Rhetorical Situations-Narratives

We all agreed that bravery and determination are the most things in the face of adversary and that this is indicated at the end of the story. Also we agreed that the point of view was first person narrative which let readers become emotionally connected and also allowed for Brideau’s commentary. I wrote that her use of surrealism and simple terms allowed her to bring emotion and life to the story. Other group members also added that her inclusion of details that brought out the humanity of the story made it seem more life-like. All of us put that the audience consisted of health care workers. As for how Brideau worked to sway them to her side, some of us put that she tried to make Lydia as relatable as possible by mentioning how much of a compassionate nurse she was, and other put that she used very personal and emotional words and phrases to appeal the pathos of the readers. Despite our differences in what we wrote, we all agreed with each other on our points on Brideau's persuasion techniques.

When "Lydia's Story" and Chapter 2 are put side by side it becomes apparent the relationship between the two. Most of the rhetorical strategies mentioned in chapter 2 appear in Lydia's story. It is very clear Brideau knows exactly who she is writing to in the way she tailors each sentence to best relate to and persuade the health care workers reading. Also, the way Brideau ties a relatively minor story back to a larger context, the support of Katrina survivors, is a masterful use of rhetoric. Chapter 2 and Lydia's Story also makes us realize the use of rhetoric in our own writing, especially our own bias. Many of the elements we incorporate into our writing subconsciously become clear, such as the way we change our writing styles and tones to better fit our expected audience.

Some of the stories that we all hear on a day-to-day basis include drama between people, various tasks and commonly occurring events during the day, tragedies to those we knew, and stories about unusual things we have previously done. These various types of narratives all include one recurring motif, the emotions of various people in differing situations. These narratives interest us because we relate to the people in them and learn new information that might help us in future situations.

Those around the same age as us and those with a sense of humor and those who were not afraid to expose their emotions were the most powerful to us. Short concise videos also increased the overall impact of the videos because they didn't water down the person's point. Longer videos which included the person narrating their own story were also very powerful in the way that they made us relate to the speaker.

In a History textbook, narrating is kept in a very neutral tone which makes the story telling uninteresting but also unoffensive or controversial. If a History narrative was presented in the form a a video game or movie, it would become much more interesting but at the same time might not get the main concept of what it is trying to teach across as well. A narrative such as a YouTube video is very visually interesting but if the narratives medium was changed to a text based format it would lose much of its appeal. A history textbook and a Youtube video are similar in that they both can convey a message but while a History Textbook tends to be lengthy and very explanatory a YouTube video is far more concise but at the sacrifice of depth.