Lucky For You, This Is Not A Clay Tablet

Message:"I teach guitar. call..."

Quote:"perception is reality."

Lately I found myself saying “I wish my computer was waterproof.” It would make sense for someone who wants to do homework by the pool and not have to be close to a jack on the wall at all times; where one can sit by the waters edge, bask under the sun, and still get work done. The limitations of technology can span in any directions when it comes to holding us back from some comfort of other. And in these frustrations of confinement - at least for me being confined to my computer, inside, instead of out by the pool where I used to read my books , is frustrating - I often forget, and have taken for granted many of the things we are able to do with computers.

I know, I know. I sound like a spoiled brat complaining about how my computer can limit my range of enjoyment. Imagine my reaction to trying to communicate through clay. It was sticky, dirty, and impossibly hard to relay any effective message. I was back in elementary school, trying to make a beautiful piece of art, and of course the result is a immature concoction of sorts. I couldn’t get rid of my finger prints, the clay would stick to the desk, and when I would try to turn it over and smooth it out it would break apart. Designing on mush is hard enough, but having the lack of imagination or vision for it was a whole other lesson on my part. 

A clay tablet as a medium for a rhetorical message just plain sucks! How did those guys do it? I can literally see the world with the tip of my finger, right now, on my phone; the clay tablet guys would gush at the sight of their ruins on a hand held electronic device. Or maybe not; they would probably think our mode of communication is trivial and limits our own imagination(?). 

It is true that “the medium is the message,” and my experience with the clay tablet proved my message would not have made sense to a 5 year old, no matter how important. If the fate of the world depended on my message, and all I had was a clay tablet to work on, I’d have to say sorry to the billions of people who’s life would be lost because I couldn’t write on a freaking clay tablet. 

I do see how, through changes in technology and the advances of mediums in which we communicate with, that the medium can not only change a message, but it has changed how we view rhetoric as a whole. I am amazed at how rhetoric could have been developed in such a primitive (when it comes to writing on clay tablets that is) time of written communication. The medium then was more the mind, and the advancement of rhetoric in that time is amazing considering their limitations for mediums to work with. I see how the affect of the medium has changed the ability to relay a message throughout history, and with each advance in medium technology, we enter a new realm of rhetoric.

Love Story for Rhetoric

I am getting married in less than three weeks. This is probably one of the biggest things I will ever do in my life. At a personal level, the rhetorical implications in getting married are varied and complex: this implies partnership, sharing a life, and an overall message that implies we (husband and wife) belong to each other and no one is allowed to impose on that bond. 

On a grander scale, marriage is a cultural symbol, old in history. It’s been credited with maintaining social and family structure, affirming roles between man and woman, and setting the rules of engagement for relationships. It has also been used through time as a dramatic catalyst to many stories of love, betrayal, and more, further implementing the roles between husband and wife in popular culture.

As I write this blog, I am realizing how many options I have for looking at marriage: it’s possible to analyze marriage through the feminist perspective, or a media-centered perspective. There is also the option to pick a text about marriage, and specifically analyze the presented story through a narrative or dramatist perspective. The medium I chose to explore would be a strong determining factor in how I interpret the rhetorical message being presented. 

As a subject, marriage can also be looked at from many stand points. Politically, it is a relevant subject where an opportunity for a kairotic moment can be taken. The fact that gay marriage is such a popular topic in the present political atmosphere proves that marriage is an important aspect to American culture. Divorce rates are higher than ever; and although women still face sexism, the feminist movement has contributed to a shift in the attitude of women and their role as a “house-wife.”

Once I decide on the text, I can determine the perspective for my rhetorical analysis, which will influence the research I do for this paper. Along with research, I can rely on my own personal experience to elevate my own use of rhetoric. Since I am getting married soon, it could benefit my perceived ethos (unless an audience member doesn’t agree with marriage, than my ethos would be decreased). I will enforce a strong sense of logos through research and analysis, and I hope to invoke some emotional response (marriage could be romantic, tragic, and a topic of personal sensitivity to some) creating an appeal to pathos. 

Before I wrote this blog, I was really at a loss as to what subject to write about. Since I am getting married on the 27th, all I have time to think about is work, school, getting married, and going on the honeymoon (I can’t wait to go on vacation!!), I started off writing to be able to turn in the blog. However, now that I got the opportunity to critically analyze all the directions I can take on this subject, I think it I stumbled onto to my topic of choice. I am more excited to learn about some of the historical, and rhetorical aspects to marriage; who knows, maybe this can maybe give me some insight as to my own marriage.

Life After Rhetoric: Video Response

The more I learn about rhetoric, the more I want to yell “why didn’t anyone tell me this before?” I’ve realized the only reason I understand rhetoric, let alone know what it is, is because I took a class on rhetoric - my classmates, and maybe 3-5 more people, are the only others I know who know about rhetoric; that means that most of the people I have known throughout my life don’t really know what rhetoric is. I can’t help to think this is just a bit scary, especially now that I see how useful, and important, rhetoric is.

This video was great. Along with the readings, my idea of rhetoric has grown; it is obvious rhetoric is a significant factor in our human intellect. “Rhetoric creates reality in creating perception,” and I completely agree. I worked in a hotel for three years, and one of the things I learned that I still repeat today is that “one’s perception is their reality.” We would say this when thinking about the hotel guests and how their perception is the most important factor in a successful hotel experience. I never forgot that; to find this detail in this video made it’s impact even stronger.

It is only natural that the more I learn about rhetoric, the more I apply it in my life, and see it in my surroundings and interactions with people. Rhetoric is “language and argument.” I chose to get my BA in English because I love language, all it’s complexities, beauty, and power. Rhetoric has only established my love for language. I can see myself using it for the rest of my life, in every aspect, from personal to professional. It is the “process by which we can make informed decisions...a way of knowing,” it scares me that “people don’t questions the lives they live at all because they don’t have the ability to do that.” It’s as if I can see something that people who don’t know what rhetoric is don’t see. In fact I know it is.

The Narrative and Dramatist Perspectives

The Narrative perspective and Dramatist perspective seem to  share many ideas that deal with the relationship between the rhetor and audience, and the context of the given rhetorical situation. These are some of the ideas I tend to gravitate towards; especially after reading more on Kenneth Burke and his ideas of language as symbolic. Not only do they further enhance my awareness of how humans interact and how behaviors and language are attached to social norms (or non-norms), but the juxtaposition of language and how it is used as a tool for this awareness is what catches my attention. This may be my instinct because of my interest in creative writing. The process in which we analyze a text through the narrative or dramatist perspective can almost be compared to the way writers build stories based on setting, character, and situations. 

As I’ve mentioned before, I am still appalled that I have not come across rhetoric more often throughout my high school and college education. I honestly don’t even recall being taught anything about rhetoric in the English courses I took for my BA. Although any literary analysis was more a narrative or dramatist perspective (more narrative though), I find that my new knowledge of rhetoric has allowed me to understand the use of language in a deeper level; like viewing a underground layer I didn’t know existed. In dealing with the narrative and dramatist perspective, we explore the moral reasons behind actions within a situation, and the motives behind these morals. 

I do feel I have hit a wall in terms of material for the final project. Maybe I have exhausted the subjects that have come up in my life throughout the semester. One of my goals is to come up with an idea I have not explored yet. Because I like the narrative and dramatist perspective so much, I hope to find material that I am genuinely interested in learning more about. What it is, I don’t know.

Since both perspectives allow for analysis of stories, I know there is much material to choose from: movies, novels, short stories, etc. Although I have analyzed many novels in the past for other classes, by adding a rhetorical perspective of how to analyze a text in general will widen my understanding of a text. Where I feel it may be a scape goat for me to analyze something I already know how to analyze, I also think it would benefit me in both my academic and professional English life to be able to broaden my analytical skills, now that I have learned so much about rhetoric. It may be interesting to return to something I have read before, and use one of the rhetorical perspectives to analyze it.