Rhetorical Analysis I Want A Wife

“I belong to that classification of people known as wives, I am A Wife. And, not altogether incidentally, I am a mother’’. This quote stated by Judy Brady from the essay, “Why I Want a Wife”, shows that a wife and a mother are just as important as everyone else. Judy Brady feels that wives are not acknowledged enough from all the hard work they do. Judy Brady shows that wives are important and underappreciated by using rhetorical devices such as ethos, sarcasm, and exaggeration.

Ethos is one of the rhetorical strategies that was used throughout the essay. Ethos establishes credibility to let the audience know they can trust the author. One example of this strategy is in the first paragraph: “I belong to that classification of people known

as wives, I am A Wife. And, not altogether incidentally, I am a mother” (229). By stating that the author is a wife and a mother, she is showing that she knows what it is like to be a mother and a wife. Brady is wanting the audience to know they can trust her about the topic she is talking about. The audience then knows that the essay is credible since it is coming from a wife's point of view.
Another rhetorical device used throughout the essay is sarcasm.

Sarcasm is used to mock something. For example, in paragraph three the author states, “It may mean a small cut in my wife’s income from time to time, but I guess I can tolerate that” (229). The author used this sarcasm to show the audience that a wife’s work is not as important as a husband’s work. It shows that a wife works just as much as the husband does, but the wife still has to take care of the children after work. When the audience reads this sentence, some wives can relate to what is being said. The audience will then remember what it felt like when this happened to

them.
Sarcasm was also used again later on during the essay. In paragraph seven the author states, “I must, after all, be able to relate to people as fully as possible” (230). Brady uses this sarcasm here to show that husbands want to fit in with others because they can not feel like they are left out. She is saying that it does not matter what the wife wants, only the husband. This works on the audience by making them understand what is being said. After reading this sarcasm, some wives might be able to relate to this and get angered.
Exaggeration was another rhetorical device used.

Exaggeration is used to make a situation seem worse than what it actually is. In paragraph four, Brady starts off talking about reasonable wife duties and then she starts to exaggerate toward the end: “I want a wife to go along when our family takes a vacation so that someone can continue to care for me and my children when I need a rest and change of scene” (229). The author uses this exaggeration to show that husbands can not do everything by themselves, so they need a wife to do these responsibilities for them. She is showing that husbands always depend on the wives to take care of themselves and the children. As the audience reads this paragraph, they comprehend as to what it feels like to be a wife in a situation like this. They know that wives usually have the responsibility of grocery shopping and keeping the house clean, but not taking care of the whole family all the time. Wives then can relate to what it feels like to have to work all the time and not be able to relax with their

family.
Throughout this essay, Judy Brady uses different techniques to show that wives are not appreciated enough. She establishes that she is a mother and a wife so the audience knows they can trust her. She also uses sarcasm and exaggeration to get the point across to the audience. Judy Brady wants the audience to understand how much wives do and that their hard work should be appreciated.