Rhetorical Analysis: The Dumbest Generation

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Young Generation: Unwilling or Just Hindered “The Dumbest Generation” by Sharon Begley and “Meet the Twixters” by Lev Grossman both tackle “issues” of the young generation. “The dumbest Generation” deals with the decline in intellect. Begley claims that the young generation’s ignorance does not equate to stupidity, and therefore, it is incorrect to label them as dumb. On the other hand, “Meet the twixters” deals with the decline of the number of young people moving on into adulthood. It claims that young adults are consciously delaying their moving into adulthood not because they are lazy or do not want to assume responsibility, but because there are justifiable factors that hinder them from such transition. While both essays make excellent …show more content…

With the quote, “first, the IQ scores in every country, including the United States, have been rising since the 1930’s,” Begley appeals to the logical side of the audience. By doing so, he makes the audience reason that if numbers and statistics adhere to his claim, then that means that they can believe his argument. More importantly, today’s society associate IQ with intelligence. Therefore, that particular statement convinces the audience that the young …show more content…

However, in analyzing the three rhetorical techniques, “Meet the Twixters” always seems to perform a more solid job in effectively developing logos, ethos, and pathos in the argument than “The Dumbest Generation” does. This may be because in “Meet the Twixters”, it comes across that Grossman is spending more time proving his claim whereas in “The Dumbest Generation”, it feels as if the main focus Begley is to disprove the opposing claim, thereby always saying why the other claim is incorrect. I believe that perhaps this causes Grossman to have more focus on making his claim persuasive. On the other hand, Begley is too attentive on not making the opposing argument persuasive that his own claim suffers at the expense of that. Another reason “Meet the Twixters” is more rhetorically effective is because being memorable aids in the effectiveness of ones argument. In comparing “Meet the twixters” and “The Dumbest Generation”, “Meet the Twixters” is more memorable, and therefore becomes more effective. The reader may have an idea of what both essays are about. However, what tips the scale is the collection of diverse personal experiences included in “Meet the Twixters”. This sets it apart from “The Dumbest

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