Amanda Whitlock Rhetorical Analysis English 1102 17 September 2015 “Cultural Baggage” Analysis Everyone has an ethnic background, whether it is Chinese or European, we all come from somewhere. Barbara Ehrenreich has come to the conclusion in her article “Cultural Baggage” that the race and religion of our ancestors should not be what defines us. While she agrees that everyone has different roots, she shows the reader that you do not have to be defined by your roots and that the traditions do not have to be followed. Ehrenreich accomplishes her goal in explaining why we should have the race of “none” by establishing credibility when she talks about how her own family has not followed the traditions of their ancestors and some of the social …show more content…
norms that go along with these traditions for generations. “I recalled that my mother never introduced a procedure for cooking or cleaning by telling me, ‘Grandma did it this way’” (57).
The author proves that there are families that do not follow these traditions and do not follow their races’ traditions. The author also appeals to emotion by talking about a time when she had her family participate in a Passover seder that she had put together where she talked about Egypt and how it relates to our social issues in today’s world. “But the kids insisted on buttering their matzohs and snickering through my talk. ‘Give me a break, Mom,’ the older one said. ‘You don’t even believe in God’” (39). Her children wanted nothing to do with their heritage and what the people of their race would do on a regular basis. They had also never seen their grandparents practice this type of religious tradition. To the author’s main point, just because they are Jewish does mean that they identify with and practice their Jewish heritage. The author also uses an anecdote at the beginning of her article to help bring people in by talking about how she was talking to a friend who was telling the author all about how she knew where she came from and she knew what her ancestor did thousands of years before this time. The author was then asked by her friend what her ethnic background was, and she said
“none” (5). This personal story sets the stage for the rest of the article and how she felt about being identified as a person by your race even though the author knows that there are plenty of people who do follow their ancestor’s traditions and practices. The author also uses a rhetorical question to get the reader thinking about her race of “none”. “Did ‘none’ mean I was rejecting my heritage out of Anglo-Celtic self-hate” (9)? The author uses this and the question after it to help pull us in to see how she sees things. This rhetorical question sets up the rest of the article with her proving why not identify with your cultural background is not a bad thing, and how the author finds herself through this process. Ehrenreich wrote this article in order to show people that they do not have to do the things that society says they should because of their race. Native Americans do not have to practice their tribal traditions, African-Americans do not have to practice their culture, and Latinos do not have to either, but if they do claim their roots and practice their culture they can. The author’s point is that we should not have to be defined by how we look and what our race is. What we do is not dependent upon our race, and race does not mean you must practice a certain religion. Her family was Jewish but did not believe in God. The author even asked her children if they felt an identity to any religion or race. Both of her now older children said “’none…and the world would be a better place if nobody else did either’” (79). This shows that even her family believes that not being identified as a specific race or religion would make our society better to live in. The author implies that less people would judge based on the color of others’ skin and their religion if we could look past the race and just see the person behind the skin and traditions. Barbara Ehrenreich goes against all societal standards in her article “Cultural Baggage.” Everyone wants people to embrace their backgrounds and culture when in reality most people do not even know what traditions their ancestors even had. The author shows that while it is perfectly fine to have your culture and traditions, it should not define who you are as a person. The author embraces her race of “none” (5) and shows others that they can as well without rejecting your entire families heritage.
Soon after launch on January 28th, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger broke apart and shattered the nation. The tragedy was on the hearts and minds of the nation and President Ronald Reagan. President Reagan addressed the county, commemorating the men and woman whose lives were lost and offering hope to Americans and future exploration. Reagan begins his speech by getting on the same level as the audience by showing empathy and attempting to remind us that this was the job of the crew. He proceeds with using his credibility to promise future space travel. Ultimately, his attempt to appeal to the audience’s emotions made his argument much stronger. Reagan effectively addresses the public about the tragedy while comforting, acknowledging, honoring and motivating his audience all in an effort to move the mood from grief to hope for future exploration.
In 102 Minutes, Chapter 7, authors Dwyer and Flynn use ethos, logos, and pathos to appeal to the readers’ consciences, minds and hearts regarding what happened to the people inside the Twin Towers on 9/11. Of particular interest are the following uses of the three appeals.
The article “The Coddling Of The American Mind”, written by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, was written about how teachers are afraid of what they are allowed to say during in class because of the emotional effect on the students. While writing the article the authors have many examples of logos, ethos, and pathos. The logos of the article appeals to logic by presenting facts and statistics. The writers provide definitions of words such as microaggression and trigger warning. While explaining the definitions they go on to give real world examples to further the understanding of the words. Also statistics of the amount of mental health issues are provided to enhance the logos. Secondly to make the article more appealing is adding an emotional
In recent years, it is not even necessary to turn on the news to hear about the bad reputation farming has been getting in recent years. What with the media focusing on things like drugs in animals and Pink Slime, or Lean Finely Textured Beef, it is a wonder that people are eating “non-organic” foods. However, many pro-farming organizations having been trying to fight back against these slanders. Still, the battle is not without heavy competition, and a good portion of it comes from Chipotle, a fast food Mexican restaurant that claims to only use completely organic ingredients in their food. Chipotle is constantly introducing advertisements claiming to have the natural ingredients while slandering the name of farmers everywhere. Perhaps the most well-known is “The Scarecrow,” a three minute ad that features some of the most haunting images Chipotle has ever featured. While “The Scarecrow” uses tear-inducing images and the almost eerie music to entice the audience to the company’s “free-range farming” ideals, it lacks substantial logos yet, it still
In the essay “Cultural Baggage” by Barbara Ehrenreich in The Norton Mix, Ehrenreich claims that she possesses no type of heritage. She goes on to explain that in her life, she never learned any specific cultural values, and that her family has always lived with borrowed traditions. She closes by stating that she is proud of her lack of heritage and believes that the world would be better off without culture. Having no cultural background is a well-developed and agreeable idea because of the number of people who come from mixed and confusing backgrounds, the complexity of a mixed family tree, and the changing times and their effect on traditions.
In The Things They Carried, an engaging novel of war, author Tim O’Brien shares the unique warfare experience of the Alpha Company, an assembly of American military men that set off to fight for their country in the gruesome Vietnam War. Within the novel, the author O’Brien uses the character Tim O’Brien to narrate and remark on his own experience as well as the experiences of his fellow soldiers in the Alpha Company. Throughout the story, O’Brien gives the reader a raw perspective of the Alpha Company’s military life in Vietnam. He sheds light on both the tangible and intangible things a soldier must bear as he trudges along the battlefield in hope for freedom from war and bloodshed. As the narrator, O’Brien displayed a broad imagination, retentive memory, and detailed descriptions of his past as well as present situations. 5. The author successfully uses rhetoric devices such as imagery, personification, and repetition of O’Brien to provoke deep thought and allow the reader to see and understand the burden of the war through the eyes of Tim O’Brien and his soldiers.
The authors of “Coddling of the American Mind,” Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, use ethos, logos, and pathos convey their negative stance regarding trigger warnings and the effect they on education. Lukianoff and Haidt’s use of rhetorical appeal throughout the article adds to the author’s credibility and the strength of the argument against increasing the use of trigger warnings in school material. The authors, Lukianoff and Haidt, rely heavily upon the use of logos, such as relations between conflicts surrounding trigger warnings and other historical conflicts impacting student ethics. Examples of the use of these logical appeals are the relation between the Columbine Massacre and the younger generations ideology. The author goes on to mention other societal turning points such
I found your post to be insightful, for it highlighted the increasing buying power that Latinos have. Latinos are becoming a fast growing demographic for advertisers.
Conrad Kottak, in the eleventh chapter of his textbook on cultural anthropology sought to deconstruct ethnicity in the modern world and how it has evolved over time. He wrote that “ethnicity is based on actual, perceived, or assumed cultural similarities” (Kottak 2012). While ethnicity is based in differences, he discussed at length the origins of race and ethnicity and the diverging opinions as to where it all began, then diverged. He argued that humans are cultural rather than biologic and contrasts in society great affect how humans organize and define themselves. There was a overview of ethnicity structures in Asia, specifically in Japan and Korea, as well as the United States and Brazil. Kottak also defined what the word “nation” really means and its connotations; assim...
Imagine a society where education isn’t entirely dependent upon the merits of one’s personal knowledge. Where the learning environment is utilized for personal development and growth rather than competition and separation. A sanctuary composed of unity and equity among peers. A place where college isn’t the only goal, but rather personal identity and initiative are established along the way. Such a society, fully embodies Baldwin’s ideology regarding education, and the prejudices therein. In his speech, “A Talk to Teachers” Baldwin delivers a compelling argument, in which he criticizes the problems and prejudices within the educational system in his day. However, through his sagacious philosophies and eye-opening opinions, Baldwin manifests the cruel, unspoken truth within his speech, that the hindrances and prejudices experienced in his day are still existent in 2016.
The American diet is becoming extremely harmful to the health of especially children. The new generation has different trends in regard to health compared to those of perhaps their parents. In the documentary Fed Up, Soechtig uses data and statistics, as well as narratives of emotional events to highlight the long run issues with American’s poor diet and also to criticize the food industry. By doing this, the director hopes to spark a change in diet.
A rhetoric analysis can be defined as the breakdown of components used to make a persuasive argument or judgment on a particular subject or topic. The ability to make a conclusion or decision on a given thought or idea in a moment of seconds is a result of rhetorical analysis. “Because media rhetoric surrounds us, it is important to understand how rhetoric works. If we refuse to stop and think about how and why it persuades us, we can become mindless consumers who buy into arguments about what makes us value ourselves and what makes us happy”. In Carroll’s essay “Backpacks Vs. Briefcases: Steps toward Rhetorical Analysis”, she discusses the nature of rhetorical analysis, how it affects our everyday lives and explains the role context plays.
Director Steven Spielberg and auther Markus Zusak, in their intriguing production, movie Saving Private Ryan and book The Book Thief, both taking place during World War II. However , in Saving Private Ryan Spielberg focus on a lot of complications that occur during war , but guilt was one difficulty that stood out to me. Zusak, on the other hand , showas that having courage during war can be a advantage and also an disadvantage depending on the situation. Both director and author grabed the audience attention with emotional and logical appeal.
As individual thinks the world to be diverse, often we take for granted unknown cultures. At times, most minority cultures is view as one thing whereas the ethnicity is multifaceted. Historically we used assumptions, not evidence, to equate cultures with social identities (Handwreker, 2002, p107. Society usually dismissed individuality of cultural and tend to put everyone with similar background in the same category. Recognition cos ethnic group has to rely on each other to voice out opinion on the matter and educated the history of personal culture.
In the end, what we learn from this article is very realistic and logical. Furthermore, it is supported with real-life examples. Culture is ordinary, each individual has it, and it is both individual and common. It’s a result of both traditional values and an individual effort. Therefore, trying to fit it into certain sharp-edged models would be wrong.