Synthesis Essay Assignment

AP Lang

1^st Synthesis Essay Assignment

    During the Cold War era, many of the U.S. politicians, especially those of Democratic Party, were threatened by the bold statement that Republican senator Joseph McCarthy had made. He made a shocking remark that he knows who the communists hiding in American government are. While McCarthy did not exert much influence before this incident, he was regarded as one of the most powerful politicians after this claim had been established. While further investigations proved that McCarthy lacked the evidences to support his argument, this case of the so-called “McCarthyism” greatly revealed how irrational human beings can behave when they lack sound information. While constituents of the modern world seem to have learned from the mistakes that their past counterparts had made, this would not mean that the citizens of today are perfect in their decision-making. Adding problems to this procedure, especially in the case of consumption, are advertisements. While some stubborn scholars argue that they are helpful in providing information, they actually promote the irrational behaviors on consumption.

    One of the primary reasons why this irrational decision-making procedure is established is because the advertisements often selectively choose information in the disguise of objectivity. As the main purpose of the firms is to raise profits, they often utilize the advertisements in order to increase their sales. While it is not to comment that such intentions are bad, some firms often use the process of selectively deciding which information they will present, without giving the prospective consumers a holistic overview of the product. Since people are often ignorant about the internal decisions that the companies have made, they enter the product market with inadequate and imperfect knowledge of the product that they are inclined to purchase. Regarding this issue, Eric Shaw and Stuart Alan argue that “advertising continued to increase the size of [tobacco] market, despite an expanding awareness of health risks and increasing advertising restrictions,” by providing the example of cigarettes in the book The Advertising Age Encyclopedia of Advertising. In this example, it clearly is revealed that while the populace is acknowledged about the health defects that the cigarettes can deliver, there are certain effects in the cigarette commercials are actually increasing the profits of such industry. This decisively enlightens one that the commercials are hiding certain information from their interpreters.

    Also, the advertisements give rise to irrational behaviors of consumption by providing the commercial readers with a wrong sense of image of a certain product. While the true content of the product may not be related to a certain feeling or a distinct sense of emotion, the advertisers clearly take of advantage of the researches done by J. Watson, a prominent behavioral psychologist. Watson argued and to a degree, proved that random behaviors can be attached to random emotions and feelings, and that due to this, the feelings of extreme fear, awe, liking and such are learned from our experiences. Using this method of manipulating the psychologies of the human mind, especially that of a prospective consumer, an advertiser effectively exerts pressure upon the consumer to buy a certain type of product. Eric Shaw and Stuart Alan, the researchers of the aforementioned essay, argue that the images that the cigarette companies made the consumers cling to a certain brand of cigarettes. Also presented by Nancy Day is the example in Advertising: Information or Manipulation, that enlightens the readers that advertisements are able to bring “[reinforcements in] racial, cultural, and sexual stereotypes,” which clearly are examples of distortions in the images that the advertisements make.

    Thus, as the aforementioned examples reveal, the advertisements are able to influence the consumers by providing the selective information and creating certain image. It is not to deny the benefits that the advertisements can bring, such as providing more information for the consumers to be more reasonable. However, unless the people are fully informed about their environments, the advertisements will have a negative effect indeed.

"Retarded Savants"

     I wanted to introduce articles or video clips that had some relevance to what Sir Ken Robinson had elaborated in the TED Conference video clip and the RSA Animated clip. He mentioned about the current education system trying to classify children inept, having learning disorders, or having ADHD if they do not follow the standardized system. He further argues that we try to make them "standardized" by using methods such as medication. But then, I began to think whether this system is really helpful for them. Then I found an article about how the lack of standardization led to the birth of great intellects. The first article is not really related to Korean education, but it is related to education in general.

     1. Einstein and Newton 'Had Autism' - BBC News

         Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2988647.stm

Einstein and Newton 'had autism'

Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton may have suffered from a type of autism, according to experts. Einstein was a notoriously confusing lecturer Researchers at Cambridge and Oxford universities believe both scientists displayed signs of Asperger's Syndrome. Many people with Asperger's are often regarded as being eccentric. They sometimes lack social skills, are obsessed with complex topics and can have problems communicating. This latest research suggests that Einstein, who is credited with developing the theory of relativity, and Newton, who discovered the laws of gravity, had these traits to varying degrees. According to the researchers, Einstein showed signs of Asperger's from a young age. As a child, he was a loner and often repeated sentences obsessively until he was seven years old. He was also a notoriously confusing lecturer. Later in life, the German-born scientist made intimate friends, had numerous affairs and spoke out on political issues. 'Passionate' However, the researchers insist that he continued to show signs of having Asperger's. "Passion, falling in love and standing up for justice are all perfectly compatible with Asperger's Syndrome," Professor Simon Baron-Cohen of Cambridge, one of those involved in the study, told New Scientist magazine. "What most people with Asperger's Syndrome find difficult is casual chatting - they can't do small talk." The researchers believe that Newton displayed classic signs of the condition. He hardly spoke, was so engrossed in his work that he often forgot to eat and was lukewarm or bad-tempered with the few friends he had. If no one turned up to his lectures he gave them anyway talking to an empty room. At the age of 50, he had a nervous breakdown brought on by depression and paranoia. However, others believe these traits can be attributed to both men's high intelligence. 'Socially inept' "One can imagine geniuses who are socially inept and yet not remotely autistic," said Dr Glen Elliott, a psychiatrist at the University of California at San Francisco. "Impatience with the intellectual slowness of others, narcissism and passion for one's mission in life might combine to make such individuals isolative and difficult." He told the magazine that Einstein was regarded as having a good sense of humour - a trait not seen in people with severe Asperger's. Professor Baron-Cohen said the findings suggested that people with the syndrome can excel if they find their niche in life. "This condition can make people depressed or suicidal, so if we can find out how to make things easier for them, that's worthwhile."

     Here is also a link to the list of historical figures sometimes considered autistic, given by Wikipedia. I wonder, if the societies of the past had considered to "standardizing" these geniuses, (although there are some dictators and terrorists cited in the list) would we be enjoying the creativity they exerted?

     Link: http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_figures_sometimes_considered_autistic


     Also, I have a clip about the so-called "autistic savants," who have excellent talents but are regarded by others as mental retards.

Derek Paravicini on 60 MINUTES - Autistic Savant - The most amazing home videos are here

     The second one is about the reality of the Korean education. While it is being praised by the U.S. president Barack Obama, this video clip from Youtube discusses how unfair the Korean education system is and how much the students are reliant upon the use of private education. 

     2.  The Reality of Korean Education

      I will discuss them more thoroughly in class.

Pink Plastic Flamingo!

     Too much information roams around the vast field of knowledge, and this very fact, often, forces one to face a hard time in discriminating what is important from what is not. Yet someone needs to distinguish the significant from the dull, which is a painstakingly difficult operation indeed. Jennifer Price, the author of The Plastic Pink Flamingo: A Natural History, could have been just another writer barely touching upon the issue and sinking into the sea of boring, less-meaningful facts. However, she truly employs her great choice of vocabularies, quality set of examples, and ept use of contradiction in order to reveal what is so prominent in her view of the United States history.

      While a book may contain a word of thorough and deep ideas, it may not be regarded meaningful without it being pronounced eloquently with the appropriate words. Jennifer Price’s writing, in such terms, is an epitome of how an excellent selection of vocabularies can contribute in improving the general quality of the work and letting the main idea of it be articulated properly. As soon as the reader is plunged into the pool of writing, he or she will encounter powerful words such as “splashed” and “boldness.” Even with these two simple words, the writer creates a general theme that plastic flamingos represent the fortitude to display that the Americans of the 1950s retained. Yet her words go deeper, not just halting at setting the backgrounds. She further exploits her diction to explain why, in detail, the plastic flamingo is an important part of U.S. history. Her analogies of the plastic flamingo to “wealth and pizzazz,” and a sign of “wealth and extravagance” reveal that this kitschy ornament was not a display of bravado, but an exhibition of the U.S. citizen’s improved economic status during the 1950s. Her further arsenal of words she employs succeeds in formulating an idea about the wealth, and the lifestyle consequent to that wealth, of the Americans of the 1950s.

     A theory without proper support is merely a stubborn argument. Likewise, a historical statement without proper examples is simply a void – and often, “unhealthy” to the logics of the people – assertion. The writing of Price however, is filled with the choice selection of examples. In creating the general idea for the passage, Price uses instances that do not trouble the development of her logic. There indeed were pessimistic views about the plastic flamingos. For instance, today, some of the states in America banned the installation of these flashy, inanimate objects in their citizens’ lawns. Yet Price selectively decides on the examples that she will employ, instead of using all the cases that are given. In describing the reason why the “flamingos” were important, she uses the examples of Miami’s successful grand hotel, the Flamingo, and the fact that the bird stands out in its environment to imbue the passage with the idea that this bird displayed and symbolized not only the striking appearance but also the general wealthy concept. Furthermore, in describing the color pink’s significance, she beautifully uses the trend of the period that such color was popular and not outdated. She emphatically pounds down her notion by presenting the example that Elvis Presley even bought a pink Cadillac. The additional examples shown in the final paragraph are simply awesome in its status that they add to the general positive image of the plastic flamingos.

     Yet the most intriguing rhetorical device she domineers at her command to grapple the readers’ attention and to reveal her main idea is the usage of contradiction. The contradictions in Price’s writing truly serve as great impacts in overall. The first contradiction she employs is the usage of irony in the fact that the flamingos were largely hunted down. Like the author mentions, the fact that such a broadly praised representative of 1950s’ American sentiment was shot down ruthlessly for its plume and meat may not make sense. Yet, she glosses over this fact and continues, as if the contradiction is meaningless. Despite this, a careful observer may find that the contradiction serves two purposes. While the first – to grab the readers’ attention – is obvious, the second one is tough: it is to emphatically mention that the newly imbued image of flamingos was strong enough to override the seeming irony of the situation. The second contradiction she employs is located in the final paragraph, in her mention of the reason why people call flamingos “pink flamingos” as if they could be any other color. This situational irony, too, is important in emphasizing in the fact that the color pink is effective and impacting enough to influence its surroundings. One could remark that the contradictions Price exploit blends well with the rest to create a wholesome thesis.

     In summation, the aforementioned explanations express how Jennifer Price effectively used her diction, choice of examples, and usage of contradiction to reveal and develop her overall intention. Unlike many dull writings, her writing commands the eloquent arsenal of different rhetorical devices to the zenith level, not only impressing the readers but also allowing the crowd to understand her point.