TOW #9 - "Two-Minute Entreaty" (Written)

To my chagrin, our textbook likes to use the phrase "visual text," when I would much prefer the simple "visual." Nevertheless, if we're going to be stretching our definitions and mental boundaries, I see your visual text and raise you a text on a cup.

More specifically, this is a short piece by Anthony Doerr on Chipotle's soft drink cups. For as long as I can remember, Chipotle has printed short essays on their cups. As of now, they have a theme of "Two-Minute [insert your thing here]." As I was happily stuffing myself full of guac and beans, I was touched by Doerr's piece, "Two-Minute Entreaty." Doerr begins with a scientific reference to Earth's history, but he names his ultimate purpose at the end of his essay: to inspire others to make the most out of every moment in life.

Doerr first uses imagery to help his audience conceptualize the briefness of life. He starts, "Tattoo Earth’s 4.5-billion-year timeline onto your arm, shoulder to fingertip, and your upper arm will get nothing but geologic mayhem: meteorites, magma, acid rain. Life won’t begin until your bicep..." Although many of us and can grasp the idea that Earth is very, very, very, very old, we cannot truly understand this period of time in comparison to our own lives. The tangible imagery of a tattoo on one's arm - and the subsequent relation to points on our own bodies - helps his audience realize just how short their lives are in the entirety of Earth's history.

Nevertheless, Doerr does not want his audience to feel their lives are insignificant. Rather, he wants his audience to feel motivated to make their lives significant. He achieves this by using a juxtaposition and personal pronouns. In the conclusion of his piece, he writes:

"People say, “Who wants to feel so small? Let me eat my burrito.”
I say, Be big. Big-hearted, big-witted, big-eyed. See, try, love, read, make, paint, and taste everything you can while you can.
You still have some hours left. Go."

Although Doerr acknowledges that his audience might feel small in comparison to the enormity of Earth, he juxtaposes this idea with the potential to be "big" - big-hearted, big-witted, big-eyed, etc. Finally, he switches from a distant, impersonal "people" to a more direct "you" to address the audience at the end. The "you" makes his directive feel more personal and, at the same time, more imperative. Rather than designating a whole group (i.e. Americans, society, etc.), he is calling on the lone reader to take advantage of their lives. Thus, Doerr effectively convinces his audience to seize every moment they can.