I believe David Foster Wallace’s aim for writing this piece was to explain his reasoning for killing and eating animals and to understand other people’s views on the issue as well. This is apparent throughout the writing. Wallace starts out by giving his personal description of the Maine Lobster Festival. He describes how it takes place July 30th through August 3rd, thousands of people come to the festival every year, its broadcasted on live television by CNN, and about 25,000 fresh lobsters are eaten over the course of the festival. Additionally, he goes into the biology of the lobster such as the scientific name and evolution. Leading up to this, he states the question for writing this piece, “Is it alright to boil a sentient creature alive for our gustatory pleasure” (p.9 Wallace)? …show more content…
Wallace explains his views on this issue by stating “I believe animals are less morally important than human beings” (p.19 Wallace). He also states, “I haven’t succeeded in working out any sort of personal ethical system in which the belief is truly defensible instead of just selfishly convenient” (p.19 Wallace). Wallace explains his personal beliefs as a type of rhetorical device.
This rhetorical device of ethos gives Wallace good credibility as a writer. He explains how his beliefs are not logically correct and this gives the reader a sense of credibility that Wallace is not biased. This type of rhetorical device was not used in Singer’s writing piece. I believe Singer couldn’t include this type of rhetorical device because it would have taken away the scholarly aspect of his writing. Next, Wallace asks the reader their point of view on the issue of killing lobsters. Wallace asks questions such as “Do you think much about the moral status and suffering of the animals involved?” (p.20 Wallace) and “Do you ever think idly, about the possible reasons for your reluctance to think about it?” (p.20 Wallace). These questions make the reader stop and think about their personal beliefs on the issue. Even I myself started coming up with questions whether it was morally right to kill lobsters. Furthermore, Wallace’s stylistic type of writing makes it easier for the reader to understand his point of view. I believe Wallace uses this writing style to give the reader a sense of personal connection with
him. This sense of personal connection gives the reader an open mind on the topic and makes the reader think about possibilities they would have never thought of before. Overall, Wallace’s writing style and rhetorical devices showed his aim on the controversial issue of killing lobsters.
Blackfish is a 2013 documentary, directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, about the captive orca, Tilikum. The documentary chronicles Tilikum’s life in captivity while examining the conditions that SeaWorld’s orcas live under. Cowperthwaite argues that SeaWorld mistreats their Orcas and intentionally misinforms both their employees and the general public. Rhetorical analysis reveals that Cowperthwaite uses emotional appeals and juxtaposition to sway the viewer to her perspective.
Blackfish is a documentary based upon orcas who are at SeaWorld. Throughout the documentary Blackfish, there were many rhetorical devices used. The documentary displayed very empowering rhetorical devices. The documentary also gave a great representation on why orcas should not be held captive. I strongly agree with the filmmaker,Gabriela Cowperthwaite.
Wallace uses Pathos as an persuasive device in his article as he describes the catching and cooking process of the lobster. Using his words, he gives the audience the idea that the lobster is not just an item for consumption, but also a live creature. “They come up alive in the traps, are placed in containers of seawater, and can, so long as the water’s aerated and the animals’ claws are pegged or banded to keep them from tearing one another up under the stresses of captivity, survive right up until they’re boiled (Wallace, 60). He mentions that the lobster is in fact boiled alive to maintain it’s freshness and describes the boiling process. “[The lobster] comes alarmingly to life when placed in boiling water. The lobster will sometimes try to cling to the container’s sides or even hook its claws over the kettle’s rim like a person trying to keep from going over the edge of a roof” (Wallace 62). He compares the lobster during the cooking process to a human in terror of falling to their death. This gives the audience something to relate to on an emotional level based on the simile he presents to us. Based on this evidence and the words the author chooses to present to the reader, it is suggested that
Durant argues that “ On the one hand, he hammers ethical meat-eaters because right now ethical meat accounts for such an insubstantial portion of meat that gets eaten.” after inserting a quote he continues by writing “ In the same chapter, only five short pages later, he lauds the influence of solitary vegetarians.” Durant points out that animal rights advocates don’t want anyone to eat animals even if it is ethically done. Later on he continues to say that Foer represents “Just about every urban-vegan-coastal-elite stereotype.” Durant believes that Foer is acting biased towards ethical meat alternatives and instead supports vegetarians even though both groups seem to small to make a
At the end of his article, he explains, “I believe animals are less morally important than human beings; and when it comes to defending such a belief, even to myself, I have to acknowledge that (a) I have an obvious selfish interest in this belief, since I like to eat certain kinds of animals and want to be able to keep doing it, and (b) I have not succeeded in working out any sort of personal ethical system in which the belief is truly defensible instead of just selfishly convenient.” (64) Because Wallace does not state his open opinion, one may argue his article is less persuasive. Wallace's approach to persuade the readers differs from most due to his abundance of information he presents on both sides of the topic. Although Wallace states both sides of the debate, instead of solely focusing on his opinion, he gives the reader an opportunity to make an educated decision based on the facts. With this method the reader is able to not form automatic bias, and establish a stronger foundation of their
In today’s society, one of the most natural human traits is selfishness. David Foster Wallace incorporated this idea in his commencement speech at Kenyon College in 2005. Wallace aims to persuade his audience that, “the most obvious, ubiquitous, important realities are often the ones that are the hardest to see and talk about.” Although the intended audience of his speech is the graduates and staff, along with their friends and family, the piece has become quite popular since its delivery. Wallace offers, “nothing less than the truth” and captivates the listeners with his complete honestly. His personal tone lets the audience feel like they are a part of the conversation, rather than just receiving it. Wallace successfully conveys his message that society is blind to the world around them through the use of logic, humility and emotional appeals.
"The Killer Instinct" is an article published in “A Monthly Journal of Religion & Public Life by Institute on Religion & Public Life" in January 2000. This journal, which started from 1998, contains various articles with opinions, arguments, debates and commentary on religious and moral questions, and social issues going in American society. Sally Thomas, a poet and a writer, argues in the article that it's the nature of boys who constructs them rough and not the toys that create them violent. She argues with various examples from her friends and even from her own experience throughout the article making clear sense of support to her argument. This article by Sally Thomas is a successful argument appealing toward its audience with a clear and strong use of reasoning, emotion and authority.
Manipulation of language can be a weapon of mind control and abuse of power. The story Animal Farm by George Orwell is all about manipulation, and the major way manipulation is used in this novel is by the use of words. The character in this book named Squealer employs ethos, pathos, and logos in order to manipulate the other animals and maintain control.
The subject of death is one that many have trouble talking about, but Virginia Woolf provides her ideas in her narration The Death of the Moth. The moth is used as a metaphor to depict the constant battle between life and death, as well as Woolf’s struggle with chronic depression. Her use of pathos and personification of the moth helps readers develop an emotional connection and twists them to feel a certain way. Her intentional use of often awkward punctuation forces readers to take a step back and think about what they just read. Overall, Woolf uses these techniques to give her opinion on existence in general, and reminds readers that death is a part of life.
During a commencement ceremony, David Foster Wallace addresses graduating students with a query of how to think critically, away from their default parameters of thought. The challenge laid by Wallace was to begin learning how to break away from an egocentric method of thought--away from being able to narrowly look at a situation and observe how it may have a personal effect, in preference for a train of thought that looks at “why is this happening and how does it affect everyone involved”? This is supported by multiple analogies that Wallace covers, such as trying to comprehend why someone is driving defensively in an SUV, or why someone is driving recklessly and in a hurry. Wallace goes as far as to reverse the egocentric train of thought
Nana’s experiences and the hardships she faced with being a single mother who was discarded by her accidental child’s father, Jalil, and left with nothing besides rejection and shame from the community exposes the truths about female life in Afghanistan. The quote “Women like us. We endure. It’s all we have (Page 19)” demonstrates the plight of women in Afghanistan, especially under the Taliban and their rules, and summarizes their suffering within nine words of brutal honesty. Mariam goes on to experience this endless abuse herself as the freedoms for women continue to be fairly non-existent. For example, once Nana commits suicide, Mariam, for a very brief time, is placed under the care of Jalil and his three wives. Shortly after this though, marriage to an older, vile man named Rasheed is imposed on her as Jalil’s wives repeat and she becomes aware
For my project, I chose to reconstruct my rhetorical analysis essay in the form of a commercial or public service announcement posted to YouTube. My rhetorical analysis essay analyzed David Foster Wallace’s “Consider the Lobster” which concerned the morality of cooking and utilizing lobsters for food. Because of this, I decided to turn my analysis into a video advocating for an end to the slaughter and consumption of lobsters. Video is a common form of media for this type of advocacy, since it is easily accessible to people and doesn’t require the audience to put much effort into consuming the information. I chose to upload this video to YouTube since it is one of the most common places on the internet to share videos and has a large user base. Posting the video
“The pen is mightier than the sword.” This is a popular saying that explains that, sometimes, in order to persuade or convince people, one should not use force but words. In Animal Farm, by George Orwell, animals overthrow the human leader and start a new life, but some animals want to become the new leaders. To make the other animals obey the pigs, they first have to persuade the farm’s population. Squealer is the best pig for this job because he effectively convinces the animals to follow Napoleon by using different rhetorical devices and methods of persuasion.
The Maine Lobster Festival is supposed to be a celebration inviting anyone and everyone to celebrate the delectable lobster, but Wallace uses it to shed some light on the welfare of the animal when cooking and eating it. He does a great job at analyzing the festival as well as challenging the meaning of food based on how we define the animals we consume. This includes the substitution of words, people’s ignorance, and the scientific language. The way we identify food can all be supported by these three main influences.
Let me begin with the words by George Bernard Shaw: ‘Animals are my friends and I don’t eat my friends’. This indicates the ethic aspect of meat consumption. In fact, people often don’t realize how animals are treated, but they can see commercial spots in their TV showing smiling pigs, cows or chickens, happy and ready to be eaten. My impression is that there can’t be anything more cruel and senseless. It is no secret that animals suffer ...