WP1: Final Draft

Author's Note:

In this first writing assignment, I chose a photograph from a specific selection of online photo galleries, and analyzed it in order to find the specific argument it conveys to its audience. In addition to uncovering the argument, we were asked to support it by expressing which photographic elements (i.e. coloration, cropping, framing, etc.) are used in its communication. Lastly, we sought out which rhetorical technique or techniques were used in the photograph to aid in the transmission of our argument to the audience. I found this particular assignment to be a more interesting extension of the work I had done in my high school English classes. We had many writing assignments, but they all consisted of analyzing literary works that were chosen respectively by my high school English teachers. These assignments became very tedious and frankly, boring, but they did assist me in my writing for this photograph analysis project.

Three drafts, including the following, were written – two of them edited by my peers – in hopes that the argument being presented in my writing came across effectively and was supported by real facts and research incorporated by myself. The background research of the photograph was included to introduce the context of the photo to the reader and set him or her up emotionally for the rest of the post. From my first draft to my final, not many dramatic changes were made. A few small changes were made, however, to improve the flow of my writing and strengthen the communication of my argument.

In the introductory paragraph, I reworded the first sentence to eliminate awkwardness and to open my post with a strong introduction. Specifically, I changed the second part of the sentence from, “more of which many of us would be able to bear” to, “more than most of us could bear,” when speaking of the violence and hatred the people of Rwanda have experienced. This small change makes the first sentence much less wordy and confusing and more to the point. In my second introductory paragraph, I wrote about the photo essay project given to the children of the Imbabazi Orphanage, but I did not mention the name of the project. I included its name, “Through the Eyes of Children,” in my writing in order to make it more real to my audience and give further background information. In my paragraph beginning, “Fishing by Twagira…,” I wrote heavily in the first person, speaking about my analysis of the photograph: “I have analyzed this photograph very similarly to the way in which I have analyzed literary works in the past,” but in my peer reviews and in my own rereading, I found that this use of first person narrative writing was not compatible with the style of analytical writing this assignment had me partake in. I rewrote this entire paragraph to give it a more professional aesthetic for my readers to experience, further strengthening my communication of the argument of the photo I selected. Lastly, in the paragraph analyzing the photo’s vectors of attention, I initially and mistakenly wrote about the effects of the horizon on the photograph, saying that in relation to the shoreline, it “pull[s] our eyes to the center.” I eliminated all mention of the function of the horizon, realizing that vectors of attention are only created by the figures in the photograph.

Overall, I am satisfied with the revisions I have made to create my final draft. It turned out quite well and effectively explains and support the argument I found within the photograph I selected.


Links:

Second Draft
First Draft
Statement of Purpose

Final Draft:

The people of the republic of Rwanda, located in central Africa, have seen extreme hatred and violence; more than most of us could bear. Families and friends torn apart, homes destroyed, hundreds of thousands of lives stolen, the Rwandan Genocide greatly affected the lives of the people living in the small country. Beginning in April of the year 1994, warfare erupted across Rwanda. The two ethnic groups that make up the country, the Hutu and the Tutsi, went up in arms against each other. As a result, a number of Hutu extremists murdered and wiped out approximately 800, 000 Tutsi people and moderate Hutus over the course of only about 100 days. To express the magnitude of this genocide, the Imbabazi Orphanage website states, “Never before in history has there been an extermination of human life on such a scale in such a short period of time.” As a result of this mass “extermination,” more than 95, 000 children were left without parents. A woman named Roz Carr discovered this disheartening reality and started up the Imbabazi Orphanage; Imbabazi meaning, “a place where you will receive all the love and care a mother would give.”

This orphanage, located in Rwanda, is dedicated to giving life back to the Rwandan people; with a strong focus on its children. Along with treating them with the love and respect essential to their emotional development, different activities are incorporated into their daily lives to keep the children happy, involved, and active in the community. One activity organized by the leaders of the Imbabazi Orphanage was a photo essay project called "Through the Eyes of Children." The children and adolescents of the orphanage were given cameras and told to take pictures of their surroundings and of their daily lives in general. I found this particular text in the online gallery of these photographs. I selected a photo from a young man named Twagira’s collection. Reading his biography, he seems very joyous and full of life, but still burdened by the pain he has been through. I feel that many of the photos in his collection tell this same story – including this one in particular.

Fishing by Twagira is one of the more powerful photos in his gallery. This picture expresses that, while the children of the Imbabazi Orphanage are incontestably small in comparison to the struggles they face, they are still significant, in control, and able to overcome their hardships with love and support from the people who care for them. This ability to overcome the struggles in their lives is expressed in an appeal to pathos through elements such as coloration, vectors of attention, and framing of the photograph.

The saturation of the hues found in this photo are very full, immediately compelling the viewer to engage himself in the photo while invoking further interest in it from the viewer. While sharpening the landscape and figures within the photograph, the use of high saturation also sharpens, if you will, the emotion of sorrow that is being felt by the viewer. He is still sorrowful, but the hard mood of the highly saturated hues helps the viewer to emote a certain level of determined hopefulness. He is troubled, but wants to further investigate the photograph in a search for contentment. The hues found in this picture are all pretty much the same – different variations of grays, browns, and whites. It is almost difficult to distinguish and separate the sky from the sea, and the sea from the shore. Though the hues themselves are seemingly bleak and make the viewer feel a bit blasé about the photograph, the photo is in fact very bright, and this brightness instills in the viewer this feeling of conflicting emotion. To apply this observation to a real world aspect of this photo, perhaps the men would rather be engaging in a task other than fishing. Unfortunately for them, this task is necessary for survival and needs to be carried out, so they decide to just make the best of it. In addition, the way in which the waves on the sea are recognizably shadowed and defined evokes within the viewer a darker and more complicated emotion. This shadowing of the waves and the melancholy, dark gray hue of the water work to create this dismal emotion in the viewer. The hues alone would spark a level of disinterest in the viewer, but the high saturation, brightness, and use of shadowing found in the photograph bring about some strong emotions in the viewer, and might even compel them to create their own scenarios about the two men and their current situation at sea.

Furthermore, the vectors of attention in the photograph are utilized to further create an appeal to pathos within the viewer. The two figures in the photograph are standing near their small boat waiting to catch fish. These men are not looking at the camera. In fact, they are looking in the opposite direction towards the horizon, so we as viewers are not able to see their faces. This provides the viewer with the perspective of an outsider and creates curiosity within the viewer about what exactly is going on in this photograph and between the two men. To further speak about the men in this picture, I drew the conclusion that they are close friends – perhaps even relatives – based on their body language, vectors of attention toward each other, and the context in which they are spending their time. Two men fishing would hopefully be familiar with each other; otherwise, those long, drab periods of time while fish are not being active could be considerably awkward.

Lastly, the framing of this photo is really what makes it. Twagira wanted to take a picture of the two men fishing, but he instead captured the entire landscape, making the two men seem small and insignificant while at the same time, through the use of coloration and vectors of attention, the most important aspects of the photo. The photograph is framed just perfectly so that the sea looks endless from all angles apart from the shoreline in the foreground. The emotion developed here is one of loneliness and even of insignificance.

This vast, open-looking sea, along with the manipulation of somber hues and the unusual function of vectors of attention, all come together to express to us as the viewers what I believe Twagira as the photographer and collector of the text wanted to convey to us through his photo. He understands that in comparison to the conflict, warfare, and heartache the people of Rwanda have faced, they are undoubtedly small. Their significance in the Republic, however, is still great. They are continuing to grow as a people, and will still continue to grow through time and help and support from one another.

Works Cited

Jendry, Bob. "Imbabazi Orphanage - Rwanda". The Imbabazi Orphanage. 16 Feb 2010. .

"The History Place: Genocide in the 20th Century". The History Place. 24 February 2010. .

WP1: Second Draft

The people of the republic of Rwanda, located in central Africa, have seen extreme hatred and violence; more than which many of us would be able to bear. Families and friends torn apart, homes destroyed, hundreds of thousands of lives stolen, the Rwandan Genocide greatly affected the lives of the people living in the small country. Beginning in April of the year 1994, warfare erupted across Rwanda. The two ethnic groups that make up the country, the Hutu and the Tutsi, went up in arms against each other. As a result, a number of Hutu extremists murdered and wiped out approximately 800, 000 Tutsi people and moderate Hutus over the course of only about 100 days. To express the magnitude of this genocide, the Imbabazi Orphanage website states, “Never before in history has there been an extermination of human life on such a scale in such a short period of time.” As a result of this mass “extermination,” more than 95, 000 children were left without parents. A woman named Roz Carr discovered this disheartening reality and started up the Imbabazi Orphanage; Imbabazi meaning, “a place where you will receive all the love and care a mother would give.”

This orphanage, located in Rwanda, is dedicated to giving life back to the Rwandan people; with a strong focus on its children. Along with treating them with the love and respect essential to their emotional development, different activities are incorporated into their daily lives to keep the children happy, involved, and active in the community. One activity organized by the leaders of the Imbabazi Orphanage was a photo essay project called "Through the Eyes of Children." The children and adolescents of the orphanage were given cameras and told to take pictures of their surroundings and of their daily lives in general. I found this particular text in the online gallery of these photographs. I selected a photo from a young man named Twagira’s collection. Reading his biography, he seems very joyous and full of life regardless of the pain he has been through. I feel that many of the photos in his collection tell this same story – including this one in particular.

Fishing by Twagira is one of the more powerful photos in his gallery. This picture expresses that, while the children of the Imbabazi Orphanage are incontestably small in comparison to the struggles they face, they are still significant, in control, and able to overcome their hardships with love and support from the people who care for them. This ability to overcome the struggles in their lives is expressed in an appeal to pathos through elements such as coloration, vectors of attention, and framing of the photograph.

The saturation of the hues found in this photo are very full, immediately compelling the viewer to engage himself in the photo while invoking further interest in it from the viewer. While sharpening the landscape and figures within the photograph, the use of high saturation also sharpens, if you will, the emotion of sorrow that is being felt by the viewer. He is still sorrowful, but the hard mood of the highly saturated hues helps the viewer to emote a certain level of determined hopefulness. He is troubled, but wants to further investigate the photograph in a search for contentment. The hues found in this picture are all pretty much the same – different variations of grays, browns, and whites. It is almost difficult to distinguish and separate the sky from the sea, and the sea from the shore. Though the hues themselves are seemingly bleak and make the viewer feel a bit blasé about the photograph, the photo is in fact very bright, and this brightness instills in the viewer this feeling of conflicting emotion. To apply this observation to a real world aspect of this photo, perhaps the men would rather be engaging in a task other than fishing. Unfortunately for them, this task is necessary for survival and needs to be carried out, so they decide to just make the best of it. In addition, the way in which the waves on the sea are recognizably shadowed and defined evokes within the viewer a darker and more complicated emotion. This shadowing of the waves and the melancholy, dark gray hue of the water work to create this dismal emotion in the viewer. The hues alone would spark a level of disinterest in the viewer, but the high saturation, brightness, and use of shadowing found in the photograph bring about some strong emotions in the viewer, and might even compel them to create their own scenarios about the two men and their current situation at sea.

Furthermore, the vectors of attention in the photograph are utilized to further create an appeal to pathos within the viewer. The two figures in the photograph are standing near their small boat waiting to catch fish. These men are not looking at the camera. In fact, they are looking in the opposite direction towards the horizon, so we as viewers are not able to see their faces. This provides the viewer with the perspective of an outsider and creates curiosity within the viewer about what exactly is going on in this photograph and between the two men. To further speak about the men in this picture, I drew the conclusion that they are close friends – perhaps even relatives – based on their body language, vectors of attention toward each other, and the context in which they are spending their time. Two men fishing would hopefully be familiar with each other; otherwise, those long, drab periods of time while fish are not being active could be considerably awkward.

Lastly, the framing of this photo is really what makes it. Twagira wanted to take a picture of the two men fishing, but he instead captured the entire landscape, making the two men seem small and insignificant while at the same time, through the use of coloration and vectors of attention, the most important aspects of the photo. The photograph is framed just perfectly so that the sea looks endless from all angles apart from the shoreline in the foreground. The emotion developed here is one of loneliness and even of insignificance.

This vast, open-looking sea, along with the manipulation of somber hues and the unusual function of vectors of attention, all come together to express to us as the viewers what I believe Twagira as the photographer and collector of the text wanted to convey to us through his photo. He understands that in comparison to the conflict, warfare, and heartache the people of Rwanda have faced, they are undoubtedly small. Their significance in the Republic, however, is still great. They are continuing to grow as a people, and will still continue to grow through time and help and support from one another.

Works Cited

Jendry, Bob. "Imbabazi Orphanage - Rwanda". The Imbabazi Orphanage. 16 Feb 2010. .

"The History Place: Genocide in the 20th Century". The History Place. 24 February 2010. .

WP1: First Draft

The people of the republic of Rwanda have seen extreme hatred and violence; more of which many of us would be able to bear. Families and friends torn apart, homes destroyed, hundreds of thousands of lives stolen, the Rwandan Genocide greatly affected the lives of the people living in the small country. Beginning in April of the year 1994, warfare erupted across Rwanda. The two ethnic groups that make up the country, the Hutu and the Tutsi, went up in arms against each other. As a result, a number of Hutu extremists murdered and wiped out approximately 800, 000 Tutsi people and moderate Hutus over the course of only about 100 days. To express the magnitude of this genocide, the Imbabazi Orphanage website states, “Never before in history has there been an extermination of human life on such a scale in such a short period of time.” As a result of this mass “extermination,” more than 95, 000 children were left without parents. A woman named Roz Carr discovered this disheartening fact and started up the Imbabazi Orphanage; Imbabazi meaning, “a place where you will receive all the love and care a mother would give.”

This orphanage, located in Rwanda, is dedicated to giving life back to the Rwandan people; with a strong focus on its children. Along with treating them with the love and respect essential to their emotional development, different activities are incorporated into their daily lives to keep the children happy, involved, and active in the community. One activity organized by the leaders of the Imbabazi Orphanage was a photo essay project. The children and adolescents of the orphanage were given cameras and told to take pictures of their surroundings and of their daily lives in general. I found this particular text in the online gallery of these photographs. I selected a photo from a young man named Twagira’s collection. Reading his biography, he seems very joyous and full of life regardless of the pain he has been through. I feel that many of the photos in his collection tell this same story – including this one in particular.

Fishing by Twagira is one of the more powerful photos in the gallery. I have analyzed this photograph very similarly to the way in which I have analyzed literary works in the past, and through my analyses and observations, I have found that this picture captured by Twagira expresses that the people of the Imbabazi Orphanage of Rwanda are, in fact, incontestably small compared to the struggles they face, but are still significant, in control, and are able to overcome these struggles especially when supported by people who care for them. Specific elements such as coloration, vectors of attention, and framing of the scene are used to illustrate this social, personal, and emotional argument and appeal to pathos.

The saturation of the hues found in this photo are very full, immediately compelling the viewer to engage himself in the photo while invoking further interest in it from the viewer. While sharpening the landscape and figures within the photograph, the use of high saturation also sharpens, if you will, the emotion of sorrow that is being felt by the viewer. He is still sorrowful, but the hard mood of the highly saturated hues helps the viewer to emote a certain level of determined hopefulness. He is troubled, but wants to further investigate the photograph in a search for contentment. The hues found in this picture are all pretty much the same – different variations of grays, browns, and whites. It is almost difficult to distinguish and separate the sky from the sea, and the sea from the shore. Though the hues themselves are seemingly bleak and make the viewer feel a bit blasé about the photograph, the photo is in fact very bright, and this brightness instills in the viewer this feeling of conflicting emotion. To apply this observation to a real world aspect of this photo, perhaps the men would rather be engaging in a task other than fishing. Unfortunately for them, this task is necessary for survival and needs to be carried out, so they decide to just make the best of it. In addition, the way in which the waves on the sea are recognizably shadowed and defined evokes within the viewer a darker and more complicated emotion. This shadowing of the waves and the melancholy, dark gray hue of the water work to create this dismal emotion in the viewer. The hues alone would spark a level of disinterest in the viewer, but the high saturation, brightness, and use of shadowing found in the photograph bring about some strong emotions in the viewer, and might even compel him to come up with scenarios about the two men and their current situation at sea.

Furthermore, the vectors of attention in the photograph are utilized in a way in which our attention is directed to a specific portion of the photo. The horizon in relation to the shoreline work together to pull our eyes to the center; where the two men stand near their small boat waiting to catch fish. These men are not looking at the camera. In fact, they are looking in the opposite direction towards the horizon, so we as viewers are not able to see their faces. This creates an outsider perspective and creates curiosity in the viewer about what exactly is going on in this photograph and between the two men. To further speak about the men in this picture, I drew the conclusion that they are close friends – maybe even relatives – based on their body language, vectors of attention toward each other, and the context in which they are spending their time. Two men fishing would hopefully be familiar with each other; otherwise, those long, drab periods of time while fish are not being active could be considerably awkward.

Lastly, the framing of this photo is really what makes it. Twagira wanted to take a picture of the two men fishing, but he instead captured the entire landscape, making the two men seem small and insignificant while at the same time, through the use of coloration and vectors of attention, the most important aspects of the photo. The photograph is framed just perfectly so that the sea looks endless from all angles apart from the shoreline in the foreground. The emotion developed here is one of loneliness and even of insignificance.

This vast, open-looking sea, along with the manipulation of somber hues and the unusual function of vectors of attention, all come together to express to us as the viewers what I believe Twagira as the photographer and collector of the text wanted to convey to us through his photo. He understands that in comparison to the conflict, warfare, and heartache the people of Rwanda have faced, they are undoubtedly small. Their significance in the Republic, however, is still great. They are continuing to grow as a people, and will still continue to grow through time and help and support from one another.

WP1: Statement of Purpose

We have all had experience in our past English classes with analyzing and pointing out the significances of numerous short stories, novels, and even poems that society has labeled as “classic.” One in particular that comes to my mind is “Fire and Ice” by Robert Frost. From experience, I know that these literary works get torn apart, piece by piece, and each piece is examined very carefully so as not to miss anything the author may have been trying to tell us as readers – because the author is ALWAYS trying to tell us something; even if he says he is not (i.e. Mark Twain in the preface of Huckleberry Finn). Sure these written texts may be “classics” and may be most suitable to be studied in the setting of a classroom in which English and literature is taught, but who is to say that the same intricate analyses and vigorous researching that is done to come up with the author’s intent of the poem, novel, or other literary work cannot be done with a work from a different genre – perhaps from the genre of photography? It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and that being said, every picture tells a different story. This story is written by the photographer and is carried out by the people or the objects that are within their photograph. Therefore, each photograph, just like each literary work, embodies a specific significance and purpose, and it is our duty to study each and uncover the “authors’” hidden intents.

In accordance with the aforementioned deductive argument, I have selected a photograph from an online photo gallery called ‘Through the Eyes of Children’. This online gallery consists of dozens of photographs taken by nineteen of the older children and adolescents of the Rwandan Imbabazi Orphanage. The photos in this gallery were taken with 35mm disposable cameras, and only until the year 2005 did they begin the use of digital cameras. This in itself creates a special aesthetic unique to the gallery and to each photograph taken. This aesthetic is also further created by the sheer knowledge that all of the beautiful photographs were in fact captured by children of the orphanage.

The photograph I have selected from this gallery is entitled Fishing and was taken by a young man named Twagira. I have analyzed this photograph very similar to the way in which I have analyzed literary works in the past, and through my analyses and observations, I wish to comprehensibly and successfully express to my classmates, my English professor, and anyone else who may come around to reading my blog post (via certain resources such as a third party or by simply seeking out their own interests through an internet search engine) the argument I have composed that I believe this photograph distinctly embodies. This picture captured by Twagira expresses that the people of the Imbabazi Orphanage of Rwanda are incontestably small compared to the struggles they face, but are still significant, in control, and are able to overcome these struggles especially when supported by people who care for them. Specific elements such as coloration, framing of the scene, and visual hierarchy are used to illustrate this social, personal, and emotional argument and appeal to pathos.

I understand that my audience will need specific and relevant support for each observation I make in an effort to interpret my argument effectively, so I will embed the photograph itself in the blog post in hopes that my statements will be further supported and comprehended by my audience. I will also avoid any personal accounts of opinion or anecdotal statements so as not to derail my audience from my main argument and lose my professionalism in supporting it.

WP1: Pre-Writing Assignment 3

If not by first-hand experience, we all have some knowledge about what goes on during police interrogations – be it from television, the theaters, or from other sources. The purpose of these interviews is to gather information on the case at hand directly from the mouth of a witness or suspect. It is obvious that these police interrogations would evoke some level of anxiety in the witness or suspect, so it is more likely that certain events and personal accounts would be jumbled up or ambiguous to a certain extent. Because of this, interrogators are encouraged not to ask “yes or no” questions, as these questions may distort the perceptions of the subject on past events. For example, question: “You saw John at the gas station last night, didn’t you?” Response: Hmm, now that he mentions it, maybe I did… As the introduction of new information in this case brings about different reactions in the witnesses, my acquisition of historical and cultural context behind the photograph I selected, taken by Twagira and entitled Fishing, slightly altered my perception of the Rwandan text as a whole.

My initial reaction to this photograph taken by Twagira was a feeling of peace and solidarity; much like the way one feels when out fishing for recreation, minus the high spirits and fun atmosphere. I perceived low signs of stress and small levels of personal burden and reasoning behind sadness. I interpreted a strong sense of companionship between the two males which warmed up the picture even more. This is due to the fact that they are the only people in the photo and they are positioned right next to each other in relation to the seemingly endless landscape. I initially found the text to be the simple photographic capture of a daily routine in the lives of two Rwandan men, but after conducting my own research on the modern history of this small country and gathering information on the orphanage where Twagira stayed, my reactions toward and overall perceptions of the photograph changed slightly.

Beginning in April of the year 1994, genocide erupted across Rwanda. The two ethnic groups, the Hutu and the Tutsi went up against each other and as a result, a number of Hutu extremists murdered and wiped out approximately 800, 000 Tutsi people and moderate Hutus over the course of only about 100 days. To express the magnitude of this genocide, the Imbabazi orphanage website states, “Never before in history has there been an extermination of human life on such a scale in such a short period of time.” As a result of this mass “extermination,” more than 95, 000 children were left without parents. A woman named Roz Carr discovered this disheartening fact and started up the Imbabazi Orphanage; Imbabazi meaning “a place where you will receive all the love and care a mother would give.”

After having this information brought to my attention, I began to view the picture a bit differently. No longer did I feel peace, but safe and controlled anxiety coming from the two men. Stress levels seemed higher and the task at hand began to look a lot more difficult and strenuous. Rather than detecting companionship between the two men, I now perceived brotherhood as a direct result from reading about the horrible things they might have experienced together, but persevered through. The hues in the picture became a lot darker and more melancholy, and I noticed that the dark shadows of the water began to pop out at me as the viewer more clearly. All of these differences in my perception of the photograph resulted from the simple acquisition of background history and information of the Rwandan orphanage. It is interesting how much the context can distort such a static image.


Works Cited

Jendry, Bob. "Imbabazi Orphanage - Rwanda". The Imbabazi Orphanage. 16 Feb 2010 .