PA#4 -- They Say, I Say (Refutation)
In a topic sentence, state that claim and exactly how you disagree with it. Then, show with examples and details that the cartoon makes that claim.
Then, disagree with one specific argument against the cartoonists original claim.
Finally, provide evidence -- as specific as you can find from your own life -- that the claim is not true.
You are being asked to write a classic refutation paragraph. Downshift. Get very specific.
Post a draft of the paragraph ASAP, but no later than 5 PM on Tuesday night.
Feel free to use any of the templates in Chapters 4 and 5 of TSIS.
The author of this cartoon, Roz Chast, clearly implies that modern day teenagers are obtusely messy, but while there are messy teenagers out there, this trait is not indicative of this generation. This messiness is shown in the piles of trash and homework strewn about the floor. The TV on the floor and papers without proper folders depict a generation without the ability to organize. However, unlike that cartoon suggests, the modern world is creating many organized teenagers. This organization is becoming a required characteristic to survive in that competitive world. Specifically, the job market is highly competitive, and it demands for students to possess structure and organization skills. These skills become imperative in college when students must discipline themselves to remain on track in their studies. In college, lack of good organization can easily lead to missed assignments or even classes.
ReplyDeleteI find the actual conversation in this cartoon to be very amusing. I will admit, conversations nowadays have gone viral and are almost always anywhere but in person, but I don't know anyone that talks they way they do in this cartoon. Let's talk about the grammar. I know for a fact that when I text or e-mail someone, my grammar is never 100%, but it is also nowhere near as bad as this conversation. There is almost no punctuation, which happens to be a huge pet peeve of mine. I like to know if someone is asking a question or just stating something, and without punctuation, it is difficult to tell the difference. Now about the emotion conveyed through the conversation. I like to have my emotions known, and I fell I do a pretty good job with letting them be known. The emotions that go along with a conversation can't always be known to the full extent, but you can most certainly do a better job than Romeo and Juliet did in this cartoon.
ReplyDeleteThe author wrongly claims technology turned today’s teenagers lazy. One might assume this if they don’t take all the details into account such as the high marked tests within the exaggerated rubble. It also seems like Chaz is trying to say they’re too lazy to clean it up, but teenagers today are too busy with school, jobs and friends for organizing. Their IMs contain bad grammar but the conversation probably happened in a minute or so, or they were distracted with homework. Also in the text, Juliet says goodbye and makes it seem like her dad thinks the computer is the reason she is failing, but Capulet doesn’t know what’s best for her.
ReplyDeleteThe cartoonist claims through this cartoon that my generation has no work ethic, but I challenge this opinion. Chast points out, in his cartoon, how Romeo and Juliet shirk their responsibilities, such as cleaning their room and schoolwork, only to sit around on their bed socializing. Surrounding Juliet and Romeo’s room is a giant mess of books, electronics and food. Their lack of caring for their environment goes to show how they have no work ethic to take care of a simple task of cleaning their rooms. The books used for schoolwork that are found on the floor have been strewn across the room haphazardly showing how they barely even care to take a few seconds to look through their homework. Although I can agree with Chast’s claim, to an extent, on how this generation has a poor work ethic, I can not fully support that notion. There are still teenagers who practice a good work ethic. From my personal experiences I have seen rooms become messy, I am no exception, but never to the extent that was shown in the cartoon. When a room becomes untidy most teenagers will at least acknowledge the mess and try to make a little dent in the cleaning project. Romeo nor Juliet makes any motion doing either of the tasks, something that I think Chast grossly over-stresses. Again, most teenagers will recognize the need to do homework, however small that may be. In my own experience, I will always try to get a little work done. On evenings when all my teachers decide to give homework, I, like many others, have to make myself sit down to get through the work; that would only work if in fact I had a work ethic.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with Roz Chast’s claim that our generation does not care how we represent ourselves academically. She portrays this view in the dialogue when Juliet shows no disappointment telling Romeo that her Spanish teacher called to say she is failing. Chast is mistaken because every generation has a certain percentage that does not care, not just our generation in particular. I do not have any friends who would be comfortable with the fact they are failing Spanish class. Our generation, for example, could just as well make a cartoon about how her generation has no clue how to use modern day electronics. It would misrepresent her generation as a whole, but she misrepresented ours.
ReplyDeleteRoz Chast makes the claim that we as a generation are isolated, this is false. The cartoon and every member of this “obsolete” generation will try to tell us that we’re isolated from other people. When in reality us youths are more linked in, and interconnected than they can ever imagine. The cartoon tries to show distance by blocking/separating the two lovers by placing the text in the middle, as well as putting up the visual of sound isolation that is their head phones. They may not be in the room, but these two lovers are with each other 100% of the time. Romeo and Juliet as every other youth has a pleothora of networking options: text, phone, MySpace, Facebook, email, snail mail, garbage pail(not really) Google, Skype. They’re so linked in they’re probably on “linked-in”. And yet we look at these two as isolated? I have more email addresses, and networking accounts than I do dollars in my bank account. Romeo and Juliet’s conversation may be brief, but that’s most likely because they just got done with a 30 minute skype call, or a Facebook chat. The physical distance between people may have grown, but the level of connection has grown proportionally.
ReplyDeleteRoz Chast’s claim that teens do not care about academics and doing well in school rests upon the questionable assumption that teens think their poor academic standing has no consequences later in life. Within the cartoon it is clear that Chast thinks teens are no longer concerned with grades as Juliet says, “cardoza called home im failing Spanish.” The phrase is so nonchalant that clearly Juliet sees failing as just a fact of life and not actually a problem. Also, Romeo mentions his use of purple ink on a science test and the result being his teacher was angry. This too displays that Romeo does not care about his grades or what his teachers think of him. However, what Chast fails to realize is that many students including myself do in fact care and work hard daily to keep up their grades since they have dreams of going to a prestigious university. And in order to get into a great university you need equally great grades. The pressure to get into a great university is evidenced by the recent SAT cheating scandal in New York where students paid people to take the SAT for them and do better than they themselves could do on the exam. Cheating on the SAT as well as other tests and plagiarizing on essays clearly demonstrates that students care about their grades so much they go to extreme and immoral lengths just to get the grade. In the end major reasons students cheat is because often parents and society expect that students are able to perform well and keep top notch grades so that they can be successful and live up to expected standards. Yet personally for myself and others that I know we take pride in our education and learning as we work hard to succeed in school and the future. For instance, when my friends and I were excited to be done with high school, we were equally excited to find out our final grade point averages (GPAs). Our GPAs would determine what color sash we got wear, be it orange, blue, or gold. Gold was my color and the ultimate satisfaction knowing it was the top color, reserved for those with a GPA above 4.0. Thus it is clear to me that many teens care about their academics for one reason or another and are therefore not apathetic about school.
ReplyDeleteIn the I.M.’s of Romeo and Juliet is appears as though Roz Chast believes technology is responsible for the downfall of my generation. What Roz Chast fails to understand is that the majority of teenagers do not just use their cell phones or computers for fun or social purposes; the majority of teenagers use their cell phones and computers for schoolwork. Computers and phones allow teenagers of this generation to have access to information at their fingertips, keep on track of their schoolwork, check their grades, and remain organized. While it may be true that some teenagers let social networking sights and texting get in the way of working hard in school, that is the individual’s fault and own lack of motivation, and not the fault of the computer or cell phone.
ReplyDeleteIn the cartoon, Roz Chast seems to be making a claim that teenagers today are passionless. However, I think that Chast is mistaken because she overlooks the cultural differences between teenagers today and those of the time of Romeo and Juliet. Chast seems to make her argument by highlighting the mundane conversation between the characters, such as what had happened at school that day. What she may not realize is that, due to the extent of teenagers' responsibilities in this century, those kinds of topics are all they should be worrying about. In the time of Romeo and Juliet, people their age were supposed to be getting married and having children, so it makes sense that finding love was extremely important to them. Keep in mind that Juliet was absolutely sure she was in love with Romeo immediately after catching a glimpse of him at a party. These days, teenagers are taught to be a bit more cautious, and spend more time building a future for themselves, rather than looking for love.
ReplyDeleteRoz Chast implies that teens are extremely that teens are extremely careless in their everyday lives in his cartoon entitled “The I.M.s Romeo and Juliet”. This is expressed in the extreme messiness of both rooms. Another example is shown when both teens seem to not care about their bad grades and problems with teacher. Although this cartoonist is portraying teen’s lives as careless, in reality it is the opposite. I am very neat and my dorm room is always clean. Teens are very concerned with how people see them and want to have a good self-image, which is parallel with cleanliness. I am obsessed with getting good grades. I am always in the library studying and trying to complete all my work. Most students at OWU are very into their schoolwork making it a wonderful institution.
ReplyDeleteRoz Chast, author of the cartoon “The IM’s of Romeo and Juliet,” attacks the youth of America by implying that technology has caused us to have atrocious grammar. She insinuates this point through the dialogue bubble in the middle, with grammar errors such as “romeo u there,” and “yo wassup,” and “scool sucked 2day.” She believes that technology is the biggest culprit, as illustrated by Romeo and Juliet, isolated in their individual rooms, with headphones on, laptops turned on and no interpersonal interaction going on. That being said, I don’t entirely agree with her point that technology kills our grammar, and in some sense, intelligence. I believe that technology is purely beneficial in many cases, such as texting, where we are allowed to communicate faster and we can use proper grammar if we want to. For example, I use my cell phone for texting frequently, while I may sometimes use improper grammar for speed purposes, it does not at all mean that I have forgotten proper grammar. On the grammar point, I definitely believe that Chast is incorrect. I believe that technology is beneficial in more ways than she lets on and I believe that she is ignorant on the issue.
ReplyDeleteIn an attempt to belittle our generation, Roz Chast claims that our generation is far too concerned with moving too quickly. In this adaption of Romeo and Juliet, Chast shows how our fast paced lives condemn us to a life of horrible grammar and atrocious living quarters. However, this is far from true. The author hyperbolizes the uncleanliness of the generation with the various piles of food, trash, and clothes cluttering the rooms. Most teens keep their rooms fairly clean in the hopes that their significant others (or not so significant) will occupy the space on Weds, Friday, or Saturday. The author also claims that we as a generation have horrible grammar, and he is right, but only in instances of texting and I.M.s. When typing messages that have an intention of being short, there is absolutely no need to use proper grammar, correct spellings, or punctuation. These people can write to perfect academia standards, and still text like a neanderthal. When it all boils down, we are no different from previous generations, and this cartoon is a cute example of an attempt to shoot us down. We do however, listen to good music: Bjork and PJ Harvey (As seen on the posters on the wall)
ReplyDeleteI strongly disagree with the notion that today’s teenagers are not passionate in terms of love. The cartoon shows the lack passion between the two lovers by the ways they communicate with each other. For example, they are shown interacting through instant messages over the internet rather than meeting face to face. I.M conversations compromise a lot of details that would be present during a face to face conversation. Furthermore, their I.M conversation is presented as an extremely dry one implying the lovers’ deficiency of passion. For example, rather than being expressive they send short forms for hugs and kisses such as “xoxo.” I feel that the cartoonist is wrong about my generation as far as passionless love is concerned. The world has changed so much since the original Romeo and Juliet was written and possibly since the cartoonist was a teenager. It has become a fast paced world and I feel today’s lovers need to make twice the effort in keeping a relationship together. For example, my best friend moved to the United States with me from Pakistan and is still very committed to his relationship. He skypes with his better half everyday and here is the crazy part; his sleep cycle is also inverted just so they can be on the same time zone! Being a fulltime student and being in a long distance relationship simultaneously screams out passionate to me.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Roz Chast’s illustration, teenagers today are too preoccupied with technology and have become isolated from the outer world. Although people are using smartphones and laptops more than ever before, that does not mean we as a society have become confined to our electronic devices. In fact, laptops have enabled us to communicate effectively. Social networking sites like Facebook, for example, have allowed me to reacquaint with cousins that live in the Philippines. Because of this, I am able to know what is going on with my relatives on the other side of the world without weeks of waiting for mail. Along with laptops, smartphones are useful and “smart” for a reason. With countless applications on my Droid, I can find and have access to information easily. For instance, the app “Gas Buddy” finds and compares different prices of gas nearby. If I am driving on the highway, the “Gas Buddy” app is beneficial in saving money. As a result, Chast is griping solely because technology is so advanced compared to when she was younger, and because of such technological improvements, we are able to use it to our advantage.
ReplyDeleteIn Roz Chast’s cartoon she falsely claims that kids in our generation are isolated from each other. In the cartoon, Romeo and Juliet are both alone in their rooms, plugged in to their headphones and curled up on their bed. The couples body language gives off a sense of distance from the outside world that is depressing. The couple is also communicating via chat on the computer, which is one of the least personal ways to communicate with someone. The Shakespearian Romeo and Juliet would not expect anything less than face to face contact. Not only does Chast illustrate the isolation between the couple, but she also shows the isolation by placing the text down the middle of the cartoon. Representing the isolation that follows with computer chat rooms. Although Chast gives multiple points to slander my generation with a lack of people skills, she is sadly mistaken. Because of social media and such an emphasis on technology in this day of age nobody will ever feel isolated. Yes, their is hardly any passion in just a blank chat box, but at least you are communicating with someone instead of sitting alone in your room. I personally have over one thousand friends on Facebook and I can chat, video-chat, and now even call them at any hour of the day through Facebook. With so many contacts on Facebook their is never a dull moment and never a lack of someone to converse with. With so many possible ways to communicate in todays world nobody should ever feel lonely, simply because of the internet and the tools provided to us that can connect anyone with just a click.
ReplyDelete