What does Nick really think?

Dear journal,
Have you ever judged someone before you became acquainted with them? Or perhaps you thought one thing, and that opinion completely changed after you found out the facts. These statements have been true with the recent events that have happened in my life. After having lunch with the Buchanans, I think Tom is an arrogant brute who abuses poor, delicate Daisy. I admire Daisy's sarcasm towards Tom in seeing that physical abuse would not work to her advantage, but mental abuse does. Tom expressed his violent nature again when he punched Myrtle, his mistress, in the nose. Daisy is sweet, and I am not sure I want her to be with Gatsby, whom I have mixed feelings about. At first I thought Gatsby was mysterious because I only saw him standing on his porch. After hearing rumors that he might possibly have been a German spy or a murderer, I became suspect to this criminal nature. Now, after meeting him and setting up a tea date so that him and Daisy could be reunited, I wonder what sort of business Gatsby has been involved in and is trying to involve me in. I also wonder if all the favors he does for people are done with selfish intentions, hoping that the favor will be returned. Gatsby is a smart, manipulative man. As far as Jordan, I am in love with her. She has been good company at Gatsby's parties and is not the gossipy, nosy woman I thought her to be at first. She also has great posture which I find attractive.
Sincerely, a confused and accidental judgemental,
Nick

Emeril Lagasse:
Testimonial- Emeril Lagasse is a well known chef. What he has to say sparks the interest of many people who are fans of him.
Ad populum: He talks about how he fishes and the oil spill upsets him.

Olympic Athletes:
Transfer- The awesomeness of the Olympic athletes is transferred to the BP. Their heroic stories make the BP sound more trustworthy and capable of fixing the problem.
Red Herring- The athletes avoided talking about the oil spill.

BP Employee:
Plain folks- He talks about how commited BP is to America and how many Americans work for BP.
Observational Selection- Only shows happy people and none of the negative effects of the oil spill.

Tourism:
Bandwagon- Everyone is going down to the gulf to have fun.
Causation/Correlation- The region benefited from the oil spill because the region never had as much tourism before it.

Woody Guthrie "This Land is Your Land"

In the classic song, "This Land is Your Land" by Woody Guthrie, America is described as a beautiful country where everyone acts like each other's neighbor. America is prosperous and people are successful and happy. This is what we are to believe when we hear the first part of the song. He describes "golden valleys and diamond deserts;" things that make America sound like paradise. The actual meaning comes from the last few stanzas when Guthrie talks about hungry people and a "No trespassing sign." These things are symbolic of America's hypocricy. America is supposedly the land of the free and yet it contains so much discrimenation, racism, and judgement.

Where Have You Gone Charming Billy?

The excerpt, "Where Have You Gone Charming Billy?" is about a group of soldiers sneaking around, trying to stay alive. Phrases like "dark, single file" and "one by one the other soldiers squatted in the shadows" makes their mission seem serious and secretive. The reader is intended to like PFC Paul Berlin and root for him. He uses the word "pretend" alot which lets the reader know he is desperately trying to escape his terrible reality. The reader comes to realize that Paul Berlin is a lonely, scared boy and all he wants is to not be where he currently. Reading this excerpt, I almost wanted to help Paul Berlin or comfort him. At the end of the excerpt, Paul Berlin has an almost optimistic outlook. It's as if he thinks things cannot possibly get worse so tomorrow must be better than today.

Country Corn Flakes
Appeal:
The commercial uses pathos by having the two people represent the famous painting, "American Gothic." This appeals to the audience because people are familiar with this painting and therefore they feel comfortable buying Country Corn Flakes.
Fallacy:

Alka-seltzer
Appeal:
 The commercial uses pathos by showing images of people with different sized stomachs. Some of the stomachs are large while others are skinny or fit. By comparing the different kinds of body shapes, the commerical appeals to people's feelings and makes them want to buy alka-seltzer so that they can have the ideal stomach.
Fallacy: Confusion of correlation and causation. The commerical makes people think that if they use alka-seltzer, they will have a great looking body.

Delk:
Appeal:
Logos. The main said, "Here are two primary facts..." What he said made logical sense.

Chain Gang

The subject of the song is chain gangs. These were groups of people that were linked to one chain at all times. They worked all day long under the hot sun. This song was written around the 1960's, when the civil rights movement was taking place. At the time, black people were discriminated against by white people. Chain gangs represent conformity. Individuals became one when they were linked together and forced to work, much like white people at the time. White people chose to all discriminate against black people, almost becoming one unit.