Rhetorical Analysis Of Freakonomics

On the front cover of Freakonomics, the subheading reads, “A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything,” which is the purpose of the book. The economist Steven Levitt and the author Stephen Dubner wrote this book using several rhetorical devices to achieve that purpose. A few of those devices, style, ethos, pathos, and logos, were prominent within the book and helped to convey the message and purpose well. To begin, the authors’ style plays a major role in conveying their purpose. One of the first things anyone will notice is the title chapters, which are named by seemingly abstract and unrelated topics. For example, the first chapter is named, “What Do Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers Have in Common?” This question makes the

Stephen Dubner wrote an article about Steven Levitt in which he describes who he is and what he does. This article characterizes Levitt in such a way that he seems just like a regular person, though we see him as an economic genius. The objective of this appeal was to make the reader relate to both Dubner and Levitt, and it does. People see Levitt as something of an expert, though Levitt is completely modest and says he is not that smart. His modesty shows that he doesn’t think of himself as better than anyone, which makes him more personable instead of just informative when he discusses topics in the book. Since Dubner thinks like we do and understands how we might feel toward Levitt, he makes himself more relatable just by writing the article. On top of that, both men started blogging in an effort to get more in touch with readers after the book was published in case there were mistakes or a further analysis was wanted. This proves that neither man was trying to be famous or to make a lot of money by putting out tons of books, but that they truly want to inform the public about the hidden side of everyday things such as schoolteachers and real-estate