A select few individuals in society are abnormally intelligent, making them to be frequently outcasted and rarely recognized for their true importance to the world. In an article from The New York Times entitled, “America Needs its Nerds”, by Leonid Fridman, the author delves deep into the ideas of the constant cruelty displayed towards nerds and geeks. Throughout the article, Fridman utilizes rhetorical questions, colloquialisms and even anecdotes in order to directly respond to the fact that nerds and geeks should be celebrated for their contributions to the advancements in the world instead of criticized for not fitting into society’s expectations.
To begin with, the author uses rhetorical questions, which appeals to pathos, to support
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his argument. When thinking about the future generation, he states, “How can a country where typical parents are ashamed of their daughter studying mathematics instead of going dancing, or of their son reading Weber while his friends play baseball, be expected to compete in the technology race with Japan or remain a leading political and cultural force in Europe?” (Fridman 47-52). The author questions parents who have instilled physical growth over mental growth in their children. In the text, the author applies rhetorical questions to allow readers to reflect upon themselves and expose themselves to thoughts about how they have affected the success of future generations in America. This appeals to pathos by placing guilt on parents as they forced their kids to focus on sports rather than their education. The questions make the progenitors feel extreme guilt because they have hindered the growth of society for younger generations by forcing them to focus on physical sports over studies. This also influences future generations to break the repetition of these negative standards in order for social society to grow more rapidly. When referring to society’s corrupt values, Fridman questions, “How long can America remain a world-class power if we constantly emphasize social skill and physical prowess over academic achievement and intellectual ability?” (Fridman 53-56). The author questions whether or not America can remain at the top of the chain of intelligence if they constantly stress about being the strongest instead of the smartest. By placing culpability on those who overlook the importance of academic achievements, this appeal to emotions allowing readers to evaluate their standards about education. Overall, this leads readers to evaluate themselves and feel guilt for those that neglect to consider keeping America at the top of world power with the an emphasis on education. Furthermore, the author utilizes colloquialism to prove the necessity of intellectual individuals in our society.
Freedman states, “someone dedicated to pursuit of knowledge is compared to a freak biting the head off a live chicken”(Fridman 9-10). Through the use of the word “freak”, Fridman explains to the readers that in society today, individuals tend to shun those who are in seek of knowledge, ridiculing them, disrespecting them and failing to idolize them in the same manner that Americans do with athletic stars. He stresses the importance of acknowledging this problem in society through the use of such rhetorical devices, as it creates a more informal tone, making the text seem more authentic, relatable and understandable towards the reader. It results in the reader questioning the reason as to why society’s system of values allows this type of negativity towards a specific group of people, causing them to, little by little, stop it from continuing. As a result, these individuals will be able to feel more needed in society, as they start to realize their place in society is also valued. Not only are these intellectual people called freaks but also other names as well as Fridman wrote, “society that has only derogatory terms like nerd and geek for the intellectually curious and academically serious”(Fridman 2-4). Throughout the text, the author uses these negative associated terms, “nerds” and “geeks”, to prove to the readers how easily incorporated these terms are in our society already, as these words are normally used to insult, criticize or hurt others. These words are habitually abused in society to the point where people just shrug the negative connotations of these words off. In addition, Fridman’s use of these words throughout the text is ironic to his argument; although he wants these individuals to stop being ashamed of themselves, the use of these terms carry a negative meaning behind them, making his argument ironic as it is like an indirect,
subtle jab at these people. Nevertheless, the author continues to use such terms in the text, creating a more powerful impact on the reader as it leads them to question the deteriorating values system in society towards intellectual people. Lastly, Fridman attempts to prove his point about the necessity of nerds through the use of anecdotes, giving scenarios about the times nerds benefit society and therefore creating a stronger argument for his audience. He references Harvard University, one of the most prestigious schools, explaining, “Many students are ashamed to admit[…] how much they study[…] there is a minority of undergraduates for who pursue knowledge is top priority during their years at Harvard. Nerds are ostracized while athletes are idolized” (Fridman 12-18). Using Harvard University as an example, he is able to establish his own credibility by showing all the research he has conducted about intelligent people from a prestigious school showing how nerds are not brave enough to stand up for themselves. He purposely includes a well-known school to demonstrate how even nerds from top schools are not well known, however are greatly needed because they are the ones who advance technology in society. Additionally, Fridman uses elementary school and high schools by referencing how “Children who prefer to read books… rather than get wasted on at parties with their classmates, become social outcasts” (Fridman 20-23). The author uses anecdotes about younger students' development in society as they start to show the symptoms of becoming social outcasts later on in life which is apparent in younger years. Choosing to seek knowledge from reading academic activities during younger years instead of refining one's social skills, are the people who will lead society into a bright future. As Fridman utilizes anecdotes Overall, Fridman finds his audience by bringing awareness to the mistreatment that the intellectually advanced receive frequently. With this, the author develops a tone of both hopefulness and defensiveness as he attempts to give nerds a better reputation. As he continues to further his argument, he gives readers hope in the future of America as they have a safety net of geeks to to prevent any sort of stand-still in the development of technology. Fridman uses his argument to target people of every age group in America due to the fact that he hopes to allow readers to better understand the need for dweebs in the world today. In short, the author did, in fact, achieve his purpose of creating awareness of the true importance of so-called dorks in America.
The tone during the whole plot of in Brave New World changes when advancing throughout the plot, but it often contains a dark and satiric aspect. Since the novel was originally planned to be written as a satire, the tone is ironic and sarcastic. Huxley's sarcastic tone is most noticeable in the conversations between characters. For instance, when the director was educating the students about the past history, he states that "most facts about the past do sound incredible (Huxley 45)." Through the exaggeration of words in the statement of the director, Huxley's sarcastic tone obviously is portrayed. As a result of this, the satirical tone puts the mood to be carefree.
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Author and Harvard graduate, Leonid Fridman, in an excerpt of his article, America Needs Its Nerds, points out America’s anti-intellectualism. Fridman’s purpose is to inform the reader of the contempt held for the intellectually curious and call for a change in the country’s attitude. He adopts a condemning tone to make the reader aware of the issue and encourage them to change their mindset.
Graff takes a logical approach to defending his opinion on the age old battle of “street smarts versus book smarts” in the article “Hidden Intellectualism”. Through several historical and personal examples, he strongly delivers an argument that schools have been discounting students who may not think academically. In reality the students who can relate articles from sources like Vouge and Sports Illustrated to life may be the ones who will truly be successful. Throughout his writing, he uses many devices to sway the audience’s opinions in the direction of his. Through Graff’s rhetorical writing strategies, he opens reader’s eyes to the fact that any subject can be intellectual when observed “through academic eyes”.
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When we discuss the topic of diversity, half of the class and Jena McGregor will agree that America does not cherish diversity. In Patel's story he supports that America does cherish diversity. Based on the debate, I believe the opposite of the class and Jena McGregor, and I agree with Patel by making the claim that America does cherish diversity.
In “Hidden Intellectualism,” Gerald Graff pens an impressive argument wrought from personal experience, wisdom and heart. In his essay, Graff argues that street smarts have intellectual potential. A simple gem of wisdom, yet one that remains hidden beneath a sea of academic tradition. However, Graff navigates the reader through this ponderous sea with near perfection.
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American culture has evolved, and Society tends to ostracize people for their intelligence, and our culture has been giving these intellectuals derogatory names like nerd and geek. Leonid Fridman believes that these anti- intellectual values that pervade our society must be fought and should stop for the sake of America. The author supports this position in the passage “America Needs It’s Nerds” through the use of rhetoric by giving definitions of terms such as geek, offering comparisons through juxtaposition, adding a tone shift, and posing rhetorical questions to the reader.
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...est high school students in America” (Gladwell 82). It was shocking to learn that all the Nobel Prize in Medicine winners did not all come from the most prestigious schools. Also, in the third chapter I notices some aspects that were highly relatable to me. My life relates to subjects included in chapter three because I am a student. It is interesting and helpful to learn that one does not need the highest IQ to succeed in today’s world. This is how I relate to chapter three. The third chapter in Outlier by Malcolm Gladwell had striking information that stated that IQs do not always determine who will be successful, and I can relate to the information in the chapter because I am student who has thought about my IQ before.
“Hidden Intellectualism” written by Gerald Graff, is a compelling essay that presents the contradicting sides of “book smarts” and “street smarts” and how these terms tied in to Graff’s life growing up. Graff felt like the school was at fault that the children with more “street smarts” were marked with the reputation of being inadequate in the classroom. Instead of promoting the knowledge of dating, cars, or social cues, the educational system deemed them unnecessary. Gerald Graff thought that “street smarts” could help people with academics. In his essay, Graff confessed that despite his success as an “intellect” now, he was the exact opposite until college. Where he grew up in Chicago, Illinois, intelligence was looked down upon around peers
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