A Good Man Speaking Well? Really?

For my example, I am using the show Stranger Things, a Netflix original series. In season 1, episode 7 of Stranger Things the clip from 9:10-10:58 (can't find an actual video so here is the time of the clip) shows the Department of Energy workers at the Wheeler's house convincing the Wheeler parents they are good people and simply trying to help their son, Mike, who is hiding the Department of Energy's experiment, Eleven. Both Agent Fraizer (the female DOE worker) and Dr. Brenner (the male DOE worker) are bad, evil people, and are using their rhetoric to convince the Wheeler's they are just trying to help.

Agent Fraizer and Dr. Brenner are being very calm with the Wheeler family, telling them that their son is possibly in danger and they need to know anything about where he could be to help them. They reassure them that they are the government and just want to help their son. The Wheeler parents are extremely distressed in this moment, so they trust Dr. Brenner when he soothes them, telling them he will help, gives them his word even, saying they just need to trust him. Mrs. Wheeler believes Dr. Brenner, even though he just wants to take Eleven back because she is some sort of experiment to them and they are conducting other experiments that lead to the harm of many lives.

This goes against Quintillian's assertion, because these bad people have convinced the Wheeler's that they are actually good people. Because of the Wheeler's naivety to the DOE workers, they can come off as "good people" even though they are truly not, simply through using reassuring rhetoric and their positions within the government. If the Wheeler's knew more about the DOE, Eleven, and what was actually going on, i'm sure they would realize the DOE workers are bad people and would not have trusted their word; however, because they are unaware, the bad people's rhetoric was successful.

Wandering Pullman

For this exercise, I'm choosing to write about the big cougar statue right outside the Martin Stadium ticket office. I think the argument this piece is truly making has to do with Cougar spirt. It has always been said that anytime you go somewhere, anywhere in the world, wearing something WSU related, you will hear a "Go Cougs" at least once. With cougs all over the world, cougar spirit runs wild. The base of the statue talks about cougar pride, and what better way to show it than a large cougar jumping out at every passerby.

When the artist was making this piece, they worked with a lot of heavy metals, rock, plaques, and more. The strength of the medium is it's own message, as the strength of cougar pride is unbreakable, just like the statue. It is something that will last forever, just like the love many people experience for being a WSU cougar. I have never seen another school with a fanbase like the cougs, a school that truly becomes a part of each student that goes here.

The statue is perfectly situated right outside of Martin Stadium, where WSU plays football. WSU football is a huge deal to many WSU fans, and no matter what the season brings, cougs are always supporting their team - good and bad. This is the heart of WSU and the ethos surrounding it makes sense for the coug to be there, because it is the heart of school spirit to be at a WSU football game, so having the giant symbol of our cougar pride right out front follows the values of cougar fans.

All of this combines to create an argument that cougar pride runs strong throughout Pullman, WA and anywhere else cougar fans can be found. Coug fans will forever support our football team, so having this statue right out front is the perfect location for cougar pride. It is a statue that seems completely unbreakable, just like the unbreakable cougar spirit. Everything about this statue screams cougar pride, just like the fans found screaming for the cougs at every WSU football game.