Peter Psaltakis

[Peter Psaltakis @ppsaltakis_1102]

@Nature_Rhetoric #L3VEGroup5 I liked the introduction a lot. Your analysis of Atlanta's urban tree cover and how more major cities need to increase their tree cover was highly informative and very easy to follow.

[Peter Psaltakis @ppsaltakis_1102]

@Nature_Rhetoric #L3VEGroup4 great use of music in your video! It adds emotion and a mysterious, suspenseful feeling to the video at times. Very moving to watch and listen to!

[Peter Psaltakis @ppsaltakis_1102]

@Nature_Rhetoric #L3VEGroup2 Really insightful analysis on Zoo Atlanta! I especially liked Grayson’s dialogue; he spoke well and provided extremely valuable insight towards their argument. Neel’s dab though...

[Peter Psaltakis @ppsaltakis_1102]

@Nature_Rhetoric #L3VEGroup1 I throughly enjoyed your group’s creative flair to your video. The music, camera angles, and colorful introduction made your video captivating and wonderful to watch. Great job!

[Peter Psaltakis @ppsaltakis_1102]

@CSenghor_Eng102 @Nature_Rhetoric I agree with this statement. It seems that T has always been alone in life since he’s unable to make a lasting, fruitful relationship with anyone. It’s as if it were T’s fate or destiny to regress socially whenever it seemed like life was going to work in his favor.

[Peter Psaltakis @ppsaltakis_1102]

@Nature_Rhetoric When reviewing Brandon’s script draft, I realized that my group didn’t fully define a key term just like his group didn’t. Talking with Brandon ended up in us realizing that his group should define conservation and my group should define social sustainability.

[Peter Psaltakis @ppsaltakis_1102]

@Nature_Rhetoric During the peer review session, I was able to talk with Brandon while we reviewed each other’s drafts. I believe that getting feedback face-to-face is better than over electronic mediums. I feel that meeting in person is an under appreciated medium these days.

[Peter Psaltakis @ppsaltakis_1102]

@Nature_Rhetoric By reviewing another group’s script draft, I was able to reflect on how my group’s script could improve. The review session allowed me to see another group’s draft’s strengths and weaknesses, which helped me find my own group’s draft’s strengths and weaknesses.

[Peter Psaltakis @ppsaltakis_1102]

@neelnaikGT @Nature_Rhetoric I agree with your analysis! When considering the novel as a whole, it seems that Millet progresses the development of T as a character by making him undergo tragedy. One could consider that the tragedies worsen as the novel progresses, but this causes T to "normalize" more.

[Peter Psaltakis @ppsaltakis_1102]

@Nature_Rhetoric T’s confrontation with his father and Carol in the Keys does not ease tensions between his mother and father. Although his father has found himself, I’m curious why Millet doesn’t give T and his mother some peace? Why doesn’t Davy agree to talk to his ex-wife?

[Peter Psaltakis @ppsaltakis_1102]

@neelnaikGT @Nature_Rhetoric I do think that Millet intends to relate these aspects. It seems that Millet intends to craft T as a character with deeply rooted abandonment issues The only thing constant in T's life is his reliability in himself; everything else in his life seems to leave him eventually.

[Peter Psaltakis @ppsaltakis_1102]

@Nature_Rhetoric It seems that death haunts T throughout his life. The coyote, Beth, the rat population, and even his parents’ relationship, all die out while he continues to live. However, Angela almost dies twice. Is her ability to escape death symbolic of something greater?

[Peter Psaltakis @ppsaltakis_1102]

@Nature_Rhetoric Deserts, which are somewhat lifeless, can be representative of death and it’s harmful effects. When T travels to the desert to see Beth’s grave, he is fully immersed in the desert, as if death is consuming him.

[Peter Psaltakis @ppsaltakis_1102]

@Nature_Rhetoric T’s character evilves to be fond of social alcohol consumption. To his mother, he says, “drunk, we call it’” (53). Millet’s use of the word “we” gives T a sense of belonging to a greater community, which a reader could assume alcohol helps him become a part of.

[Peter Psaltakis @ppsaltakis_1102]

@Nature_Rhetoric Millet’s reference to T’s burden of his mother as “personal freight” (45) further reflect’s T’s business mindset. Millet’s use of the word “freight” shows T’s constant thought of things relating to business, as freight has a strong business related connotation.

[Peter Psaltakis @ppsaltakis_1102]

@Nature_Rhetoric “He killed her driving to Las Vegas...” (Millet 35). Millet’s blunt entrance into chapter 2 reflects T’s rather emotionless, tell it like it is character.

[Peter Psaltakis @ppsaltakis_1102]

@Nature_Rhetoric Early on in the novel, T refrains from consuming alcohol and “unspecified pills” his peers are consuming. I think he refrains from drug usage not due to the legality of these substances, but because he would not feel in control of himself if he partakes in them.

[Peter Psaltakis @ppsaltakis_1102]

@Nature_Rhetoric Recalling the first sentence of Millet’s novel, T’s idolization of Andrew Jackson rather another figure on U.S. currency seems warranted. Considering Jackson’s presidency to other presidents on currency, is Jackson’s unique personality reflected in T?

[Peter Psaltakis @ppsaltakis_1102]

@Nature_Rhetoric Orthwein raises a strong point when he discusses how Vox captivates their audience solely by using the video essay medium. He also describes their video style as "recognizable." Is it possible the familiarity of a video style attracts the same viewers over time?

[Peter Psaltakis @ppsaltakis_1102]

@Nature_Rhetoric I agree with Orthwein's statement that necessity is "the mother of all invention." This statement leads me to believe that humans are naturally lazy. Furthermore, I wonder: if we lived in a world where everything we needed already existed, what would people do?