TOW #27 Thrift Shop

            In their song “Thrift Shop,” artists Macklemore and Ryan Lewis rap about how wearing vintage clothes is the latest trend in fashion.  At one point in the song they say, “No, for real, ask your grandpa: can I have his hand-me-downs?”  This line is the title for Mireille Silcoff’s latest article in the New York Times Magazine in which she describes “how old got cool.”  Throughout the text, Silcoff writes of a newfound respect and interest many young adults show in the elderly generation.

            Initially, Silcoff establishes a light and humorous tone by listing examples of how fashion companies are utilizing elderly models to market new product lines.  For example, she describes a photo in a fashion catalogue titled “Advanced Style” in which there is “a 100-year-old woman holding a seasoned ostrich purse in one hand and a walking stick in another; her facial expression suggests a certain curiosity as to why in God’s name this boychik with the digital camera wants so much to taker her picture.”  Silcoff recognizes that the topic she is discussing naturally lends itself to jokes and so she entertains the audience by making sarcastic remarks about the younger generation and the so-called “hipster” lifestyle.  Interestingly enough, she also includes a graph below the text that indicates the number of mentions of Betty White in the New York Times by decade.  Not only does the graph reveal the resurgent popularity of a White as a result of this fascination with the elderly, but it also adds to the overall appearance of the text as well.

            Silcoff does an excellent job of being humorous yet insightful.  Even though she pokes fun at some of the latest fashion trends, she ultimately argues that this new respect for our elders is well-deserved.

TOW #26 Every Good Boy Does Fine

            Piano lessons are often considered a rite of passage for young children.  In the “Personal History” section of the New Yorker in a piece titled “Every Good Boy Does Fine,” concert pianist Jeremy Denk describes his own experiences with piano lessons and explains how they shaped not only his career but also his understanding of himself.  Denk recounts his own personal history based on the various piano teachers he has had at different points throughout his life.

            As a professional musician, Denk obviously has a much greater knowledge of classical music and music theory than his audience.  For this reason, he employs analogies to make the musical complexities he describes more accessible to average readers.  For example, to enable readers to understand the hopelessness of practicing fingering techniques, Denk writes, “Imagine that you are scrubbing the grout in your bathroom and are told that removing every last particle of mildew will somehow enable you to deliver the Gettysburg Address.”  In addition, Denk utilizes hyperbole as a method of explaining the monotony of some of his practices.  He writes, “Exercises like this are crucial and yet seem intended to quell any natural enthusiasm for music, or possibly even for life.”

            By explaining the different techniques his instructors utilized while teaching, Denk paints a picture of the personalities of these people beyond the realm of classical music.  Also, Denk writes of the hard work required to achieve success as a musician and the fine line that a teacher must walk between critiquing a student’s work and destroying his/her confidence.  As a pianist himself, Denk’s description of the power of music lessons carries a unique sense of credibility.       

TOW #25 The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

            The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass spans from the time of Douglass’ birth into slavery until his escape to New York.  During his time as a slave in Maryland, Douglass experienced the various methods by which Southern slaveholders exert complete control over the slave population and he began to recognize that a slave must first gain intellectual freedom before gaining physical freedom.  To this end, he teaches himself how to read and write and also teaches the slaves around him as well. 

As he becomes literate, Douglass examines how slaveholders often used religion to justify their punishments.  Douglass recalls how one of his most pious masters quoted the Bible while whipping a slave stating, “He that knoweth his master’s will, and doeth it not, shall be beaten with many stripes” (57).  He reveals the faultiness of this logic by describing his own experience with Christianity and by making various religious allusions that argue against the slaveholders’ conduct.  Throughout the text, Douglass maintains a rather calm and academic tone despite the nature of the events he describes.  In some ways, his work is more effective than other abolitionist pieces because he recognizes that the horrors of slavery need no exaggeration.  While abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison utilized inflammatory rhetoric as a way to rile up the masses, Douglass relied on appealing to the logical and rational minds of the American public.  For this reason, Douglass’ autobiography is considered one of the most important abolitionist works of all time and is partially credited for pushing the United States to confront slavery during the Civil War.