ipl-logo

Analyzing Ted Rall's Text B

1034 Words5 Pages

Text A is an informative booklet written by the Frank Fenner Foundation in 2015. Its purpose is to stimulate thought and discussion about the way forward to a healthy and fair society and it introduces the concept of biosensitivity. The text is not complete though, it is only a prologue to the next chapter. Text B also discusses the theme of nature and a healthy planet. However, text B is a cartoon and does not explain biosensitivity. Text B is a cartoon by Ted Rall, published in The Los Angeles Times on the 23th of March in 2009. Both texts talk about nature and the way we treat our planet. This commentary will analyze the two pieces in terms of content and purpose, point of view, tone and mood. While sharing the same theme, text A and B …show more content…

Text A is formally written and the atmosphere of the text makes the reader feel informed and prepared to read the next chapter, but also persuaded to donate to the foundation. Text B, on the other hand has a sarcastic tone, ideal for a cartoon. The audience of text B usually read cartoons for a quick laugh or a short message. Text B delivers that short message with a lighthearted tone. It discusses a serious matter, so the tone and mood of the cartoon is not what you’d expect. This is exactly why it is so effective: the sarcastic tone creates a shock for the reader. The reader realises that we are indeed not serious enough about global …show more content…

The structure of Text A immediately caught my eye: the paragraphs are very short, sometimes even consisting of only one sentence. The text also contains bullet points which really stand out. The purpose of these is to give a clear layout of what the text is going to be about and to sum up some of the purposes.The text is titled ‘Prologue’, so it does not go in detail about the theme and long paragraphs are not needed. The prologue serves to be short and powerful and is meant to make the reader curious. This effect is strengthened by the structure. Long paragraphs tend to make me reader bored, especially in the introduction, which decreases their interest in reading the full text. In contrast, Text B has a completely different structure: it contains a title, the cartoon itself, which consists of three panels, and a caption. The title states the meaning of the cartoon in one sentence and the caption describes the cartoon once more. This is done with short sentences describing the situation and a question is asked. Text B is short but effective. There is not much text which strengthens the effect of the message. Both writers use structure to support the purpose, audience and genre, but do this in an entirely different

Show More
Related
153 Words | 1 Pages

Hi Yulissa, I agree with your assessment of the paintings of Native American chiefs Charles Bird King and George Catlin. As you mentioned King painted his portrait of Keokuk Sac in his studio without having to travel and view the actual landscape and lifestyle of the Native Americans. I agree that Kings method calls into question the authenticity of the details of the portrait of Keokuk Sac. Also, Kings portrait shows little interaction between the artist and the subject. The methods of King directly contradict the methods of painting employed by artist George Catlin.

Read More
713 Words | 3 Pages

Wilson stresses that while there is “no way to avoid the fundamental differences in our worldviews”, it should not keep them separated in every issue and once again provides examples of aspects of life every human strives towards. It is at the end of this paragraph that Wilson addresses the central topic that “the defense of living nature is a universal value” and reiterates that he needs the Pastor’s help. The next paragraph gives evidence to support his claim that nature is in trouble. He asserts this through multiple statistics and scientific estimations. Wilson goes on to argue that every species

Read More
342 Words | 2 Pages

In this passage from Last child in the Woods, an extremely discouraged Richard Louv shows the separation of nature to both parents and children. By showing imagery through car rides in the present vs. car rides in the past he shows an extraordinary change. By his use of rhetorical devices such as pathos, ethos, and imagery Louv produces a captivating argument to fire up the modern generation. Throughout the passage Louv cites many sources, and deserves credit.

Read More
807 Words | 4 Pages

With good judgment, one may agree with the author that sometimes it can go sour. In conclusion, two texts are alike with slight differences such as formality and filler words. The first article is an informal language with jargon and few filler words. On the other side, the second article is more informal due to filler and everyday words.

Read More
530 Words | 3 Pages

As time passes the connection between humans and nature is drastically decreasing; humans have developed the idea of being the most powerful form of life on earth. In the passage, Hidden Lessons, by David Suzuki, readers can perceive and understand the author’s message clearly through the use of purpose and form. The purposes of Suzuki’s passage is to educate the readers about the severity of humans losing connection with nature, raise awareness towards this issue, and he uses the form of persuasiveness to prove his point.

Read More
659 Words | 3 Pages

Oliver goes beyond the regular technique of imagery to create a visual representation for the reader. She takes advantage of syntax to convey the mixed feelings she has towards nature; she wants the audience to understand how the earth is both beautiful and treacherous. Using distinctive sentence structures can potentially confuse and make it difficult for the reader to follow the writer’s concepts. However, Oliver is able to use the strategy to reveal her confusion when discussing the notion of nature. She is able to successfully integrate syntax diversity as a way to develop her perspective on the

Read More
499 Words | 2 Pages

The author Richard Louv wrote an essay on the connection of nature to humans in the modern world. He expands on the fact that technology has taken away our abilities to appreciate nature for it’s true beauty. Children growing up in today’s world aren’t having the resources to appreciate nature and it’s beauty because of technology, according to him. He gives examples of the changing technology in the world: cars, mobile devices, advertisements, you name it. In Last Child in the Woods, Louv uses rhetorical devices to display his thoughts through examples and evidence.

Read More
698 Words | 3 Pages

In his passage from “Last Child in the Woods,” Richard Louv uses various rhetorical strategies in order to make his audience more supportive of his argument. The passage discusses the connection, or really the separation, between people and nature. On this subject, Louv argues the necessity for people to redevelop their connection with nature. His use of tone, anecdotes, rhetorical questions, and factual examples all help develop the pathos and logos of his piece.

Read More
178 Words | 1 Pages

The tone of these two letters affects them greatly. If the letters didn 't have a serious tone or was monotone the editor would not read the letter of it 's full length. the tone in letter a is very playful at first but becomes more serious closer to the end. " This is my first time writing a letter to the school newspaper." (Dave Kessler).

Read More
578 Words | 3 Pages

Rhetorical Analysis of a TED Talk: Emma Marris: Nature Is Everywhere, We Just Need to Learn to See It Emma Marris address the idea about how people view nature and what they consider to be nature. Marris claims that the problem with how people view nature starts with the general definition of nature. Marris argues that the definition is too strict and limited. She declares that nature is everywhere, but people lack the ability to see it: If nature stayed true to the definition there would be none and there would be a negative effect on the following generations. Emma Marris is an environmental science writer whom earned her master’s degree in science writing at John Hopkins University .

Read More
1068 Words | 5 Pages

In the end, both texts use the comic medium in their own unique ways to describe and bring an outsider experience to

Read More
812 Words | 4 Pages

The harsh reality surrounds the fact that as time and technology advances, the separation between people and nature increases as well. Louv, in his rhetoric from Last Child in the Woods (2008), argues why the separation between society and nature is distressing.

Read More
1240 Words | 5 Pages

Many people who go into nature always see it as something beautiful and aesthetic, but they never see the other side to nature. Humankind’s connection with nature isn’t a real one. They always look at the bright side of nature but are blind to the true dark side of nature. JB MacKinnon’s article “False Idyll” (2012), reveals that nature is not just flowers in a field but can also be the survival of the fittest. He backs up his claim by talking about nature through anecdotes and expert’s research.

Read More
1560 Words | 7 Pages

They are silent killers, living in backyards, parks and neighborhoods all across the world. They specialize in crowding out, choking, and killing native residents to the point where they rule over the land. The prevention and elimination of these species cost billions of dollars to the United States each year. Our commercial, agricultural, and recreational activities depend on the execution of these visitors. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, these killers go by a less potent name: invasive species.

Read More
818 Words | 4 Pages

We should value nature and its animals much more (Becker, 1971). In today’s world we have what Becker calls a “power-saw mentality” (Becker, 1971, p. 114). Instead we’re greedy with what nature has to offer us. “Man takes what nature offers us, but usually only what he needs” (Becker, 1971, p. 114). There is a psychological difference in today’s world of what we enjoy out of nature (Becker, 1971).

Read More

More about Analyzing Ted Rall's Text B

Related Topics

Open Document