Critical Reading, Writing, and Thinking Assignment: To Live or Not to Live
Resha Paumier
EN105 First Year Writing Seminar I: Critical Reading, Writing, and Thinking Across
24 January 2010
To live or not to live
Imagine you have just overcome the greatest challenge in your life, the miraculous gift of conception. But already your existence is faced with an uncertainty and you have absolutely no choice in the matter, in fact it is left up to your mother or the politicians and lawyers. That’s where this advertisement comes into play; the creator of it believed that this is a choice that only the mother should have. And that is the message that comes across with this ad is quite clear that the mother should only be allowed to choose whether or not her child should live. Its sole purpose is to help back and stand by those who already share the same idea and secondly to try and persuade the minds of those who feel differently. It does this with a simple silhouette of a woman; one that we would recognize as universal symbol for a woman. It is commonly used to indicate where restrooms are, like that which is seen in an airport or even a shopping mall. Also the symbol is used directly on the door to distinguish which restroom is for females. That is where the similarities end, and that is what captures the intended targets attention. So who exactly is the intended target for this advertisement? To be honest it is everyone with a voice and an opinion on the matter, it is not solely the pregnant mother. It even gets a little deeper when religion, politics, and even activist get involved in subject. So when we break down this advertisement what does each integral part from colors to writing tell us? The symbol for woman is obviously that of a woman, she is drawn in white with a black box outlining her. Now to me I believe this color scheme was chosen to represent several things. The symbol for woman is drawn in white to symbolize her innocence and purity, and black around her to represent everyone around who opposes her decisions. The color
EN105 First Year Writing Seminar I: Critical Reading, Writing, and Thinking Across
24 January 2010
To live or not to live
Imagine you have just overcome the greatest challenge in your life, the miraculous gift of conception. But already your existence is faced with an uncertainty and you have absolutely no choice in the matter, in fact it is left up to your mother or the politicians and lawyers. That’s where this advertisement comes into play; the creator of it believed that this is a choice that only the mother should have. And that is the message that comes across with this ad is quite clear that the mother should only be allowed to choose whether or not her child should live. Its sole purpose is to help back and stand by those who already share the same idea and secondly to try and persuade the minds of those who feel differently. It does this with a simple silhouette of a woman; one that we would recognize as universal symbol for a woman. It is commonly used to indicate where restrooms are, like that which is seen in an airport or even a shopping mall. Also the symbol is used directly on the door to distinguish which restroom is for females. That is where the similarities end, and that is what captures the intended targets attention. So who exactly is the intended target for this advertisement? To be honest it is everyone with a voice and an opinion on the matter, it is not solely the pregnant mother. It even gets a little deeper when religion, politics, and even activist get involved in subject. So when we break down this advertisement what does each integral part from colors to writing tell us? The symbol for woman is obviously that of a woman, she is drawn in white with a black box outlining her. Now to me I believe this color scheme was chosen to represent several things. The symbol for woman is drawn in white to symbolize her innocence and purity, and black around her to represent everyone around who opposes her decisions. The color
Cited: -U.S. Supreme Court, Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973) 410 U.S Argued December 13, 1971 Reargued October 11, 1972 Decided January 22, 1973 -Pollitt, Katha