Elephants Can Lend A Helping Trunk Rhetorical Analysis

Comparative Essay
Payton Altman and Mikayla O’Neill

Have you ever wondered how animals interact and work together to get a job done? Many times, animals put their minds together to complete a task. But what many people do not realize is that animals interact with one another just as humans would. In many instances, people don’t realize the amount of intelligence and common sense that animals, such as the elephant, possess. The study of elephant’s thoughts and thinking were explained and backed up through three different mediums. This information was explained through articles, videos, and passages. Combined, these pieces of work clarified what the experiment was, what it was testing, the purpose behind it, and how the different pieces were

To begin, the article, “Elephants Can Lend a Helping Trunk” by Virginia Morell, had information that was presented in a very lighthearted and formal way. Even though the author conveyed the information in a cheerful manner, she still got the point across in a very informative and intellectual way. The article reads, “Elephants know when they need a helping hand-or rather, trunk...To test the elephants’ cooperation skills, a team of scientists modified a classic experiment first administered to chimpanzees in the 1930s, which requires two animals work together to earn a treat. If they don’t cooperate, neither gets the reward,” (Morell Paragraph 2). This quote demonstrates the fact that the author used the technique of adding humorous sentences when appropriate or needed to break up all the important information she was saying. Not only did she include amusing phrases, but she included sentences that were relevant to the experiment and the overall topic of the article. Next, in the video, “Elephants Show Cooperation” which was presented by Discovery News, the tone was very cheerful and informative. The narrator in the film said the information in a very light and happy way, so it made the reader want to listen to what he was saying. Also, the way that he conveyed the information in a very easy manner was beneficial to the audience because they could understand the point he was trying to get across. Not only did the author relay the information in a light and pleasant way, but he also did so in a way that was informative. He gave the reader a wide variety of information to take away about the experiment, and it really allowed the audience to envision what the whole test looked like. Finally, in the passage, “Elephants Know When They Need a Helping Trunk in a Cooperative Task” by Joshua M. Plotnik, the tone was very serious, yet factual. The