Chapter 4 pg. 116-127

Memoirs are our experiences that show significance in our lives. No matter how big or small. A person or object could be used to show something important that happened. In this book they use food to describe a relationship between two people or an event that happened. Food is something that could be really easy to think of something that connects two people. For example peeling potatoes could be something that your mom and you used to do so you could write about that. Food is something that everyone in the world knows and can relate to so it would be really easy to create something that people will recognize. 

When thinking about an audience for my memoir I have to think about who will be able to relate and understand my experiences, but I don't want to write my memoir so that only a few people can understand it. I'm picking a topic that can be relatable not just to one group of people but to many people. I'm going to write about my experience in band and my changes and realizations that I had during my experiences in it.

My purpose in writing this is to show how I made the realization that being shy and not able to laugh at myself was holding me back from being myself. Over the course of my high school band experience I went to being the quiet girl with only two friends to being one of the more outgoing people with many friends. I'm going to connect with the audience by giving examples of embarrassing scenarios that I experienced in my time in band.

Chapter 4 pg. 109-115

School Lunch:

When I'm first reading this story it reminds me a lot my old school lunches. The ones my mom used to pack me. She didn't pack me a bunch of fatty sweets and chips but she liked to pack "sensible" lunches as the author, Pooja Makhijani, says in the story. I remember feeling embarrassed by my lunches just like the author feels, but unlike the author I do not come from a different culture. In the story the mom states "Of course, that's what those American parents do. That's why their children are so hyper and don't concentrate on their studies." I don't like this because it annoys me when other cultures just assume things about a different culture. I think people just stop judging other cultures just by a few of the things that they see. Personally it's just aggravating to me. I think it's sad that people feel the need to abandon their culture just to fit in. The world needs to be more open to different people and not be closed minded to having different cultures and stuff in their country.

Thoughts On Memoirs:

I'm actually really interested in writing a memoir. I love writing and it's actually like writing a story instead of an essay. So I'm really looking forward to writing the memoir. I'm having trouble actually picking out a topic to write on. I had a few ideas but really I don't think my life is all that interesting.

Chapter 1

I write a lot of things. I like to write my thoughts down when I am really thinking about something. I also do the usual every day things like texting, e-mailing, and instant messaging. I really enjoy writing and I actually tend to blog a lot. I love writing down my thoughts cause many times it brings me to really think about what I'm writing about and sometimes it brings me to new ideas and thoughts. I write these blogs sometimes for other people to read and sometimes just for me to get my thoughts out.

In Judy Brady's "Why I Want A Wife" she talks about how she wants to have more freedom and doesn't like the fact that being a wife is holding her back, but she writes it in a different and very unique way. She writes it as if she were a husband that wanted a wife to take care of the family. Her use of sarcasm really shows how much men expect of women. They expect women to take care of the family so they can go out and learn and get the best jobs. Reading this really made me realize how much I would never want to be put into a position like that. I want to do something with my life not just sit there and take care of my family. I want to be able to help support them.

Important Words:

Rhetoric: the purposeful use of language and images. 

Rhetor: user of rhetoric.

Rhetorical Situation: the context a rhetor enters in order to shape an effective message that can resolve an exigence and reach an intended audience. Creates a call for change.

Rhetorical Exigence: a problem that can be resolved or changed by discourse (or language).

Rhetorical Audience: consists of only those persons who are capable of being influenced by verbal or visual discourse and of bringing about change, either by acting themselves or by influencing others who can create change.

Rhetorical Purpose: when writing with purpose you move beyond goals to one of of influencing your rhetorical audience.