Independent Reading Book Introduction: "The Criminal Conversation of Mrs. Norton" by Diane Atkinson

I have selected to read The Criminal Conservation of Mrs. Norton by Diane Atkinson for my second marking period independent reading book. This is about a true story, taking place in Westminster, London, 1836, surrounding the court case of Caroline Sheridan Norton, the clever wife of a domineering lawyer. Her husband, George Norton sued Caroline over "criminal conversation," or adultery. Mrs Norton is immediately acquitted and uses her only resources after her then-husband cuts her off to campaign for women's rights. Her hard work has resulted in three legislations in England. I really enjoy learning about the history of women's rights and I hope to be inspired by Mrs Norton's actions as well as gain knowledge of her tactics as she became a figure in politics.

TOW #9- Visual Text: Aerie 20% Off Advertisement

Aerie, a branch of the clothing company popular with tweens and teens, American Eagle, specializes in intimate apparel and loungewear. This particular advertisement for Aerie would most likely be found in magazines or in a customer's bag after a purchase at one of the Aerie stores. The front of this ad features a girl, appearing to be in her late teens or early 20's carelessly lying on a fluffy white bed wearing an Aerie bra and silk Aerie pajama pants. Her face, lit up with a huge smile, looks just as good as her professionally-photoshopped abdominals. The model is swinging her arm over her hair, making her look effortlessly beautiful. Her ambiguous carmel skin tone appeals to girls of all races, a medium skin color can be related to by girls of every color. The text on this picture reads: "Sparkle while you sleep" in bold, feminine letters in the left top corner. On the top right corner, the simple "Aerie" written in lowercase cursive. Aerie is clearly associated with solely the female community and persists to prove this evident by featuring a "modest" lingerie model wearing comfortable pajama pants. The word "sparkle" carries a heavy girly connotation. What girl wouldn't want to sparkle while they sleep?
The backside of the ad jumps out in hot pink lettering, urging customers to "TAKE 20% OFF." The rest of the text is in a light gray. Just above the discount, in italics, is written: "Rest up. You have some serious shopping to do!" This implies that the audience is going to shop at Aerie in the near future. The continue the sleeping theme from the front side of the ad by suggesting the audience "Rest up" because they have so much shopping to do at Aerie. The 20% off given to audience members is just the cherry on top. Sparkling while you sleep now costs 20% less.
 

TOW #8 - IRB: "Wild" By Cheryl Strayed

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed is a moving memoir of love and loss. Her 1,100 mile trek is recalled, while simultaneously flashing back to life before her mother's death: the tragedy that spawned her journey in the Californian wilderness. Strayed articulately crafts her book, using subtle metaphors and adapting a humorous tone to tell an amazing story. This memoir was written after successfully hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, alone. Again, this incredible journey happened due to the tragic loss of the author's mother as well as her crumbling marriage. Strayed liberated her mind on the Pacific Crest Trail and Wild shares with the world her emotional and physical journey. This book is extremely uplifting.
The metaphor, a simple rhetorical device, is used by the author to portray her backpack on the hike through California. She nicknames the backpack "Monster", a demon weighing on her back. Throughout the book she attempts to display the metaphor that "Monster" is. "Monster" represents the weight Strayed carries on her shoulders throughout her journey, more emotional than physical. This, of course, resulting from the death of her mother and her failed marriage. When she first packs Monster before she begins hiking, Strayed is unable to move the bag, attempting to show that she has so far to go before she is able to feel weight off of her shoulders. However, Strayed hunches over and succeeds in getting a backpack that is more than half her weight on her shoulders. The emotional strength exemplified by Strayed when she does not quit or give up solely because her backpack would not move is inspiring, and shows her determination to not fail.
Strayed adapts a humorous tone when she recalls what she prayed for during the memoir. These prayers may be abnormal in the sense that they are, in the beginning of the book, heavily sprinkled, perhaps even doused, in profanity.
Cheryl Strayed perfectly exemplifies her time on the Pacific Crest Train in Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail.

TOW #7- Visual Text: "Haunted House" by Mark Ulriksen (The New Yorker cover - 10/21/13)

The New Yorker, a world-renowned magazine, featured the capitol building as a haunted house with the ghosts of John Boehner and Ted Cruz looming over the roof on its October 21, 2013 cover. Mark Ulriksen has drawn tombstones on the front lawn labeled: Healthcare, Gun Control and Immigration. This was drawn during the recent government shutdown, hence the ghosts of Boehner and Cruz: Two prominent GOP figures that were helping to prevent the shutdown from ending. 

The color scheme utilized by Ulriksen on the capital - a spooky blue/gray combination - gives the capitol building a haunted and more importantly, deserted vibe. The tombstones, also a blue-gray, suggest a theory as to why the government has shut down, and represent the obstacles that are in the way of getting the government back up and running. 

Ulriksen has adapted an obvious Halloween-centered theme, appropriate with a cover only ten days away from the holiday. The bright-orange moon in the top-center of the cover with a bat flying through it makes the audience clear of the time-of-year the artist is depicting. His timing is no coincidence as the capitol building is portrayed as an actually haunted house, Boehner and Cruz looming in the left top corner of the cover. Ulriksen displays the capitol building covered in spider webs with the only sign of life: a superstitious black cat guarding the lawn. 

Ulriksen accurately addresses the juvenile behavior exhibited by GOP members, especially Boehner and Cruz, through portraying them the child-like environment of a haunted house. The eeriness of its vacancy combined with the ghosts of Cruz and Boehner add satire to an otherwise frustrating topic. The artist is clearly frustrated with the government shutdown and has successfully conveyed that through combining whimsical Halloween fun with the grim topic of the government shutdown. 

TOW #6 - Article: "What I Love: Deepak Chopra" by Joanne Kaufman

In "What I Love: Deepak Chopra" by Joanne Kaufman, the life of Deepak Chopra, the most famous new-age guru, is examined. His life on the 69th floor of a Mid-town west condominium in Manhattan contrasts against the "Inner Stillness" he claims he can find anywhere, even on the subway.  Chopra recently relocated his primary residence from the sunny southern coast of California to bustling New York. Chopra's urban residence is describes as shrine-like, with statues of Ganesh, Vishnu, dancing Krishna, and the goddess Lakshmi scattered throughout the spacious apartment. Rainbow spices sit in tins about his kitchen. Sharing this building with A-list celebrities such as P. Diddy, Deepak Chopra's elevator rides have been filled with queries about yoga and meditation, even making house-calls to help out his fellow building-mates. Kaufman artfully juxtaposes the serenity of Chopra's life to the chaotic scene that is Midtown Manhattan. However, Chopra states that he needs this stimulus, that the energy the city provides, he has been absorbed. "The apartment is my extended body, and when I look out the window and see the steel and concrete - that's my exo-skeleton." Adding another level of juxtaposition, Kaufman contrasts Chopra's home in Manhattan. His coastal home in California provides the Deepak with an incredible view of the ocean, with access to the beach, 24/7. However, Deepak Chopra states that he only travels to Cali in order to teach at his center for yoga and meditation. Chopra is aware that his home in California is irreplaceable, but mentions the lack of difference between his personality and the area. New York adds energy to the Deepak, while California enables his energy to plateau. He is able to feed off of Manhattan because of its bustling nature. The city that never sleeps is leaving Deepak Chopra well-rested.

TOW #5 - Article: "The Culture Paradox" by Gina Bellafante

New York Times journalist Gina Bellafante examines the shifting importance of the arts in Manhattan in the article, "The Culture Paradox of 21st-Century New York." Bellafante covers the changes passing through New York's boroughs of Manhattan, once the cultural apex of the US, now inhabited by the 1%, contrasted against Brooklyn, a haven for the arts in the 21st century. Immediately,  Bellafante alludes to an essay written by singer-songwriter David Byrne, criticizing modern day New York for succumbing to Wall Street and dampening creativity through its over-expensive culture. Byrne reminisces the 70's, when New York sustained young, striving artists with no money and in turn produced masterpieces. Bellafante then brings light to the culturally blossoming borough, Brooklyn. The author provides evidence of Mayor Bloomberg's commitment to the arts through donating 10's of millions of dollars to the arts in New York. The author then establishes a counter-argument to Byrne's essay: Brooklyn is the new Manhattan. Culturally, Brooklyn has been thriving. The BRIC House, a large gallery building with space for readings, screenings and lectures, has sprouted in the midst of Brooklyn. With inexpensive ticket prices, the BRIC House provides a space for new artists to flourish and display their work. The mention of this cultural sanctuary is a metaphor of New York in the 70's, a place where young artists moved to "make it" in the art world. Classes are offered at dance centers for young children and visual media in Brooklyn for nothing or little to nothing. Thus attempting to prove her the author's purpose that the center for culture in New York has shifted boroughs: Manhattan to Brooklyn. Even though the New York of the 70's remains, the same type of "Urban Chaos," as stated by Bellafante, remains in the boroughs.

TOW #4- Independent Reading Book: Wild by Cheryl Strayed

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed follows a young woman, newly orphaned after mother subdued to cancer, on a quest to self discovery. Strayed writes about her impulse decision to hike the California section of the Pacific Crest Trail, as well as the unfortunate series of events that lead her to this conclusion. Strayed's major in English from the University of Minnesota help her to write a life-defining memoir. Beginning with the news of her mother's impending death, Strayed writes substantially about their relationship and how she spent every last moment of her mother's life by her hospital bed. In a collapsing marriage, once Strayed's mother died, the author felt she needed to do something "wild", that would help her find herself: hike the Pacific Crest Trail. Strayed shows that through the difficulty and accomplishments of physical feats, healed her after her mother's death and divorce. Parallel to this purpose, Strayed aims to reach audiences wishing to be healed or going through situations similar to that of the author's past. Through using imagery, Strayed connects with audience on an empathetic level to achieve her purpose. "Amazed to be free of it's(backpack) weight, I strolled around and accidentally brushed up against one of the Joshua trees and was bayoneted by it's sharp spikes. Blood instantly spurted out of three stab wounds in my arm. The wind blew so fiercely that when I removed my first-ad kit from my backpack and opened it up, all of my band-aids flew away" (Strayed 57). Strayed's perceptive use of imagery allows us to see her struggle on her journey and see what she had to go through in order to achieve self-actualization. The audience is able to connect with her struggles and hardships to better understand Strayed's predicament.