TOW #7-Extra Gum commercial

Extra Gum has published a video that has blown up the internet, making people fall in love with their gum and the story they created. Extra Gum is known for their exotic flavors ranging from the normal spearmint and peppermint, to cinnamon roll and mint chocolate chip. This United States company launched in 1984 and is additionally known for its long lasting flavors. Extra was the world's first sugar-free gum company and they have added an array of flavors that the world loves. Recently they published a video that appealed to the audience's emotions to advertise their company in order to make money off of people's purchases of the gum.

In this commercial, Extra tells the story about a girl and a boy who fall in love in high school: something unusual for a Gum company to publish. The way they tied their product into the love story is truly remarkable. Every time a memorable moment happens the girl in the video gives her lover a piece of gum, and each time the boy in the story receives a piece of gum, he draws on the wrapper the situation that occurred. For example, the first time they kissed they were sitting in the car as one was about to get out and leave after a date. After the kiss, the girl gave the boy a piece of Extra Gum, and once she left, he drew a picture of them sitting in the front seats of his car leaning in for a kiss. Their love story progresses in a few minutes, but it ends with the two going on another date. The boy tells her where to go, and he leads her to a room that had picture frames along the wall, and inside the frames were every picture he drew of each situation they had already experienced. As she walks to the last frame, the video zooms in on the remaining drawing: the man proposing to his sweetheart. As she turns around, she encounters her soon to be husband on one knee. This video appeals to the all human's emotions as everyone longs for love, and this seemed to be the most delightful and endearing love story known to man. And who wouldn't want to buy gum from a company who loves love?

TOW #5-South Carolina flooding: Dams breached, more trouble ahead

In the last week, the Carolina’s have been hit hard with major floods. Holly Yan, a reporter, writer and editor that specializes in breaking news, and Ray Sanchez, posted an article in CNN on the 6^th informing American citizens about the destruction that occurred as a result of this flood. The excessive water is due to dams breaking, a circumstance that could cost “billions of dollars in damage.” The authors use statistics and pathos to inform American citizens of the shocking flooding that is still occurring in South Carolina so that the public feels sympathy for the state’s citizens.

The authors include a considerable amount of statistics that provide the reader with enough information to understand how traumatizing this flood is for South Carolinian’s. Since Saturday, “11 dams have failed in South Carolina” which accounts for the primary reason the flooding has become such a concern. “So far, at least 17 people have died in weather-related incidents” which proves that the flooding is not just ‘a little water.’ This is also effecting the South Carolinian’s housing, as it is recited that, “there had been 175 water rescues so far in South Carolina, and more than 800 people were temporarily housed in shelters.” By providing these statistics that cannot be refuted, it is evident that this is a traumatic flood. These solid facts urge Americans to feel empathy for these people.  Additionally, these statistics appeal to the reader’s emotions. The title itself, “Dams breached, more trouble ahead,” is enough information to boost the reader’s emotions and provide them with immediate evidence that leads to the sympathetic feeling. The overall message of the article is to inform the rest of the country of the life-threatening floods, and by using statistics and appealing to pathos, the author’s successfully reached their goal. 

TOW #4-The Other Wes Moore

This non-fiction book follows the lives of two people living in the same city, with the same name: one who is in jail for murder, and one who lives a very successful life. The book was written by the successful Wes Moore and studies how two people can grow up to be so different even if they are from similar backgrounds. The author attended Johns Hopkins University and later University of Oxford. Throughout the book, Moore appeals to the young readers who have the chance to turn their life around, or those who have turned their life around. Author Wes Moore uses juxtaposition and pathos to explain how our actions determine our fate.

The author wrote his book in a unique way. Instead of explaining his life and then comparing the other Wes Moore’s life directly after, he instead writes a chapter about his life, then follows by a chapter about the other Wes Moore. He compares their lives by avoiding the cookie-cutter compare and contrast outline, though in the beginning, he states that both grew “up at the same time, on the same streets, with the same name” (Moore). In addition, Moore tells the audience how neither of them have a father. The author Wes Moore explains this by telling us that there are “only two memories I have of my father. The other was when I watched him die” (Moore). The other Wes Moore’s father “had been a ghost since his birth” (Moore). This juxtaposition compares their situations and explains that although both people didn’t have a father, they reacted in separate ways. Also, the author explains how our fate is determined by our actions by appealing to our emotions. The author says, “Tony was the closest thing Wes had to a role model. But the more he tried to be like his brother, the more his brother rejected him. The more he copied him, the more Tony pushed back. Wes wanted to be just like Tony. Tony wanted Wes to be nothing like him” (Moore). By including specific details of times where they felt confused or let down, it allows the audience to feel sympathy for the struggles that both Wes’ went through.