TOW #13 – Lunch atop a Skyscraper

Taken in September of 1932, this photograph depicts eleven construction workers sitting across a steel bar in the final stages of building 30 Rockefeller Plaza (“Lunch atop a Skyscraper”). Not yet three years after the start of the Great Depression, during which America faced exhaustion and instability, this photograph encouraged development as a community. The photographer juxtaposes the city’s background to the construction workers as an effective way to compare America’s developments to the blue-collar workers. Considering the significant issues that were present during the Great Depression, including job loss and financial instability, this photograph shows men casually sitting across a life-threatening bar that overlooks the city. This shows the desperation of the workers given the time period, but it is also relevant to the companionship that the eleven workers share. Furthermore, the photographer includes the city’s background to show that, while in the desperation of the financial crisis, America continues to advance and industrialize. With the workers juxtaposed to the enormous city in the background, an appeal to pathos is made that characterizes the time period; desperation to have work, but hope for national stability. While unable to solve any of the issues presented during this time, this image captures the intense amount of hard work that Americans put into their occupations, allowing the nation to move forward and to continue the construction of public and private institutions, like the 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Given the desperate atmosphere of the early 1930s, this image successfully juxtaposes the huge city of New York to the tired construction workers leisurely eating lunch on a steel bar, clearly commenting on the weakness of America at the time while also encouraging America to focus on community and development. Hence, the photographer’s juxtaposition of construction workers in the foreground to the large city in the background allows a tired America to see hope towards stability.

Lunch atop a Skyscraper (Unknown)

Works Cited

“Lunch atop a Skyscraper.” Wikipedia, New York City, 4 Dec. 2016, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunch_atop_a_Skyscraper.

TOW #12 – Politics by Aristotle

Aristotle, historically significant for his impacts on today’s scientific method and schooling, outlines the groundwork of an ideal government in Politics (Editors). He directly clarifies, “Our purpose is to consider what form of political community is best for those who are most able to realize their ideal life,” (Aristotle 23) which indirectly suggests a hierarchy of value in society, which he elaborates upon. In order to defend this stance, Aristotle employs juxtaposition and allusions to other governments as a measure to continue his political teachings in his school. Aristotle attempts to establish the rudiments of family within a society to support the last part of his claim: “Now we should begin by examining everything in its fewest possible elements; and the first and fewest possible parts if a family are master and slave, husband and wife, father and children” (Aristotle 4). He uses these contrasting positions—being societal rank, gender role, and age respectively—to defend his argument that some people are more “able to realize their ideal life” and can therefore receive a higher representation in government. Through the obvious lack of altruism in this argument, Aristotle employs juxtaposition to weigh one class significantly higher than the other, all in his pursuit of his utopia. Furthermore, while considering the effectiveness of a governmental constitution, Aristotle alludes to an effective application in Sparta: “[Desire to maintain a permanent constitution] is the case in Sparta, where the kings desire its permanence because they have due honour in their own persons; the nobles because they are represented in the council of elders … and the people, because all are eligible to the Ephoralty” (Aristotle 46). In referencing this successful characteristic of a well-functioning society, Aristotle progresses in his own search for the perfect political society. After determining how the constitution in Sparta was applied with an effective framework, Aristotle strengthens his argument that a constitution should be included in government for support amongst classes. Attributable to his application of allusions, Aristotle had a brief attempt at an ideal government. However, because his juxtaposition of societal roles severely disregards the importance of equality, Aristotle’s analysis of an ideal government is not suitable for a modern audience, and hence, his ideology must be wholly rejected.

 

Works Cited

Aristotle. Politics. New York, NY, Barnes &Amp; Noble, Inc., 2005.

Editors, Biography.com. “Aristotle Biography.” The Biography.com Website, A&E Television Networks, 7 Nov. 2016, www.biography.com/people/aristotle-9188415#synopsis.

TOW #11 – Second Inaugural Address by Abraham Lincoln

In the midst of the Civil War, entering into his second term in office, President Abraham Lincoln delivered his inaugural address per the precedent established by Washington. Approximately four years after the start of the Civil War, Lincoln recognized the fragility of the Union and hoped to address the most significant issues in the United States (Staff). Employing juxtaposition, chiasmus, and anaphora, Lincoln uses rhetoric to produce an appeal to pathos and shift American perspectives during the Civil War. When introducing the intense topic of the lasting war between the Confederacy and the Union, Lincoln juxtaposes survival and death: “…one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish” (Lincoln 2). Establishing his position on the war, Lincoln weighs the purpose of war for the Confederacy and compares it to that of the Union. Claiming that the Union fights to heal the nation evokes patriotic emotions that can rebuild an exhausted population. Contrary to that one-sided position, Lincoln employs chiasmus to provide a common ground for the Confederates. Lincoln recognizes, “It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces,” instead proclaiming, “let us judge not, that we be not judged” (Lincoln 3). He responds to grievances in the Union, maintaining that while the shared reason for entering war was different from the Confederacy, they are still as responsible for participating. Thus, Lincoln builds towards a resolution to this lasting war between the North and the South. Lastly, Lincoln employs anaphora to make a call to action: “…let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds … to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations” (Lincoln 4). Including all Americans in a single nation, Lincoln makes one last attempt towards restoration of the country within his address. He recognizes the impact the war had on the divided nation, using anaphora to effectively unite the North and the South by listing the steps that must be taken. Considering the intensity and importance of the occasion, Lincoln employs juxtaposition, chiasmus, and anaphora, thereby showing a divided America that common ground is shared and that it is in the best interest of the rivals to restore peaceful relations under a single government.

Works Cited

Lincoln, Abraham. “Second Inaugural Address of Abraham Lincoln.” The Avalon Project, Yale Law School, 4 Mar. 1865, avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/lincoln2.asp.

Staff, History.com. “The Civil War Begins.” History.com, A+E Networks, 2009, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-civil-war-begins.