Saying Goodbye to 101-203: This Journey Will Lead Me to Another

Before saying goodbye to this course, my classmates and my instructor, I have one last opportunity to blog about the course. I have to say that this course kept me extremely busy. In fact, so busy that sometimes I would have to push my work on my other courses to the side in order to meet the deadlines. I think this is one of the only things I did not like about this course. Considering the amount of insight the course gave me about writing and what I am capable of achieving, however, does balance things out. I found I love writing and being able to voice my point of view through writing.


It is interesting to work with someone about my work and help guide me along the way. It is refreshing when I get more than the perspective of the instructor as well. I  am able to work side by side (or laptop by laptop) with my classmates as we tried to make sense of the course and each other. I especially want to thank both Sarah and Ahmad for the hard work they did on my peer reviews. I hope my classmates also enjoyed my peer reviews. It was wonderful to see what others wrote when interpreting the same subject from different perspectives. 


I would like to thank Rachael for everything she has done for me. She has worked hard to make sure I understand the course and the material I worked with. She showed interest in trying to make me do my best work, which illustrates how valuable she is as a teacher. She definitely likes to play with words and I like that about her. You've got my "props" girl!


If anyone would like to continue to read my blogs I will continue to post from time to time. In case you don't know where to find me, you can look me up at cjcool76@blogspot.com. Always feel free to post a comment, question or a link to find you. Good luck in all your endeavors and Happy Holidays!

Delusions in the Aftermath of the Deluge

September 1^st of 2005 was a horrible day for most people in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Josh Neufeld decided to write his comic: ”A.D. – New Orleans: After the Deluge,” which captures the suffering and loss of refugees after Katrina. Neufeld not only shows the problems the refugees of Hurricane Katrina faced, but he also shows how the government’s and the outside public’s response to the situation were utterly unacceptable.

Neufeld starts his comic on Thursday, September 1, around 10:30am at a New Orleans Convention Center and shows how the day progresses from here with a female character who he follows throughout the entire comic. The woman (who remains unnamed throughout the comic) starts in a place where she used to work (the convention center) which is filthy from top to bottom. She is stuck in this place with what looks like hundreds of refugees after the catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina. The day seems to be really hot because all of the characters are perspiring profusely. What Neufeld shows throughout the comic is how they are all stranded without any survival supplies like food, water or medicines while waiting and hoping to be rescued. Tempers flare as more refugees are brought in and government relief is nowhere to be seen. An elderly woman dies just as their survival is already looking bleak and panic has set in leaving our female character with her final and powerful words, “They are trying to kill us all.”(237)

The comic starts with how grotesque the convention center was by a panel showing us our female character (let’s just call her F.C.) entering a ladies restroom with urine, feces and toilet paper all over the floor and sludge and grime everywhere, not to mention an odd looking woman in the middle of the restroom (not in a stall) squatting with her pants down “taking care of business”. This is a very fast “attention getter” in this comic and definitely points out the disgusting conditions in which the refugees were left to survive in. Neufeld illustrates the comic in a pale yellow hue for most of the characters and their surroundings. Neufeld contrasts this with a reddish-brown hue to shadow or outline the characters and surroundings. Neufeld uses these colors throughout his comic strip to cast pallor over these scenes that would not have the same emotional impact in plain black and white. It is a stagnating, sickish feeling that Neufeld wants to convey to his audience that sets the tone for a feeling of disgust and despair for the conditions in the convention center. After using the facilities, F.C. exits the convention center claiming; “Now how the hell am I going to get this shit off my shoes?” and comes to what looks like a crowd of hundreds (216 – 218).

At this point two police officers drive by and on their microphone announce, “Attention, people…The buses are on their way. Get yourselves lined up!” (219). Here Neufeld draws one of the policemen with an almost sinister smile while simultaneously giving a “thumbs up” to the crowd (219). While waiting for the buses, a water truck drives by as people are running behind it shouting, “WATER! We jus’ need water!” and “HELP!” This panel makes it look as though the water truck is not going to stop because the back door of the truck is open and inside readers can see cases of water and a man who is doing nothing but staring back at the refugees (220). Then, a couple of panels later F.C. states, “They bring us here, with no power, no sanitation, no food, no medicine – and they can’t give us water? It’s like some kind of sick joke!” (221). This part of Neufeld’s comic stresses the desperation of the refugees due to the lack of relief from government agencies. He revisits this later in the comic with the Police in an All-Terrain Vehicle, holding out their rifles, as they drive past the refugees who are sweating and pleading for water. Neufeld draws the sun beating down in this panel to emphasize the heat of the day. Here again the yellow and reddish-brown hues convey the disgust and despair of this situation (226).

Neufeld suggests bad communication among government officials when the buses that arrived were not there to pick them up but instead, dropped off more refugees adding to the overly crowded conditions.  He illustrates this by a heavyset character who stepped off the bus wearing a jersey, with a big number “5” on it, and is holding a very tiny girl who asks, “Please – any y’all got some water? My baby’s dehydrated. We was on a roof for 36 hours!” He approaches a man with water and starts to fight him for it until a couple of tough looking characters break it up. Then we see the heavyset guy on his knees, holding out the limp little girl and he has tears running down his face as he pleads, “But…you gotta help me…What am I s’posed to do with her?” (221 – 225). Neufeld created this panel as a universal appeal to his audience for compassion and understanding towards these citizens who were victims, not only of Hurricane Katrina, but of a government incapable of responding adequately. Neufeld definitely hit my heart with this by placing just the father and the limp little girl in a two page panel with nothing else around them. All readers see is a father and child and their suffering. It is sad and disturbing to see a father, whose little girl might die before him as he is helpless to help her.

September 1, 2005 at 4:03pm, the “thugs” come back with supplies that they looted from a nearby store and start handing them out to all the refugees. Neufeld surprises his readers a few times in this comic with tough looking men (who F.C. refers to as “thugs”) more concerned with the well-being of these citizens than our own government officials. They keep the peace, make people feel safe, and bring much needed supplies. They even tend to the elderly as Neufeld shows in the first panel of page 229. Neufeld keeps this notion as a background but brings it more alive at this point by having F.C. say, “And look how organized they are, making sure the sick ones and the old folks get what they need first…” (229). Neufeld demonstrates this to argue once again, how our government is more disorganized than the crime element of our society.

Neufeld also touches on how the outside public viewed these events after Hurricane Katrina. Neufeld draws several panels showing a couple who are driving in Muskogee, Oklahoma at 5:31pm on September 1, 2005. Unable to receive any phone service the couple decides to turn on the news only to hear, “All those folks in the Superdome and whatnot – why didn’t they just leave the city before the storm? What is wrong with those people?” Neufeld counter argues blaming refugees and points out the flaw of this kind of reasoning. It is easy for persons not directly affected to look at a situation and make accusatory judgments and unjust assumptions. Do we really know that everyone in New Orleans had viable options to evacuate in an efficient manner? This is why the couple refutes this by stating, “…when you take for granted you can hop on a computer and make a reservation at a Hilton five hundred miles away – it’s pretty easy to forget what it’s like to be a have-not” (232). In this comment, Neufeld infers the detachment with which many of our citizens view events outside of our immediate locale. He places this in the comic to remind us that people with low to zero resources don’t have the same advantages as those who do, and we really need to think carefully before making  a presumption about a situation we have absolutely no idea about.

From here nothing but panic ensued. Then the old lady that one of the “thugs” helped, dies. There was nothing they could do but leave her in her wheel chair and cover her with a blanket as she laid, dead, in the entrance of the convention center. One of the characters little girls asks, “Mama, she sleeping?” The mother replies while sniffling, “Yes, baby…” but the little girl knows better and starts to cry. The refugees own perception of their circumstances transition from one of wondering when, not if, help will arrive; “Oh shit here we go again…What’s this, like the fourth time they told us buses were coming?” (219). Later in the comic there is bewilderment on the part of the refugees as F.C. wonders (230), “How can this be happening? Don’t the authorities know about us? Don’t they care?” (230). Then in the final panel, the feeling of complete despair and disbelief as F.C. exclaims, “They are trying to kill us all” (237). What Neufeld is displaying in the last panel of his comic is that all of this is the consequence of a horribly unorganized government that had absolutely no concern for the citizens whom they are responsible for.

Neufeld has demonstrated through his comic how the supposed “thugs” were better and more organized at taking care of our society, how our government made feeble attempts in aiding those in need, and the consequences of the unethical choices of our government officials. It is devastating that no one was able to come to the aid of the refugees in New Orleans after Katrina.  Our government failed in multiple areas and we need to hold all government officials involved accountable. If we don’t let them know there are consequences for their actions (or inactions in this case), then they possibly might just “kill us all” (237).

Works Cited

Neufeld, Josh. “A.D. New Orleans After the Deluge.”  First Year Composition Reader. Boston: Pearson, 2011. Print. 215-237.

Reflective Essay Draft

The Blood, Sweat, Tears and Joy of Writing

Although writing can sometimes seem easy to some people I can truly say that it is not simple. There is much complexity involved in writing something good and tangible. There is also a feeling of great accomplishment when you write something that you know can reach a wide audience. I had the pleasure of reading two different authors writing styles and techniques. Both of these authors displayed their works in different forms. Josh Neufeld illustrated his writings in a graphic novel form (a comic) and Tom Junod presented his writings in the form of an article. Even though both used very different mediums that distinguished one from the other, their issues were very similar. They both felt compelled to write about a disaster in our American history and provided us with a glimpse of how these disasters affected not only the victims but the general publics and the media’s perception of both the events and the victims. Neufeld’s disaster was a natural disaster that left its victims feeling neglected, forgotten or even purposely discriminated against. Junod’s disaster was a manmade disaster that counted among its victims not only those who died or were seriously injured but an entire nation that was shaken to its very core by the unexpectedness and the audacity of the event. Each event is viewed from a historical perspective that is shaped by human nature and American culture.

These events caused people to re-examine some part of their existence that had always been taken for granted as an American.  Neufeld’s comic illustrates the confusion and disgust of the people that were victims of hurricane Katrina.  In the aftermath of the disaster his story speaks for the victims and asks his audience to identify with the victims. Junod’s article takes an iconic image from 9/11 and gives his readers a glimpse into the publics and the media’s response to the image while at the same time trying to identify the man in the image. Junod asks his audience to see past censorship of the image. Instead the audience should see the image as a reflection of our individual freedom. The other commonality that these writers share is the way they wanted to change our perceptions of how we view these disasters. Also they demonstrated to me how persuasive writing can be. I feel that I learned a lot about writing technique.

Neufeld’s argument was so persuasive that it made me very angry at our government official’s inability to manage the relief effort following the disaster. In order to persuade my readers that they too should feel this way I chose quotes from Neufeld’s characters in the comic that I felt highlighted the increasing anger and disgust the victims felt.  I also made sure to interpret the colors used along with a description of certain panels to make the readers understand Neufeld’s point of view in relation to mine. This allowed me to make sure my readers understood the disgust and desperation of the victims. As for Junod’s article, I very much liked the way he took a photograph of a terrible tragedy in progress, a photo that initially was seen as too raw, too painful to view and he asked us to look at it again and to remember it. Even though he released his article about two years after 9/11 he was still courageous enough to make a statement regarding the jumpers of 9/11, an overwhelming and controversial topic ‘til this day. He wanted us to remember them as heroes, not a dirty little secret that America should sweep under the rug. I agree with his argument and thought that it would be good for me to pass this on to my readers. In order to do this I had to highlight the points of view collected by Junod of the media, the public and the families involved in his article. This was the only way for me to display the incorporated deniability with regards to the jumpers. Through the use of a plain writing style of my own and citing examples of the writers’ quotes, I was able to connect my audience with what the two authors had written had written and was able to use their quotes as evidence for my audience. In my interpretive essays on these two subjects, I thought it would be best for the audience to understand my point of view with each of the writers’ points of view as well as my interpretation of them.

What I did with Neufeld was first decide what panels and quotes that I wanted to use. I wanted to make sure to use those that would strengthen my argument. This supports my point of view especially when the evidence I use coincides with the points that I want to make in my argument. I needed my audience to know what Neufeld illustrated in his comic. This is the key to making an emotional appeal to my audience. I used my summaries of his panels to explain my interpretations in the best detail possible:

“The comic starts with how grotesque the convention center was by a panel showing us our female character (let’s just call her F.C.) entering a ladies restroom with urine, feces and toilet paper all over the floor and sludge and grime everywhere, not to mention an odd looking woman in the middle of the restroom (not in a stall) squatting with her pants down ‘taking care of business’” (Ferreira 2).

            After writing this I knew the first thing my readers would think is, “Eeeeww!” This definitely ensured that I had my audience’s attention. Then after summarizing the scene of the panel I would interpret what the scene means to me:

“This is a very fast ‘attention getter’ in this comic and definitely points out the disgusting conditions in which the refugees were left to survive in” (Ferreira 2).

            All I had to do after this was blend in my point of view with Neufeld’s point of view in order to strengthen the evidence I had presented:

“The comic is illustrated in a pale yellow hue used for most of the characters and their surroundings. This is contrasted with a reddish-brown hue used to shadow or outline the characters and surroundings. Neufeld used these colors throughout his comic strip to cast pallor over these scenes that would not have the same emotional impact in plain black and white. It is a stagnating, sickish feeling that Neufeld wants to convey to his audience that sets the tone for a feeling of disgust and despair for the conditions in the convention center.”

            Since Junod only used one photograph and wrote about it in the form of an article, I had to slightly change my technique by first summarizing his article and then using quotes to establish emotional appeal as well as strengthen the arguments of my interpretation. With Junod this tactic became a little more difficult. Mainly because there was so much to his article that I had to sift through it repeatedly in order to discover what would work best when interpreting his article. The problem was some of things that I would have liked to use could have invalidated my evidence or drawn attention away from my goal of convincing my audience that they too should look and remember. I had to be very careful on what I could use and also how I should display it. For example:

“One hit a fireman on the ground and killed him; the fireman’s body was anointed by Father Mychal Judge, whose own death, shortly thereafter, was embraced as an example of martyrdom after the photograph – the redemptive tableau – of firefighters carrying his body from the rubble made its way around the world” (Junod 71).

If I had used this quote from Junod I was afraid my audience would struggle over the same questions that I struggled with as I read this quote, such as, remembering the priest as a martyr. Why? Did everyone forget that he killed another person by jumping? And why did they forget? Is it because he was a priest? Was this priest a part of a religion that condemns suicide as a great sin? And why is it that he should have more recognition than the Falling Man or any other jumper for that matter? I felt that some people might question my intentions if I posed these questions. Would my readers react as though I were attacking ‘the church’ or something? I did not want my readers too focused on religious arguments. I wanted them to think more about the Falling Man.

Both of these writers had influenced me on how writing can be a complexity to enjoy. Sure you have to deal with the paper cuts (the Blood), the deadlines (the Sweat), and the frustrations when what you wrote at first doesn’t come out right (the Tears). However, when you write something that can persuade a person to open their minds to new points of view or different concepts, well… that is a ball of sunshine that will never go away (the Joy).

Works Cited

Neufeld, Josh. “A.D. New Orleans After the Deluge.”  First Year Composition Reader. Boston: Pearson, 2011. Print. 215-237.

Tom Junod, “The Falling Man.”  First Year Composition Reader. Boston: Pearson, 2011. Print. 69-80.

Ferreira, Carlos. “Interpretations of ‘A.D. New Orleans After the Deluge’ by Josh Neufeld.”

Ferreira Carlos. “Interpretive Essay of ‘The Falling Man’ by Tom Junod.”

Ferreira, Carlos. “Working with Direct Quotes and Paraphrases While Interpreting: The Falling Man, by Tom Junod.” From My Finger Tips. Blogspot.com. 10 Nov. 2011. Web. 28 Nov. 2011.

Reflecting On My Writing

 As I began writing my first interpretive essay I struggled with what was expected of me as a writer which led me to over-think what my rhetorical audience should be. Because of this I had trouble defining my purpose as well as my context, medium and strategy. My instructor said; "This draft is impressive, considering that you had a bit of a rough start figuring out what I was going for in the thesis/statement of purpose assignment." It wasn't until my revision that I realized that I can use Kalman's essay as a structural model in which I could write my essay. By looking at how she interpreted the world around her gave me insight on how I should interpret her essay. This allowed me to understand my purpose, context, audience and gave me a sense of what my medium should be. I used this same strategy with my next two essays.


For the Neufeld essay I discovered that my essay should convey the disgust the comic made me feel when I read  it. It made me feel a sense of disgust toward our government, our media, and disgust of what society feels about the lower class or those below the poverty line - that they are just not that important. Because this was a comic though I felt a strange need to mention the colors that he used. I thought that I should demonstrate how these colors blended with the story that he told, how effective his drawings were and how his characters sprung to life. I think these things were effective and influential in telling his story. 


Junod's article was a little more difficult though. I had a hard time figuring out what I want to mention because he gave us so much material to work with. My purpose was clear - I didn't want the Falling Man to be forgotten either. Junod's article was touching and inspirational and I wanted to make sure that this essay would give my audience the same remarkable feelings that Junod gave me. This I used for my strategy. Figuring out my context for this would be a challenge because again, there was so much to work with! So to stay in context I made sure to only mention what I could use to convey the points in my essay. I also had the pleasure of quoting Junod in different ways which made the essay a little more fun to write because I got to play with different quoting techniques. 


As long as I keep these same strategies and techniques in mind, I am sure I will be able to continue writing with the same degree of influence and inspiration as these talented writers. 


Keep your pencils sharp and your wit sharper.

Working with Direct Quotes and Paraphrases While Interpreting: The Falling Man, by Tom Junod

"But now the Falling Man is falling through more than the blank blue sky. He is falling through vast spaces of memory and picking up speed (75)."

 As I was reading through class discussions, this sentence that stood alone in Junod's article, rang more true.It was like some kind of epiphany that Junod had when writing this because when you mention anything that has something to do with 9/11, people lose focus and immediately react to all other aspects of 9/11 except for "the jumpers" (71). This is why I think my thesis should remain alongside Junod's thesis: explaining why we should remember the Falling Man.


My statement of purpose, however, will be a little complex because I am not sure, yet, in which ways I am going to do this. For example, I am troubled by the fact a priest was recognized as a martyr even though he too was not only a jumper but also he "hit a fireman on the ground and killed him (71)." Did everybody completely forget that he killed another person by jumping? And why did they forget? Is it because he was priest? Was this priest part of a religion that frowned upon suicide as great sin? And why is it that he should have more recognition as martyr than the Falling Man or any other jumper for that matter? I know that most people might react to these questions as though I am attacking 'the church' or something, but will that happen because as a writer I have provoked an audiences feelings towards their beliefs, or because as a reader it is much easier to focus on something familiar (religion) rather than the unfamiliar troubled waters (the Falling Man).


What do you remember most from my post?  

A Preliminary Observation of "The Falling Man" by Tom Junod

"The Falling Man" by Tom Junod is a controversial article about a picture of a man who jumped from the north tower during the attack of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. The picture was captured by a photographer named Richard Drew who works for the Associated Press. This photograph was one of the most famous of history as well as the most painful.


I like the way Junod sorted each section of his article. He starts by describing the photograph itself in very good detail and also adds the opinions of what others thought of the photograph to depict other points of view that he later brings up in the article.Then tells us a little bit about the photographer and quite a bit about what the photographer went through that day (9/11) and how it was that the photograph was chosen.


Junod starts to talk about the jumpers themselves as well. This part of his article had me crying as I was reading it. I don't know if it was due to the memory of that day and all the horror that I saw on the news or if it was the article itself, but I do know that it affected me in many ways. My feelings of disbelief as I watched the north tower, in smoke and flames. As I watched some of the jumpers before the south tower was hit which had me crying wondering what might be going through their minds before they jumped as well as on their way down. I watched as the second tower was hit, with a strong feeling of horror. This was nothing "like a movie," as Junod claims some of the witness stated. This was reality, this was really happening, this was the unforeseen worse case scenario. Then the towers collapsed and all that was left was extreme fear. I remember that was when I had to drink myself to sleep because I was restless with the chaos and trauma I had just witnessed. All of these feelings came back to me as read this part of the article.


Junod then talks about Peter Cheney who was given the assignment of finding out the identity of "The Falling Man." The article is mostly about this. The search leads to many different family's and many different people are involved in trying to figure out who he is, although nobody really succeeded. Junod definitely provoked questions to his audience, for example: I still want to know who the falling man really is! In his writing it almost seems like he is about to reveal the naked truth.What he does instead  is end the article with a metaphor of  what he believes "The Falling Man" represents. Teaser Alert!

Assignment 3-5

The peer review I had was fair and getting a different perspective was refreshing. I also believed that I would have to edit and rewrite some of the essay.

"September 1^st of 2005 was a horrible day for most people in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. So much so, a writer by the name Josh Neufeld decided to write a comic about it called: ”A.D. – New Orleans: After the Deluge.” 


It was suggested this is not a very strong introduction. I will make the necessary changes to make this stronger by changing the wording to be more direct and clear and maybe adding a short phrase that signifies what Neufeld captured in his comic. An opening teaser to the rest of the essay.


It is also true that I need to work on my past and present tense. It is a little difficult to know what tense I should be writing in when I  recently read  the comic (2011) but the author wrote the comic in the past (2009) and the comic itself takes place further in the past (2005). I will work on this and try to remember that keeping the writing in an active form will allow me to have a grasp on which tense I should use.


I am sure with these things in mind that my writing style will flourish.