, discrimination is still very evident even today. In our society, certain groups or individuals are treated unfairly, as there is often prejudice directed towards them, leading people to view others as inferior. Discrimination can be based on many things – some being gender identity, race, weight, sexual orientation, or religion – and is easily found anywhere. From the continuous issue of marriage equality to the unfair wage gap between males and females to police brutality directed towards African Americans, discrimination is still very apparent and alive in our society.

            As a nation governed by many founding documents, some of which include the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Articles of Confederation, America is built on a foundation of freedom and liberty. One document in particular is the Declaration of Independence, which was written in a time when America desired their freedom from England. In this document, it states “…all men are created equal” and “…they are endowed with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”, meaning that all humans, regardless of who they are, are granted natural rights by their creator. These documents promise to protect those rights. If this is true, and our nation honored these documents like it says it does, the issue with marriage equality, or rather, marriage inequality, is even more disappointing. Think about it, this document was written, these words were established, more than 200 years ago. So, why did the Supreme Court pass a law allowing same sex marriage in all 50 states of America only a mere two years ago? Why do people still think that they have a right to tell others who they can and cannot marry in the 21^st century? Why is it that the American history is filled with a constant struggle for equality and freedom, from the Women’s Suffrage Movement to years of slavery, but people still think it’s justified to ban the marriage of people of the same sex? Understandably, there are many reasons why people are against this idea, with some of the main arguments being that their religion is against it or, since the majority of people are heterosexual, they’re either uncomfortable with it or downright disgusted by it. This is discrimination at its core. Although there are laws that have been enacted to protect them, this prejudice still exists. Many people are kicked out of their homes, attacked, targeted for hate crimes, commit suicide, and are outcast by their peers as a result. So, the main question is: how can we be a country that promises liberty, freedom, and equality for its citizens when we don’t even allow for people to marry whoever they please because they’re of the same gender?

            What does it mean when your teacher asks specifically for the “strong” boys in the class to help her carry the textbooks instead of the girls, even when they volunteer? How would it feel if a girl was asked to stay in the house to take care of her siblings and help her mother with dinner while her brother goes outside to play basketball with his friends? How about the fact that if a girl admitted into the National Honor Society becomes pregnant, she loses her membership and is expelled as a result, but the boy isn’t affected? This right here showcases sexism, or gender discrimination, in real-life examples. Admittedly, sexism isn’t as bad as it was years ago, when girls and boys even took separate classes in school that were deemed “feminine” and “masculine”. However, you can’t say that it’s completely gone. Those examples are just a few of the situations that still occur within our society today. For example, in many Asian societies, specifically India, China, and South Korea among others, there is a very strong preference for male babies, as they are expected to support their families when they grow up. In contrast, a girl would grow up, move to live with her husband’s family, and didn’t usually contribute to supporting her own family. Behind this double standard is an economic factor that goes along with the preference for boys. In many Asian countries, including my own, Bangladesh, sons are expected to live with his parents until their death, with his wife and kids after he gets married, and provide them with financial support. Although times are changing, girls in many of these societies are still considered to be incapable of doing these things. This inequity stems from a greater issue in discrimination, where women were seen as “weak” and “gentle”, thus they had no option but to stay at home, taking care of her children and cooking diner for her husband, whereas a man is seen as “strong” and “capable”, being allowed opportunities to have real jobs and get properly educated.

            One of the biggest problems our society faces today is the issue of police brutality, specifically against African Americans. Police brutality has been an issue for a long time, however, something that has been recently causing controversy is police, mainly white, targeting African Americans solely for their skin color. Yet again, the people within our society proves to be disappointing. Although we’re in the 21^st century, and the period in time where slavery and racial segregation were alive is dead and gone, many people still view African American as inferior. Over the years, several stereotypes have also developed in association with black people, which include that black people are dangerous, poor, uneducated, probably have a ton of babies with different lovers, unemployed, and steal things. Because of stereotypes that characterize African Americans as dangerous people who steal things and commit crimes, many people have developed a fear of and are cautious around them, which is absolutely ridiculous. Let’s say for example there are two men, one is a 24 year old white man while the other is an 18 year old black teenager. They both are wearing hoodies, walking along the street, minding their own business. Which one does the police car follow? Of course, he follows the young, black man wearing the hoodie, because he seems suspicious (he’s probably hiding a gun somewhere) and is obviously hiding or trying to get away with something, whereas the white man probably cold or possibly just came from the gym. It sounds crazy to think that someone would actually think this way, but these situations are more real than people think. Take for example, Trayvon Martin or Michael Brown, both unarmed teenagers who were victims of police brutality. This is called racial profiling, which is when people target or suspect a certain person of something because of a stereotype about their race. This type of discrimination is exactly the reason many African Americans, specifically young males, are shot and killed. This injustice against the black community – this misconduct done by people who are supposed to protect us from harm – proves that discrimination is far from over, and that it’s still lingering within our society.

            In any society, discrimination, whether it be aimed at race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, or social status, is inescapable and is difficult to tackle. No matter how many laws are passed, no matter how many women are successful in jobs usually deemed for men, no matter how many African Americans break the stereotypes imposed upon them, discrimination will always be alive. It’ll never die, because it’s a part of human nature to judge others who are different from us, or what we feel is normal. There will always be people who think they are superior, and there will always be people who use an individual’s "weaknesses" against them. Although people have no right to hurt others by voicing their opinions, they have every right to have an opinion. As long as this is true, racism, sexism, homophobia, and everything in between will continue to exist and discrimination will always be alive in society.    

                       

Journal Entry #2: Rhetorical Analysis of "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

Journal Entry #2

               Ethos, defined as an appeal to ethics or credibility, is the most evidently used in this section of Sedaris’s memoir, which outlines the author’s experience with taking a class on how to speak French in France. For instance, he starts off his piece by stating, "I’ve moved to Paris with hopes of learning the language. My school is an easy ten-minute walk from my apartment, and on the first day of class I arrived early, watching as the returning students greeted one another in the school lobby" (Sedaris). For the majority of the excerpt, Sedaris tells his horrible experience in class struggling with the language and explains how harsh the teacher is, as she used intimidation as her primary tactic to teach her students. For example, he behavior is shown when he mentions, "The teacher proceeded to belittle everyone from German Eva, who hated laziness, to Japanese Yukari, who loved paintbrushes and soap" (Sedaris). Although going through the class was difficult for Sedaris, by the end, he realizes that he can finally understand the language. This didn’t mean that he could speak the language fully, however, Sedaris, for the first time, was able to understand a full sentence, even if what was being said to him was unpleasant. This rhetorical technique is the most obviously used in the context of Sedaris’ experience mainly because “Me Talk Pretty One Day” is based on the author’s actual life events, included in a book consisting of a series of autobiographical essays. This specific story is a recollection of his time in France when he happened to be learning a new language. Since Sedaris is trying to convince his intended audience that they should take on a challenge no matter how difficult it seems, and that although this task may seem difficult, the outcome may turn out positive and beneficial, providing this personal experience convinces his audience that he is intelligent, can be trusted, and is knowledgeable about the topic at hand. For example, in the end of the excerpt, Sedaris explains that, even though it was difficult to learn a foreign language, achieving was possible and that it felt great to be able to understand. Thus, seeing that Sedaris has gone through and experienced what he is trying to convince them of, his audience is more inclined to agree with his argument.

               Another rhetorical strategy that Sedaris uses in his writing is his appeal to emotion, more commonly known as an appeal to Pathos, but, more specifically, the utilization of comical exaggeration while describing his experiences to his audience. Though hard to believe, humor is in fact one of the most emotionally appealing aspects of essays and writing pieces. Evidently, Sedaris employs the use of humor in many instances throughout most of his essay. For example, early on in the essay, Sedaris describes how well dressed his fellow students are when he states, “As an added discomfort, they were all young, attractive, and well-dressed, causing me to feel not unlike Pa Kettle trapped backstage after a fashion show.” (Sedaris). He’s comparing himself to the rest of the other students by implying that he’s no different from Pa Kettle, who is someone who is simple or unsophisticated. This self deprecating, which is being modest about or critical of oneself, especially humorously so, appeal to humor is considered an appeal to emotion. Another example can be found in many parts of the piece, in which Sedris uses a bunch of random letters and gibberish in place of real words that he doesn’t know. For example, near the middle of the story, Sedaris recalls his teacher saying, “If you have not meimslsxp or lgpdmurct by this time, then you should not be in this room. Has everyone apzkiubjxow? Everyone? Good, we shall begin” (Sedaris). By inserting those words in place of real words he didn’t know, Sedaris takes a humorous approach to implying the readers that he only understood a portion of what the teacher was saying. A last example can be found when the author’s intimidating French teacher accuses a Yugoslavian student of “masterminding a program of genocide” (Sedaris) when the student claimed that she loved everything life had to offer. It seems to be an exaggeration, but it’s the mere excessiveness that makes the piece more appealing to the audience. The use of humor, especially comical exaggeration, can lead to the piece of writing seem more appealing and the audience will remember it more, as it will stand out to them.

             I think it’s safe to say that I can fully relate to what Sedaris was going through at this time, as I myself have faced the difficulty of learning a new language (which is something that I still struggle with on a daily basis) in addition to having a teacher who has similar teaching methods to that of the French teacher in this story. Likewise to Sedaris during this time, I struggled with learning a new language, which, in my case, is Spanish. While reading this, I could completely relate the horrible feeling of knowing that you’ll have to go to class the next day and probably have to say something out loud. As someone who is extremely shy and is terrible in speaking Spanish, this did not sit well with me. However, I also agree that no matter how difficult the challenge you’re facing is, you should always persevere and strive to succeed, as the outcome may be positive and beneficial to you.   

   

          

Journal Entry #1: The Strict and Inhumane Treatment of South Korean Idols

Journal Entry #1

           When most people think about South Korea or K-Pop, cringy pop music, overproduced music videos, synchronized choreography, boys wearing makeup, and plastic surgery come to mind. However, as an avid K-Pop fan for three years now, I've come to understand that what most people don't know about is the dark side of K-Pop. Many people don't realize that the South Korean music industry is notorious for its inhumane treatment of its celebrities, called "idols", and unfair slave contracts. For instance, many members of legendary girl group, Girl's Generation, who have trained with their agency since they were kids, are binded to 12-15 year contracts, all of which include working long hours with very little time to sleep, K-Pop's infamous "No Dating" rule, and constant promotion among many other things. Despite there being many agencies who have stopped these horrible practices, a majority of them still use these kinds of contracts. Although the government has made laws regarding the treatment of idols, especially young trainees, those efforts have proven to be uneffective. There are still various labels in South Korea who treat their artists horribly by either hiding their actions from the public or forcing people to keep quiet. Since an idol's agency legally owns their celebrities and has a lot of power over their careers, entertainment labels get away with what they're doing with little problems. Likewise, the more powerful the agency is in the music industry, the more they can hide anything they do wrong. There's absolutely no reason that these money-hungry agencies could give to justify the cruel way they treat their artists. Even though these labels provide a career for its artists, they have no right to treat them like tools used to make money. Just as much as the agency does for an artist, the artist does for its agency. While the label gives the artist fame, the artist, in turn, gets the label money and power. 

           Take for example one of the biggest, most successful labels in South Korea, SM Entertainment, home to legendary artists such as, Super Junior, TVXQ, Girl's Generation, SHINee, EXO, and BoA. Almost every K-Pop fan knows that SM Entertainment is, if not the worst, the face of unfair treatment and lengthy slave contracts. There seems to be no end to the amount of lawsuits filed against this agency by its own artists. There have been at least five seperate instances when an artist has filed a lawsuit against this label, gone through a lengthy legal battle that lasted for years, and started off their solo careers badly. One of the most controversial examples is what happened to ex-Super Junior member, Hangeng. During Hangeng’s time with Super Junior, he was forced to do things against his own will, fined when he disobeyed the company, was refused sick days off even when he developed gastritis and kidney problems. Also, the profits made from the group’s most successful albums and singles were not fairly distributed among the members. Although Hangeng was released from the legal battle two years later, we shouldn't ignore the difficulties he went through. Many labels, not just SM Entertainment, use their artists to make money, instead of seeing and appreciating them as artists. Although there have been new laws made about this issue, there isn't nearly enough enforcement to actually bring about change. There seems to be no solution to this problem, as it's hard to compete with the power labels have, but something has to be done.

           A piece of advice that Zinsser suggests is that a writer should "prune out the small words that qualify how you feel and how you think and what you saw" with words such as, "a little", "a bit", and "sort of". In my original draft, there were at least two instances when I used "a little" in a sentence. Looking back at it, it didn't do anything for the sentence and actually made what I was saying seem less confident, which isn't what good writing is, according to Zinsser. Another thing that Zinsser suggests is that a writer should learn to always inform the reader when there is a difference in mood from the previous sentence. Throughout most of my writing, I think that I did a pretty good job of using mood changers such as, "although", "however", "even though", and "but". By using words like these in the beginning of your sentences, it makes it easier for the reader to process the sentence and announces a difference with what happened in the previous sentence. It helps with the flow of the writing and makes it less awkward. A last piece of advice that Zinsser suggests that you shouldn't "inflate an incident to make it seem more outlandish than it actually was". In my second paragraph, when I mentioned the story of Hangeng's legal battle with his agency, I believe that I told the story in a primarily objective way. I tried not to make the story seem so outrageous that no one would believe it.