TIME GOAL: 15 minutes

START TIME: 9:34

READING LOG #: 3
END TIME: 9:56

BEFORE READING
Write the following information down in this order.
Title of Article: “Return of the Loneliest Boys In Town”
Based on the title alone, what do you know about the subject matter?
- The chapter will surround the topic of perspectives young adult boys have
Write down your predictions: What will this article cover?
- Teenage feelings about music and society

Make a list for each.

External Distractions (What is physically distracting you?):
- Noisy environment
- Reading around friends can sometimes pull me away from my book and tempt me to talk to them
instead of focusing
Internal Distractions (What thoughts are interfering with your concentration?):
- Other tasks that I must complete after this one preventing me from focusing
- Personal worries that I must address outside of my academic career

DURING READING
Practice annotations using these methods. Check the boxes to confirm which methods you’ve practiced.
 Circle words that are new to you, and that you do not understand.
 Write the main idea of each paragraph next to it in the margins. Try to use one word or a short
phrase to summarize these points.
 Highlight passages that demonstrate ethos (yellow), pathos (pink), logos (green).
Complete the following chart, indicating words/ pop culture references you had to Google during your
reading. Hit the TAB button if you run out of room.
Words/Pop Culture What do they mean?
References
Fueled by Ramen Record label American owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by
Elektra Records. Based in New York City
 Cute Is What We Aim American rock band from Buffalo, New York. Formed in 2005. Record label,
For Fueled by Ramen. Genre Punk Rock
Same Old Blood Rush Studio Album by Cute is What We Aim For
“Curse of the Curves” Song written by Cute Is What We Aim For

AFTER READING
Answer the following questions using complete sentences in your composition notebook using intext
citations for each question.
Example of an in-text citation, or quotation sandwich: In one instance, Abdurraqib discusses his own
experience and states, “...” (Abdurraqib 82).

1. What is the speaker’s motivation for writing this piece? Who is their target audience? Explain
how you know by including an in-text citation, or evidence from the text. (8 complete sentences
+)
The speaker’s motivation for writing this piece in the book “They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us”
was to reveal how music, a communal ravine of artistic illustration, can distance humanity even more so
through certain bands’ skewed ideals of society. Specifically, in this chapter it focuses on the experiences
the author has watching the emo band, Cute Is What We Aim For, make a reemergence years after they
had stopped producing more music. The author recalled that “half way through the show, I asked myself
what I expected. I think I was hoping for the band to come out and play revised versions of their old
songs, less bitter, less explicit in their hared of the women they’ve built out of thin air and been broken
by” (Abdurraqib 73). Abdurraqib noticing how much he had grown from his young adult mindset that
believed these harsh lyrics were justified in society, decides to use his platform as an author to spread
awareness of the presence of gender discrimination within America. His motivation in spreading
awareness further narrows down to the target audience Abdurraqib specifically wants to address to make
the most impact with his writing. Within the chapter Abdurraqib comments on how “the problem is one
of men being, largely the only ones doing the singing. And, ultimately, the problem becomes when those
men don’t age beyond the adolescent heartbroken temper tantrums that we all have before we learn better
and start to know better” (Abdurraqib 73). Acknowledging his target audience, which primarily is the
male population of listeners, Abdurraqib is able to format his writing that is appealing to that audience,
but also direct with the points he wants to say without watering any information down so that his
argument does not lose strength.
2. What rhetorical appeals did the author employ to make for a compelling argument? Provide
citations for each example of ethos, pathos, and logos. (8 complete sentences +)
Within Abdurraqib’s chapter of the book, there were many instances where rhetorical appeals ethos,
pathos, and logos had been used to strengthen his argument. An example of ethos being used is seen
in the quote, “in emo, particularly during its heyday of attractive front men who fancied themselves
poets, the misogyny was seen more as process than problem” (73). This quote focuses on ethos
aspects because is emphasizes the ethics of a situation, particularly here, a woman’s role in society.
This quote portrays the perspective that many people still do believe in where misogyny is just
stepping stones within life rather than a problem that needs to be addressed and worked through.
Though this quote is very strong in its views that could offend a large group of individuals, it still
proposes new perspectives. Another example of rhetorical appeals being used is pathos. In the chapter
the author states that ‘there are endless ways that we have found and will find to blame women for
things, particularly when it prevents us from unraveling our own unhappiness” (73). Pathos is
exemplified through this quote because it highlights on the dark truth of how women are still
currently viewed in society. The pathos elements in this quote specifically make readers feel for the
female population of their community, understanding how women are still brought down by their
male counterparts. The last rhetorical appeal, logos, was demonstrated often throughout the chapter.
One quote that really stood out to me was from the author recalling how “the lead singer [of Cute Is
What We Aim For] Shaant Hacikyan made the news for weighing in on Brock Turner, the Stanford
rapist who got a decidedly light sentence for his crime… Hacikyan already issued a toothless
apology, thanking people for educating him on the topic of rape culture before taking the stage to sing
a song about a young girl, drinking so much that then men around her just can’t help themselves.
Playing the victim seems to fit the narrative, he said. ‘\in my 29 years I’ve yet to encounter a human
who is looking to rape someone. Look into the actual statistics & get back to me’” (Abdurraqib 74).
Abdurraqib reflecting on this moment and implementing his experiences into his writing is a form of
logos that strengthens the author;’ argument, proving they are not biased and truly dedicated to their
work since they are willing to explore and place themselves within society to dissect the differing
perspectives that make up America as a whole.
3. Although you may disagree with the argument, or the issue the speaker presents, pretend that you
agree with them, and describe the qualities of the argument that you found most compelling. Be
sure to use direct in-text citations, or evidence to justify your argument. (8 complete sentences +)
The author mentions that “one of the first lines you hear on the album is: ‘in every circle of friends
there’s a whore,’ courtesy of the song “Newport Living,’ and the album builds around a single
common theme: bitterness, most commonly aimed at an imagined woman who has wronged the band
in some way” (Abdurraqib 70). Directly states what problem society has with women. The problem at
hand was never ignited by women in the first place, but the problem emerged out of society finding
things to hate about women. This issue the Abdurraqib shows to the readers how a conflict like this is
not justified and does not align with American beliefs of democracy and unity for all citizens.
Abdurraqib also states that within the band “Cute Is What We Aim For, all of its members either in
their 30s or late 20s, standing on a stage and weaponizing decade-old bitterness doesn’t exactly echo
to the corner of nostalgia that I thought would” (Abdurraqib 73). Abdurraqib acknowledges how
modern American society continues to perpetuate the acts of hate towards women through
maintaining past beliefs for the sake of tradition rather than coming to the terms of tolerance and
accepting that minority groups including women and racial groups now have the power to be
individualized and have their own identify in society not defined by powerful white males in society.

4. Although you may agree with the speaker’s stance on the issue, write a counterargument
explaining why you disagree. Again, you will need to use direct evidence to make your case (8
complete sentences +)
Though the author’s points are very valid in ending the usage of music to perpetuate hate against
members of our own society, the opposition may claim that music is not meant to be a source of hate,
but rather, individualized self-expression. Abdurraqib mentions how “twisting anger over heartbreak
into something, well, cute is easier for some genres than others… who among us, regardless of
gender, hasn’t scrawled something in the silence of a notebook about an ex-someone? Its part of
coping, at least to a point” (Abdurraqib 73). This quote emphasizes the point that, it is only human
nature to want to have a likeminded community as you to be able to confide in. People find this
sanctuary and sense of community within music, even if it discriminates against another party of
society, it allows the latter to have the security they desire. The opposition may also counter that the
music created by band like Cute Is What We Aim For is not meant to bring down females and
degrade their respectability in society. The music and lyrics these kinds of bands create are put
together with the purpose to appeal to their audience of young adult/ teenager angst and those feelings
of pent up rage.