Hamlet Rhetorical Devices

The Key to a Happy Life
William Powers is a New York Times bestselling author of the novel Hamlets Blackberry; a book that thoroughly expounds on the need for society to detach from technology. The inspiration for his novel blossomed during Powers’s research at Harvard University and his passion for the subject only grew from there. He developed into an esteemed author and won the Arthur Rowse Award for media and criticism twice. Powers’s passion for digital balance is very apparent in his life and in his writing. In Hamlets Blackberry he successfully uses many persuasion techniques to help establish and support his argument. In chapter thirteen, Powers utilizes many rhetorical modes such as narrative, Ethos, and Pathos to help support his

main theme: balance is essential for a happy life.
In Hamlets Blackberry Powers successfully uses narrative throughout the book to relate to the reader and sway them to his ideas.

In Chapter thirteen Powers tells a story about his experience detaching his family and him from technology on the weekends. He noticed how technology did not bring his family together like it advertised, but actually drew them apart. So he devised plan, every weekend he would unplug the modem and they would be without internet from Friday night until Monday morning, they called it an “internet Sabbath” (Powers 227). In the short amount of time being disconnected from the outside world it forced his family and him to come together, interact, and make memories. The enforced separation gave the family the ability to “be in one place, doing one particular thing, and enjoy it” (Powers 228). This ritual helped set up an equilibrium of community time and family time, which relates back to the central theme: balance equals happiness. By sharing his first time experience finding balance with technology Powers communicates directly to the reader. He no longer has the responsibilities of being connected to the outside world, he could just relax and enjoy his time bonding with his family. Powers uses narrative to appeal to the reader’s love for their family. The readers can relate to the “need” to make life better for themselves and the ones around them. In Powers story he makes the lives around him better with one small adjustment: Balance. This one

connection makes the reader see the truth behind Powers argument by looking at how the “Internet Sabbath” brought his family closer and made them happier. The reader sees Powers problems in his narrative, problems that they might also be experiencing, which would cause them to identify with Powers. In the end, Powers use of narrative causes the reader to see the solution to his problems as the same solution to theirs. The more personal he gets with his readers the more they identify with him and ultimately agree with him. The narrative gives the readers an idea of how to pursue balance and why they should. Just this one story provides the reader the confidence and the first steps that sway them to powers argument very effectively.
Powers also uses ethos in chapter thirteen as another effective rhetorical mode to help get his point across.

His narrative about the “internet Sabbath” (Powers 227) did more than just tell a story, it gave him credibility, the very definition of the rhetorical appeal, ethos. The more the readers see Powers contribution to his argument, the more credibility he gains and the more they trust his viewpoints. Powers put a lot of time and research into this novel, he used his credibility as an author and incorporated many other famous accredited people to help support his argument. On page 224 of chapter thirteen Powers quotes Henry Thoreau “The man who goes desperately back to the post office over and over hasn’t heard from himself in a long while.” Powers then relates Thoreau’s idea back to his own idea: the more family members log onto technology over and over the more the family grows apart. He uses the logic of a very well-known respected author to help establish a better authenticity of himself and his purpose. It makes it seem like Thoreau agrees that balance is one of the most important aspects in life, which makes Powers argument more respectable. Powers effectively uses many respected sources throughout his novel, just in chapter thirteen he uses Thoreau, Christopher Alexander, Frank Lloyd Wright, Donald Winnicott, and more. With each of these sources his theme builds his support and his credibility. All in all, Powers uses ethos as a strong effective persuasion

technique to convince the reader that his argument is true.
Lastly, Powers utilizes pathos as an effective persuasion technique. Chapter thirteen, the final chapter of the novel, works as the last chance Powers has to connect to the reader and drive his purpose home. He uses pathos as his strongest persuasion technique to force the reader to consider his argument. He uses pathos is his narrative to help the reader stop and think about how technology effects their family. He makes the reader relate his story back to their own lives, and consider his argument, which is the first step to convincing them of his argument. He ends with a very broad idea that also appeals to reader’s emotion: the chance to change the world. On page 233 Powers states “If this idea to spread, it would change the life lived not just inside each home but between homes.” This statement establishes that if the reader took the steps to find technological balance, then they could share it with their neighbors, and they would share it with their neighbors and eventually “we wind up spending more time outside, seeing the neighbors and enjoying the natural world.” The reader can change the world for the better if they just find balance, and share the secret, because “The healthiest, most vibrant communities are those in which people meet and mix casually in public squares and other common physical spaces” (Powers 233). He concludes all his ideas by reminding the reader that technology has many benefits, but it also has many pitfalls. Finding balance between digital society and real life is very important. Technology has such a strong hold on society and maybe with a little break we can go back to the time when “people once danced in the streets” (Powers 233). Even though the reader has not experienced the past, Powers makes it sound like society in the days without technology achieved a greater happiness. By appealing to the readers emotions Powers brings about a longing for those happy days to return but they must make the first step to a better life. His use of Pathos is one of the strongest persuasion techniques used, because he knows how to word his writing in a way that makes the reader stop and consider his ideas. He leaves the reader with a lot to think about, but makes the resolution very easy: find balance.
To conclude, Powers uses many effected rhetorical strategies to help convince the reader that they need to balance the amount of time they spend logged on technology and the amount of time they spend living life in order to find happiness. Powers use of narrative, ethos, and pathos has a strong contribution to the stability of his argument. He is very effective in the way he uses each rhetorical mode, he makes it so they overlap, weave together, and flow evenly. His persuasive claim gives the reader a lot to think about in the end, which is one of the main goals of Powers novel and the first step to making a difference.