WP 2 Second Rough Draft:

Today’s society is filled with “rules” and “expectations” that seem to govern the way we act. These regulations are known as social norms. You can observe them in action any time that you are somewhere public. If you think about it, almost everything you do during a day can be related to what is acceptable behavior for that certain task you are carrying out. For example, on a normal school day you wouldn’t see someone wearing formal attire to a class. At an important event, however, this would be acceptable. When you are attending a movie in theatres you don’t sit and talk to the person you came with the whole time. You could do this at a restaurant though. Social norms depend on the culture you live in. Different kinds of behavior are accepted in different parts of the world. There are different types of greetings depending on what part of the world you are in. People greet each other in various ways from culture to culture for example. The comic Valentine From the Dog by Natalie Dee makes an interesting point in regards to social norms and how people show affection. When we look at this as humans, we don’t see it as what we would normally think of a valentine consisting of. An excretion of waste is not what our culture accepts as a way to show your feelings of affection towards another. To this dog on the other hand, it was meant as a gesture to show his love for his owner. This demonstrates how different behavior and customs can be viewed differently depending on the culture you are associated with. This argument is enforced in this comic through its use of visual hierarchy, abstraction and symnolization of its depicted objects.

There is a clear visual hierarchy in this picture that helps to shape this argument. The first thing you notice in the picture is the dog’s eyes. These eyes are not realistic at all, instead they are abstract. They are wide, round circles that are looking straight at you, the comic viewer, with almost laser-like intentions. This makes it quite obvious that the viewer is intended as the vector of attention in this comic. You are depicted as this dog’s owner. This is significant because it reveals that the valentine has been left for you and not another person or animal.

The second part in the picture that your eye is drawn to is the pink heart that is above the dog’s head. It appears that this heart is used to symbolize what the dog is thinking. A heart is widely accepted to resemble love or affection. I think that is exactly what it is intended to represent in this comic. The dog has given what he thinks to be a perfect gift to his master as a way to show his feelings towards him or her (depending on the viewer).

The first object, the dog’s eyes, and the second object, the heart above the dog’s head both begin to communicate what the comic is trying to say. The eyes have established the vector of attention, you, and the heart now tells you how the dog feels towards the vector of attention. If this heart wasn’t there to symbolize this relationship, you might get a totally different impression of this comic. The dog’s wide eyes can lead you to think in many different directions. It may seem instead like the dog is worried about what his owner is going to think about the mess he or she has left a little ways behind. It could also appear that the dog is almost surprised or alarmed at what he has done. This would make sense considering you don’t commonly come across a piece of dog poop that is heart shaped. So it is apparent that the heart above the dog’s head serves as a very important piece of information in this picture.

Finally, the item that is last in the line of visual hierarchy, the waste left behind by the dog. There is also symbolism that is apparent with this second heart shaped object. The piece of poo is meant to resemble the valentine. Like the dog’s eyes, it is slightly abstract. Many times homemade valentines are cut in the shape of hearts. Chocolates are sold in heart shaped boxes around Valentine’s Day. The heart is the shape that is commonly known to be associated with Valentine’s Day. This enforces that the poop is not ordinary, but instead intended as a gift for the occasion of Valentine’s Day. Like the pink heart above the dog’s head, the picture would be perceived differently if it was either not pictured, or not heart shaped. Without it, there would aspects about the pictures that remain unclear. Why is the dog thinking about, showing or feeling love? It looks like the dog may be feeling lost if you just look at it and the heart, cropping out the right side of the picture.

When all three objects in the scale of hierarchy are put together they form a complete narration to the comic. You already know that the dog is showing affection towards the vector of attention, you, and when you add in the last object it is clear how the dog is showing his affection. He is giving his owner a Valentine. It is important to the comic that these three objects have a strong and clear relationship because there are no words to help us understand what is going on in the picture. We must rely on what the objects mean and how they play off on another to establish the intended idea of the comic.

The fact that this comic is abstract is another aspect to consider. Abstract can be defined as not applied or practical. (thefreedictionalry.com) A piece of poop is not exactly thought of as a gift that applies or is practical for someone on Valentine’s Day. However, in this instance it is. A dog cannot make anything or buy a gift like a human can, therefore, this gift can be defined as practical. The way all the objects in the picture are drawn abstractly serves to support this. It seems to say that just because the picture’s objects are abstract does not mean that they don't make sense. In fact, this level of abstraction serves beneficial to the comic and the argument that is being outlined. Chapter 11 of the The Scott McCloud Essay discusses how abstraction in comics can focus your attention on specific deatails in the illustrations. The three objects, the dog's eyes, the heart and the feces, are the only objects that the viewer directs their attention to. If this comic was instead a photograph taken with a camera, it would not have the same affect because the objects would be more detailed and therefore demand more attention than what they do in the simple illustration.

I think this comic asks us to think about what we consider to be socially acceptable in the places that we live in today. We may look at something we see as unacceptable or weird when, in some cultures it is considered normal. Like the interesting Valentine that the loyal dog is giving his owner, we may not be looking at what we are seeing through their culture’s point of view. Sometimes if we stop and think, we realize that there is more to something than what first meets the eye and maybe what we find to be unusual is actually quite normal.

Works Cited

"Abstract." The Free Dictionary . 2009. Farlex, Web. 8 Nov 2009. .

WP2 First Draft:

Today’s society is filled with “rules” and “expectations” that seem to govern the way we act. These regulations are known as social norms. You can observe them in action any time that you are somewhere public. If you think about it, almost everything you do during a day can be related to what is acceptable behavior for that certain task you are carrying out. For example, on a normal school day you wouldn’t see someone wearing formal attire to a class. At an important event, however, this would be acceptable. When you are attending a movie in theatres you don’t sit and talk to the person you came with the whole time. You could do this at a restaurant though. Social norms depend on the culture you live in. Different kinds of behavior are accepted in different parts of the world. There are different types of greetings depending on what part of the world you are in. People greet each other in various ways from culture to culture for example. The comic Valentine From the Dog by Natalie Dee makes an interesting point in regards to social norms and how people show affection. When we look at this as humans, we don’t see it as what we would normally think of a valentine consisting of. An excretion of waste is not what our culture accepts as a way to show your feelings of affection towards another. To this dog on the other hand, it was meant as a gesture to show his love for his owner. This demonstrates how different behavior and customs can be viewed differently depending on the culture you are associated with.

There is a clear visual hierarchy in this picture that helps to shape this argument. The first thing you notice in the picture is the dog’s eyes. These eyes are not realistic at all, instead they are abstract. They are wide, round circles that are looking straight at you, the comic viewer, with almost laser-like intentions. This makes it quite obvious that the viewer is intended as the vector of attention in this comic. You are depicted as this dog’s owner. This is significant because it reveals that the valentine has been left for you and not another person or animal.

The second part in the picture that your eye is drawn to is the pink heart that is above the dog’s head. It appears that this heart is used to symbolize what the dog is thinking. A heart is widely accepted to resemble love or affection. I think that is exactly what it is intended to represent in this comic. The dog has given what he thinks to be a perfect gift to his master as a way to show his feelings towards him or her (depending on the viewer).

The first object, the dog’s eyes, and the second object, the heart above the dog’s head both begin to communicate what the comic is trying to say. The eyes have established the vector of attention, you, and the heart now tells you how the dog feels towards the vector of attention. If this heart wasn’t there to symbolize this relationship, you might get a totally different impression of this comic. The dog’s wide eyes can lead you to think in many different directions. It may seem instead like the dog is worried about what his owner is going to think about the mess he or she has left a little ways behind. It could also appear that the dog is almost surprised or alarmed at what he has done. This would make sense considering you don’t commonly come across a piece of dog poop that is heart shaped. So it is apparent that the heart above the dog’s head serves as a very important piece of information in this picture.

Finally, the item that is last in the line of visual hierarchy, the waste left behind by the dog. There is also symbolism that is apparent with this second heart shaped object. The piece of poo is meant to resemble the valentine. Like the dog’s eyes, it is slightly abstract. Many times homemade valentines are cut in the shape of hearts. Chocolates are sold in heart shaped boxes around Valentine’s Day. The heart is the shape that is commonly known to be associated with Valentine’s Day. This enforces that the poop is not ordinary, but instead intended as a gift for the occasion of Valentine’s Day. Like the pink heart above the dog’s head, the picture would be perceived differently if it was either not pictured, or not heart shaped. Without it, there would aspects about the pictures that remain unclear. Why is the dog thinking about, showing or feeling love? It looks like the dog may be feeling lost if you just look at it and the heart, cropping out the right side of the picture.

When all three objects in the scale of hierarchy are put together they form a complete narration to the comic. You already know that the dog is showing affection towards the vector of attention, you, and when you add in the last object it is clear how the dog is showing his affection. He is giving his owner a Valentine. It is important to the comic that these three objects have a strong and clear relationship because there are no words to help us understand what is going on in the picture. We must rely on what the objects mean and how they play off on another to establish the intended idea of the comic.

The fact that this comic is abstract is another aspect to consider. Abstract can be defined as not applied or practical. (thefreedictionalry.com) A piece of poop is not exactly thought of as a gift that applies or is practical for someone on Valentine’s Day. However, in this instance it is. A dog cannot make anything or buy a gift like a human can, therefore, this gift can be defined as practical. The way all the objects in the picture are drawn abstractly serves to support this. It seems to say that just because the picture’s objects are not completely realistic does not mean that doesn’t make sense.

I think this comic asks us to think about what we consider to be socially acceptable in the places that we live in today. We may look at something we see as unacceptable or weird when, in some cultures it is considered normal. Like the interesting Valentine that the loyal dog is giving his owner, we may not be looking at what we are seeing through their culture’s point of view. Sometimes if we stop and think, we realize that there is more to something than what first meets the eye and maybe what we find to be unusual is actually quite normal.

WP2 Exercise 2:

The comic I have chosen is by a woman named Natalie Dee. This is also the title of the comic that she writes and illustrates. She is 30 years old and lives in Columbus Ohio. She is also the co-author to Married to the Sea, a comic she writes with her husband that is also posted via the internet. There are over 1500 comics that she has composed on the Natalie Dee website. These comics date back all the way to year 2003. They are all illustrated in the same manor, stick like figures and text in the form of hand written letters. They are all relatively simple drawings that depict one or two characters. These characters are either humans or different random animals. She also has a few that feature non-living objects that are given human characteristics. Most of the pictures require you to rely on your imagination and past experience to either make your own assumptions of what the character or characters are thinking, especially the drawings that do not have any text to go along with them. Most of them, however, do have at least some sort of caption to go along with them that serves to narrate the picture. All of her comics that I have looked at have been one picture. There were no comics that I observed on her web site that consisted of multiple frames.

I did some investigating to find out what the exact date was that this comic was posted. In was in the section for the month of February. I counted up from the bottom of the page and it appears that this was the selected comic for the date around February 12th 2009. The comic from the day before and the day after (approximately sometime between the 11th and 14th) also both have subjects that are based around love. Valentine’s Day is February 14th so it is obvious why this was the subject for her comics at this time of the year.

I think it is interesting that she featured the comic with the dog for a date that was before February, 14th. After taking a look at the comic and thinking about what the possible arguments of the illustration could be, it seems very logical for her to choose to display this comic on the day that she did. It appears that this dog is alone and possibly missing his or her significant other. Maybe they are no longer seeing each other or perhaps this other dog is just simply on his or her mind because they cannot be together and the dog in the picture is missing its company. Either way, I think this comic does a good job showing the feelings some people have around Valentine’s Day when they are single or without their significant other. Like the emotions expressed on the dogs face, Valentine’s Day can be sad or depressing in some cases when you do not have anyone to share it with. This was a good way for Natalie Dee to relate to her audience. Also, the object left behind by the lonely dog probably provided some humor to cheer the lonely people out there this past Valentine’s Day.

WP2 Exercise 1:

In this illustration by Natalie Dee, she depicts a dog with a heart above its head. The dog’s facial expression seems to make him look rather lost, sad or confused. In the background you can see that the dog has recently gone to the bathroom. Instead of a normal looking piece of waste, this dog has pooped in the shape of what appears to be a heart.

The dog seems to be the main focus of the cartoon because it is closer in the line of view and takes up the most space out of all three objects that are depicted. It is also the object that has the most detail. Although it is by no means a perfect picture of a dog, it gives enough evidence to be a convincing depiction. Natalie Dee uses black outlines and two different colors of brown to outline the shape of the dog’s face. In the darker brown color the dog has two ears which further develop the head as one that would belong to a dog. She also draws a blue band with a gold circle attached to it which you can recognize as a collar, something a typical domestic dog would wear.

The dog’s facial expression is something that I think is an important part of this picture. His eyes are wide and perfectly round. There are many emotions that you can associate with this for example, surprise, horror or maybe being possessed. If you move down to his mouth, it is slightly opened and his bottom teeth are showing. This can be associated with emotions involving the drop of the jaw like confusion, sorrow or perhaps disbelief. To me, this dog looks like he or she needs help, almost like it is looking for an answer.
There is a pink heart located right above the dog’s head. Hearts are usually associated with love so this could be some sort of symbol in this illustration. There is a short line between the top of its head and the bottom of the heart which makes it look like the dog and the heart are connected. This could mean that the dog is thinking about love or maybe it is a status marker, he is in love or someone else has his or her heart.

The last object in the picture is the piece of poop left behind by the dog. It appears as though the dog did his business and has now walked closer to the viewer where he is pictured. The interesting thing about it is that it is also heart shaped. This brings about the question of why Natalie Dee depicted it this way.

The dog, heart and heart-shaped poo all work together to make a scene that could almost tell a story within itself. When you take into consideration his facial expression along with the heart, you realize some form of love or relationship is on the dog’s mind, but when you see this shape repeated in the background, it enforces this theme ever farther.

Statement of Purpose:

My purpose as a writer for the second writing project of this semester is to analyze the comic I have chosen. In doing this I need to distinguish an argument that the author of this comic, Natalie Dee, could have been trying to make. I will need to present this argument by describing in detail the specific elements of the comic and how they were used to achieve the argument. I also need to address ethos, logos and pathos and how these elements I will be outlining were used to develop these key components in writing. In order to do this I will be expanding off of my initial inferences I have already made during the first writing exercise. I will also incorporate what I discovered in the second writing exercise where I completed a historical analysis of my comic. I will be looking at how the comic uses icons and symbols to make the viewer focus on specific parts in the picture and how the comic is understood a certain way because of our human knowledge. I will also relate this comic and its elements to the time we are living in as a society.

I will be viewing this comic through a cultural perspective. This is an important part in my essay. Analyzing this comic while considering today’s society and the social norms that go along with it during and around the holiday of Valentine’s Day will be crucial to my essay. There are many connections you can make when viewing the picture and keeping these norms in mind. Incorporating this into my essay will establish a clear context for my readers to think about while reading my piece of writing. In turn, I will be able to outline a believable argument that can be easily understood by my audience.

In this writing project my audience consists of anyone who reads my blog, specifically though, this mainly includes my classmates and my professor. This writing assignment is graded so I need to consider the guidelines that were posted on the blog by my professor. Although this is an academic piece of writing, it is posted on the internet, therefore anyone can read it. This is also an important aspect to consider. I need to write in a style that can be appreciated by a wide variety of readers. In order to establish ethos through my writing I will need to use a language that my audience can relate to and understand. Another thing to think about in this writing assignment is how the style of Natalie Dee’s comics can be interpreted in a wide variety of ways because the illustrations she depicts are slightly abstract. This means I will have to present my argument clearly with effective evidence. I will also be able to use multimedia to help explain my argument in ways that words might not be able to communicate. In addition to covering my points in a way that is convincing I also want to leave my audience with something to think about and take away with them after they finish reading. I believe I can compose a successful piece of writing if I am able to complete all the goals I have outlined above.