Project Web

Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover

            My outlook on the surrounding world has always been the same- surface deep. I have never looked deeper into the deeper messages that places might hold. Every place that we know of, must have an important meaning to someone on our earth, but this meaning can be easily overlooked if we only look at the face value of what is in front of us. Looking deeper into a space requires using imagination and often requires looking at the space from a different point of view. Looking at a familiar space through the eyes of someone else will help widen your view and might allow you to turn the mundane into something new and exciting. Over the past two semesters my view on the world has been widened by various activities such as the word-picture assignment, the observing rhetoric at work activity, my rhetorical analysis paper, and my ethnography research for project space.

            Looking at a picture seems to have no meaning past what you see with your eyes. In my first semester of English 114 I was assigned to describe a picture and turn it into words. This assignment caused me to look deeper into just a picture of a wave. Explaining the picture of the wave was the easy part but looking deeper past the barrel formation of the water was the challenge. This wave symbolized much more to me than just one wave out in the ocean. It showed the entire ocean and the life in the ocean to me in just a small picture. It forced me to think about much more than just the wave and the people who could ride it or swim next to it but it made me image people from all over the world. Every wave is different just as every person on our earth is different from the next. It was not easy to see a connection that I could make with just a picture of a simple wave but when I looked deeper into it and tried to decipher what it could represent I found the theme of everyone is different. Waves are all different, people are all different, and there are people and places beyond my reach that I need to explore to create great experiences. This assignment helped me realize that it is possible to look deeper into any situation presented and that there is much more to people and places than they show on the outside. Looking inside a situation can teach you a lesson and change you for the better.

"The Perfect Wave"

            In an assignment following the word-picture assignment we had to travel to a public place and observe the people and their interactions to their surroundings. For this assignment I traveled to Topanga State Beach to observe the people who enjoy the beach for many reasons such as surfing or just hanging out with their families. My time at Topanga was different this time because I was focusing on who was at the beach and what they were doing. I observed many people when I was at the beach and it really helped me understand some of the different reasons people have for going to the beach. For example I observed a man who was alone but looked like he was enjoying his time and he was very social with the people around him. This man showed me that he used this particular beach as a social spot where he can come to relax and be around the people who he wants to be around. In addition I observed a young couple who looked like they were tourists. The man seemed to enjoy dipping his feet in the water and shared a lot of laughs with his partner. She was trying to read but seemed more interested in watching him have fun rather than her book. This showed me that this couple traveled to the same beach as the first man had, but for a very different reason. They were focused on their relationship and are enjoying the time they are spending together. My trip to Topanga was a good lesson for me to appreciate my surroundings to try to understand the various reasons people would travel to the beach and the needs they hope to fulfill. 

"Topanga State Beach"

          For the final essay in progression two, last semester, we were required to explore a text and look for a message through the rhetorical strategies the author used. I chose to use a picture of a sea turtle with a piece of trash in his mouth. If I were to look at this same picture before I took English 114 I probably would have ignored the piece of trash and only thought about the turtle. I don’t think that I would have thought more about it other than the fact that the turtle was cute. But this class inspired me to look at this picture with a different viewpoint by using logos, pathos, and ethos. The piece of trash in the turtle’s mouth showed me a connection to logos because I used logic to understand that, as humans sharing the earth with animals, we are doing something wrong and that we should not make the life at sea live in our mess. When I first looked at this picture I noticed that the turtle was cute but I was not too worried that it could be in danger by having plastic in his mouth. Pathos was used in this picture because it appeals to my emotion after I realized the dangers of the piece of trash. I naturally felt bad for the turtle and wanted to help in any way I could which is directed toward pathos. Finally after doing my research about this picture I noticed that this picture was famous within the foundations that are trying to protect our oceans. Credibility relates to ethos and the groups that support this message are shown deep within the picture. This essay helped me realize how much I look past important things and that I need to slow down and look deeper into the text. I enjoyed writing about this problem because I support the message it sends to everyone across the globe about protecting our oceans but I would never have been so involved if I had not written this essay.

"Protect Our Oceans!"

"County Line"

          During Project Space we were assigned to do an ethnography and fieldwork for this paper. I traveled to County Line and Zuma Beach with a friend from England, Tom, to conduct my research. The assignment was to view a place from a different point of view and I chose to view it from Tom’s point of view. This was Tom’s first time to a beach in California and it certainly lived up to his high expectations. I am very familiar with these beaches because I have spent a lot of time throughout my childhood and teenage years coming here. When we arrived at county line Tom’s eyes lit up with excitement. We saw dolphins, pelicans, and even a whale which all added to his joyfulness. Tom spent time taking pictures and lying in the sand and really looked like he was enjoying where he was. I noticed the huge smile across his face and the enthusiasm in his voice which proved to me that he was in his paradise. This beach is an average beach I go to twice a week in the winter and almost every day in the summer months but it gave a new person such excitement. I was very glad that I got to experience this beach from someone else’s point of view because without Tom being there, it is just a “normal beach”. I realized that I take nature for granted and that I am lucky to live by such great landmarks. Simply looking at this beach from a different angle changed my perspective on my surroundings. I looked deeper into the message that this beach portrayed to my friend and in seeing how happy it made him it also made me happy too. I learned that even a familiar place might need me to look deeper into what is really there before I can judge everything that goes on in that space.

"Zuma"

Taking English 114 has improved my ways of looking at my surrounding world and helped me to become a better-rounded person as well as a student. Whether if something is valuable to me, a cherished place, or maybe just a picture I can understand how to now look past what I can just see superficially and look for a deeper meaning . Describing pictures, observing people, and writing various essays about how I can see deeper into normal spaces will help me for the rest of my life. It is very important to not “judge a book by its cover” purely on first impressions, but to look beneath the surface for hidden messages and meanings. This is something I will be doing from now on. 

Save Our Oceans

Project Web Rough Draft

Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover

            My outlook on the surrounding world has always felt the same, not looking past what is right in front of my eyes. I never looked deeper into the message that a picture or a place could portray. Every place could have an important meaning to anyone on our earth but it could easily be overlooked if we just look at what is in front of us. Looking deeper into a space entitles using your imagination and looking at the space from a different point of view. Looking deeper into a familiar space is hard to do without looking at it from someone else’s perspective, it will help widen your view and allow you to see someone who might cherish something that you are used to. Over the past two semesters my view on the world has been widened by various activities such as the word-picture assignment, the observing rhetoric at work activity, my rhetorical analysis paper, and my ethnography research for project space.

            Looking at a picture seems to have no meaning past what you see with your eyes. In my first semester of English 114 I was assigned to describe a picture and turn it into words. This assignment caused me to look deeper into just a picture of a wave. Explaining what the picture of the wave was the easy part but looking deeper past the barrel formation of the water was the challenge. This wave symbolized much more to me than just one wave out in the ocean. It showed the entire ocean and the life in the ocean to me in just a small picture. It forced me to think about much more than just the wave and the people who could ride it or swim next to it but it made me image the people all over the world. Every wave is different just as every person on our earth is different from the next. It was not easy to see a connection I could make with just a picture of a simple wave but when I looked deeper into it and tried to image what it could represent I found the theme of everyone is different. Waves are all different, people are all different, and that there are people and places beyond my reach that I need to explore to create great experiences. This assignment helped me realize that it is possible to look deeper into any situation presented and that there is more to people and places that they show on the outside. Looking inside a situation could teach you a lesson and change you for the better.

            "the perfect wave"

In an assignment following the word-picture assignment we had to travel to a public place and observe the people and their interactions around us. For this assignment I traveled to Topanga State Beach to observe the people who enjoy the beach for many reasons such as surfing or just hanging out with their families. My time at Topanga was different this time because I was focusing on who was at the beach and what they were doing. I observed many people when I was at the beach and it really helped me understand some of the different reasons have for going to the beach. For example I observed a man who was alone but looked like he was enjoying his time and he was very social with the people around him. This man showed me that used this particular beach as a social spot where he can come to relax and be around the people who he wants to be around. In addition I observed a young couple who looked like they were tourists. The man seemed to enjoy dipping his feet in the water and shared a lot of laughs with his partner. She was trying to read but seemed more interested in watching him have fun rather than her book. This showed me that this couple traveled to the same beach as the first man but for a very different reason. They are focused on their relationship and are enjoying the time they are spending together. My trip to Topanga was a good lesson for me to appreciate my surroundings to try to understand the various reasons people would travel to the beach.  

"Topanga Beach"

For the final essay in progression two, last semester we were required to explore a text and look for a message through the rhetorical strategies the author used. I chose to use a picture of a sea turtle with a piece of trash in his mouth. If I were to look at this same picture before I took English 114 I probably would have ignored the piece of trash and only think about the turtle. I don’t think that I would have thought more about it other than the turtle being cute. But this class inspired me to look at this picture with a different viewpoint by using logos, pathos, and ethos. The piece of trash in the turtle’s mouth showed me a connection to logos because I used logic to understand that, as humans sharing the earth with animals, we are doing something wrong and that we should not make the life at sea live in our mess. When I first looked at this picture I noticed that the turtle was cute but I was not too worried that it could be in danger by having plastic in his mouth. Pathos was used in this picture because it appeals to my emotion after I realized the dangers of the piece of trash. I naturally felt bad for the turtle and wanted to help in any way I could which is directed toward pathos. Finally after doing my research about this picture I noticed that this picture was famous within the foundations that are trying to project our oceans. Credibility relates to ethos and the groups that support this message are shown deep within the picture. This essay helped me realize how much I look past important things and that I need to slow down and look deeper into the text. I enjoyed writing about this problem because I support the message is sends to everyone across the globe about protecting our oceans but I would have never been involved if I never wrote this essay. 

"Protect Our Sea Life"

During Project Space we were assigned to do an ethnography and fieldwork for this paper. I travelled to county line and zuma beach with a friend from England, Tom, to conduct my research. The assignment was to view a place from a different point of view and I chose to view it from Tom’s point of view. This was Tom’s first time to a beach in California and it certainly lived up to his high expectations. I am very familiar with these beaches because I have spent a lot of time throughout my childhood and teenage years coming here. When we arrived to county line Tom’s eyes lit up with excitement. We saw dolphins, pelicans, and even a whale which all added to his joyfulness. Tom spent time taking pictures and lying in the sand, he really looked like he was enjoying where he was. I noticed the huge smile across his face and the liveliness I heard in his voice which proved to me that he was in paradise. This beach is the average beach I go to twice a week in the winter and almost every day in the summer months but it gave a new person such excitement. I was very glad that I got to experience this beach from someone else’s point of view because without Tom being with me, it is just an average beach. I realized that I take nature for granted and that I am lucky to live by such great landmarks. Simply looking at this beach from a different angle changed my perspective on my surroundings. I looked deeper into the message that this beach portrayed to my friend and how happy it made him so it made me happy. Even a familiar place might need you to look deeper into what is really there before you can judge everything that goes on in that space. 

 "County Line"

Taking English 114 has improved my ways of looking at my surrounding world and helped me to become a better-rounded person as well as a student. Whether if something is valuable to me, a cherished place, or maybe just a picture I can understand how to now look past what I can just see and look for a deeper meaning. Describing pictures, observing people, and writing various essays about how I can see deeper into normal spaces will help me for the rest of my life. It is very important to not “judge a book by its cover” and to look and see if it might mean something special to you.

Save Our Oceans

Project Web Outline

 Adrian Powditch

Outline

A.    Introduction

a.       Main topics- How I look at places and everything differently using the word-picture activity, Observing Rhetoric at Work activity, the Rhetorical Analysis Paper using Logos, Pathos, and ethos and our Ethnography paper for project space.

b.      Thesis- Over the past couple of months my outlook on my surroundings has been widened by working with the word-picture activity, observing rhetoric at work activity, my rhetorical analysis paper, and my ethnography for project space.

B.     Word-picture

a.       “Perfect Waves”

b.      How I looked deeper in a picture of a wave which shows how powerful the ocean is yet peaceful.

C.     “Normal Behavior”

a.       How I observed everyone at Topanga Beach and how they interacted with each other.

b.      It all ties in with how I view comfortable spots in a different way.

D.    “Keep Our Oceans Clean”

a.       Picture of the sea turtle with a piece of trash in his mouth and how it showed more than just a picture it was tied to an ongoing problem.

b.      Logos-

c.       Pathos-

d.      Ethos-

E.     Conclusion- How all of this research forces you to look at things in a very different way and from a different perspective which widened my outlook on life.