Compare and Contrast

Generally, we compare and contrast to see the positives and negatives of each situation. It is a clear and efficient way of visually separating two different ideas. When placed next to each other you can see which idea is more beneficial to you and it's easier to make decisions. Comparing and contrasting makes it easier to analyze the two topics. You can either synthesize it and see what they have in common, or see the differences in both ideas.

In ''Two Ways We Belong in America,'' Bharati Mukherjee compares and contrasts different views of immigrants that came to America. She compares her personal experiences whilst living in America with her sister (Mira's) experiences. Mukherjee also compares how her and her sister used to be completely in sync, but now they have mismatched views ''When we left India, we were almost identical in appearance and attitude. We dressed alike, in saris; we expressed identical views on politics, social issues, love and marriage'' (272). When these sisters first immigrated to America, they had corresponding views but after living in America, they couldn't be any more different. Mukherjee states '' In one family, from two sisters alike as peas in a pod, there could not be a wider divergence of immigrant experience. America spoke to me- I married it- I embraced the demotion.... She retained them all. Which of us is the freak? ''(274). Mukherjee has chosen to release and change her old habits to accept American traditions. Mira on the other hand clung on to her roots and didn't plan to stay in America for the rest of her life. She's held on to her green card so she can return back to India when she retires, which is something Mukherjee would never consider. Mukherjee says '' Mira and I differ; however, in the ways we hope to interact with the country we have chosen to live in. She is happier to live in America as expatriate Indian than as an immigrant American. I need to feel like a part of the community I have adopted and I need to put the roots down'' (275). Bharati chooses to focus more on the differences between her and her sister. She starts off her essay talking about their similarities and uses the rest of the essay to show how much they've drifted apart and changed.

I personally agree with Muhkerjee's argument that you need to adapt to the community that you have immigrated to. Although it is important to stay planted and to remember your roots, a new location means a new adaptation. You have to adapt to the new community and location, but to what extent you change is up to you. If you don't accommodate to the new culture, you will be seen as an outsider and you won't fit in with everyone else. It will be more challenging to interact with others if you don't conform.

Lies, Lies, Lies

In ''The Ways We Lie'', Stephanie Ericson classifies the different types of lies we tell. She categorizes them under the different types of lies we tell, why we tell them, and under what circumstances we tell that lie. Some categories she included are white lies, facades, ignoring the plain facts, deflecting, omission, stereotypes, cliches, groupthink, out-and-out lies, dismissal and delusion. By categorizing each lie as a different type of lie, it makes me question the heavy impact of lies and how many different lies we can tell throughout a day. Each lie also hits a different mark on the scale of lies from a little white lie to delusional lies. Stephanie Ericson's statement ''I tried hard not to tell a lie for a day and I found myself struggling''. This essay made me reflect on my own life and it made me realize that I too tell lies on a daily basis that it's become a norm.

I definitely agree with Ericson because each lie is made under a different pretense. Sometimes ''we exaggerate, we minimize, we avoid confrontation, we spare people's feelings, we conveniently forget, we keep secrets'' but it keeps the world round. Although each one is indeed a fib there are different degrees of the lies we tell and the reasons we tell the lie usually varies as well. Lies are inevitable, and will happen whether we do it intentionally or accidentally. I like how Ericson brings up how lies can be both positive and harmful at the same time. Some lies are told with good intentions such as telling your friend she looks good in a dress when she doesn't. You spare her feelings and give her that boost of confidence she needed after a bad week. Of course, this is still a lie, but if it's a lie told with good intentions, does it make it okay? Or on the other hand if you lie or withhold information purposely to harm someone else, if that wrong? Aren't lies in general bad? What makes them different and under what circumstances is it okay to lie? Stephanie Ericson answers all these questions in her essay where she classifies the different types of lies we tell.

I think Ericson's purpose of writing this essay is to show us that there is a story behind every lie we tell, and that lying is natural and inevitable. Even the most honest person will tell a fib eventually.  Telling a lie doesn't always make us a bad person. Lying isn't a black and white situation, but actually ends up in the grey area in between. Instead of quickly judging someone based on their lies, you should always question their intentions in telling that lie. Whether they did it for the benefit of others or the harm of others. Ericson also teaches us that lies are all around, us so we should always be wary of the rumors we heard around us. It's a simple nature of humanity that can not be avoided, so instead of trying to get rid of it, we need to learn to embrace it and know what to expect when words leave someone's mouth. It brings up a new perspective on lies that needs to be heard.

How in the World Do You Get a Skunk Out of a Bottle?

Connor's essay is titled with a question to draw the readers' attention. He titles the essay ''How in the World Do You Get a Skunk Out of a Bottle'' because it is such a ridiculous question. It immediately forces the reader to think about the question at hand. The title also introduces his argument of how humans are not keeping the community clean leading to the harm of innocent animals. 

It is true that most people will never encounter a situation in which they will have the opportunity to pull a skunk out of a bottle. Connor uses such an impossible situation to prove the point that these impossibilities are still possible. If we don't start being careful with how we dispose our garbage, it can harm animals and humans around us. We don't think twice when we throw out that empty water bottle, but we never consider what happens to the bottle after it leaves our hands. Therefore, Connor uses the example of having a skunk stuck inside a bottle to prove that the impossible can still happen and if we're not careful with how we dispose of our garbage it can harm our world. Another point Connor might have wanted to prove is that sometimes you need to put someone else's needs over yours. In the essay, Connor repeatedly says how he's scared that the skunk will spray him and that made him hesitant to help the skunk. However, in the end Connor put his fears aside and realized that the skunk's life was more important. If we don't start caring for others and our own environment, our world will result in turmoil. 

Advertisement

In this "Promesse Cacharel" perfume ad, the ad grabs the interest of both women and men. 

In the photo , the perfume is centered in the middle grabbing the attention of the audience. The perfume bottle is a bright lavender that is contrasted with the black pavement in the background. 

However, the most eye catching part of this ad is the happy couple in the background. The couple in the ad appears to be in love, lost in each others'  eyes. The male is mesmerized by the beauty and the scent of the female. He looks at her like he's found the most beautiful thing in the whole world. The female is a slim and beautiful woman. She has her arms around the guy as well and the two appear to be in love. The female is in a white dress, probably her wedding dress. She's also holding a bouquet of flowers with accessories in her hair. The male is dressed in a tuxedo and if you look closely, you see a wedding ring on his ring finger. 

This ad appeals to females everywhere because it is every girls dream to live a fairytale; to meeting the perfect boy, falling in love and finally to getting married to the love of your life. This attracts the attention of females because the girl is really slim and beautiful and the guy is really handsome and is head over heels in love with his new bride. On the bottom of the ad, it also states "More than a fragrance, a promise..."  It convinces women everywhere that with this perfume, you will find your Prince Charming and have your fairytale come true. Everyone wants to fall in love and marry the love of your life and with the help of this perfume, it appears that you can. 

College depression

In "Depression in college students" , Alissa Steiner argues that universities need to be more proactive about college depression. She states in her thesis "If counseling services on college campuses were better able to publicize and reach out to students, perhaps more students could get the help they need before it's too late". Steiner is putting more blame on campuses for not providing the care some students need in order to have healthy mental health. In her writing, she gives several examples to cases where a student seemed really put together and organized but ended up commuting suicide. One example that I found particularly strong was the incident of  Elizabeth Shin, a MIT student who set herself on fire. Shin was "an accomplished musician, athlete and student" who appeared to be popular and self motivated on the outside. However, what she hid was all the pressure she felt to excel in these different aspects of her life. Shin had admitted to a few of her friends that she has self harmed due to her depression so her friends went and told the school counselors. They were hoping for the counselors to seek help for Shin, but in return they were completely neglected. Things even accelerated when she admitted to her friend and a counselor that she was considering stabbing herself  in the chest. Two days later, she locked herself in her room , cried and burned herself to flames. She passed away a few days later with third degree burns that dominated 65 percent of her body. This story caught my attention the most because it's not your typical suicide story. It is common for suicides to take place as one cuts themselves or even shoots themselves , but setting yourself on fire is putting things on an extreme level. Not only did she end her life, she ended it in one of the most torturous ways ever. This speaks to the readers so much more because it shows just how insane she was and lets the reader peer into the mind of Elizabeth Shin. She was in such a poor mental state that she chose this form of suicide. This piece of evidence impacted me deeply because it helps put the reader into her shoes. Imagine how alone she felt after seeking for attention, and still receiving no help. I completely agree with Alissa Steiner's response stating that colleges need to provide more funding into counseling. It is  evident that in certain college, there are not enough counselors for students to talk to. All the counselors are overbooked so appointments are more sparse increasing the risk of suicidal thoughts. If colleges provided more attention towards this issue, maybe less college students would be depressed.

'' Hidden Intellectualism ''

In ''Hidden Intellecualism'', Gerald Graff brings a fresh new perspective of being street smart vs. being book smart. He argues that society has a constructed and narrow view of intellect that hinders ones confidence in themselves. Gerald Graff states ''Not everyone is good at math or science and some people excel in nonacademic work.'' Graff argues that a student shouldn't be known as anti-intellectual just because they don't excel in school. Instead he states “schools and colleges might be at fault for missing the opportunity to tap into such street smarts and channel them into good academic work.” Graff argues that there is another form of intelligence, not just school smarts, but street smarts and schools should be more open minded to incorporating other ideas into school work.

Graff argues his point that not all intelligence is found through schooling through sharing his personal experiences. When he was growing up, he always thought of himself as ''anti-intellectual'' because he was bad in school. He never enjoyed reading anything, except for anything sport related. He read sport autobiographies, sport magazines, etc. It wasn't until he was older than he realized he wasn't stupid, he was just smart in a different way. He was able to socialize with others and bring up discussions over anything sport related where as he couldn't start any discussion with the things he learned in school. His street smarts bridged a relationship to everyone else who enjoyed sports. 

I completely agree with Graff that being street smart is another form of intellect and that schools need to find a better way to incorporate outside events and issues into their academic curriculum. Personally speaking I find myself bored in school often time learning about issues that I'm not interested in. It makes me not want to pay attention, and since I don't have an interest in that issue, it's hard to understand readings and other works. However, if there were more of a variety of topics, students will probably be more active in discussions. 

Steven Pinker vs. Peggy Orenstein

In both readings Mind Over Mass Media and I Tweet, Therefore I Am Steven Pinker and Peggy Orenstein share their views on social media and how it impacts the daily lives of others. In Steven Pinker's ''Mind Over Mass Media'' Pinker argues that the Internet isn't making us dumber, but in fact is actually making us smarter. With the use of online encyclopedias and search engines, we can all access to the Internet at our fingertips. One example Pinker used to explain how technology helped us, was the use of PowerPoint. This is personally relatable to all college students out there, because in most of our lecture classes we learn through PowerPoints. Professors use it to access their lessons in a matter or seconds and they can provide links to articles and videos. He expresses that technology is helpful but only if one has self control. In his argument, Pinker uses logos and ethos to get his point across. He expresses logical reasoning to how technology helps support a person's intellect. However, his argument would've been stronger if he Incorporated pathos. 

However in I Tweet, Therefore I am, Peggy Orenstein argues that social media has more of a negative effect on people. She believes that social media is the cause of people losing their identity or their ''true self''. When people post on social media sites, there is a chance that they are ''posing'' for their audience, pretending to be something they're not. Orenstein expresses that social media can hinder one's self awareness, identity and lose their true self. She argues mainly appealing to the audience with pathos. She makes a personal connection between her writing and real life making it more relatable to her readers. Often times we find ourselves in the moment during a fun time, and we stop so we can update our social media sites to show people how much fun we're having. It is very easy to conform to the trend of ''self promotion'' whilst on social media sites.

Obesity

Balko : This is ridiculous, the government needs to stop intervening into other peoples' lives. What they eat it their problem ! Not ours !

Zinczenko: It's not exactlty the peoples' fault for being obese and unhealthy! It's because of food industries who don't advertise the unhealthy effects of fast food.

Balko: Well, you control what you put inside your body, therefore the government should not be using our hard earned tax money on other peoples' poor decisions in life.

Zinczenko: Hey! It's the fast food restaruants' fault for their marketing skills. Compared to tabacco companies, fast food doesn't come with a warning sigh about the amount of calories you're consuming in that one meal.

Balko: I completely agree, however I just feel that the government is approaching this situation all wrong. I agree that these fast food companies are the ones that benefit the most from this situation, but in order to stop this the government has to stop giving away free money.

Zinczenko: What do you mean giving away free money? 

Balko: Let me put it this way. We pay all these taxes that pay for other peoples' health insurance, right?

Zinczenko: Yes, sadly that is the case.

Balko: Exactly ! So when people are eating fast food leading to obesity and poor health conditions, their health insurance covers it, so they have no problem going to the doctor and getting free prescriptions. Therefore, we are basically paying for other citizens' unhealthy habits.

Zinczenko: Oh, I see your point. This is a huge problem, but how can we possibly fix the way the government treats obesity?

Blako: Well boy am I glad you asked. The government needs to stop supporting health insurance for those who are eating an unhealthy diet. Once people see how much each doctor visit and prescription cost, they will think twice next time they eat a Big Mac. You'll be surprised how people will begin living a healthier life style since they'll be using their own money.

Zinczenko: Well, that's one approach but I still think fast food industries need to improve their ways as well.

Thesis: Having the government dictate our day to day actions is completely propsterous. The government needs to learn to respect boundaries and needs to stop intervening into our personal lives and focus on more important matters.