Rhetorical Analysis Of Superman And Me

Before an author begins composing a body of work, there are three requirements necessary to establish beforehand. The composer must first “have a specific purpose and an audience”( Braziller, Kleinfeld, 7). A purpose allows there to be an overall reason to write. The purpose is necessary to persuade, inform, educate, or entertain the reader on a certain topic. The topic can be caused by "the time period, location, current event, or cultural significance (University, 1995-2018 )”. Identifying the audience is necessary since it instructs the composer how to communicate in a way the audience will appreciate and understand. Knowing how the audience will best understand the information gives the composer an advantage when trying to communicate the

information. The last component the composer needs to determine is the genre. The author is able to decide on a genre based on what will appropriately display the message being argued. The genre creates a set of rules the composer can use to decide the structure of the composition. Together purpose, audience, and genre make up the rhetorical situation. The rhetorical situation can be defined as “the context in which you create a composition"( Braziller, Kleinfeld, 7).

A rhetorical situation can be found in every composition since it serves as the foundation. To further provide evidence towards my claims about the function of the rhetorical situation, I will analyze how three different compositions were influenced by the rhetorical situation.

The three reading are Superman and Me by Sherman Alexie, You’re not going to believe what I’m about to tell you by The Oatmeal, and Girl by Jamaica Kincaid. While analyzing these readings, it became apparent all three contained different rhetorical situations. The purpose, or reason to write, in Superman and me, is the cultural significance. Superman and me is a rare story where a Native American was able to succeed by reading books. The purpose can be identified after Sherman mentions how “A little Indian boy teaches himself to read at an early age”(Alexie, 130). An Indian boy teaching himself how to read was significant since all “Indian children [are] expected to be stupid"(Alexie, 130). Alexie mentioned if he had “been anything but an Indian boy living on the reservation, he might have been called a prodigy. But he is an Indian boy living on the reservation and is simply an oddity”(Alexie, 3). The purpose allowed Sherman Alexie to speak

on his unique childhood, and how his talent was not celebrated but ridiculed. In you’re not going to believe what I’m about to tell you, the composition is a product of the composer’s desire to inform. The purpose was found at the beginning of the comic, stating “you're not going to believe these things I tell you. And that's ok. You have a reason not to. But I need to keep listening, regardless of what you believe”(Oatmeal, 3-6). The purpose discusses how humans do not like accepting new ideas. The comic book mentions humans have the “tendency to disregard facts when they challenge their core beliefs”(SCHROEDER, 2017). The purpose is later proven in the comic as it states random bold statements, causing the audience to automatically deny their claims. The purpose is currently relevant since the comic was released at a time fake news is a big issue in the television and internet. The purpose of girl is for the mother to inform her daughter on how to perform different tasks. The purpose was caused by the period of time since the mother felt it was necessary to inform her daughter on many instructions at once. The purpose was easy to discover, since the mother's instructions took up the entire composition, saying “this is how you sweep a corner; This is how you sweep a whole house; this is how you sweep a yard”(Kincaid, 320). The amount of random information instructed was more than one could count, making composition feel as if someone was rambling about anything they could think of. While covering many subjects within the paragraph, the mother also wanted to comment how her daughter is acting like a slut. The three primary purposes allowed for a topic of discussion throughout the compositions, but the reasons each composer found the purpose differed, being the causes of the time period, to inform, and cultural significance.
When deciding to write an essay, there can be more than one purpose. When asking myself if the composers had another motive to create the composition, Girl and Superman and Me contained a secondary purpose. The second purpose of Superman and Me is to provide hope to Indian children. Sherman stated “as Indian children, we were expected to fail in the non-Indian world...I refused to fail. I was smart. I was arrogant. I was lucky. I read books late into the night, until I could barely keep my eyes open.(Alexie, 130)” Sherman desire to strive allowed him to change his life. He did not mention his overcoming to brag about his accomplishment, but to show how an Indian boy can succeed just like he did. His desire to help Indian kids can also be noted in the conclusion, which mentions his regular school visits to teach Indians creative writing. Sherman is a sign of hope to the student, looking “at [Sherman] with bright eyes and arrogant wonder”, as they try to save their lives. The secondary purpose of Girl is the mother's desire to quickly explain as many topics within a paragraph. The mother thought there was no time for an intro since the first sentence begins with “wash the white clothes on monday and put them on the stone heap”(Kincaid, 320). Her eagerness to cover many topics meant she could not describe each in detail, but in a blunt manner, like “this is how you make a good medicine for a cold”(Kincaid, 321). Many of the descriptions themselves were too brief to provide any value unless the instructions were shown visually and the composition is only a recording of the mother speaking to her daughter. The two secondary purposes were just as influential as the first when composing. The secondary purpose provides another reason the composition was produced and answers why the information was presented in a certain way.
Compositions are created for an audience to understand the information being presented.

Just like purpose, there can be a primary and secondary audience. The Primary is the audience the composition is intended for, and the Secondary being for the group receiving the message indirectly. The audience can range from one to millions of people depending on where the essay is found and what the essay is about. The primary audience in Girl is the daughter. Since the mother knew the compositions audience, she was able to mention instructions she felt her daughter will find valuable. Knowing the audience also allowed the mother to structure the composition informally since it was only intended for her daughter. The secondary audience in Girl is everyone reading the composition since the composer’s only speaking to a specific individual. The primary audience of you’re not going to believe what I’m about to tell you finds it hard to accept the facts that challenge their core beliefs. The composer's knowledge of the audience allowed him to present the information as if the composition was speaking towards the reader. The secondary audience of you’re not going to believe what I’m about to tell you was not intended, but came as a result of choosing the genre to be a comic book. Choosing a comic book attracts a new audience, due to the different display of information. In Superman and Me, the intended audience can be anyone interested in his biography, but more specifically Indian kids

looking for hope. We know Sherman's audience is interested in his unusual life story since the composition mentions how he was introduced to reading, how he was able to use his knowledge to go against the Indian stereotype, and what he is doing now as a successful writer. The description of his life informed me the audience is interested how he became a successful writer. Girl and you’re not going to believe what I’m about to tell you contain a primary and secondary audience while Superman and Me only spoke to one. Overall, knowledge of the audience creates an advantage for the composer to successfully communicate the audience’s interest.
Just like audience and purpose, the genre heavily effects how the composition is written. A genre is a way to categorize or describe certain types of compositions. A composer establishes their genre based on what will properly display the message being argued. The genre of Superman and Me is a biography since the author describes the impact books had on his life, ultimately leading him to become a successful writer. The biography does not cover his entire life, but the relationship he had with books throughout his life. The genre of Girl is a short fiction. The composition is nothing compared to any other short story since it is a how to do list consisting of only one sentence. What makes the composition a short fiction is not the sentence structure, but the plot of the story. The entire story is a one-sided conversation from a mother to her daughter, giving advice in a condescending and critical tone. The genre of you’re not going to believe what I’m about to tell you is the most interesting. Even though the topic being discussed is usually written as a standard research paper, the author decided to write it as a comic book. The comic book was able to make it easier for the author to slowly explain the point being made. The comic contained visuals to keep the audience's attention, making the topic more interesting and easy to understand. Creating a simple comic narrative allowed the composer to reach a larger audience compared to composing a research paper. Each composer chose their genre based on what they thought will properly explain their message. Depending on the author's creativity and approach, unexpected genres can effectively explain the same purpose and possibly reach a larger audience.
As one can tell, the rhetorical situation is important and necessary. The rhetorical situation establishes the fundamentals of the composition, important for the composer to reference to when composing the essay. The rhetorical situation allows the essay to come to life, with a specific purpose, audience, and genre. Without a purpose, there would be no reason why the essay is being written. The purpose gives the composition a set goal, in order to persuade, inform, educate, or entertain. Without an audience, the author would not know the specific style and information he wishes to compose his work. The audience not only informs the composer how to present the information but also helps to decide the type of information the reader is interested in. The genre informs the composer which style the composition will be written. Choosing the genre can change the appearance of the composition, while still delivering the same message. The rhetorical situation is important to know before writing since It allows there to be clarity when beginning to write. I was able to analyze and explain each story by finding the rhetorical situation and connecting each term with the three compositions. The assignment helped me further my understand of each term and the role each plays in a composition. In conclusion, the audience, genre, and purpose making up the rhetorical situation, and are all necessary when composing.