TOW #13- Kitchen Confidential (2nd IRB)

As Kitchen Confidential moves along, Bourdain continues to provide an in depth look into the restaurant world.  In the second half of this book, more specific stories are told about his own career as a chef, along with examples of what being a chef is like.  For instance, in the chapter "Level of Discourse," Bourdain touches on the various slang terms that are used in the restaurant world, along with how it impacts the workers on a mental level.  He explains that although a waiter may yell at you in very profane language, that it is nothing personal.  And in another instance, in the chapter "Sous-Chef," he describes his experience when he was working at a Jazz club restaurant that sat over two-hundred people.  From the figurative language that places you in his shoes, to the sarcastic toned rhetorical questions, Bourdain gives his audience the viewpoint of a chefs world.
As Bourdain was describing a restaurant in Manhattan that he cooked at, his use of very descriptive language allows the reader to know exactly what the restaurant was like, giving them first hand insight.  He writes, "The main dining room sat about two hundred, with private banquettes and booths along the walls, a dance floor and a stage from which a twelve-piece orchestra played forties swing music" (Bourdain 206).  The reader now has a much better vision of the restaurant, which is exactly what Bourdain wanted to provide.
Additionally,  Bourdain uses a sarcastic tone when asking rhetorical questions to engage the reader.  When addressing the slang and dialect that goes along with the restaurant industry, he says "Insensitive to gender preference, and the gorgeous mosaic of an ethnically diverse work force? (Bourdain 221).  His sarcastic tone adds to his purpose of trying to get across the point of how chefs and workers talk to each other, which adds even more to the rhetorical question stated.
From figurative language that paints a picture in the readers head, to the sarcastic tone used when stating rhetorical questions, Bourdain successfully provides an in-depth look of the restaurant world.

TOW #11- Muslims in America

It seems as though every time we turn on the news there is a another terror attack that has happened in the world.  It also seems that behind each of these attacks, the news focuses on the religion of the attackers, rather than their inhumane minds that prompted their actions.  Muslims in America have never been more on edge after the recent Paris, San Bernardino, and other Middle Eastern terror attacks.  Writer for the New York Times, Laurie Goodstein writes a piece on how American Muslims condemn extremists, and they are not the ones to be blamed.  Goodstein is the Time's main religion reporter and has wrote everything to little columns to front page articles on the Pope's visit to the States.  In this piece, Goodstein spreads awareness of the discrimination that American Muslims face by using quotes and current events.  

To establish her cause first, she quotes Nabihah Maqbool, a Muslim who is also a Law student at University of Chicago.  "It all becomes collapsed into these senseless acts of violence being committed by people who are part of my group" (Maqbool).  She uses this quote to not only to establish that her cause is credible and real, but to show how it personally effects one.  It places the reader of the Times in a new position which allows them to think differently.  It implies the rhetorical question as well; "What if a Christian committed an attack and the News portrayed all Christians as horrible people?"  Once she has the audience intrigued, Goodstein moves along and lists off current events to further her point that discrimination is happening to these innocent Muslims.

Goodstein names current evens that have happened to show that Muslims in America are constantly getting battered by ignorant Americans.  "Muslims have report a spate of violence and intimidation against them: women wearing head scarves accosted ; Muslim children bullied; bullet shot at a mosque in Meriden, Conn,; feces thrown at a mosque in Pflugerville, Tex" (Goodstein).  These events appeal to pathos, in that they give something the reader can emotionally react to.  If a church in Philadelphia was shot at in an act of prejudice, then the nation would surely mourn about it (as they should), but yet only few know about the constant acts of ethnocentrism that occur in our country.

By using quotes and current events, Goodstein is able to spread awareness of the discrimination of Muslims in America.  It is important to know that just because they claim to worship Islam, terrorists that practice these extremist views are not the same as the innocent American Muslims that hate ISIS just as much as white Christians do.

TOW #10- Visual (Debt)

College students today and those that have graduated college face enormous amounts of debt that restrict them from focusing solely on education.  Even some of the brightest students coming out of high school cannot afford to go on to college because of how expensive it is.  In a world where education is of the highest regard, debt is making students suffer and strangles them, which is portrayed in the image above.  Award winning cartoonist for The Columbus Dispatch, Nate Beeler, utilises frightening connotations and modern day slang to portray the strangling effect of debt on students today.  Snaking its way around post graduate students is debt, which wants to pry its fangs into their wallets.
By using the snake to resemble debt, Beeler creates a frightening connotation of the word debt.  The intimidating snake brings everything but joy to the word "debt" which is written along the body of the reptile.  By using this negative connotation, the readers of The Columbus Dispatch think of the four lettered word as something that wants to bite them, giving an impactful message to go along with the visual.  Now that the mood of the drawing is established, Beeler uses the word "selfie" to draw in readers of all kinds.
The modern day slang brings a friendly approach to capturing the audience, as "selfie" is not exactly a sophisticated word that draws away readers who cannot understand it.  This friendly vibe that selfie creates balances the terrifying snake which Beeler does so effectively.
The use of frightening connotations and modern day slang attracts readers to see the portrayal of what debt is doing to college graduates.  It chokes them out of everything they learned, and, limits their abilities to actually do what they learned in college (hence the snake dragging down his left arm so he cannot use it).  Nate Beeler successfully shows the true shame behind universities and the debt they drown students in.

TOW #9- Wild Ones (2)

The importance of animal conservation and climate change cannot be understated.  As a result of the human races rapid industrialization, the earth is changing and heading down a road of pollution and extinction.  The truth is, there is no one to blame besides ourselves, but there is also nothing we can do to change the past.  Jon Mooallem, author of "Wild Ones" writes in his book about the many different animals that are becoming extinct, and the different methods humans have done and will continue to do in the future to preserve animals.  From using parallelism to appealing to ethos through facts, Mooallem gives an indepth look in the second half of his book of climate change.

In one chapter of "Wild Ones," Mooallem touches on military bases actually providing shelter and relief to animals on the verge of extinction.  He draws parallels between the Department of Defence and the Department of the Interior.  "As strange as it sounds, military bases are actually proving to be strongholds of biodiversity.  Land owned by the Department of Defence now has more endangered species on it per acre than land owned by the Department of Interior, the arm of the government that is actually responsible for setting up refuges to conserve those species" (162 Mooallem).  Comparing the two departments and showing how the different departments impact climate change give the reader a new perspective on who is actually contributing to the cause and who is taking away from it.

Along with parallelism, Jon furthers his appeal to ethos through using facts and stats throughout the entire book.  In the Birds chapter, he is writing on the rebound of whooping cranes and states, "The handful of birds that were left in the 1940s have rebounded into a population of about 265 today" (201 Mooallem).  His numbers here appeal to the mind and give a statistical viewpoint that makes understanding climate change easier.

The world is changing faster than ever, and it is up to the human race to make sure that it does not change for the worst.  Jon Mooallem uses parallelism and facts throughout his book to educate his audience and to make them aware of the climate change the earth is facing.  The importance of climate change and preservation of animals cannot be stressed enough, and Mooallem provides a neat outlook of these current day issues.

TOW #8- Kitchen Confidential (IRB)

From Parts Unknown, being a CNN correspondent, or one of the most well respected chefs to walk into a kitchen, Anthony Bourdain does it all.  He has become the face of cooking and the role model of so many young chefs and restaurateurs.  Bourdain has expanded his horizons beyond the kitchen as well; his show Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown narrates his adventures throughout the world as he tastes and explores new cultures.  Kitchen Confidential features all of Bourdain's restaurant advice, as well as his personal stories of how he became the man he is today.  He uses sarcasm and real quotes from other chefs to provide a full and realistic outlook of the adventures of the restaurant world.

In Anthony's book, he provides sarcasm to give the reader a sense of what working and owning restaurants is like.  As he was telling a story about two restaurant owners that had no idea what they were doing, he wrote "they'd chosen the restaurant business as a way to lose their money more quickly and assuredly" (122). He sarcastically jokes about how hard it is to make money and become successful in his line of work.  This gives his readers who may never have stepped foot in a kitchen a different perspective.  Along with sarcasm, he quotes former chefs he has worked with to show his audience the type of lingo and style that is so prominent in the restaurant world.  "'So...what the f*** are you doing calling me in the middle of a f****** lunch rush' I scream into the phone, smashing it abruptly into the cradle" (192).  This type of jarring diction associated with the restaurant world that he incorporates into his book allows the audience to gain a better understanding of the constant chaos that takes place in restaurants.  His purpose of providing an outlook of the restaurant world is achieved through his use of sarcasm and quotes, as they paint a picture easily understandable for his readers.

IRB Intro #2- Kitchen Confidential

For IRB #2, I started reading Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain.  Bourdain is a one of the few celebrity chefs that has not become artificial and caught up in the world of fame.  His success in the restaurant business and experiences all contribute to this book, leaving me excited to see what stories and advice that Bourdain has in store.

TOW #7- Modern Day Slavery (non-fiction)

On December 6th, 1865, slavery was abolished in America.  One of the leading nations getting rid of slavery started a movement which eliminated slavery throughout many other countries in the world, leaving slavery at a minimum as the world developed and industrialized.  Yet, almost 200 years later, why do forms of slavery still exist?  Journalist for the New York Times, Nicholas Kristof wrote an opinion and feature of a young Indian girl who faced slavery in the 21st century.  Kristof, a two time Pulitzer prize winner and Harvard University graduate, uses eye-opening facts and rhetorical questions to inform those who are unaware of modern slavery the harsh effects it has and how there needs to be a solution to end it.

Kristof interviewed a girl named Poonam Thapa, who at the age of 12 was tricked into working at a brothel and fell into the human trafficking system.  Poonam was forced to work every day of the year at the brothel with no pay, while she constantly got raped and abused.  Kristof writes "A new study suggests that post-traumatic stress disorder is frequent among those who have been trafficked" (Kristof 15).  This factual evidence supports the claim that these girls that are forced into modern day slavery are impacted for the rest of their life, even after they are free.  As well as the eye-opening facts that Kristof uses to draw in his audience of readers of the New York Times, he also uses rhetorical questions in the beginning and end of his article to provoke thought into the audience.  Right at the start, Kristof writes "When readers hear about “modern slavery” in America or abroad, they may roll their eyes and assume that’s an exaggeration. Slavery? Really? Modern slavery? " (Kristof 1).  As well as the beginning, Kristof finishes his piece by writing "In the 21st century, isn’t it finally time to abolish slavery forever?" (Kristof 20).  These rhetorical questions do not simply give the mind a "yes or no" answer.  They require deeper thinking for an answer.  They help his purpose by creating an active reading atmosphere for the audience.  They can think of solutions to end modern day slavery as well, allowing everyone to contribute and work together to stop slavery.
Kristof successfully informs his audience on the still occurring problems with slavery and forced work that go on, and provokes thought and solutions from the audience by using rhetorical questions.  His purpose to spread awareness of modern day slavery and including his audience in working together to find a solution is achieved.

TOW #6- Immigration in the Kitchen (non-fiction)

"Barbecue with a side of reform," an article written by staff writer Michael Matza for the Philly Inquirer, focuses on the immigration issues that our country faces, and how it impacts over 500,000 kitchen workers.  Matza is a two time Pulitzer Prize winner, who also is a veteran foreign correspondent who was based in the Middle East.  His vast knowledge of immigration is why he is one of the only writers that just focuses on immigration.  At a time in our country where immigration is one of the leading issues, this front page article could not be more prevalent.
In the article, Matza focuses on the restaurant Barbacoa, and speaks with owner of it Ben Miller.  Miller's overall goal is to create a better opportunity to live in the US for those illegal chefs that work just as hard as anyone else, and Mazta channels it for him.  Matza uses facts and inspiring anecdotes from Miller's life to show how illegal immigrants working in the kitchen only do good to benefit society despite their reputation of being drug dealers and tax evaders.  Matza quotes highly respected former governor of New York Michael Bloomberg, who once said "Our businesses broke the law by employing them (illegal immigrants), but our city's economy would be a shell of itself had they not, and it would collapse if they were deported" (Matza A7).  Coming from Bloomberg, this quote directly speaks on the huge positive impact that these hard working chefs and busboys provide to the American economy.  As well as facts, Mazta tells inspiring anecdotes from chef Ben Miller's life.  Ben is married to immigrant Cristina Martinez, who is also a head chef at his restaurant.  Years ago when Martinez was attempting to come into the U.S, she was caught by border patrol and cited.  Due to this, she cannot possess a green card; if she wants to go back to Mexico to visit her family, she can only return to the States illegally, by paying smugglers up to $8,000.  Mazta includes this story to show that the majority of immigrants that are working in kitchens mean absolutely no harm, yet they cannot see their family back home in any easy way.  This provides a feeling of pity in the audience, furthering his appeal to pathos.  Matza successfully utilises these devices to prove his purpose, as him and Ben Miller have started an upcoming movement in the restaurant industry to improve immigration laws for those coming outside the U.S that want to work in restaurants.

TOW #5- visual

The news is flooded with pictures and stories of the refugees fleeing parts of the Middle East for Europe.  ISIS and other extremist groups are rapidly killing and threatening innocent citizens, which has created a mass movement of refugees fleeing the terror.  Cartoonist David Horsey illustrates here "a refugees view of the world". Horsey is a Pulitzer Prize winning artist, whose works are published in U.S. News, L.A Times, and many other newspapers around the world. In this cartoon specifically, Horsey is drawling for an audience of US News readers, or anyone interested in the immigration conflicts occurring overseas. He depictes the horrible and brutal circumstances for the immigrants, and how both sides of their world are filled with terror.  

The use of juxtaposition compares the dictators and fanatical terrorists that impact these people, forcing them to leave their own country.  He compares them as both frightening animals that are bringing hell to earth as they fight each other and the citizens that reside besides the.  As well as juxtaposition, he utilizes compelling imagery, turning the words of "dictator" or "terrorist" into a great beast that the refugees are running from.  Now that the reader sees these words as not only a compilation of letters but a chaos creating machine, they began to feel sympathy for the refugees.  Due to his use of these rhetorical devices, he is able to show that all the refugees know is violence and terror. His purpose here is clear and effective, allowing the observer to see that the refugees mean no harm; they simply are running from the horrible violence that their countries are filled with.  I believe that he does a very effective job in achieving his purpose, as anyone viewing this cartoon could not help but feel hatred for the "beasts" and sorrow for the refugees. 

TOW #4- Wild Ones (IRB)

Wild Ones by Jon Mooallem is a nonfiction book that describes the current day issues of human interaction with the environment, and the way that the climate is changing.  Mooallem, a journalist and writer for The New York Times, is a well known author on the topic of the relationship between humans and animals.  In his introduction, he writes about all the animal printed clothing and blankets his daughter has, and how they seem to be "lovey dovey" yet in the real world, animals are becoming extinct and less "lovey dovey" faster than ever.  

Mooallem travels around the world to different areas where endangered species are living telling personal anecdotes.  In the first chapter, he visits Churchill, an area in the tundra high up in Canada.  This is one of the polar bear capitals of the world.  Companies run tours here, showing the tourists the wildlife, but as well as informing them of the climate change that is slowing taking out the polar bear race.  While Mooallem was visiting, he happened to be there while Martha Stuart was filming a segment on polar bears as well.  He recalls on how the tour guides all wanted to follow Martha Stewart and feed her correct information about the polar bears, because the best way to make people aware of extinction is through popular celebrity figures like her.  As Mooallem humorously writes, "Something that I'd kind of suspected for hours was suddenly obvious: we were chasing Martha Stewart across the tundra" (19).  This humorous anecdote that not only makes the reader laugh, adds to Mooallem's purpose to spread climate change and animal extinction awareness.  Once adding something funny into a text, the reader automatically enjoys reading more, because it gives light to a dull or dark topic.  This was just one of the many anecdotes that Mooallem uses to achieve his purpose, but the others he writes about such as going to Antioch Dunes to study butterflies,  all add to supporting his purpose, clearly showing that he accomplished what he intended.  Not having read the whole book, I still became interested on the topic of climate change, which is exactly what Mooallem was trying to accomplish; engage the audience of anyone from animal lovers to politicians on this modern day debate that needs a solution.

Tow #3, Pope Cartoon (visual)

As the Pope entered The States for his first time, it seemed as though everyone from New York to D.C was impacted by his prodigious trip.  In the cartoon above, cartoonist Scott Stantis depicts how amidst the Pope's friendly visit, US politics are still at full fledge battle with each other.  This cartoon was published in US News, and Stantis's clever cartoons are also published in several of his books, as well as several of the most popular news companies in The United States.  His audience consisted of anyone who reads US News, and was intended to show how US politics are so filled with egotistical politicians, that they do not take time to think about the positive messages that are spread throughout the US.  One very effective device of rhetoric that Stantis uses in this cartoon was ambiguity.  His indirect, yet intentional use of of color highlights the differences between the Pope, and US politicians.  His use of a dark color scheme to make the US seem darker and evil, makes the bright white Pope seem like the good guy in this cartoon.  The multiple meanings behind his use of color contribute to his purpose of illuminating the egotistical, self-centered politicians that fight more than actually coming to productive agreements.  Along with that purpose, the words in the bubble above the Popes head bring along another effective use of rhetoric, which is colloquialism.  The short sentence which has the complexity of a third grader, gives the cartoon an informal vibe, yet is still as impactful as if he had used SAT words.  It adds to his purpose, because it is almost as if the Pope is treating the politicians like elementary schoolers, telling them to "be kind to each other."  Through Stantis's use of colloquialism and ambiguity, he accomplished his purpose in this visual.

TOW #2 "Filter Fish" (nonfiction)

Oliver Sacks, famed neurologist and idol to many,  recently wrote a short personal memoir, reflecting on his childhood and how it seemed to be shaped around his love for gefilte fish.  On the surface, it seems uninteresting, because who cares about gefilte fish?  However, as he recently was diagnosed with terminal cancer, his reflection of the fish is a symbol for the joyful life he lived.  Not only did he enjoy the gefilte balls, but they reminded him of his mother, and everything that she provided for him.  They reminded him of how he could not bare to eat anyone else's cooked fish, as none were as good as his mother's homemade style balls.  His audience, anyone from readers of the New York Times, but also those near the end of their lives, wanting to relive their joyful childhood memories are drawn into his writing through his appeal to pathos.  His use of the short stories he describes ensues his purpose of wanting the reader to think back on their special childhood memories.  While he was writing on how the only other gefilte fish besides his mother's he could eat was that made by his housekeeper, he gave emotional appeal while describing the situation.  His housekeeper, an African American catholic, would make the fish balls for her church, as he described the situation, "I loved to think of her fellow-Baptists gorging on gefilte fish at their church socials."  This appeal to emotion gives the reader something to chuckle at, while they think of little things that made their childhood unique.  To conclude, Sacks's legendary life full of achievement will be missed, but his short memoir published in the Times is achieving every purpose that it has.  When I am sitting on my front porch in sixty years, pondering the little things that shaped the man I will have become (just as Oliver is pictured in the article), I will think similar thoughts as Sacks did, realizing every little positive occurrence in life adds up to your overall happiness, just as Sacks wanted his readers to think.

TOW #1 "I have a dream" (nonfiction)

The Atlantic Magazine and College Board have teamed up this year to have their first annual writing contest.  The Atlantic asked students around the world to send in their best essays where they were asked to choose a document that shaped the United States, and analyze it in fewer than 2,000 words.  After thousands of submissions, lots of reviews by College Board and Atlantic editors, a student named Nicolas Yan of New Zealand won the contest, and his essay was published in the magazine.  Yan chose Martin Luther King Jr's "I have a dream speech" to analyze, and did so with such grace that it is hard to believe he is only a 17 year old student.  Yan is top of his class and entering his final year at King's College in Auckland.  His intended audience were those grading the essays, however was evidently the millions of people that read the Atlantic, and those that care about the past and current day civil rights.  He goes through MLK's speech, highlighting its impact, but MLK's diction as well.  Yan writes, "Nevertheless, he now found himself at the wheel of a massive vehicle for change."  The diction that Yan uses here to compose this fluid sentence is highly effective in his attempt to convey the large outcome MLK had accomplished.  As well as using rhetoric to capture the reader, Nicolas connected this past event with current day issues, where he writes "King in his 'dream' speech called 'the winds of police brutality,' such as in the cases of Michael Brown and Freddie Gray."  Yan's initial purpose in writing this essay was to not only to be rewarded and published by The Atlantic, but to analyze and speak on MLK's large development on shaping the United States.  In my eyes, but clearly in the eyes of millions of others, he accomplished his purpose in just under 2,000 words by using rhetoric strategies to convey his purpose, which won him the contest.

IRB Introduction- Wild Ones

The first independent reading book that I will be reading is "Wild Ones" by Jon Mooallem.  I saw this book in a book shop on the Lopez Islands off the coast of Washington State, and figured it would be cool to buy it as a souvenir.  Little did I know, this book about the extinction crisis of animals and what we can do to solve this issue is an award winner, and was on the New York Times 100 notable books list in 2013, leading me to actually wanting to read it.

The Lives of a Cell by Lewis Thomas

"Man is embedded in nature" (358).  Those five words summarize Lewis Thomas's essay, The Lives of a Cell, into what its overall purpose is.  To inform mankind how important cells are, and how they all come from nature.  Thomas graduated from Princeton University, then went on to Harvard Medical school where he gained his knowledge to become a physician.  He was a Pulitzer Prize winner for general nonfiction, which led to his strongly praised essays and research, such as The Lives of a Cell.  This essay was written for the New England Journal of Medicine, and was spread around to many books and different physicians, becoming a well regarded text.  Thomas wrote this with the intentions to prove his purpose that we may not think about nature, but without it, we literally would be non-existent.  We are made up of nature, including the individual cells that we need to make our body function, and make every day life possible.  He uses mitochondria as a metaphor to orchestrate his purpose, proving that they seem to be little parts of nature that mean nothing to us, but in reality are more complex and necessary than Jamaica Bay (359).  This metaphor is meant to make us realize that the little things we see and use may be of little help, but without them (nature) we are nothing.  Lewis had an intended audience of doctors and any readers of the New England Journal of Medicine, but his metaphoric references and use of imagery made the essay blow up into something high school students can read to understand the importance of nature, which is exactly what Thomas's initial purpose was.  If one were to ask these readers, anyone from high school level to Harvard Medical school, everyone would agree that his purpose was accomplished in just two short pages.

PHOTO: Kingsley Felix, These are just some of the thousands of little but very important cells we need and rely on.

Pamplona in July by Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway, similar to Mark Twain in that their presence was essential throughout the history of writing, was an American author, whose stories played a huge influence on fictional writing throughout the 20th century. He begins this essay with the trouble he went through when arriving in Northern Spain, and how every local in the town tries to benefit from the thousands of people that flood into Pamplona in July.  The hotel host was trying to make as much money off of Ernest and his crowd as she could, only adding to this adventure that he went through in 1923.  After describing the many different events that he witnessed throughout his trip, one analogy he used, which made his picture of Pamplona very vivid, was when he said "All the carnivals I have ever seen paled down in comparison.  A rocket exploded over our heads with a blinding burst" (Pamplona in July 98,99).  After effectively achieving his purpose, Hemingway's additional use of imagery placed me in Pamplona with him.  His purpose to make me aware of the culture of the bullfighting capital of the world was seemed to be achieved too easily by Hemingway.  He keeps the reader engaged by using subtle hints of humor.  When Ernest is writing on why there are little accidents during this festival, he says it is because everyone relies on the steers to guide the bulls safely throughout the streets (101).  Adding to the list of vivid essays that captivate the reader, allowing them to be placed in Ernest's shoes, Pamplona in July successfully conveys to the audience eager of learning about the world what exactly Pamplona is like in July.  Hemingways effective use of imagery, analogies, and diction kept me engaged, and placed me in Pamplona.  His purpose to show me the culture, and to entertain me of his past events was done with grace, never leaving me at a pause while reading the essay.

PHOTO: Callum Graham,  The thousands of people turn Pamplona in July into the chaotic city Hemingway described.

Corn-Pone Opinions by Mark Twain

As I flipped throughout The Best American Essays, Mark Twain's name jumped out at me.  Little is needed to say about this author, as he is arguably by many the greatest author of all time.  His Mark Twain Prize award is the most prestigious award for American humor.  I have always heard so much about his prodigious writing, but have never actually read any of it.  So, I dove into Corn-pone Opinions, and immediatly realized why he is such a praised writer.  Twain analyzes the meaning of corn-pone opinions throughout this essay, and writes on how there are no true, self made opinions in the world.  There are only opinions that are made based off of what others think.  He begins this by telling a short story of a young black slave that he would listen to preach during his teenage years in Missouri.  One day, as the slave was preaching his daily sermon, he said "You tell me whar a man gits his corn pone, en I'll tell you what hus 'pinions is" (1).  From that day on, Twain was intrigued by how all opinions come from the influence of others.  His purpose is highlighted when he uses a rhetoric strategy, connotation, suggesting why "Catholics are Catholics, why Presbyterians are Presbyterians."  It is because they follow the opinions of what their associates follow.  If I stop wearing blue jeans to school one day, then my peer will notice and stop wearing blue jeans, and this whole process will snowball.  The audience of anyone from students to pleasure readers can assume from here that there are truly only corn-pone opinions in this world, which is what Twain is trying to convey.  After finishing the essay, I realized that Twain hit the nail right on the head,  he proved his purpose that opinions never come from one's self-realization, and are only formed from what they are influenced by from others.

Cartoon by Glenn Mccoy.  Illustrating how the voter is basing his opinion on someone else's.