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Rhetorical Speech Essay

On April 3, 1964 Malcolm X delivered a speech at the Cory Methodist Church called “The Ballot or the Bullet”. X’s purpose within the speech is to tell African Americans to go out and vote as well as taking back control of their communities and economies within their communities. This is significant to the time period as well due to it being an establishing moment within the civil rights movement. Consequently, this speech can be considered controversial because Malcolm X states that if they don’t get equality through peace they will have to take it through violence and revolutions.

Within the speech, Malcom X uses juxtaposition to express the main idea within his speech. An example of this is as X states “This is why I say it’s the ballot or the bullet. It’s the liberty or it’s death. It’s freedom for everybody or freedom for nobody.”, (1). Analyzing this quote shows how X uses contrast in his speech to convey a crucial point across showing the two sides that applies to all. In addition, by including both sides he can create a feeling of guilt through his words solidifying his point that if you have freedom why shouldn’t I?

Another strategy that Malcolm X uses is paradoxical language and it can be seen when he states “we haven’t had sense enough to set up stores and control the businesses of our community,” (1). He purposefully uses this statement to support his argument about why their communities struggle and to acknowledge that they have put themselves into the situation they are in. In addition, he reiterates the quote by telling a story of “the man” and how he uses their money but doesn’t even live within their community showing the use of the strategy stated.

Malcolm X’s speech “The Ballot or the Bullet” is a great example of what life in the 1960’s was like during the civil rights movement. The speech utilizes multiple strategies within which candidly shows the intelligence of Malcolm X and how he was able to express his thoughts and ideas of issues. Not only where his ideas heard but many people still use Malcolm X as inspiration which can be seen especially through protests or even politics today.

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Title: "Now Pay Attention, 007..." by Angus Mackenzie

🤬 Line: "NO, it's not just playing with the gadgets--the revolving license plates, the machine guns, the bulletproof shield, and the rest of the 007 Arsenal. It's the fact that you're driving a genuine 1964 Aston Martin DB5,"

Plot Within Article: The car that was used within the original James Bond films is being sold with its original gadgets and look.

A Word Learned: Continuum: a continuous sequence in which adjacent elements are not perceptibly different from each other, although the extremes are quite distinct.

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Illinois COVID Paper

With the year 2020 coming to an end, COVID-19 is still as prominent as it was early on in the calendar year. With the increase of COVID cases around the US, specifically Illinois, J.B. Pritzker has deemed it fit to ban restaurants from allowing customers to dine in. In the article “Wrong Move,” The Editorial Board of the Chicago Tribune claims that Pritzker’s move was appalling and asks him to reconsider the options that would least affect the restaurant industry.

With Pritzker’s decision, an order to stop restaurants from allowing dine-in eating, now in full swing many people within the Chicago land area disagree. One of the most prominent figures who seems to have concerns with this new ban is Chicago’s Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Within the same article furthermore, it states “Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot in conflict about whether to keep restaurant dining rooms open.”(1), which shows that mayor Lightfoot doesn’t believe that the rise of cases is due to dining. The author uses expert testimonial by introducing the mayor of Chicago’s opinion within the text showing a contrast to the governors. The author establishes that the purpose of using the mayor's opinion in contrast to the governors is to create a moral dilemma.

One of the drawbacks to banning dining within restaurants is the jobs that will be lost due to it. The authors introduce Pete Bournas, of Psistaria Greek Taverna, a restaurant owner who describes the turmoil that COVID-19 has caused. In addition Pete says “I worry about the restaurant. I worry about my employees,” as well as “I have 40 people on staff that I’m going to have to juggle days and make sure they can put food on their own table. I’m extremely worried, but I try not to show it,"(3). The authors of the article use personal experience and anecdotal text to try and persuade others to show that the dine in ban affects more than just the restaurant but the people as well. The purpose of this is to convey an emotion towards the audience as well as looking at it from a logical standpoint that with this ban a loss of jobs and income will be seen in large amounts.

With several examples of how the dine ban will affect the lives of thousands of “Chicago-ins”, many are pleading that the ban be lifted and more safety precautions be added to allow dining to continue. The authors of this article show a great despise towards the decision of Governor Pritzker as well as introducing several others who are against the ban including Chicago’s mayor Lightfoot. To conclude, COVID-19 shows no signs of slowing down unless we start taking more precautions but as a city we should also consider the effects of what we do because it could ruin the future of others and several independent businesses that help bring money and people to the city.

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Title: “That One Artwork...”, by Andy Battaglia

🤬 Line: “The Thinker has always been my favorite piece of art— and its sentiment could not be more timely today. Now that we are stopped, we need to think.”

Plot Within Article: Within the article it talks to a wide variety of people such as musicians and chefs and lists what there favorite pieces of art is and why it inspires them.

A Word Learned: Sentiment: a view of or attitude toward a situation or event; an opinion.

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Cover Art (New Yorker)

With this year coming to an end it will be remembered throughout history especially in American history with all of the events and changes that have occurred. With the start of the year causing concerns for wildfires and a global pandemic to a shift of social and economic changes, 2020 has been a very influential year. In addition, with this year being so influential writing firms such as The New Yorker have had to illustrate a message more than ever.

The magazine cover that best illustrates this year was the July cover “Distant Summer”, by Kadir Nelson. With 2020 seeing an up rise in political and social debate and action this cover illustrates a very major event that is happening in America. To furthermore, America has had to ask itself a very serious question “Is America systematically racist?”, whether you believe it or not it has been shown from the killings of people such as Breonna Taylor, Ahmuad Arbery, and George Floyd. Going back to the illustration the artist Kadir Nelson seems to try and use an American theme for the July article due to the use of the colors red, white, and blue but what stands out the most is the fact that the child who is black portrays a concerning look. The child seems to be looking in the distance which could represent his future and with everything that is happening many people of color believe they’re future is up for debate and believe it may change drastically for the worse or better if there is or isn’t change. So with this, the artist is trying to indicate that with the events going on in July it might be chilling to a young black man who sees these things growing up and may have to consider, is he truly safe or does he have a future in the US? Additionally, it may be hard to think that you are judged by the color of your skin and along with being treated unfairly your life might not even be safe with those who are meant to protect you.

With 2020 now coming to an end it is important to look back at all of the events that have occurred because it is now a piece of history. This artwork shows insight into a small piece of what happened portraying a bigger message than the artwork itself, and with this 2020 will be a year to remember.

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Title: "The Great Escape," by Christian Seabaugh

🤬 Line: “It wasn't much of a driver's road, but it was one of the few places in the city I could go without pedestrians or other motorists. It was my escape, the supercharged V-8 echoing off the barren brick-front warehouses,”

Plot Within Article: The author is describing his previous memories and love for super SUV’s or performance based SUV’s, and the author compares and reviews this year's best performance SUVs such as BMW, Mercedes, and more.

A Word Learned: Spangled: cover with spangles or other small sparkling objects.

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When Do You Become An Adult?

The age old question of when you become an adult has been asked around the world from both a health and social perspective. So when do you truly become an adult? In many different countries it can be seen in their cultures or even laws when a person is truly considered an adult for instance in America a person is considered an adult at 18 which grants them the privilege to vote but not to buy alcohol or smoking products. Why is that? Isn’t being an adult being able to make your own decisions? To furthermore, maybe taking a look at a health perspective may help us answer this question. According to a BBC article many neuroscientists believe that the brain stops developing around the age 25, which doesn't mean you can't learn anything new it just means that your brain isn’t growing anymore almost like a growth spurt. So from a health standpoint we are all truly considered an adult around the age of 25, but for some people it isn’t age that determines when someone is an adult but one's maturity. For example, if you have two people one who is 19 and one who is 25 and you look at what they have accomplished at life some may consider the younger an adult if he goes to school, pays his bills, and works a job, but the other one a “kid’ because he dropped out of school, doesn’t work, and lives with his parents. Additionally, one's religious beliefs may also play a part in when someone is considered an adult for instance in Judaism when he turns 13 and she turns 12 but in hinduism the “coming of age” is 18. In summary, many factors play a role in when someone is truly considered an adult showing that being an adult has different meanings around the world with each meaning showing a glimpse in one's world.

Work Cited:

Wallis, Lucy. “Is 25 the New Cut-off Point for Adulthood?” BBC News, BBC, 23 Sept. 2013, www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24173194.

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Title: "A record for California's fire season," by Alana Semuels

🤬 Line: “People without means, like San Francisco’s homeless, can’t heed warnings to limit outdoor activities, and air quality in more affordable inland areas was so hazardous on Sept. 8 that one meteorologist labels it the worst he’d get seen in the U.S.”

Plot Within Article: The author is talking about the California wildfires and how with large cities areas having an increased homeless presence due to COVID-19 it is hard for many people to get clean air with radars of air quality showing that the air quality in California is twice as bad as China’s highest polluted area.

A Word Learned: Prosperity: The state of being prosperous.

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Does Technology Make Us More Alone?

While many believe that technology was created to bring people closer together with things such as the internet and modern phones does it really bring us closer or bring us apart? In order to ask this question we need to look at the driving force behind the creation of new technology and things such as social media. According to a Business Insider article a quote is taken from Jonathan Kay stating “Displaced time” which is the new term for when you use your phone in order to waste time. Though this doesn’t mean you are addicted to your phone, displaced time just refers to doing something to waste time which used to be things such as watching tv or reading a newspaper while today we have all of that in a cellular device. To furthermore, with the breakthrough of apps such as Tik Tok, Instagram, and Twitter there is a constant competition of being able to stay relevant. In addition, apps are constantly coming out with new features that try to lure you in whether it be a simple color change to the app itself or a new feature to stay ahead in this competition. So with this in mind is it really the technology that makes us more alone or is it the companies that are using the technology making us more alone? This can be answered if you look at the true reasons why people created technology and apps or for instance, why was the internet created? Well the internet was intentionally created for military purposes during the cold war and was then adopted by scientists as a means of communicating with other scientists but then transformed into the web which is what we know today. In conclusion, technology does not make us alone nor was it intended to but the way we use technology and of apps has brought us further apart in a world where technology is everywhere.

Work Cited:

Hartmans, Avery. “These Are the Sneaky Ways Apps like Instagram, Facebook, Tinder Lure You in and Get You 'Addicted'.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 17 Feb. 2018, www.businessinsider.com/how-app-developers-keep-us-addicted-to-our-smartphones-2018-1.

The Internet, a Very Complex and Revolutionary Invention of 1965, Has Changed Our World, sites.cs.ucsb.edu/~almeroth/classes/F04.176A/homework1_good_papers/Alaa-Gharbawi.html.

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Title: "How to Reduce Screen Time" by Evan Waite.

🤬 Line: “Excessive screen time can affect your sleeping patterns even worse than Rocco’s grunting during his regular night squats. It can also put a damper on your mood, which will already be stained by Rocco’s head-butting your mirrors because he’s mad that he’s let his pecs go soft.”

Plot Within Article:  It is an article describing how to reduce screen time which uses fictional characters to describe how “they” can help you.

A Word Learned: Ruckus; a disturbance or commotion.

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Does Achieving Success Always Include Being Happy?

In a world where success is strived at by everyone, does it truly mean being happy? In order to figure out this question we first need to know what both success and happiness means. Firstly, we have to ask what is success; success being the accomplishment of an aim or purpose. Secondly, we have to ask what happiness means: happiness being the state of being happy. So if we look at both definitions they can go together meaning what if your goal does bring you happiness you will not know until you reach it. In addition, we also have to look at the type of world we live in, where materialistic ideals are seeked after and are glorified in things like social media. So in a world where success is defined as having a flashy car and a big house this may not include being happy but following and accomplishing your own goals can bring you your own form of happiness. To furthermore, this just shows that if you find what makes you happy you will find success in yourself because you are doing what you love in life. So with this knowledge maybe in order to be successful you first have to find what you enjoy in life so that whatever you do, being successful or even failing you will be okay with it because it is something that you enjoy. In conclusion, maybe in order to find the answer to the prompt you have to answer it backwards meaning success may not bring you happiness but finding what makes you happy will bring you success.