Analysis Of Mary Pipher's Writing To Connect

AUDIENCE & PURPOSE

Mary Pipher’s “Writing to Connect” focuses on persuading its reader through personal experience, expert testimonies, and figurative language that his writing can change the world. At the end of the text, Pipher hopes that her reader believes that one’s words have value and can impact others. In “Writing to Connect,” Pipher writes, “Any form of writing can change the world…” and goes on to say, “Ordinary people can and do change the world every day” (440). Pipher’s intended audience “is not directed toward sophisticates or literary critics. It is designed to influence cousin Shirley, farmer Dale, coworker Jan, Dr. Lisa, neighbor Carol, businessman Carl, or voter Sylvia” (438). Pipher uses every day language in “Writing to

Pipher writes of her experience reading Twyla Hansen’s article that “encourages land owners to plant slow-growing shade trees” (439). “After reading Hansen’s article,” Pipher states, “I bought a sycamore” (439). Along with personal experience in the specific example, Pipher uses allegory to convey the effect of writing using a much more corporeal and understandable example. By using allegory, Pipher’s concept of the significance of writing is “dumbed down” to make it quite clear and understandable to even the least educated

Piper’s use of imagery in this way gives the opportunity for the reader to experience “first hand” the power of words, and inspires the reader to be free from the fear of writing.

5) In “Writing to Connect,” the idea of the positive effect that writing can have on the world is constantly present throughout the entire body of literature. This use of motif by Pipher keeps the reader constantly thinking about the positive effects of writing. At the beginning of her article Pipher writes, “All writing is designed to change the world” (437). Throughout the article, Pipher constantly reminds the reader through the use of a motif that writing, can in fact, change the world. For example, Pipher states “All writing to effect change need not be great literature,” “Films often change the world,” and “Any form of writing can change the world” (438-440). On almost every single page oh her article, Pipher uses this motif to keep her readers engaged, on track, and thinking about the positiveness that writing can and does have on the