Pb2A

Amanda Amico
 English 101-108
November 12,2016
 Pb2a
                                                  "Statement and Suicides"
    Did you ever have a signifigant other that could say a few words, or touch you in a certain way that would make you weak at the knees or simply explode into uncharted emotional territories? Or how about yourself? Have you ever done or said a certain thing to make your parents give you exactly what you want? Answered yes didn't you? These signature things we do or say with the sole purpose to persuade or get some kind of emotion out of another individual are called "moves". Even authors use moves when writing. For my Pb2a my professor asked me to pick a text and identify and analyze moves and their purpose and effectiveness.
    The text I chose was from a newspaper called The Inquirer. The article is titled "At Penn, Memories of an activist". Staff writer Jason Nark covers a memorial service remembering a suicide that happened 20 yrs. ago. Nark tells the story of that sad day on October 22, 1996 when University of Penn student Kathy Chang walked onto campus and committed suicide by soaking herself in gasoline and setting herself in flames on the west side of Van Pelt Library at University at Pennsylvania campus. The tragic event would forever be remembered by all who witnessed it. However Chang's friends and colleagues don't see it that way. At the service they were observed more as celebrating her life rather than grieving her death. Women were dancing barefoot and men hung beautiful banners over a peace symbol at the memorial site. They referred to Chang by an old nickname "Kathy Change", and said that she wanted to transform the world. They look at her death more of a statement, or type of meaningful transformation, instead of a tragic suicide, even though there was a history of mental illness in Chang's family and she had already made attempts on her life. I will be listing 3 moves I identified myself, and then I will list 3 moves the author used from the "They Say, I Say" appendix.
     Here are the "moves" I found: 1. Immolation History Move - the writer helps support claims that there was meaning in the way Chang chose to take her life, straight down to the method of self-immolation which to this day remains a symbol of resistance. He backed these claims up by stating other prominent members in history that died by immolation. These figures included Thich Quang Duc, a Buddhist monk who died of self immolation in 1963, Norman Morrison, a quaker who was named a hero in Vietnam for dying in the Pentagon from immolation in1965. I found this move to be effective because it helps to persuade the readers into entertaining the theory of this being a statement with meaning due to the fact of what the method of death means and the type of people that chose this as their way to leave this world. It could imply that the suicide was fully planned. 2. Remember Me Move - the author made it clear Kathy Chang was an activist who called herself "Kathy Change" and often dressed as a butterfly, stating she wanted to change the world. He mentioned she was a strong presence on campus for 15 years, being involved in protests and movements. It was even mentioned that her note to the police said she wanted to make a statement about life and death. The writer gave background of Chang being an actress and said some people thought of her suicide of more like her last "big act". This move was effective from my point of view and I think the writer chose it because it gives readers an idea of the kind of person she was and why she would want to be remembered as a work of art, leaving a message in peoples minds. 3. Establishing Ethos - I noticed the writer mentioned that the suicide occurred 20 years ago, and that Chang was a strong figure on campus for 15 years. He said she was recognized by High Times Magazine as "Freedom Fighter of the Month" in 1990. And he also went as far as to list the fields the people who attended the service and spoke about Chang were from. These fields were musicians, activists, artists, and even a historian. This move was used to build credibility for Chang, giving readers a glimpse of the type of people she attracted and befriended. He also states that she left an impression on all those that were there to honor her memory. Now lets look at what I found from the "They Say, I Say" appendix: 1. Entertaining Objections - At this point the skeptical part of the author has to ask questions, and object to the things that can't be ignored or overlooked. Even though Chang's note to the police and her friends recollections of her all point to this being more of a meaningful statement, one cannot ignore the fact that her mother committed suicide from a drug overdose and Chang herself had a history of mental illness she had been battling and made prior attempts on her life. I found this effective because when reading or writing I feel you should always be informed and know as much information as possible. Ask questions, make objections, seek truth. This move helped to say that even though Chang was a wonderful person, with a beautiful soul, this act may have been nothing more than a sick individual giving into her internal battles. 2.Introducing Quotations - writer states that Robert Helms, a historian of Philadelphia's Anarchist Movement said " you can forget about the general public understanding Kathy Change". This was effective because the author wanted to introduce us to the source that gave us the statement in quotations. 3. Capturing Authorial Action - the author acknowledges that poet Andres Castro mentioned the 40,000 plus people that commit suicide every year in the United States in several different ways while speaking at Chang's memorial service. This was done to show us that it is good to be educated. People probably didn't even know that the numbers were so high. It brings an awareness to readers.