Learn how to analyze and artifact and construct an argument about it

1. Lesson One: Rhetorical Situation and the Artifacts That Address Them. Inventing an Argument Over an Artifact

9. That’s what I really look like? D’oh!!

12. The Two Affect Each Other!

13. A rhetorical situation can be defined in three parts…

18. Never mind.

29. Donut = Yummy

30. Or...

31. Donut = American Culture

33. The person in the picture is female. This ad is directed towards women. The clock hints at time-management with concern to weight loss. Why only half a clock? To emphasize how exercise is not time consuming! Most interesting, a person who is already thin and fit is exercising rather than someone overweight. What does that say about fitness?

36. For Example.. Consider a woman at a poetry reading. She walks up on stage and from memory, recounts a poem about certain phases of her love life up until now. With every phase, her situation reminds her of a song, and she sings a few lines of these songs when she talks about how she felt throughout these stages. The audience laughs and she finishes with a smile.

38. I made something familiar- an enjoyable musical poem ending with smiles and applause- into something strange. This means questioning the meaning of the artifact, not just enjoying its effects For one, I noticed that the woman never made any concrete statements about her love life, she would simply allude to a song. Her situation was communicated by the lyrics and melody.

40. Another thing: the effect of the music was comical, even though her story ended with loneliness and apathy. Most people wouldn’t even consider why; there are a lot of times when bad situations are made fun of. This is because of the way an artifact presents those situations So once again, I made this familiar mechanism into something strange. Rather than just accepting what was presented, I asked why it was what it was. How does the music (artifact) and the comedy change the story (situation)? Why would the poet want that effect?

41. The music either over or under-exaggerated her state and desensitized the reality of the event, such as being left alone. She made something that can be as scary as being lost in the jungle funny with a song like “Mellow Yellow.” One can now see how this poet didn’t want to reconjure hurtful feelings, but rather laugh them off, and the music was one medium for doing just that.