TOW #6 - Won for the ages: After years of waiting and suffering, Cubs are in World Series

     71 years have passed since the Chicago Cubs have last captured the National League Pennant. Even more so, it has been over a century, 108 years to be exact, since the Cubs laid their hands on the World Series trophy. For numerous decades, die-hard Chicago baseball fans have endured painful times watching their beloved players come so close to becoming world champions, but never true winners. Paul Sullivan, a Chicago Tribune reporter, captured the significance of Saturday night's victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers for baseball fanatics across the world.   Through colloquialism and figurative language, the writer effectively illustrates the compelling victory which revived the Chicago community.
     Rather than a composed and formal article, Sullivan records the historic win in a informative, yet engaging manner. The post-game celebration was zealous as "Willson Contreras jumped into David Ross' arms like a 6-year-old jumping on his bed. The bubble of fun was just starting".  The Chicagoans have been awaiting for a win for countless years, and to truly capture the joy of the victory, the author described the moment in a way that people could relate to emotionally. Instead of merely stating that the people of Chicago were in high spirits, the author utilizes common phrases and ideas that conveyed the importance of the win in a more impactful tone.
     In addition to conversational style of writing, Sullivan also incorporates figurative language to relive the memorable victory. When looking back on the bitter history of the Cubs organization, "There was always something to blame, be it a billy goat, a black cat or a fan trying to catch a foul ball down the left-field line. When the team crashed and burned before it reached the promised land, it was rarely pinned on underperforming players".  To effectively communicate the idea that the baseball team had experienced lengthy years of hardship, Sullivan applies a metaphoric style in his article. The writer illustrates the decades of painful memories through figurative languages rather than stating plain facts, ultimately to emphasize the importance of the acquisition of the pennant.
     Overall, Sullivan effectively illustrates the vital win for the Chicago Cubs and examines the significance of the organization's victory for baseball fans. Surely, Saturday night will be a date in which all Chicago fans will remember for the next 71 years to come.


Link:http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-cubs-win-pennant-spt-1023-20161022-story.html

TOW #5 - Trump as Champion of Working Class? ‘Come On,’ Obama Says

     As the presidential election draws closer, President Obama is taking action on the political race between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.  On Friday, the president delivered a speech on the importance of the people's votes and choices in Cleveland. Mr. Obama addressed the issue of the working class in the United States and described Donald Trump as a wealthy opportunist.  In the political article by the New York Times columnist Michael Shear, the author brings the political race between the two political candidates to attention to American citizens. By consistently referring to a prominent figure and providing numerous statistics, Shear effectively informs the US population on the ongoing presidential race.
     Throughout the article, Shear makes numerous references to President Obama to capture the interest of the readers and bring the campaigns into awareness.  In numerous occasions, the writer quotes the president's campaign rally speech stating, "'Ohio is always close,' Mr. Obama told the crowd, 'you can go vote early right now ... This is an opportunity for you to exercise your right to vote, your civic responsibility'".  By explicitly stating the president's words rather than alluding to the speech, the author engages his audience as the information presented is directly coming from the mouth of an authoritative figure. In addition, Shear specifically includes quotes in which President Obama directly speaks to the American people because the readers are being referenced which both grabs their attention as well as inform them with relevant news.
     To provide a better insight into the ongoing political race to the general population, Shear adds statistical information in his article. When comparing the candidates' chances in the state of Ohio, "poll released Friday showed the race in Ohio between Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton essentially tied among likely voters, with Gary Johnson, the libertarian candidate, getting almost 10 percent of the vote". By including relevant data, Shear puts the political campaigns into context and brings to attention just how close the race has become. The inclusion of statistics ultimately allows the Americans to not only become aware of politics, but also comprehend the political race between Trump and Clinton in depth.
    Overall, Shear effectively brings the current campaigns to attention for the American citizens and informs them on the ongoing political race between candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. As November 8th, the election day, approaches, Americans are becoming more aware of the potential presidents of the United States.


Article link: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/15/us/politics/obama-donald-trump-ohio.html?ref=politics

TOW #4 - IRB Unbroken

     With 60 million deaths and casualties in a six year period, WWII was the deadliest military conflict in history in respects to absolute terms of total deaths. In Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, the author captures the life of  WWII prisoner of war survivor Louis Zamperini and shares a powerful story of the war hero to the American public. By appealing to the emotions of readers and building credibility through relevant evidence, Hillenbrand effectively shares the compelling story of "survival, resilience, and redemption".
     Hillenbrand purposely tells a war story through a personal account of a veteran because it paints a clearer picture of the inhumanities of war. After being taken to the Japanese prisoner of war camp, Zamperini suffered in various ways such as being "condemned to crawl through the filth of a pig’s sty, picking up feces with his bare hands and cramming handfuls of the animal’s feed into his mouth to save himself from starving to death" (Hillenbrand 291). Through a biography of a WWII prisoner of war survivor, Americans can truly understand the harsh conditions that soldiers faced in combat. Rather than a textbook highlighting only key ideas and events, the individual narrative shares an emotional aspect of war and the adversities that cannot be told through concrete facts. Through the account of Zamperini's life, Hillenbrand appeals to the emotions of Americans and reveals war in a eye-opening perspective.
     In addition to pathos, Hillenbrand also builds credibility throughout the book to still show that this personal account truly happened. To put the war into perspective for the readers, the author includes notable facts stating, "In the Army Air Forces, or AAF, there were 52,651 stateside aircraft accident over the course of the war, killing 14,903 personnel" (Hillenbrand 66). By integrating a personal story with statistical evidence, Hillenbrand appeals to her audience through ethos in the midst of pathos and reminds Americans that this personal account of WWII truly occurred. Despite the story largely being written in a narrative style, the author incorporates statistics and relevant background information put the story into its historical context. Overall, Laura Hillenbrand writes an engaging personal war story of Louis Zamperini through the combination of both pathos and ethos.