Philadelphia Remarks

First off I really enjoyed the movie! :) I found it really interesting to watch. The plot was very attention grabbing. There were many scenes that stuck out to me. Of course with the topic of the movie there will be many scenes which stand out and grab your attention. The following scenes stood out to me:

• The second meeting between Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington- I found it appalling how Washington reacted once he discovered Hanks had AIDS. He backed away and watched his every move including all he touched. He then immediately visited his doctor once Hanks left. This was a clear example of the ignorance present in society at the time regarding AIDS. This scene appealed to emotions or the Pathos rhetorical appeal. After viewing the scene I felt anger towards Washington for his reaction.
• The conversation Hanks ex bosses have after they receive court order- I feel like this scene enraged me the most! The words that were spoken are still ringing in my head. "He brought AIDS into our office, our bathrooms, to our company picnic, etc" The most outrageous statement I have heard throughout the movie. Not to mention it was their justification for firing Hanks. Again because of the anger reaction from this scene I feel it is the Pathos appeal.
• When Hanks collapses in the courtroom- This scene was very memorable. Throughout the scene there were shots that switched between the witness stand and Hanks. Each switch the pain in Hanks face worsened, until he finally collapsed. This stirred in me sadness and pity for Hanks. I thought if I were the jury I'd give him the win in the case. Again, Pathos appeal is evident in this scene.
• Hanks death- This is by far the saddest scene in the film. I almost wanted to cry. It ties up the movie and the journey Hanks has been through. It gave off a mixture of feelings, on one side happiness because he won sadness because his life is about to end.

Looking at all my memorable scenes they all caused some sort of emotional reaction from me.  Leading me to conclude that Pathos appeal is very strong in pulling in viewers or readers.

Final Topic

       My final topic for my Experience and Other Evidence paper is medical malpractice. Like I noted in my last blog, this is a touchy subject for me because of my experience with it. This event took place the summer before I was in the sixth grade. My mom underwent a tonsillectomy. She was said to recover in a couple of weeks but instead her condition worsened. This ended with my mom having twenty-two stitches on her neck and a vivid memory of a near death experience. This is what inspires this paper. I want to get to the core of medical malpractice.
       The questions I will mainly address in this paper are those in the definition and cause and effect stasis. I will attempt to define medical malpractice and tie it in with my personal experience. The following questions fall under the definition stasis: What is medical malpractice? Does it exist worldwide? Do guidelines exist when dealing with medical malpractice? Along with the definition stasis, I will also answer questions regarding cause and effect. For example, What cause medical malpractice to become recognized? How did its creation effect the medical field? These questions are the basis from which my paper will be constructed.

Experience and other Evidence Topics

Medical Malpractice: This is a touchy subject for me because of my experience with it. When I was in the sixth grade my mom had a tonsillectomy. She was supposed to recover in a couple of weeks but instead she got worse. The pain she felt was unbearable and she could hardly sleep. One early morning she was got up to take her pain medicine and ended up throwing up blood all over the kitchen and hallway. My dad heard the noise and quickly got up. The cause of all this was her doctors error. He had slightly slit her artery during her tonsillectomy. He was aware of it and didn't say a word.

Questions this brings up are what is classified as malpractice? How are people compensated for the wrong doing? Can doctors be held accountable for these "accidents"?

My target audience could be medical students or victims of malpractice. I think they both would benefit and obtain knowledge over the subject.

Abortion:  This is a highly debated topic today in our society. Is it wrong or right? I can't say i've personally experienced having in abortion but I know people that have. I have also gotten the chance to witness a protest firsthand against abortion. The protest was staged in Germantown, MD where Doctor Carhart is now performing abortions late in pregnancy. I had never seen a protest firsthand before.

Questions: What are the views on abortion? What caused this protest? Why did this doctor choose to work in Maryland? What should be done to find an agreement?

Audience: Abortion Activists

Health care for college students: As a freshman college student this topic kinda scares me. I was clueless on what to do if I got sick and what I should do about insurance. My parents had always handled all that stuff. Now a semester into college, I have learned a little more about the healthcare system at Maryland. It angers me how insurance billing works. I feel like we students get targeted and taken advantage of. I became aware of all of this when I got sick last semester and had to make an appointment at the health center. I was billed to my student account for my visit. If I want to be repaid I had to endure this long process. End result till haven't gotten compensated for it.

Questions: What is the system for healthcare set up for students? Why is it set up this way? Why wasn't I compensated? How can this be improved?

Audience: College Students

Reading Reflection on "Tricksters and Truthtellers"

        I found this article very hard to read. It was quite lengthy and hard to understand. Maybe it was because I had other things in mind or I just wasn't interested in it; either way I still did not find it enjoyable. I'm one of those readers that need to be able to connect with the reading. If I find no way to connect I find it boring.
         What I did manage to get out of the article was the importance of illness narratives. Patients need some way to cope with their illness. What better way than learning about someone who has gone through the same illness? Frank explained how he was in search for a story he could relate too but found none. This is what inspired him to write his own story in coping with cancer.
         Towards the end is where he lost me, when he started about "truthtellers and tricksters". He totally lost me. I had no idea what he was talking about and what his definitions of them were. I would've liked if he had explained them a little better or clearer. Overall, the piece wasn't terrible it had its interesting parts but I wouldn't have read it for fun. 

Confessional Writing

In my opinion, there is a difference between a confession and apology. A confession is meant to reveal a truth that was said or done, there is mostly negative feedback expected. With an apology the truth is already out and forgiveness is being searched for the action or what was said. So you could technically say, that in some cases, an apology comes after a confession. 

I think using confession in writing spices things up. An example would be like a diary, a place where most people write their innermost thoughts and confessions. Confessional writing draws readers in with its raw nature. It almost brings life to writing, you get a sense that your in that persons mind.

This can be a good thing and bad. Many people may have thoughts that others do not agree with and can be speculative about, but there can be those who agree. It all depends on what makes the writing confessional. There's a difference between confessing you love a person and you murdered a person. So it all depends.