TOW #7- "My Touchstone and a Heart of Gold" by Caroline Leavitt

My TOW for this week is the short memoir essay, "My Touchstone and a Heart of Gold" by Caroline Leavitt. Caroline Leavitt is an American novelist, and is the author of "Is This Tomorrow" and "Picture of You". This essay is about a young woman who experiences trouble with finding love. She begins the essay explaining how she used to live with her boyfriend who was very different than she is. They bought a pet tortoise named Minnie, and Leavitt's affection for the animal eventually creates a split in her boyfriend and her relationship, causing them to separate and live on their own. Leavitt eventually finds someone who does not mind the turtle, and they end up getting married. Her new husband, Jeff, praised her for things her old boyfriend found endless flaws in, and allowed her to feel cared about. During Leavitt's time of illness, Minnie became sick and they had to put him down. This was very upsetting for Leavitt, since Minnie was her companion when nobody else was, and Minnie meant a lot to her. Jeff got a portrait of Minnie made, and hung it up for Caroline as a surprise, showing her that he understands the impact Minnie's death had on her, and that he cares for her and wants to support her. The purpose of this essay was to show the impact love and care can have. In Caroline's relationship with her old boyfriend, he put her down for something as small as caring for a turtle, and it eventually escalated into him speaking rudely of her about many other subjects. At the end of the essay, Caroline reflects on how even though she had quirks, somebody cared for her, just like she cared for Minnie."I was no more fit in my old life than Minnie had in his tiny pet store tank. I remembered my ex telling me he wanted a girlfriend who was more normal...there was Minnie. A strange little figure. Uncommon. Odd. And completely and always beloved"(Leavitt). This shows how Minnie and her were both strange and similar in that way, and at first were unlucky in love and having people to care about them. However, despite seeming strange to others, they were able to find love in their own ways, and able to show how much of a positive influence it had on her life.

TOW #6- "Now We Are Five" - David Sedaris

For my TOW this week I read "Now We Are Five" by David Sedaris. It is a short memoir about the suicide of David's youngest sister, Tiffany. In this memoir, David reflects on the memories he had with his family and his sister. David's purpose is to illustrate the impact of losing a loved one can have. David uses flashbacks, comparisons, and repetition in this essay to fulfill this purpose. His audience is anyone, young or old, who has lost a loved one. One example is, "In the past, when my family rented a cottage my sisters and I would crowd the door like puppies around a food dish"(Section 3 Sedaris). In this example, the author is reflecting on when his family would visit a cottage every summer, and how much fun and memorable these trips were. Sedaris uses old memories of these trips and compares and contrasts it to when his family took the same trip after Tiffany's death. He comments on the memories of his childhood, and then uses the differences between then and more recent memories to show the changes his family has gone through over time. This comparison between two different times also shows the significance Tiffany's death had on David's family, as much of the trip is spent remembering her. David also using repetition through this dialogue: "'Six kids!' people would say. 'How do your poor folks manage?'"(Section 1 Sedaris). The author mentions this dialogue early in the essay to emphasize the big family he had, and how uses he was to having six in his family, instead of only five. He makes this statement much more significant by closing the essay with a similar phrase. He ends the essay mentioning a dialogue with a friend: "'That makes five-wow! Now, that's a big family'"(Section 10 Sedaris). This repetition is very meaningful and helps to signify the impact the death of his sister had, and how there is now an empty spot in his family that can't be filled again. This essay fulfills the purpose of showing the significance a death of a loved one can have. It successfully reaches out to audiences who have been through similar experiences, and encourages them to keep the people they lost in memory and to honor them.

TOW #5-Political Cartoon: Gun Control

My TOW is a visual text on gun control versus mental health care. It illustrates the door labeled 'Mental Health Treatment", as being a locked, bolted, and very secure door. It symbolizes how hard it is to get real and helpful mental healthcare, either because of expense or finding proper care for their particular case. The safe, on the other hand, is labeled 'Guns'. This door is wide open without really any security. This shows how easy it can be to access a gun, whether its by buying one, getting one from a friend, or stealing one. The differences between these two doors show that having access to guns and weaponry is easier than getting mental health care. Most cases of shootings are said to be caused by people who had mental disabilities. The purpose of this cartoon and visual text is to say that the security on guns should be tightened, and the access to mental health care should be made much easier. It suggests that this will help solve the problem of the mass shootings America experiences.

IRB Post #2/TOW #4: "Long Walk to Freedom"

The book "Long Walk to Freedom", is an autobiography of Nelson Mandela. Nelson Mandela was a President of South Africa, and is well know for being an anti-apartheid activist. He was the son of Mphakanyiswa, a chief. Mandela was taught early on how to take on the role of being the head of the Ixhiba house, and to counsel the rulers of his tribe. However, because of complications, Mandela and his mother moved to Qunu. After Nelson's father passed away, they left Qunu. His mother put him in the care of Jongintaba, a chief and acting regent of the Thembu. Mandela grew up quickly under his care and received a great education. However, when Jongintaba confronted Mandela and his brother, Justice, of an arranged marriage, they both ran away to Johannesburg. After recieving his BA, Mandela then joined the African National Congress, and helped create the ANC Youth League. He also married Evelyn Mase in 1944. Mandela was able to become more involved in the ANC and the ANC Youth League, and got them to take on the Programme of Action. He was also chosen to be the National Volunteer-in Chief for the Defiance Campaign. Because of the Defiance Campaign and the protests occurring from it, him and several other were charged for communism and were forced into nine months of labor. Mandela, because of his actions as a political activist and acting against the government and apartheid, was put on the list of banned people. He was then arrested in 1955, and the Treason Trial began. After being acquitted, Nelson Mandela began his life underground. This is as far as I have gotten so far, and this autobiography is proving to be very interesting and I am able to learn a lot about his life and of the history of South Africa.