Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat

Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat is Winston Churchill's first speech to the House of Commons, as his new position as Prime Minister of Britain. He said the speech over the radio, in May 1940. The use of SOAPST in this speech helps create the overall tone. The subject of this piece is the change of government, and also war. The occasion is England May 1940. The audience is Parliament, and also the English citizens, because the speech was also heard through the radio. The purpose was to inform and to motivate all who listened. The speaker was the newly appointed Prime Minister of Britain, Winston Churchill. The overall tone felt serious, confident, progressive, and scary in a sense. The fact that normal people living out their everyday lives were able to hear this speech, Churchill had to make sure the speech did not come off as a hopeless plea, but instead, a very confident and to the point speech. He motivates everyone by assuring "victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory..." making it seem like a guarantee. Although the piece is confident, it is also says that there will be sacrifices from everyone, and that people will be lost, but that it is needed for Britain's survival. Speeches like this are what can make a difference in not only a few people's moral, but a whole countries.

Chemical Attacks in Syria

"Syrian 'Poison Gas' Attack By Government Forces Claimed By Opposition"
By Ryan Lucas
Source: The Huffington Post

Images from Syria have surfaced of lifeless children wrapped in what seem to be white body bags. The article says that the accused is said to be the Syrian government, who denies these claims by saying they are "absolutely baseless". The attack is said to have claimed from 136, to 1300 lives, with none of the bodies showing any signs of bruises, gunshot wounds, or blood. Almost all bodies seem to have died by a form of suffocation, and survivors are seen being taken away twitching, and with oxygen masks. The attack was on Wednesday, and other than the sound of guns, artillery and planes flying over head, clouds of gray smoke were seen over several towns. The White House calls chemical warfare "a red line" and that investigations occur for these allegations immediately. The fact that the Syrian government will go to such devastating lengths such as chemical warfare, this can pose a problem to many countries, the United States being one of them. These attacks killed women, children, and elderly, showing a complete lack of morality, and if these attacks can occur to their own citizens, nothing is stopping them from enacting this crime against other countries. If these accusations are investigated and found true, then this should be a warning to the U.S. and all other major countries. Nothing is considered immoral or too far anymore, and these events prove it. If this is to happen on a worldwide scale, then we should be prepared for the worst.

Of Mice and Men - My Favorite Book

Of Mice and Men is my favorite book that I have read to date. The story is about two friends, Lennie and George, attempting to make their dream of not having to listen to anyone, and "live off the fatta the land". The story of these two men begins during the Great Depression. Money is hard to come by, the work is hard, and everybody is affected. The story continues to talk about Lennie and George's work, and how they interact with the other workers. Lennie has a mild mental disability, making him act like a toddler, while he is depicted as a tall man with stature. This causes George to act as his caretaker. The bond between these two goes as far as two brothers, who have an unbreakable bond. The story of these two makes one feel extremely close with the characters. When the story starts taking turns in the tone, and the story of the two becomes grim and desperate, the book is near impossible to put down. The books comes ends with an ending that left me shocked and saddened. The book is not only telling a story of two friends, but also shows the difficult work and low pay of the time the novel is set. Some of Of Mice and Men's themes are, the extreme loneliness and need for a companion, the difficulty to reach your dreams, and human nature. I would recommend this book to all my peers and family members, because it shows the importance of finding friendship and trust in other people.

Deceptive Advertising

The picture above is a 1930s advertisement for "Luckies", a cigarette brand. The advertisement states that 20,679 doctors say that "Luckies"cigarettes, are less irritating than other cigarette brands. Around this time period, people were not aware of the dangers involved with smoking cigarettes, resulting in countless advertisements about them. This advertisement can be considered deceptive, because of it referring to doctors. Since the advertisement involves doctors saying something positive about the brand, consumers will be more likely to trust this advertisement, due to doctors being considered trustworthy and dependable. The ethos of this advertisement is how it refers to doctors. Since people trust doctors with their health and sometimes life, they can also trust them with their cigarette brand. The pathos is the way the advertisement is depicted. The ad shows a doctor holding a pack of "Luckies" cigarettes with a smiling face. This shows happiness and a kind environment, making the reader feel more comfortable and more persuaded by the ad. The logos is the  ad saying that "Luckies" cigarettes are less irritating than other brands. Logically a smoker would want to switch to a brand that would cause him less discomfort. The subject of the ad is "Luckies" cigarettes and how it is favorable over other brands. The audience is the large amount of smokers in the United States at the time the ad was published. The purpose is to get more people to buy and smoke "Luckies" cigarettes. The tone is friendly educated, and also confident. The occasion is not apparent, but all other points are strongly shown. The ad is effective, but was not the only one of its kind. Many other cigarette companies had advertisements that refer to doctors saying one brand is better than the other, resulting in competition and more sales. After the dangers of smoking were found, advertisements like these would be very rare to find.