TOW #21- Visual Text (Argument Format)

Unfortunately, this visual text makes a very true point about life that many may not want to accept.  The artist made this cartoon for people living in first-world countries who are most affected by governments that control many aspects of their lives.  In making this, the artist's purpose was to show citizens that they are a part of an endless maze in an effort to find happiness, because outer societal pressures constantly change the path to happiness to benefit themselves.  The representation of citizens through the rats was crucial to this message, because the facial expressions and humanization of the rats could enlist fear within the audience and make the situation seem more real.  The repetition among the four images also helps to show how society is on an endless paths that may change messages but is still the same maze.  "Happiness is just around the corner!" is a common phrase that everyone has most likely heard before, but repeating this quote in every photo in the collage of the cartoon shows that however the message that society pressures you may change, you never get any closer to happiness, because society's pressures are artificial and not actually helping you to move towards happiness in life.

This artist, while intelligently using repetition and representation, also makes an argument with his visual.  The argument is that life is one big maze and society tells the people that they know the way towards it, but truly, it's only for their benefit.  In our American society, this is most definitely true.  Businesses no longer try and selflessly show their customers the best option for them, but rather show them the most expensive options that will profit their business the most.  Looking at this image, I do not want to be one of the rats, but this maze seems inescapable.  

IRB #3 Update- Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior by Leonard Mlodinow (Argument)

**this is the first TOW that I have used to switch to an argument format**

Finally, I have found an independent reading book which I do not feel like I have to force the words into my brain right before I have to write a TOW about it.  Subliminal is written for anyone interested in how the human mind woks, specifically the unconscious mind.  For such an abstract subject, the author, Leonard Mlodinow, can safely assume that his audience does not know much about how the unconscious works.  This is especially so because even people that spend their lives studying the unconscious, do not know much about the unconscious.  To prove his purpose that the unconscious is the base on which most decisions in our lives are made, Mlodinow organizes his book using deductive means.  In the beginning, he starts off with pointing out some universal truths, or the major premise of his deductive argument.  He states in one of the early chapters that, "We perceive, we remember our experiences, we make judgments, we act-- and in all of these endeavors we are influenced by factors we aren't aware of" (29).  By starting off with this mostly general statement, Mlodinow sets the stage for his readers to show what he will be writing about in the book.  His title being, Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior also sets his audience up for a deductive organization.  Mlodinow starts off with the broad statement that the unconscious mind does more than meets the eye, which is something readers of his book would automatically agree.  Then, in each chapter, Mlodinow goes on to apply this statement from a large variety of examples that can fit anyone that may be a part of his audience.  If he had used an inductive format for his book, then the audience would most likely have gotten lost among fancy neuroscience diction without understanding the main purpose of his book first.  By using deductive reasoning, Mlodinow successfully builds his purpose, as he will most likely continue to do as I read the later part of his book.