Kasad 1

Dallas Kasad
Professor Fisher
ENG123
6 September 2015
Week 1 Reflection Journal
My writing experience before this class has never really been polished until
recent. I went through high school just doing the minimal to get by, with only one or
two papers I actually applied myself to throughout all four years. The class I had last
semester was ENG113, which opened the world of writing back up to me. It was
initially a very tough class for me and I dreaded working on it. The due dates, the
fact that late work was not accepted and that the teacher was very attentive to
grading our papers really kept me on my toes to try to create the paper she
required of us. The assignment that stood out in this class was my concept paper,
where I focused the subject around the music I have an addiction for. By focusing it
on something I love, I was able to go beyond the page requirements and really
polish my paper from a lump of coal to a diamond (in my eyes).
Rhetoric, as Leith states, is the art of persuasion: the attempt by one human
being to influence another in words (Leith 1). He later states that, Rhetoric is a
field of knowledge: that is, something susceptible to analysis and understanding in
the same way poetry is (Leith 2). From these two points we can learn that rhetoric
is a systematic method of speaking to others in the attempt to sway their ideals or
beliefs. Leith uses various references to people through history who are known very
well by those well-read as well as pop culture references that make it easy for many

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to follow. The book peppers various instances with light profanity, which seems
taboo to Christian morals, but I enjoyed immensely because of the effect it had on
what I was reading. It left me laughing, brought the point the writer was trying to
make to a blunt cross road and gave a sensation of did he really say that in a
book? Growing up under the roof of my father who was a sailor, foul language was
not uncommon.
Following up on the previous sensation, did he really say that in a book?
was also covered in the book as decorum. That speaking to your friends in a lax
environment is very different from how you would present yourself speaking to the
masses in a professional environment, how you hold yourself in court or how you
act at a funeral. These subtle differences are changes in decorum.
Above all of this, the one figure that stood out in my mind as a point of
reference was Sherlock Holmes, as portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch on the BBC.
He had a strict lack of rhetoric when he spoke. It was very arrogant and spoke
strictly in facts, but because of his observations, he was right on the money when
he came to the conclusion. His lack of fluff to easy an idea to those around him,
and his sharp comments to others errors led him to cause much dislike. It is the
same idea that we see today with the election year on approach, Donald Trump
essentially stealing the spotlight with his unorthodox tactic of telling it like it is. His
lack of rhetoric, and possibly the hair, is causing him issues with the vocal public,
but the silent majority is who wants to hear those things.
I am mildly familiar with the library research module, as I have used it both in
ENG113 as well as my HIS213: History of the US to Reconstruction. I learned that if
all you can find is reviews of a book when you want to find the book itself to use

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for a reference, explore the other library research tools, but specifying the book you
are looking for. This is something that would have been valued in finding pop-culture
information when I was first learning the system during my concept paper in the
previous composition class. I feel that this will be an asset for this class.
In the TED presentation by Bryan he is simply trying to convince the
masses about his views on the problems of mass incarceration, because he works
with those who fall victim to it on a daily basis. In the background however, he is
pushing toward the even bigger spectrum of equality for all peoples. Bryan
Stevenson is a lawyer who stands up in defense of kids who fall victim to crimes
that they may or may not have committed and is all about defending the true
individual from the mistake they have made. He is trying to convince the masses
that there is an obvious problem of mass incarceration, the death penalty and
inequality for all peoples. While this is a very large subject, he addresses is simply
to put the idea in the mind of the audience that there is a problem, referencing
Germany and their inability to enforce the death penalty, referring to Rosa Parks
speaking to him and speaks to the audience from the humblest of tones speaking
about past experiences and his family lessons.
Christians should pay more attention to the criminal justice system mainly for
evangelism. Those that have reached the end of the line or are stuck in prison until
the end of their days need the Holy Spirit more than anyone. We as Christians
should also observe that what is dealt is justice, as it is simply ethical. In many
instances today, the death penalty, where it is still an option, is given to the wrong
people and even then, they are held on death row for many years, causing a slow
mental torture of knowing that that day is soon to come.

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My original topic I was going to focus on was the death penalty being used in
a just way as an instrument of fear. Having an ultimate punishment might challenge
the mortality of the inmates who are okay with staying in prison, as life is easier.
Due to the lecture in class where we were challenged to relate it to our major, I
have put my opinions on the shelf for another day and have started to read into the
unfair, broad laws set in place to enforce a cyber-war against hackers and leaving
the door open to charge someone with cyber-terrorism. This has been used against
various people in our society who simply intend on defending privacy and natural
rights.

Works Cited
Leith, Sam, and Sam Leith. Words like Loaded Pistols: Rhetoric from Aristotle to
Obama. New York: Basic, 2012. Print.
TEDTalks: Bryan Stevenson--We Need to Talk About an Injustice. TED, 2012.
YouTube.