TOW #20 – "Heart of a Soldier" by James B. Stewart

Depicting both the suffering and valor associated with war, the nonfiction book Heart of a Soldier written by James B. Stewart introduces several truths about war and soldiers: one of heroism, one of chaos, one of comraderie. To demonstrate these truths of war, Stewart employs symbolism of danger and rhetorical questioning to present difficulties in decision-making during war. After being told about a lion who was attacking the livestock in a village, Rescorla extended his duties to fully protect the citizens. As he stood facing the threat, he fired his rifle and killed the lion. To be worn on a necklace later during war, “Rescorla had two of the lion’s teeth … [which were considered] a good-luck charm” (Stewart 50). Rescorla later told Dan Hill, his comrade, “[t]hey say it gives you the heart of a lion,” (Stewart 50) representing the soldier’s strength and valor on the battlefield. Later in the book, Stewart employs rhetorical questioning to demonstrated Rescorla’s distress during war: “Why had they marched overland to Albany without air support … Why had there been no reconnaissance units, farther forward … Any why hadn’t they reacted immediately to the capture of two North Vietnamese regulars?” (Stewart 104). These three questions were asked in no particular direction; they were primarily sequenced by Stewart to display the chaotic thought-process of Rescorla during war. As Rescorla was revisiting decisions that were already made, Stewart effectively shows that soldiers are heroes who hold an enormous importance in society. Reflected in this rhetorical questioning is the disorder of war, assisting Stewarts purpose of presenting these truths in the former half of the nonfiction book. Evidently, Stewart, writing to many Americans who have not served in the military, was effective in achieving his purpose via his use of symbolism with lion teeth, as well as rhetorical questioning.

Works Cited

Stewart, James B. Heart of a Soldier: a Story of Love, Heroism, and September 11th. New York, NY, Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2003.

TOW #19 – “I'm a Democrat (and Ex-CIA) but the Spies Plotting against Trump Are out of Control” by Bryan Dean Wright

Written transparently by former CIA officer Bryan Dean Wright, the editorial “I'm a Democrat (and Ex-CIA) but the Spies Plotting against Trump Are out of Control” reflects the perspective that American spies are not following proper legal proceedings. The danger, Wright argues, lies in this invalid assumption of responsibility to investigate Trump’s relationship with Russia. It is evident that American spies must follow the appropriate legal process to truly preserve American democracy; what separates the treason of a CIA officer from that of an executive? Wright defends this argument by describing the “slippery slope of political tribalism,” (Wright) which is the expected reactionary process in America’s bipartisan system that would defeat effective democracy. It is apparent that both conservative and liberal power-seeking spies would disrupt the natural process of shifting executive power, and thus, we must heavily investigate spies to ensure they are working within their legal limits. Whereas the federal government recognizes the importance of investigating the relationship between Trump and Russia, Wright defends his position that this investigation must be carried out on a national level within “the Department of Justice or Congress” (Wright) to preserve American democracy. Written by a former CIA officer, who has assumed the legal responsibilities of this governmental position, this article shares a unique perspective with an immediate appeal to ethos. As an ex-CIA officer, Wright comments to liberal Americans that the proper process for checking the power of the President must be upheld. Furthermore, enforced by the Hatch Act, spies have a responsibility to stay out of governmental affairs unless they are designated specific permission to investigate a case. The Hatch Act reinforces the ideology that no spy – whether liberal or conservative – should assume the power to interfere with the American governmental process. In order to protect democracy, and in order to preserve our American identity, it is essential that Americans understand the risks associated with spies conducting private investigations under the law.

Works Cited

Wright, Bryan Dean. “I'm a Democrat (and Ex-CIA) but the Spies Plotting against Trump Are out of Control.” Fox News, FOX News Network, 18 Feb. 2017, www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/02/18/im-democrat-and-ex-cia-but-spies-plotting-against-trump-are-out-control.html. Accessed 19 Feb. 2017.

TOW #18 – Burly Tweed Cartoon by Thomas Nast

Thomas Nast's political cartoon portraying Burly Tweed

Thomas Nast’s cartoon featuring Burly Tweed, often portrayed as an overweight politician during the Gilded Age, had a significant impact in lessening Tweed’s power in New York City’s Tweed Ring. Placed in a position of power and control, Tweed manipulated the citizens of New York to fund his personal wealth, a sum of $200 million. Recognizing the apparent flaws of Tweed, Nast portrays him as a large figure with a money bag for a head to speak out against his fraud. Because “[h]onest citizens were cowed into silence [and p]rotesters found their tax assessments raised,” (Kennedy 505) Nast was placed in the difficult position of speaking out against Tweed’s fraud to the citizens of New York City. By using a money bag in place of Tweed’s head, Nast constructs an argument that many politicians, particularly Tweed, abuse their power to overrule the law. Additionally, Nast characterizes tweed by emphasizing his large size, particularly to emphasize his power over the government. Likewise, this portrayal of Tweed does not reflect him well, immediately assisting Nast to accomplish his purpose of showing the wrongdoings of Tweed and have him face prosecution. Tweed stands with his hands in his pockets to further the idea that he is hiding something from the government – an enormous sum of money that drove him to “[employ] bribery, graft, and fraudulent elections” (Kennedy 505). Evidently, Nast is taking a stance against a trend in the Gilded Age in which individuals were able to bypass the law for their own motivations. Furthermore, as speaking out individually against Tweed was proven ineffective by his retaliations, Nast was successful in relaying to the citizens of New York City that Tweed was wrongfully taking money. In drawing a money bag in place of his head and putting his hands in his pockets, Nast communicates nonverbally that change is necessary and that Tweed should face prosecution.

Works Cited

Bovsun, Mara. “How a Series of Political Cartoons by Artist Thomas Nast Helped Send William 'Boss' Tweed to Prison.” NY Daily News, 12 Dec. 2015, www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/ink-clink-cartoons-send-boss-tweed-jail-article-1.2463810.

Kennedy, David M., et al. “The Era of Good Stealings.” The American Pageant, 13th ed., Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA, 2006, pp. 505–506.

IRB Intro Post #3

To begin the second semester in the school year, I will be reading Heart of a Soldier written by James B. Stewart. As I have previously selected very political IRBs and TOWs, I want to refocus my interpretation to other forms of nonfiction works. Thus, Heart of a Soldier depicts a war hero who risks his own life helping others during the attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11. This book is suggested to delve into “war, love and comradeship, danger and heroism,” which are qualities that were not present in my previous IRBs. I hope to gain an even greater appreciation for nonfiction works, as this book will likely make a strong appeal to pathos.

TOW #17 – “The Future Is Now” by Katherine Anne Porter

Following the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in WWII, the globe was effectively destabilized and a strong nuclear threat remained even into the 21^st century.  Recognizing the immense danger posed by atomic weaponry, Porter’s 1950 essay “The Future Is Now” took an unclear stance that while atomic warfare is dangerous, it should not be a cause of major concern. Porter, recognizing that she was speaking to Americans following WWII, commanded that “[i]n his pride to explore his universe to its unimaginable limits and to exceed his possible powers, [humans have] at last produced an embarrassing series of engines too powerful for their containers,” (Porter 196) which suggests Porter’s disapproval of atomic warfare. Later, she maintains, “I fail entirely to see why it is more criminal to kill a few thousand persons in one instant than it is to kill the same number slowly over a period of time,” (Porter 198) effectively delivering a counterargument to the destructiveness and damage caused by atomic bombs. Likewise, Porter upholds that “the invention of every new weapon of war has always been greeted with horror and righteous indignation,” (Porter 197) essentially stating that while there is fear surrounding the atomic bomb, we must move forward as a society. Evidently, the threat of nuclear arms is a constant topic of discussion even today in 2017, a clear disruption of global communication and cooperation. Thus, Porter underestimated the impact of this new warfare entirely, as it redefined military balance of power to require these incalculably destructive bombs. She optimistically exclaims, “it may be that what we have is a world not on the verge of flying apart, but an uncreated one … still in shapeless fragments,” (Porter 198) suggesting that atomic bombs will likely not cause global tensions. Still in the early stages of this new type of warfare, Porter did not effectively recognize the long-term impacts that these immediate threats may pose on a global level, invalidating a central position of her argument.

Works Cited

Porter, Katherine Anne. “The Future Is Now.” The Best American Essays of the Century, Edited by Joyce Carol Oates and Robert Atwan, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, MA, 2000, pp. 193–198.