TOW 9- One Bouquet of Fleeting Beauty, Please

            The standard gift for any celebration-worthy event is a bouquet of flowers. Alisha Gordner, a flower-shop worker and writer, discusses the relationship between her and her customers. In her article, “One Bouquet of Fleeting Beauty, Please,” Alisha Gordner shares personal anecdotes and an emotion-packed conclusive sentence to force her readers to recognize the silver lining in the fleeting cloud of impermanence.

            Gordner begins by telling her readers about some of the amazing people she has met and the messages they attach to the bouquets they buy. She asserts that she would “scoff at messages that seemed too sugary, trite or boring” but still recognizes the significance of “the gesture,” because when her boyfriend committed suicide, “people sent cards.” This woeful tale adds to the credibility of her message by showing she has experience with these things. It also appeals to pathos by allowing her readers to feel sympathy for her, which will make her message stick in their minds because her story will stick there, too. The story of her experience in losing her boyfriend shows her message in action. She shares many “precious moments made all the more precious by the fact that they have already come and gone” and acknowledges that there are memories that have blurred over time. She justifies the fading of these memories by recognizing that “there would always be more,” ultimately showing her readers how extremely natural change is. In the conclusion of her article, Gordner shares her favorite flower, the “tulip magnolia,” which only blooms for “a matter of weeks.” A woman who works with flowers chooses a flower with a fleeting presence as her favorite. This sentiment effectively concludes her argument and shows her readers “how startlingly beautiful impermanence can be.”

            Overall, Gordner’s strong conclusive sentence and personal anecdotes effectively show her readers the perfection in impermanence. Gordner’s message should remain in our minds, too. We often dwell on the details and try to memorize our memories, when in reality we should be looking forward to the details that are yet to come. Oh, there is so much to look forward to, we just don’t know the exact details of it all… and maybe we never will… and that is OK.

 

           

IRB Intro #2

     For my second independent reading book, I chose the book "Death Be Not Proud" by John Gunther. As I was browsing Mr. Yost's library in the beginning of the year, this was one of the books that I happened to pick up and preview. I fell in love with the story after reading the summary on the back and a couple pages in the first chapter. I am a sucker for sob stories. It is a memoir written about John Gunther's son, who died of cancer at a young age. I am interested in hearing the story and also deciphering the message that Gunther is attempting to send, and how he does so. I am looking forward to reading this book.

TOW 8 - IRB post 2

            Nick Hornby, an avid football fan and well-known writer, wrote the book Fever Pitch about the history and origin of his lifelong obsession. Hitting close to home with me, I was attracted by his humorous voice and the topic of obsessing over some stupid soccer games. In Hornby’s book Fever Pitch, Hornby explains how what started as a normal liking of a sport spiraled into an all-controlling obsession that has shaped his relationships with others and commanded his free time through the use of personal anecdotes and humor. His audience is anyone who has background knowledge about the game of soccer and could potentially share some similar experiences.

            Fever Pitch, written narrative-style, is a book full of personal anecdotes. Hornby shares his experiences as a child growing up in a divided home and how that influenced his obsession with the game of football. Every chapter, Hornby tells the story of a game that he remembers and the effect it had on his life. This allows the audience to see the correlation between the events in his life and his obsession with the game, which appeals to logos by allowing them to logically see the progression of his obsession. Hornby’s personal anecdotes about his life also allow the reader to establish a close connection with him, because many of the things that he has gone through are relatively common. These anecdotes show that Hornby is indeed a human who has had problems, just like the rest of us; therefore, allowing the audience to better consider Hornby a credible source because he has actually experienced everything in regards to the topic they are reading about. Overall, Hornby’s anecdotes allow the audience to connect to him and to logically see the progression of his obsession, which is further emphasized through his humor.

Hornby’s humorous tone allows his audience to enjoy reading the book while simultaneously allowing Hornby to convey messages to them that will stick in their minds. For example, when describing his frustration with the lack of players who will pass the ball, Hornby asserts that “there are still a couple of passers in England, but then, there are still a number of blacksmiths.” (Hornby 120). This assertion humorously emphasizes the lack of passers there actually are because of the lack of blacksmiths in England. There are many other instances Hornby’s humor allows the audience to better understand and connect with his message. Overall, Hornby’s use of personal anecdotes and humorous assertions clarify the origin of his obsession and show how natural obsessions are, which allows the audience to feel better about their own guilty pleasures.