The Five Characteristic Features

A clearly identified event: the event that my narrative explores is when I first used writing to cope with an issue, and when I first used writing for myself. The only person involved is me, and my thoughts.
A clearly described setting: I am in my room on a rainy fall evening, the atmosphere is quite calming and relaxed.
Vivid descriptive details: I can hear the rain tapping my roof, the gentle cadence eases my mind. Me describing the setting is what best makes the story come alive. Everyone can connect and understand the particular kind of setting I am revealing, and therefore they can easily put themselves in my shoes.
A consistent point of view: I will be using first person, because the story is about me, and my internal battles. It would be difficult to tell the story any other way.
A clear point: this story matters to me, because it was the moment I learned that I could heal myself through more than just medicine. I began to understand myself in that moment better than I ever had before. The point I want others to get out of this is that if you ever have an issue in life, it is a good idea to write it out on paper. Write a story, make a list, write a poem. Let everything out, and maybe you will find some peace, or a solution to your problem.

Reading other Rhetoric Responses

Reading other people's responses made me think more about different ways to deliver rhetoric, and to deliver rhetorically. There are so many ways now with technology to publish a message. Through the internet, through physical print, through video, speech, or radio. Each method requires a different way of approaching it. In order to get the same message across, you must bend and mold the information to fit the medium of your desired method. For example, if you are making a video, you would want to take full advantage of the visual and audio. Perhaps showing images and clips to back up the narration. If you are delivering a speech, however, you cannot rely on images and video clips to keep your audience intrigued. You must deliver your speech with passion and especially rhetoric to get your message across.

Rhetoric definition

I believe the definition of thinking and acting rhetorically is communicating in a strong, clear way. As stated in the text of "Everyone's an Author", the first step to thinking rhetorically is to listen. You must be willing to listen to others without judgement. If you listen intently to their point of view, you can gain an understanding of their side. Everyone has a reason for their beliefs, and part of acting rhetorically is to listen to them enough to understand what drives and influences their beliefs. The next step is to analyze what you think and why. You must be able to communicate your stance in a clear way so others can understand it. To have an opinion you want to speak for, you must be educated about it. You must know all sides to your argument. Besides that, you must also identify what drives you to feel that way. Giving credit to your sources or inspirations of the utmost importance. It builds "ethos, or character" (Everyone's an Author), to show the sources that have influenced your decisions or opinions. These can be sources in favor, or against your opinion. The next part is to know your audience. Writing in a way that respects their interests will give your content more authority. Part of this is acknowledging the other side of the argument with respect. Like Watson and Crick, when writing their theory on the structure of DNA, they never failed to acknowledge their competitors, and those who inspired their ideas. Writing rhetorically is the wisest, and strongest way to get your message across. It shows your respect to the other sides, and your care and devotion to making your views clear.

Rhetorical Situations - Narratives

2. Lydia Questions Similarities and differences:

• The main point we all gathered was to illustrate the hardships people faced at a closer, more personal level. She uses a specific example of a woman’s own story to make a disasters as large as hurricane Katrina and Rita seem real at an individual and personal example. It’s easy to get lost in an event so large and forget about all the small factors, all the small people actually affected by the situation.
• The perspective of the narrative as a whole is first person through Brideau. However, when she tells the story about Lydia, she changes to third person. This is because she is recounting the story told by Lydia, it isn’t a direct telling by her. After the story passes, the perspective shifts back to Brideau’s first person.
• Given that we all read the same story, and with more or less the same around of background information on the topic at hand, our conclusions were all parallel to one another.

3. Connections between Chapter 2 and “Lydia’s Story” related to rhetoric:

• The genre Brideau chooses is a narrative. She also carefully writes to accommodate for the audience that she assumes will be reading her piece. The tone helps to project the main idea in the story: the deeper and more personal suffering and survival of individuals in the aftermath of the two hurricanes. The main idea is also a direct link to the purpose of the narrative: which is also to highlight the personal stories of people after the hurricanes.
• The tone of a narrative often has the objective to capture its readers at an emotional level.
• We are able to see the rhetorical guidelines said in Chapter two in Lydia’s Story. These examples help us better understand rhetorical situations in our own writing.

7. The general synopsis of our discussion was that we hear small narratives every day. We also hear stories in songs as long as we are listening to the lyrics. Some songs are literally narratives, that are written in a creative rhythmic manner. In our discussions with parents or friends, we constantly hear about their days or an exciting thing that has happened to them recently. We may not always draw meaning from the narratives, but if we listen with intent, we can understand the situation.

10. We were able to conclude that in this particular case, the videos were more powerful than the text, this was because it gives the viewer the ability to see the person's face, their tone, etc. An addition in the form of dramatic music draws the audience into an emotional state and uses it to the story's advantage.

12. Compare Narratives:YouTube Short Film vs. News Article (written version of short film)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Similarities: They both tell a sequence of events, both have characters, plot and setting, they both have a climax or point to the story.

Differences: One uses music to illustrate the intensity of the situation at hand, where as on the contrary, this is extremely difficult to do in a news article due to the brief nature of them.

Effect of the Medium: The video allows the reader to relax and enjoy watching while still gathering the context of the story entirely. Small details that make writing come alive are often overlooked and therefore in general writing (in this case) is less effective.

Summary: We compared a video to a written news article. We concluded that they both have many good aspects in their effectiveness of telling a story.

My daily narratives list

Daily Narratives:

• Hozier - Take me to Church music video
• John Legend - You and I 
• Dave Matthews - You & Me 
• My friend Emily telling about a car crash she was involved in
• Story about a 6 year old girl that sent a solider in Iraq a "lucky" stuffed animal that he took on patrols with him. 
• My mom telling me a story about her soccer game last night

Think Beyond Words:

        I think that the video form of story telling was more effective for me. Being able to see the persons face, their emotions, and body language directly helped me to connect to their story. The music and extra visuals also helped to set the tone of the story right away. I am a much more auditory learner, and having the visuals to connect it made the story seem more more clear. However, the written version wasn't without it's faults. It allowed for a more planned out narrative, and perhaps allowed the speaker to put in more information at each stage of their life. 

Lydia's Story Response

1. Brideau's main point is that the hurricanes that ravaged New Orleans destroyed many homes, but in the process it showed the strength of the people. Lydia was the one that stood out for her, because of her age, and her surviving against all odds in her small home. This main point is revealed in the last two paragraphs of the story
2. Brideau's story is in first person, until she dives into the story of Lydia. In describing the story, she moves to third person. The first person point of view makes the story feel much more close and personal. It's a first hand account of someone who went to New Orleans in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, and helped many people. In first person, you get a much more detailed, and personal account of the situation. Especially through Brideau, who was in direct contact with so many of the people. 
3. She instantly makes the narrative "come alive" when she describes entering the VFW hall. She used words like: toxic, illuminated, and cackle. To boost Lydia's story, she used words like: horrified, bulky, precarious, and spurted. These words she uses appeal to my emotions, because when she says Lydia was horrified, there is no question what her true emotions are. I too would be horrified in that situation. 
4. The audience could be anyone in the medical field, or anyone interested in the affairs that took place after Hurricane Katrina passed. The tone is very bleak and worrying. It gives the piece a sense of the need for survival. It makes you feel like you are suffering with Brideau, and the people. Words like toxic, illuminated and cackle all asserted the tone in the first two paragraphs. 
5. One of my biggest supporters and idols in my life has always been my grandfather. He is a second generation Japanese-American, and was only 17 when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. On that very same day, his father, Jack Yasutake was arrested for suspected spying for the Japanese. Weeks later, my grandfather, Tosh, his mother, and two other siblings were all sent to an internment camp in Idaho. His father Jack was sent to a POW camp in Texas. In a brave and compassionate effort to reunite his family in the same camp, Tosh volunteered for the Army. He, along with thousands of other Nisei Japanese-Americans decided to fight for the country that had alienated, and turned their back on them. With this act, they showed their true colors. They should that they were true loyal, compassionate, and valiant Americans. My grandfather joined the 442nd Battalion, in the medics unit. He had had past medical experience, working at the hospital in his internment camp. Over the next year and a half, Tosh fought in some of the most brutal battles of the war. He saved many lives, cheated death, was shot in the leg, lost his hearing from concussive explosions, and ultimately proved his divine loyalty to the United States. He is perhaps one of the luckiest medics in the entire war; the medic deployed in his regiment before him was the first medic to be killed during the war. This was during desperate times for the Germans, so they broke the laws of war (killing a medic) in an attempt to turn the tables. After my grandfathers injury, the two medics deployed after him were both killed in the Battle of the Bulge; which was one of the most important and bloody battles during the end of the war. The 442nd battalion was considered the "expendable" battalion. They were sent to perform impossible suicide missions. So many soldiers were injured or killed that they were named the "Purple Heart Battalion". Despite their many losses, they became the most decorated combat team in the history of the military. However, the humble, quiet veterans never gloat over their medals. I've had the pleasure of meeting many of my grandfather's war buddies, and every last one of them never revealed having any anger towards the United States, or the Generals that sent them on their missions. They saw it as their duty to serve and protect, while proving their worth and loyalty. I look up to my grandfather as being the most humble and caring man I know. He still loves his wife of 60 years just as much as the first day they met. He showed me what it meant to love at a very early age; and I will never forget that. Despite all the horrible things he's witnessed, he still manages to always come with a smile on his face. He is an American Hero. He is my Hero. 

I just realized I didn't have to do 5.... well here it is anyways :P

My Rhetorical Situations

Writing I've done in that past week:

• Texting a friend
• Texting my boss
• Writing a poem for a class assignment
• Making a facebook post
• Writing an analytical paragraph about a previous assignment
• Evaluating my work compared to others in English class
• Making a list
• Writing a letter of instruction to a friend (in class assignment)
• Writing a reminder on my calendar 
• Taking notes in Political Science class

Texting a friend:

         Texting a friend is a very different type of writing from writing formally in class, or creating a poem. The tone of my texts are most often upbeat and positive, and using humor is more effective in reaching my audience. I use the knowledge of what my friend and I have in common to appeal to their personalities and opinions. I have much more freedom to be myself when writing to a friend, because they are already familiar to that side of me. It seems more normal to them for me to write like how I would speak to them. However, I don't always assume my audience is interested, so I try to always keep the conversation flowing, and changing so they do not get bored. My purpose most often is for entertainment, catching up on their lives, or making plans to hang out. Often times, I will include emojis and photos to further get my message across. For example, if I am talking about what my dog is doing, I will try to take a picture and send it so they can fully grasp the situation. Emojis help to avoid confusion as to my mood or emotion towards them. Sometimes, people's emotions can be misinterpreted through text, and feelings are hurt. 

Making a Facebook Post:

        Making a Facebook post in some ways can be similar to texting a friend. Sometimes I want a specific group or individual to see this post, so I can tag it in them, or tell them about it. Depending on the content of my post, the tone can change. Most often, I try to remain upbeat and humorous, but sometimes the content of the post requires a more serious tone. For example, if I share an article about a tragic accident, or a ridiculous publicity act by Donald Trump, I will likely be more harsh and critical in my tone. It is important to be aware of my audience, because on Facebook I am friends with all kinds of people: close friends, family friends, parents, relatives, teachers and so forth. It isn't always wise to use the same language you would with a close friend on a post where a parent or teacher would see it. Therefore, I use more appropriate words when writing on Facebook. My purpose when writing or posting on Facebook is always to entertain, or inform. Pointless posts like "I'm going to get a cup of coffee with my mom" are never seen on my dashboard. When sharing a controversial article or video, I always make it clear what my stance is. I don't want people getting confused, and thinking I'm a Trump supporter, or someone who wants the government to de-fund Planned Parenthood. The medium and design of Facebook posts varies. Most often I share videos or articles with my opinion or input above the link. 

Taking notes in Political Science Class:

        The genre of taking notes is often in bullet point form. I find it is easier to read and understand my notes when they are organized that way. The tone is very neutral and factual, because all I am trying to do is record information in a quick, but effective and understandable way. Given that I am the audience, it is easy to write for myself. I can write in a way that I will understand, and that is not too long. The soul purpose of my taking notes is to use them for future assignments, and papers. Therefore, I always try to get the most important information. The medium and design varies as well. Sometimes I will insert drawings, graphs, tables, or quotes to my notes. These are used to further my understanding of the content.