Can Social Media Resolve Social Decisions?

            In Danah Boyd’s book titled “Inequality: Can Social Media Resolve Social Decisions?” the audience experiences the different ways that Boyd analyzes inequality with social media. One of the primary ways that she goes about this is through her personal interviews with high school teens and their reactions to inequality through social media. While talking with these teens, she discovers that social media is not assisting these teens with expunging inequalities. As she continues to conduct her fieldwork, she finds out that racial segregation is almost inherent in schools even though it is unintentional. It is part of the social norms that were established by the students from previous years. She also researches information from other sources to assist her points. For example, she discusses the controversy behind Langdon Winner’s essay “Do Artefacts Have Politics” (304) Even though this doesn’t have too much to do with social media since it was written in 1980, it shows the racial classifications that had developed. By bringing in outside information, she is able to establish ethos to make her audience believe in her various points.

            The final way that she is able to drive her arguments home is by giving her own personal opinions on the topic. From the get go, the audience understands that she doesn’t believe that social media will eradicate inequality. The interviews that she had with the teens instilled in her this belief that social media couldn’t possibly have an effect on the disappearance of inequality. She looks at all of these views from a variety of different angles so that the audience can get a good look at what is happening with this topic. Her masterful writing and the viewpoints she gives the reader really assist her in the analysis of social media’s effect on inequality.

Lobster Analysis

            David Foster Wallace writes a very thought provoking piece of literature about a topic that not many people would put too much thought into: lobster. He travels to Maine to discuss the Maine    Lobster Festival, but goes in depth about the ethics of eating lobster. Throughout this piece of work, Wallace continuously asks questions hoping to get his readers thinking about the things that many choose to ignore. He wants the reader to get more involved within these subjects and by asking questions, he achieves that aspect of his purpose. He gives his own perspectives on these issues, allowing the reader to start to form a connection with him.

            One question that he proposes is “Why is a primitive, inarticulate form of suffering less urgent or uncomfortable for the person who’s helping to inflict it by paying for the food it results in?” (Walter, 16). This question really engages the reader to contemplate the nature of pain to something that is not human. He is trying to start a conversation that evolves into something more, something universal. He wants the reader to feel this connection to him by giving them his views on these questions, but he does not do it explicitly. He does a fairly good job of giving generalized opinions, allowing him to develop a deeper connection with his audience, since they won’t be completely bogged down by his opinions.  One thing that I think really allows him to connect with his reader are the footnotes that he uses on most if not all of his pages. The footnotes provide the reader with more side information as well as elaborating on the issues and opinions that Waller has. By doing this, none of his claims or arguments are lost to all the opinions that he might have.  Through his reflections, he continues to keep his audience engaged because of the new questions that arise. The second to last concluding paragraph blasts his audience with rhetorical questions, all which have arrived from the reflections that he has  done during his time in Maine.

Shipping Out

            David Foster Wallace is nearly pampered to death as he recounts his time on a luxurious cruise with a lot of older people. He starts off his story by giving his audience a summary of what occurred during his cruise and the lessons that he learned from the encounters he had with the ship’s crew as well as the people enjoying the cruise. He uses a lot of anaphora to explain the sheer amount of information that he has learned from his time on the cruise. He proceeds to discuss how the brochure about the cruise was falsely advertising what would actually happen while on the cruise. With every example and story, Wallace describes to his audience how that moment affected him. By using these examples and quotes, Wallace is able to back up his arguments and establish ethos. One prominent description is of how he decides to carry his luggage to his room instead of allowing one of the carriers to do it almost getting him fired. This helps show how the cruise makes him feel over-pampered allowing his readers to understand the predicament that he was in and allows for Wallace to establish a connection back to the brochure he describes earlier.

            He keeps his audience engaged by making these specific connections from himself to the events on the cruise. By delving deeper and reflecting on his interactions with the crew members and others that are enjoying the cruise, the audience is able to feel connected to Wallace. He makes his writing meaningful and intriguing with his writing techniques and just understanding what his brain is thinking at those specific times. Wallace does a fantastic job recounting his experience and showing his connections to the cruise.