Nuclear Waste

Nuclear Waste is an essay by Richard A. Muller about the proper way to dispose of nuclear waste. I honestly do not see one clear thesis for the author to stick to in the article. He writes as if he has no real opinion about the subject, and he is just commenting on something he heard.
The introduction to the essay is not an attention getter but it does not hurt the article as much as the author’s confused sounding voice. Every example Muller gives he displaces it himself leaving the reader to try to guess where his stance is on the situation. He uses a lot of logos to support his many arguments i.e. a lot of statistics but they do not help his argument because he does not stick to any one argument.
The conclusion is interesting because he makes it sound as if he does not care about what he is writing about at all; not in a bad way but more like saying why worry about it. This is amusing and frustrating to me. It is amusing because it makes the rest of the article make sense; it helps me understand why he has no one stance. It is frustrating because he waits until the end to make his point which goes against everything I was taught as a writer.
Overall the article was a bit confusing and I believe that it is a bad idea to try and persuade someone to agree with you by sounding as if you don’t agree with yourself.

Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together In the Cafeteria

Beverly Daniel Tatum wrote the article Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together In The Cafeteria as a way to look at why black kids seem to attract each other. Tatum points out that as young children kids do not care about race but more about just playing and having fun, but when they get older the mind set changes. She says one thing that happens is puberty; at this time people are trying to figure out who they are, and the reason that black kids think of themselves in terms of race is because society does.
Tatum uses her son as an example saying that because he is ten years old society focuses on the fact that he is tall for a ten year old but as he gets older he will be seen as the big black guy not the tall ten year old. She also talks about the events that make the person have to acknowledge their race like being the only black kid in the honors class.
Speaking as a black person I can honestly say I agree with Tatum and her theories. Most times as a child I had no problem being around a lot of white children but as I got older I was told in many ways that I should want to be around more black people. I realize that as the race issue became clearer to me it was not race its self that brought me closer to black people but the understanding that other black people had of my situation. I could not go to my white friends and relate to them about little things like hair or clothes much less bigger issues like racism.
Tatum’s article is a great look into why the black kids are gathering so to speak and though it may not invoke change it does shine a light onto a much overlooked situation.

The Power of Audience

As far as persuasive writings go The Power of Audience by Steven Levy was not my favorite. The thesis was clearly stated: students work better for an audience other than the teacher, but he does not state the thesis in the beginning. You read the article oblivious to the point until the third page. Once he states his thesis he begins to give supporting evidence; he says that students need the motivation of the audience in order to create good work which in turn will help them learn better in the end. Though this is a very practical observation it is circumstantial and nowhere in his article does he prove this is true for every student. Instead of making strong arguments for his thesis he makes generalizations.
The introduction was not what I would call good at all; it did not grab my attention or make me want to continue reading at all. Also there was no indication as to what the article is about in the beginning; he dives head first into a story and then it takes him three pages to state his point. I understand that there is no writing rules against his technique but imagine reading a book and not understanding the purpose until the middle or end you would become frustrated and bored. His conclusion is just as bad as his intro. The conclusion is supposed to repeat the thesis and drive the point home and he does not do this. He restates his thesis but he does it once and then goes on to discussing Expeditionary Learning Schools.
Levy does not really use ethos, pathos, or logos. His evidence is logical in a since that you can say that if the students have an audience they will work harder and learn more, it’s conceivable, but it is not logical in the since that this may not apply to every person. I am glad that he does not try to appeal to the reader’s emotions because I do not think that emotions should drive your decision making. Also since the article is about children it holds a certain emotional appeal already so for him to do any more would be over doing it.
Overall I can honestly say that this article does not persuade me to agree with Levy. If he would have had more compelling evidence and did not generalize his information he may have been more persuasive.

Why We Crave Horror Movies

Stephen King’s Why We Crave Horror Movies is an interesting article. In the article he talks about the reasons people like horror movies.
King starts by saying “I think that we’re all mentally ill; those of us outside the asylums only hide it a little better…” This introduction is great because it compels the reader to keep reading; sort of like the reader says what the heck is he talking about and they have to read in order to find out.
Though I understand his point I honestly do not see a clearly stated thesis. He does not give any one reason why people like horror movies, but instead he uses his supporting evidence as a list of different reasons. The evidence he uses are things that can be proven in everyday life but he does not have any solid reason. As far as his mentioning everyone being mentally ill there is no real evidence to support that either; it is an interesting point to make but there is no evidence to support it.
I felt like his voice was almost comedic like and I liked the feel it brought to the essay. He shares his views and ideas in a voice that lets the reader know not to take him too seriously, which would be important when he says things like we are all mentally ill.
I really did not see this as an persuasive essay but I thought it was a interesting read.

Life is Precious or It’s Not

The article Life is Precious by Barbara Kingsolver is about the columbine shootings and what she believes caused it to happen. Her thesis states that the violent behavior in the media and in society is what prompted the boys to do the shootings.
Though she does not give solid evidence or statistical information she does point out things in our society that we all see. She mentions the violent music, video games, movies, and even the political choices made. She talks about how killing is used as a form of punishment and as a way to get justice. Barbara calls death permanent which explains why it is appealing to society; if the problem can no longer pose a threat then it is a good thing.
All of what Barbara says can be seen in society but her article still lacks logos. Due to the subject it automatically appeals to a person’s emotions. The lack of logos does not hurt her argument in my opinion; her topic in many ways speaks for its self. It’s almost as if her examples were actually supported by the topic; the reason the evidence appears to be true is because of the shooting.
The intro is not the most attention getting intro but her conclusion is strong and to the point. She says that when we remove all of the violent things from society then we will be better off and even though this sounds extreme she says death is extreme. I can truly see how what she says is true in society and because of what I know about society I think that the article is very true.