Digital Receipt # 8
Harin Dharmasena
TR 2:00-3:15pm | jessericeevans@gmail.com | https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82719242667?pwd=aGlZQzR0a2p4VWhnNEM5RzZMU3ZGQT09
Harin Dharmasena
Harin Dharmasena
Digital Receipt #3
Reading, Listening, Viewing
This week I spent approximately 1 hour going over the week number 2 assignment responses. From the documents, I chose two peers’ responses. I understood each one and was able to figure out how they used rhetorical analysis. I spent time making sure that I understood everything in the document. I went over their responses and how they used rhetorical analysis.
Writing
This week our only writing assignment was to respond to two peers’ week 2 responses. We were to take comments on them by asking, what did you learn from this post? what questions do you have for the post’s author? This took me about 20 to 30 minutes in total to do, as I was slowly figuring out what my peers had written about. After I was able to comment on their responses and complete the assignment. During this assignment, I worked at a normal speed trying to learn what the assignment was asking for. I do not believe that I struggled at this yet did my best.
Providing & Responding to Feedback
As this is the third week of assignments for this course, I have not really received any feedback yet but am hoping to get some feedback on how to better improve my digital receipts and how to further understand what I need to improve upon.
Reflecting
I learned how to give feedback on my peer’s work and better use the comments feature. I think I completed the assignment as best as I could, although I hope to learn with future assignments. I am slowly learning how to take what I learned from my peers and implement it into my future assignments. I have a basic understanding of the WLLN Assignment prompt and am looking forward to receiving feedback on my assignment on how to better improve.
Collaborating
Thus, because it is the third week of class, and I have only had such a few times with my classmates, but I have collaborated and given my feedback to my peers. I have introduced myself through the course site and through our week #1 and week #2 assignments. Other than that, I haven’t had much communication besides the comments I have given, I am looking forward to collaborating and working with my peers in the coming weeks.
Teresa Calcano
Oct. 24, 2022
Prof. Rice-Evans
While writing this paper, I began to tailor it with the audience by explaining in detail how I got into literature. That’s why I had explained what happened to me in 9th grade with learning new things about literature like foreshadowing. Which later on affected me into watching more stories in media like Black Mirror, Attack on Titan, Death Note and more shows. I then begin to explain one of those shows that is Black Mirror to show how much detail was placed into it. This should hopefully show the viewer on why I like this aspect of literature and an example of that being used in a show. What I noticed when I wrote this was that I was able to write a lot more than I thought because in some other papers I would have a harder time to write more things in it to meet the quota on how much should be written. Here not so much due to the subject being something I enjoy to see and explaining it was pretty nice and relaxing. Another insight was my writing seems basic where I have simple English, I don’t say any complicated words just using simple words. I have seen it in my other works too where I don’t use more complex words or sentences I think anyways. Concepts that have impacted my piece as well as the author since it seems the creators for at least Black mirror have made sure to explain more things of the episode they made and how they placed a lot of detail in it. Whether one was having music that represented the characters personalities or how they took inspiration from things that had happened in real life.
Stories have interested me in the past but those were mainly from what I remember shows from tv like Spider man or Spongebob. Books I had mainly seen when I needed to but I would usually choose magic treehouse series of books because I did like the stories and adventures the characters get me. They were all interesting but I haven’t known them much other than being fun until 9th grade. 9th grade I had an English class which was okay during the beginning, however when we reach I think the middle and end of the year. We began to learn about literary devices, they are an aspect of writing that can be identified and help it out. Only one that has stuck with me to this day was foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is when a hint to something that happens in the story in the future. This had me interested a lot when I heard about it and the reading I think we had and analyzed was the Veldt. In there it had some analyzing we had to do and one I remembered while writing this was the lions. In the end of the story the lions had eaten some people, this was possibly foreshadowed with how in the beginning it talked about lions eating and it heading to drink water, exactly what it had done at the end of the story. This was a spark of interest with things later on in the future furthering my interest, an example was a show they revealed in that class being Black Mirror. It led to me searching the show with how interesting the concept was and how much detail is placed into each episode which has its own story in them. They had introduced a new literary device that was symbolism. Symbolism is things that tend to represent other things. An example could be using pink to represent love or red to represent something dangerous. These two literary devices had me look into more shows and enjoy stories even more with them. Some of these shows or stories were Attack on Titan, Death Note, Xenoblade and possibly more that I can’t think of off the top of my head.
Black Mirror is a show about technology and how people are seen using the technology. It’s a dark show at times showing how technology can affect people in the future, whether it’s by a rate system people can do to others that determine their status in the world or making digital clones of people. All the episodes have their own stories making it an anthology series that can have some references to previous episodes. They also contain some details whether it’s symbolism or foreshadowing.
An example of symbolism was in the episode “15 million merits” with the main character receiving a hand crafted penguin statue, representing it being much more real and heartwarming. Then at the end he receives a penguin statue that’s made from a factory, this is to show at the start he was willing to fight the system they had lived on. This was a system where to get a better life you needed some celebrity like America’s Got Talent. However, when he vented his frustration he then gained his own show about saying he will fight the system and tell everyone to not give up. That is all an act for a show, revealing he traded his will to fight for a good cause to get a better lifestyle which could be debated is still not real. Another instance with symbolism and also foreshadowing was “Black Christmas”, in a scene there are two people about to have alone time. There is a wall with three Xs that glow red which indicate the situation they are in on both that part but also the violence that will soon happen. There was another shot with the girl leaving only to then be followed up by a scene with a character sharpening his knife. There are more scenes and episodes that show something like, I recommend checking it out at least the first few seasons.
When discovering literature it can be nice to see the little details that soon become prevalent later on makes me see how much care was placed into writing the stories. Showing how everything is connected made me even want to try writing stories myself. Due to how great it can be to see a story come together, the lessons shown, small bits to show something grander later on. It has made me watch more stories mainly in anime, games and sometimes some books. The stories have also impacted me like Black Mirror with the technology being shown in the series becoming more and more real which scares me.
Like the dogs from metalhead or the app that lets people review others on how they act from the episode nosedive. I hope to soon learn more about stories and what they offer to the readers.
Harin Dharmasena
Professor Rice-Evans
ENGL 11000
18 September 2022
WLLN Draft
To me, my language brings back many interesting and significant memories. I only recognized its significance later on and how it made me different from my American peers in the classroom. A specific moment that comes to me would be one of the earliest moments I can recall, in my early years of schooling. While I was learning to interact in two completely different languages. Which were English and Sinhala, and constantly facing confusion while learning them. Although becoming bilingual now seems easy I see how difficult it truly was for my past self. While other kids growing up only had to figure out one language. Whereas I, just like many other first-generation ethnic kids, had to figure out but also become fluent in their second language. To be honest I at one point was jealous of that but now I see how the struggles of growing with two languages are such a blessing. When it comes to growing up bilingual, it is a blessing in disguise, with both positive and negative effects.
A specific moment that comes to me vividly when thinking about languages would be when I was about four or five. Whereat home my mother would talk in a mix of English and Sinhala to teach me both languages. Then when it came to outside of the house such as school, I would hear and interact with English alone. Which as a little kid would create a lot of confusion. Later my parents told me that I would not speak at all no matter if it was at home or school. Then resulted in me was a speech and language therapist from five to seven years old. During this experience I remember feeling not only confusion but embarrassment. It made me embarrassed of culture and who I was. Languages for me made me ashamed of who I was, it created unneeded confusion and grit. This was a significant memory to me because later I recognized how different I was from my white American peers in the classroom. It further clarified to me how if I were like the kids, I envied I would not have these struggles at all.
It might seem easy to grow up bilingual, but it is difficult as a kid. Something many first generation or immigrant kids understand far too well. I cannot speak for all but at least for me in my early years I had a lot of confusion. I recall frequently as a kid reading and while doing so, I would translate a sentence in my head slowing down the pace I was reading at. So, where it would take other kids five minutes to read a paragraph it would take me 10 minutes. Something I was constantly annoyed by and later fixed. This was another significant memory for me because I would wonder why the other kids were not reading like I was, then I realized going to schools with little to no diversity was why the other kids had less confusion. The confusion I think stems from growing up as American but then also connecting to another part of you as well. As a kid, I would say I was embarrassed of my own ethnic background, but now I see it as something to be proud of. What I mean by this is that for me language is not just a way to communicate but it can be a part of one’s identity.
Language now can only be seen as an advantage for me. It connects people to their culture and heritage, which is something important to people of any minority growing up in this country. Language helps people of any minority connect with the food, smells, and traditions in their culture. Language helps eliminate the difference you feel about yourself in this country. Language not only gives you a deeper understanding of your culture and heritage but also one of yourself and your identity. Now I see how language is such a crucial aspect in anyone’s life, especially those of minority people. My development in languages would be because of my mother as a child she not only made it her responsibility to make sure I understand English, but also the Sinhalese language. She made sure to teach me to read, write, and speak English outside of school while also on the side teaching me all about pronunciation and writing of Sinhala. She was able to teach me all of this from an early age and did so because she knew it would be easier to become fluent in another language if you started early on. She understood that although I was American-born, I was still different from what people consider as an American. It helped my present self be in touch with my ethnic background while also still being American.
The ways I see my capabilities in language, reading, and writing impacting my life would all be positive. My two languages allow me to be in touch with both cultures I grew up with, American and Sri Lankan. I get to have the advantage of connecting with people through either language. My experience truly gives me the ability to connect with my race and family, I get to communicate with other people of my culture and learn more about my history. Being fluent in two languages now I only can be seen as a positive impact and allows for a particularly important understanding of oneself. Language not only gives me a way to communicate but a way to identify with myself.
A question I have is have there been more examples of having gamification done in schools and seeing the results of that?
When remembering a moment with rhetoric used was an ad I saw in Youtube done by Peta I think. It started with an owl screaming which probably appeals to pathos. Due to no one liking to hear an animal in pain and then would proceed by mentioning how experiments were being done with the owl, while the owl screaming is still being played. Another instance of rhetoric I saw being used was St Jude Children’s Research hospital with how they show children in hospitals and having small interviews with them. This appeal to pathos with how children in pain ain’t great to see. Possible people who are affected by that could be parents because of how parents tend to be close to children so it would appeal to their hearts. I would think in a rhetorical way when I choose what to wear to head outside sometimes. This is mainly done by me wearing long sleeves more than short sleeves. A bit of that has to do with me not wanting to show too much skin and being self conscious of what others think. During some ads I watch on tv tend to sell medicine or devices that could help out people. They would always mention that the product is always approved by a doctor which is a sign of ethos. That’s due to a credible person approving of the item which is a doctor, who’s fields are usually on people’s health. Cell phone services would make ads saying they have great networks by showing how far a phone can be used without WIFI. The rhetoric used would be logos because they show a map of the United States and how their service would cover most of the place, they even put side by side with another competitor network service to show they have the better service.
Rhetorical analysis analyzes the symbolic artifacts of discourse—the words, phrases, images, gestures, performances, texts, films, etc. It involves three different parts which are ethos , logos , and pathos. Logos use data , evidence , and statistics to convey their argument . Pathos uses the audience’s emotion to persuade them for what they are trying to advertise . Ethos is the writers credibility and their character to move the audience to agree with them. I see that rhetorical analysis can also be viewed as a subconscious thing most people don’t even know that they’re doing it . For example while waiting for the train you see another person, you might make a inference based on what they wear, what kind of hairstyle they have , what type of purse/backpack their wearing. Others might call this being judgemental but it can really be viewed as rhetorical analysis. A way how i might participate in rhetorical analysis is me picking what to wear everyday. While most people dress on how they or the weather but I dress on how others might see my outfit, the type of message that certain colors might, and what type of person they might view me as .