WP2 Statement of Purpose

The purpose of my Writing Project 2 is to demonstrate how the Calvin and Hobbes comic I am writing about makes the argument that childhood is short and needs to be embraced. I will show this by explaining the technical elements of drawing style, paneling, and form and by explaining the ideals embodied in the comic through the dialogue and pictures. I want to show how these elements work to appeal to a large audience and support the argument of the comic.

The primary audience of my paper is my teacher, Mr. Ware, because he is the only person that is guaranteed to read it. In addition, he is the one grading me on my project, so I have to make sure my paper is effective and fulfills the requirements of the assignment. I need to make my writing unique so that it stands out from my classmates' writing projects that might be similar to mine, and I plan to do this by including information unique to my comic, such as background information on Calvin and Hobbes, as well as trying to introduce more specific concepts such as those talked about in "Compose, Design, Advocate" and the McCloud essay on the vocabulary of comics.

A potential potential audience is current and future English 151H students. These people may be looking at my blog as an example of the assignment, and because of this, I need to make sure my writing is a good representation of the writing project. Again, I have to keep in mind the guidelines of the assignment and write a paper that is as comprehensible and effective as it can be. Because these people may be using my paper to work on their own projects, I need my writing project to be excellent.

In addition, since my writing project will be posted to my blog, it will be available to anyone with internet access. This means that another secondary audience will be people browsing blogs or someone searching the internet. Because of this, I will have to keep my writing clear and concise so people who might not know about the specific technical elements and concepts we learned about in class will understand it.

Because the medium of this writing project will be a blog post, the context will be as part of the internet. This will allow me to use multimedia aspects such as pictures and hyperlinks to enhance the meaning of my essay. Besides including the comic I am assessing, I can post other relevant pictures to illustrate my points, and easily link to outside information sources. By doing this, I will be able to focus my writing on analyzing the comic and I won't have to provide in-depth explanations of background and additional information. If I were writing this project in a more traditional medium, such as a standard paper, I would not be able to do this.

This medium is also useful for appealing to my audience. My writing project can be easily reached from links on my classmate's blogs and on the main page for our class. Having it on the internet makes it highly accessible to anyone who might want or need to read it.

Overall, my goal for Writing Project 2 is convey the argument of the comic I am analyzing, and do this in a thorough, well-written paper. As this is the second writing project of the year, I hope to improve on my work in Writing Project 1. I think I will be able to do this because I have received extensive feedback from Writing Project 1, and I will use those suggestions in order to make my writing better.

WP2 Pre-writing 2

"Calvin and Hobbes" is a comic strip written by Bill Watterson. It ran from 1985 to 1995 as a newspaper comic, and now is available in several books. It is about a boy, Calvin, and his tiger, Hobbes and their adventures.

Calvin is named after John Calvin, and Hobbes is named after Thomas Hobbes. Hobbes the tiger, like Hobbes the philosopher, tends to be overly-realistic and pessimistic about human nature and is usually the mature voice of reason in the strip. Calvin is rambunctious and imaginative, and a bit philosophical and unreasonable at times.

When it is just Calvin and Hobbes shown in a panel, Hobbes is shown as an actual tiger. He can move and talk, and is Calvin's best friend. They do pretty much everything together because Calvin doesn't have a lot of human friends. When anybody else is in the panel with them, Hobbes is shown as a stuffed tiger. This makes you wonder what Hobbes really is. Is he really just part of Calvin's imagination? Often, the strip will show Hobbes attacking Calvin, and when Calvin's mom comes, she can see Calvin all beat up and wonders how Calvin could do that to himself. Another thing that makes Hobbes seem real is in one series, Hobbes sends Calvin several secret letters through the post office. Calvin's mom gives him the letters, and then later asks why he sends himself mail because she knew the letters were coming from their house.

Calvin is meant to be a six-year-old, but he also has a lot of adult tendencies, like using big words and criticizing politics, religion, society, and just about everything else. He is shown to be a typical kid when he does things like going to school, getting stuck with a babysitter, and playing with Hobbes, his tiger.

I think Calvin is a good example of people's inner child because he has both adult and kid-like characteristics, which usually is very funny. Because of this, a lot of people can relate to the strip, and it is very popular. A comic is a good medium for showing the idea of everyone's inner child because it is short, entertaining, and available to a lot of people. By making "Calvin and Hobbes" a comic strip, it also adds to the childishness of it. Kids read comics, but it is also geared towards adults. The medium makes it appeal to a broader audience and gives it a more universal appeal.

WP2 Pre-writing 1

This comic strip is "Calvin and Hobbes" by Bill Watterson. This particular comic shows Calvin complaining about doing his homework and eventually giving up on it to go play outside. I picked this because I love "Calvin and Hobbes" and because I think this comic strip is something most people, especially college kids, can relate too. I'm always putting off homework to go do something more fun, and this strip shows that is a universal ideal, applying to everyone in all levels of schooling.

The first panel shows how overwhelmed Calvin is by his homework. He has books and papers all over his desk, and his facial expression is clearly unhappy. The second panel reiterates this theme by showing the same scene from a different angle. Again, it is possible to see how much homework Calvin has to do, and by looking at the way Watterson drew him, he is not enthusiastic about it. As stated in chapter 15 of Compose, Design, Advocate, we can relate to the body language because we have bodies that function in the same way as the characters in the strip. The audience can relate to the level of frustration Calvin is feeling while he is stuck sitting at his desk doing homework.

The third panel shows a different scene than the first two, but it is clearly connected to the first two because it includes the same characters, and because in the second panel, Calvin says that he wants to go play outside, it is implied that is exactly what he did. Going outside and sledding is much more fun for Calvin, and the audience can see this by the smile on his face. The sled they are on appears to be "flying," implying a sense of freedom and adventure, very different from the confines of the desk and the homework.

The text in this strip is interesting, because Calvin is obviously talking to Hobbes, the tiger, because there is no one else around. However, Hobbes doesn't respond to anything Calvin says, which puts more emphasis on Calvin. Usually, Hobbes is the voice of reason for Calvin, but in this one, he doesn't try to talk Calvin out of not doing his homework. This supports the idea that, as Calvin says, "Childhood is short and maturity is forever." Since Hobbes accepts this, the audience is more likely to as well. Also, because the audience is able to relate to Calvin's situation, they feel more inclined to agree with him.

I think Calvin brings up a good point. It's usually not a good idea to blow off homework, but it's true that you have forever to be grown-up and mature. People have to be mature and responsible through most of their adult lives. Calvin embodies the inner-child in everyone, reminding us as the audience that it's good to take time to have fun and "be a kid."

WP1 Final Draft

Author's Statement:

As this was the first writing project of the semester, it was a bit of a learning experience. After writing my initial draft, I had to do a lot of reworking and editing in order to come up with my final product. I learned a lot through the editing and peer revision process, and I think it resulted in a good writing project.

In my first draft, I focused mainly on the Rwandan genocide as my context, and my argument was that the children in "Sitting on Rail" had been able to move on with their lives after the terrible experience that they have had. After doing the first round of peer editing and getting comments from my instructor, I realized that I had chosen to analyze the same photograph as a classmate, and that my historical context and argument was very similar to several other students'.

For my second draft then, I came up with a completely new argument that was better supported by the technical elements in the photograph. I also had to come up with a different historical context to differentiate my writing project from others. I chose to put minimal focus on the Rwandan genocide, and instead did most of my background information on the Imbabazi orphanage, where the photographer and the children in the photograph attended.

Also in my second draft, I reorganized the structure of my body paragraphs. I realized that some of my arguments were stronger than others, so I rearranged the paragraphs to put the most important one first. Originally, I had began the body of my writing project by talking about the coloration of the photo, but as I revised it, I realized that my paragraphs on visual hierarchy were more important and I had more information on that element, so I put that one first. I tried to expand on my existing points in order to provide more convincing support for my argument, and I had to alter some of the information I presented so it would support my new argument.

While I did the most revision between my first and second drafts, I did a lot of work on my second draft in order to make it good enough to be a final draft. I added in more background information about the photography project "Through the Eyes of Children" to further set it apart from other projects with similar contexts, and I did a lot of revising on the body. I expanded and clarified my supporting evidence, and I reworked my conclusion so it better wrapped up my essay. Again, I found the peer review to be very helpful. I got a lot of good suggestions from Kelli after the first review, and more from Ben after the second review. Most of these suggestions were things I would not have thought of myself, and I would not have been able to write as good of an essay.

Overall, I think my writing developed a lot through the writing and editing process. I was able to take a basic, rough draft and turn it into a better, more developed final copy. It was a long and sometimes difficult process, but it was a good experience because I learned a lot and it helped my writing and analytical skills.

Second Draft

First Draft

Statement of Purpose

Writing Project 1:

The photograph “Sitting on Rail” was taken by a boy named Musa in 2000 in western Rwanda, overlooking Lake Kivu. This was only six years after the end of the Rwandan genocide, a violent ethnic conflict between the Tutsis and the Hutus. In the aftermath of the genocide, the Imbabazi Orphanage was founded by Rosamond Carr, an American women living in Rwanda. About 95,000 Rwandan children had been killed or orphaned in the violence, and the orphanage was meant to be a place where children would be protected and cared for. "Imbabazi" literally means “a place where you will receive all the love and care a mother would give,” (Imbabazi.org) so it was a safe haven for the children amidst the conflict and suffering throughout Rwanda. Over 400 kids have lived at the orphanage, including Musa, the child who took this picture.

"Through the Eyes of Children" is a photography project started at the Imbabazi Orphanage. The program gave disposable cameras to the children to take "pictures for themselves and to share with others, exploring their community, and finding beauty as the country struggles to rebuild" (Rwandaproject.org). Originally intended only to be a hobby and a way for the orphaned children to share their experiences with each other, the photographs of the Rwanda Project were displayed at the U.S. Embassy in Kigali, the capitol of Rwanda, in 2001, and are now sold to help the children share their experiences with the world. The Rwanda Project allowed Musa to become a photographer, and more importantly, it gave him an opportunity to tell his story. Through technical elements such as visual hierarchy, coloration, vectors of attention, and framing the photograph evokes logos, pathos, and ethos. These elements are coupled with the cultural and historical context of the photograph to support the argument that though the children seem small and insignificant in the grand scheme of things, there is still hope for them.

The children and the rail they are sitting give an appeal to logos because these elements work to create a visual hierarchy—the eye is first drawn to the children, specifically the child in the yellow shirt sitting on the rail. He is seated higher than the rest of the children, and as a result, stands out more. The rest of the children are aligned, and the child seated on the rail breaks this repetition. He is also positioned near the center of the photograph, which further helps draw the eye toward him first, and makes him seem like the main subject in the photograph. This shows that though the expansive background may be overwhelming, the vastness of the lake and the sky is not the focus of the photograph. Instead it is the children, who stand out against the rest of the photograph, even though they seem small and insignificant in comparison. It is these children who seek to accomplish the seemingly impossible task of finding hope among the nothingness that is represented by the background.

Another appeal to logos is that the children sitting on the rail serve as a kind of visual separation between the sky and the water to better distinguish them. The top line of the rail is almost exactly where the horizon is in the background, which provides a clear distinction between the sky and the water that otherwise might not have been very noticeable. This serves as a backbone alignment for the photograph, further emphasizing the visual hierarchy. This also contributes to the argument because by visually breaking up the lake and the sky, the photograph makes these elements seem less daunting and overpowering, creating the potential for possibilities in the children. It shows that all is not lost in the expanse of sky and water.

One of the main appeals to pathos is the coloration of the photograph. The sky and the lake are very similar hues, so they would blend together and wouldn’t be very distinct, except for the separation by the rail. In addition, the colors in the background are very neutral. The sky and water are both a pale grayish-blue, and the ground is a light brownish-tan. These hues and the saturation of the hues elicit certain emotions with the viewer. The similarity of these hues contributes to the apparent vastness, and can make the audience feel a bit overwhelmed. The neutrality of the coloration gives a sense of bleakness and hopelessness. However, the different, darker hues of the children and their clothing contrast with the bland pale hues of the background. The boy in the yellow shirt sitting atop the rail and the boy in white sitting two to the left stand out in particular because of the slightly brighter hues of their clothing. This sets the children apart from the background and works with the visual hierarchy to make them the main focus of the photograph. By contrasting with the background, the children aren’t dwarfed by the impossibility imposed by the dreary hues. Instead, they are something more important—a sign of hope among the despair.

The children in the photograph are looking out across the lake. Thus, the vectors of attention are focused in that direction, away from the audience. This creates an appeal to pathos because it evokes a sense of curiosity in the audience. What are the children looking at? Where is their attention focused? Why is it so important that they all are looking at the same thing? The audience can't see what the children in the photograph can see so this in effect distances and separates the viewers from the photograph. An emotional connection is established through the curiosity, but it is a different emotional connection than there would be if the children were looking at the camera. Instead, the audience is positioned as an outsider looking in on the photograph instead of feeling like a part of it. This creates a sense of objectivity—the viewer can observe and take in the content of the photograph without forming emotions of sympathy that could arise if the children had been facing the photographer.

The framing of the photograph appeals to logos. The rail and the lake appear to go on forever on either side; there is no clear end in sight in the photograph. This adds to the sense of vastness and makes the children seem smaller and less significant compared to everything else. However, since the photo doesn't show how big the lake really is or how far the rail extends, the children take up the bulk of the picture and are still the main focus. By looking at the photograph, the viewer can infer about the photographer and how the photographer took this picture, appealing to ethos. The viewer appears to be where the photographer was standing, so the viewer puts himself in his place—standing behind the other children and observing them, again adding to the objectivity of the photograph. This also creates an appeal to pathos in the audience. By looking at the photograph as an objective outsider, the viewer can feel the emotional distance between themselves and the children in the photograph.

These elements present within the photo create appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos. The visual hierarchy, coloration, vectors of attention, and framing all work together within the photograph to emphasize the importance of the children juxtaposed against the expanse of the water and the sky in the background. These rhetorical strategies contribute to the overall argument that the children in the photograph may face a seemingly impossible situation, but there is still hope and possibility for change. At first glance, it is just a photograph of children looking out at a lake, but knowing the context sheds more light on the situation of the children at the orphanage and helps the viewer of the photograph to appreciate it more. “Sitting on Rail” shows that all is not lost for the Rwandan children, so often forgotten. With the help of the Rwanda Project, Musa, the photographer, helped to ensure that these children will be remembered and that their story will reach the rest of the world.

Works Cited

Rwanda: How the Genocide Happened. BBC news. 18 December 2008. 17 February 2010.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/1288230.stm.

Imbabazi: A Home for Hope. 17 February 2010. http://imbabazi.org/home.php.

Through the Eyes of Children. The Rwanda Project. 17 February 2010.http://www.rwandaproject.org/index.html.

WP1 Draft 2

The photograph “Sitting on Rail” was taken by a boy named Musa in 2000 in western Rwanda, overlooking Lake Kivu. This was only six years after the end of the Rwandan genocide, a violent ethnic conflict between the Tutsis and the Hutus. In the aftermath of the genocide, the Imbabazi Orphanage was founded by Rosamond Carr, an American women living in Rwanda at the time. About 95,000 Rwandan children had been killed or orphaned in the violence, and the orphanage was meant to be a place where children would be protected and cared for. "Imbabazi" literally means “a place where you will receive all the love and care a mother would give,” so it was a safe haven for the children amidst the conflict and suffering throughout Rwanda. Over 400 kids have lived at the orphanage, including Musa, the photographer who took this picture.

"Through the Eyes of Children" is a photography project started at the Imbabazi Orphanage. The program gave disposable cameras to the children to take "pictures for themselves and to share with others, exploring their community, and finding beauty as the country struggles to rebuild" (Rwandaproject.org). This project allowed Musa to become a photographer. Through technical elements such as visual hierarchy, coloration, vectors of attention, and framing the photograph evokes logos, pathos, and ethos. This is coupled with the cultural and historical context of the photograph to support the argument that though the children seem small and insignificant in the grand scheme of things, there is still hope for them.

The children and the rail they are sitting give an appeal to logos because these elements work to create a visual hierarchy—the eye is first drawn to the children, specifically the child in the yellow shirt sitting on the rail. He is seated higher than the rest of the children, and as a result, stands out more. The rest of the children are aligned, and the child seated on the rail breaks this repetition. He is also positioned near the center of the photograph, which further helps draw the eye toward him first, and makes him seem like the main subject in the photograph. This shows that though the expansive background may be overwhelming, the vastness of the lake and the sky is not the focus of the photograph. Instead it is the children, who seek to accomplish the seemingly impossible task of finding hope among the nothingness.

Another appeal to logos is that the children sitting on the rail serve as a kind of visual separation between the sky and the water to better distinguish them. The top line of the rail is almost exactly where the horizon is in the background, which provides a clear distinction between the sky and the water that otherwise might not have been very noticeable. This serves as a backbone alignment for the photograph, further emphasizing the visual hierarchy. This also contributes to the argument because by visually breaking up the lake and the sky, the photograph makes these elements seem less daunting and creates the potential for possibilities.

One of the main appeals to pathos is the coloration of the photograph. The sky and the lake are very similar hues, so they would blend together and wouldn’t be very distinct, except for the separation by the rail. In addition, the colors in the background are very neutral. The sky and water are both a pale grayish-blue, and the ground is a light brownish-tan. These hues and the saturation of the hues elicit certain emotions with the viewer. The similarity of these hues contributes to the apparent vastness, and can make the audience feel a bit overwhelmed. The neutrality of the coloration gives a sense of bleakness and hopelessness. However, the different hues of the children and their clothing contrast with the bland hues of the background. This sets the children apart from the background and works with the visual hierarchy to make them the main focus of the photograph. By contrasting with background, the children aren’t dwarfed by the impossibility imposed by the background hues. Instead, they are something more important—a sign of hope among the despair.

The children in the photograph are looking out across the lake. Thus, the vectors of attention are focused in that direction, away from the audience. This creates an appeal to pathos because it evokes a sense of curiosity in the audience. What are the children looking at? Where is their attention focused? Why is it so important that they all are looking at the same thing? The audience can't see what the children in the photograph can see so this in effect distances and separates the viewers from the photograph. An emotional connection is established through the curiosity, but there isn't as strong of an emotional connection as there would be if the children were looking at the camera. Instead, the audience is positioned as an outsider looking in on the photograph instead of feeling like a part of it. This creates a sense of objectivity—the viewer can observe and take in the content of the photograph without the emotions that would be associated with the children.

The framing of the photograph appeals to logos. The rail and the lake appear to go on forever on either side; there is no clear end in sight in the photograph. This adds to the sense of vastness and makes the children seem smaller and less significant compared to everything else. However, since the photo doesn't show how big the lake really is or how far the rail extends, the children take up the bulk of the picture and are still the main focus. By looking at the photograph, the viewer can infer about the photographer and how the photographer took this picture, appealing to ethos. The viewer appears to be where the photographer was standing, so the viewer puts himself in his place—standing behind the other children and observing them, again adding to the objectivity of the photograph. This also creates an appeal to pathos in the audience. Though looking at the photograph as an objective outsider, the viewer can feel the emotional distance between themselves and the children in the photograph.

The photograph employs several elements in appealing to ethos, pathos, and logos. The visual hierarchy, coloration, vectors of attention, and framing all work together within the photograph to emphasized the importance of the children juxtaposed against the expanse of the water and the sky in the background. These rhetorical strategies contribute to the overall argument that the children in the photograph may face a seemingly impossible situation, but there is still hope and possibility for change. Knowing the context sheds more light on the situation of the children at the orphanage and helps the viewer of the photograph to appreciate it more. At first glance, it is just a photograph of children looking out at a lake, but knowing the historical and cultural context of the photo appeals to the viewers' emotions, or pathos. “Sitting on Rail” shows what life is like for these children, so often forgotten. With the help of the Rwanda Project, Musa helped to ensure that these children will not be forgotten and that their story will reach the rest of the world.

Works Cited

Rwanda: How the Genocide Happened. BBC news. 18 December 2008. 17 February 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/1288230.stm.

Imbabazi: A Home for Hope. 17 February 2010. http://imbabazi.org/home.php.

Through the Eyes of Children. The Rwanda Project. 17 February 2010. http://www.rwandaproject.org/index.html.