Assignment 2-2

Thesis Statement:           

In ‘Back to the Land’ Kalman’s goal is to sway people who live in cities or in a fast paced environment to stop eating fast foods, slow down and take the time to eat more healthy and organic foods, through her choice of words and strong photographs.

Statement of Purpose:

            My readers are my classmates and my course instructor.  They are familiar with the piece that I am reflecting on having read it themselves.  With that said, I will have to make sure that I point ideas out that they may not of noticed and not being too repetitive of what Kalman's text is about.   When done reading, I hope they understand how I view Kalman’s work to be.  They  do not have to agree or disagree with my point of view, but I would like them to respect my perspective on the subject matter and to take my writing seriously.  One last thing when my readers are done with my piece, I would like them to think that I know and understand what I am writing about and everything is clear to them and if there are questions about it, they can easily be answered.Also I hope my readers will have a positive response towards my writing and care about what I have to say.  I would also like my readers having to think about the points I bring up in my writing, because what is the point of writing if it does not get people to think and reflect on it.

Back to the Land

    While reading Back to the Land I noticed three significant details.  One of these details was that in the text the author used an elaborate typeface.  this is interesting because most authors use a very bland, easy to read font for their works to show that they are serious writers and should be taken seriously.  Another interesting detail for me, is that in the text the author does not use a set structure.  With no paragraphs it shows that maybe the writer just wants their piece to just flow without having to worry about having to follow a certain pattern or the typical layout.  One last detail of the piece that struck me as significant is the use of photographs in the text.  These photographs helps to convey or point out some extra meaning to the author's message intended for their audience.  Also it helps to show how the author perceives things in the world from her point of view.  All of these details come together to show that this text is not the typical piece.  I believe that the way it's laid out does a good job at grabbing someones attention.

    A significant repetition in the text is that use of the word fast.  The author uses the word fast to describe how she perceives some aspects about how she sees the world around here. According to her, we are fast walkers, fast talkers, and that we have fast food.  The mentioning of fast food could be to point out just because it is more convenient for our fast paced life, it is not better for us.  Also it shows that by mostly eating at fast food places we don't really care about what we put in our bodies and how it effects us in the long run.  By describing us as fast it could point out that we might not care or think much about our actions and that we don't take the time to think or consider what we are doing.  If we take the time to slow down, we might be able to enjoy life more and not be as stressed out as we would be in a fast paced world.

    When finishing this piece, I noticed a fact that may or may not be important but struck me as odd, which is that the author did not mention how she eats.  She talks about how different communities eat and meeting people like Bob Cannard and Michael Pollar and how their lifestyle is.  She also talks about the edible schoolyards that some schools are implementing and their benefits.  However with her explaining these things, she never mentioned does she eat only organic products, or only eats the foods she grows herself.  The author shares different lifestyles of eating but she does not share her own lifestyle.

Center of the Campus Quad

 During my time siting in the quad I noticed several things going on and how they affected me.
 I found that many people were running around, goofing around with friends, or simply reading against a tree.  From that it makes me want to be able to do those things to and become more active and outgoing with the people around me.  People in this space or observing the area would also want to be care free, able to relax, and capable of not worrying about other things going on in their life, like the people in there.  Assumptions made in this area by those in it and passing it, would be that they are simply there to have fun, let loose, or trying to get away from the stress that they may be feeling.

DK Handbook Observations

  While I was reading the the DK Handbook rhetoric section, many things came to my attention, but three of them caught my eye.
   The first one was about writing something that readers respond to.  This is significant because when a person takes the time to write about something, they should be able to know how their work altered someone's thoughts or a certain outlook on a difficult or controversial topic.  Secondly the purpose of writing interested me because it is a very important aspect of writing.  A writer writes so their audience can understand them and their views on certain subjects.  Also a writer's purpose is for their work to inspire people to act or do something about it.  Lastly writing in context to your audience mattered to me because it is revealing aspect to it.  If a local newspaper writes about something going on in a distant town or city, that community is not going to put that much care in reading about it.  However, if that paper wrote about something that could greatly affect that community, there will be awareness and something can be done to help that situation.