In his video, “This is Water,” David Wallace shares a parable with the listeners about two young fish swimming who encounter an older fish that asks them, “How’s the water?” The young fish later realizes they don’t know what water is, illustrating how the most obvious and important realities are often the hardest to see and talk about. Wallace uses his story to emphasize the importance of awareness and conscious living. Wallace discusses the human tendency to operate in a default setting, where people are self-centered and unaware of their surroundings and the needs of others. He urges the audience to break free from this automatic, self-centered mindset. He argues that people have the power to choose how they interpret and respond to their experiences. I …show more content…
Phrases like “learning how to think” are open to interpretation and might be seen as vague or ambiguous. This speech is known for its emotional depth and intensity. While this is seen as a strength, it can also be a double-edged sword. There are several ways in which the speech can potentially lead to emotional overload for some. Heavy themes, intensity of delivery, lack of emotional relief, and immediate relevance are subjects in his speech that can be seen as emotionally too much for the reader. The topics he touches on, like adult life, existential awareness, and the inevitability of death, can be emotionally overwhelming, especially when presented in a dense format. His reflections on how daily life can feel repetitive and devoid of meaning might resonate deeply with those already struggling with feelings of depression or negative emotions. Wallace’s delivery is passionate and earnest, which, while engaging, can also heighten the emotional impact of his words. This intensity can be draining for listeners who may not be prepared for such an emotional
John McPhee used similes throughout his essay “Under the Snow”. One of his similes was him describing how a researcher put the bear in a doughnut shape. It was to explain to the audience that the bear was wrapped around with room between her legs for the bear cubs to lay when they are in hibernation. He describes the movement of the bears and the bear cubs like clowns coming out of a compact car. The similes help the audience see how the moved and how they were placed after the researcher moved them.
In the book Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer wrote about Christopher McCandless, a nature lover in search for independence, in a mysterious and hopeful experience. Even though Krakauer tells us McCandless was going to die from the beginning, he still gave him a chance for survival. As a reader I wanted McCandless to survive. In Into the Wild, Krakauer gave McCandless a unique perspective. He was a smart and unique person that wanted to be completely free from society. Krakauer included comments from people that said McCandless was crazy, and his death was his own mistake. However, Krakauer is able to make him seem like a brave person. The connections between other hikers and himself helped in the explanation of McCandless’s rational actions. Krakauer is able to make McCandless look like a normal person, but unique from this generation. In order for Krakauer to make Christopher McCandless not look like a crazy person, but a special person, I will analyze the persuading style that Krakauer used in Into the Wild that made us believe McCandless was a regular young adult.
The Letter from Birmingham Jail was written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in April of 1963. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of several civil rights activists who were arrested in Birmingham Alabama, after protesting against racial injustices in Alabama. Dr. King wrote this letter in response to a statement titled A Call for Unity, which was published on Good Friday by eight of his fellow clergymen from Alabama. Dr. King uses his letter to eloquently refute the article. In the letter dr. king uses many vivid logos, ethos, and pathos to get his point across. Dr. King writes things in his letter that if any other person even dared to write the people would consider them crazy.
Tim had no desire to fight in the war he believed it was unethical and against his beliefs.
When an individual embarks on a journey of learning a new skill, initial euphoria almost always tags along. “Two Ways of Seeing a River” by Mark Twain is a story of a man that ceases to maintain his appreciation of a river after scrutinizing the mechanical aspects of it. Through his use of stylistic devices such as complex syntax, tone and figurative language, Twain implies that the feelings of wonder and amazement that come with exploring new things are concealed by functionality within an advanced civilization.
what awaits young adults when they step out into the real world, what they can expect, and how hard
On May 5, 2018, Atlanta rapper Childish Gambino released a video for his new song titled “This is America.” The video featured not-so-subtle commentary on the current gun debate in the United States and began trending quickly. Many began to wonder if a song with this much political weight could make it past the viral stage and hold its own on the music charts. One of those inquiring was Chris Molanphy, a journalist for Slate.com who often writes about popular music. He makes the claim that this song is “one of the most lyrically daring [Billboard] Hot 100 No. 1 in history.” In his article, “‘This is America,’ the Video, Is a Smash. Will the Song Have Legs?,” Molanphy uses diction, ethos, and analogy to argue that Gambino’s “This is America”
Pollan’s article provides a solid base to the conversation, defining what to do in order to eat healthy. Holding this concept of eating healthy, Joe Pinsker in “Why So Many Rich Kids Come to Enjoy the Taste of Healthier Foods” enters into the conversation and questions the connection of difference in families’ income and how healthy children eat (129-132). He argues that how much families earn largely affect how healthy children eat — income is one of the most important factors preventing people from eating healthy (129-132). In his article, Pinsker utilizes a study done by Caitlin Daniel to illustrate that level of income does affect children’s diet (130). In Daniel’s research, among 75 Boston-area parents, those rich families value children’s healthy diet more than food wasted when children refused to accept those healthier but
Yet Wallace tells his audience that they can control this at times, that they can show sympathy for the giant SUV that just cut them off on the high way, or the old lady who could be making her final trip to the grocery store. Wallace reasons that being thinking in this mindset is not our unconscious thought, that in order to embrace this empathetic and compassionate train of thought “it depends on what you want to consider.” (208). Informing his audience that awareness is essential and Wallace also declares that “you get to consciously decide what has meaning and what doesn’t.” (208).
Howard Roark’s speech in Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead displays the author's personal philosophy of objectivism. Objectivism is an idea that Ayn Rand had developed and promoted in her works of literature. Objectivism advocated for the rights of individual freedoms such as someone being able to do whatever that person desires with their own creations. In this case, Ayn Rand’s character Howard Roark; who had dynamited his own building . Through Rand’s persuading diction, immense detail, and powerful organization, Ayn Rand takes a stand through a fictional character to promote the idea that an individual should be able to live freely without society or the government scrutinizing him.
Deliberative discourse is used to persuade an audience in the best course of action and Wallace effectively does so with his “Kenyon College 2005 Commencement Address.” The speech given by David Foster Wallace is widely discussed and analyzed. It is thought provoking and leads to higher ontological questions such as “Isn’t questioning everything the essence of what it means to be alive?” (Roiland, 2009, p. 97). Wallace clearly states and restates his thesis as the important of awareness and self-reflexivity—of choosing to think consciously. Wallace’s thesis is essentially his logos appeal, but it is his clever entwining of pathos and ethos appeals that enable him to effectively persuade his audience.
In David Foster Wallace’s speech later made in the book This is Water Wallace lectures a group of soon to be college graduates about the meaning of a higher level of thinking, and on the importance of a well-trained mind that is capable of thinking outside of your own self-centered universe. In his speech he hits a vein with me and really makes me consider how I deal with day to day life and how I view every situation that I come across. I have taken away from this speech and response a sense of self check about how my default settings work and how I place my own value in the
The movie trailer “Rio 2”, shows a great deal of pathos, ethos, and logos. These rhetorical appeals are hidden throughout the movie trailer; however, they can be recognized if paying attention to the details and montage of the video. I am attracted to this type of movies due to the positive life messages and the innocent, but funny personifications from the characters; therefore, the following rhetorical analysis will give a brief explanation of the scenes, point out the characteristics of persuasive appeals and how people can be easily persuaded by using this technique, and my own interpretation of the message presented in the trailer.
Jonathan Kozol revealed the early period’s situation of education in American schools in his article Savage Inequalities. It seems like during that period, the inequality existed everywhere and no one had the ability to change it; however, Kozol tried his best to turn around this situation and keep track of all he saw. In the article, he used rhetorical strategies effectively to describe what he saw in that situation, such as pathos, logos and ethos.
Through the strategic use of metaphors, Jason Reynolds elevates his commencement speech, inspiring graduates to use their education for collective success beyond individual achievement. Towards the end of Reynolds’ speech, he discusses the struggles faced by individuals and the different challenges that other people in the world face, which limit their opportunities to become successful. He says, “Those of us from raging waters, and crashing waves; beached, but trying desperately to breathe.” Reynolds uses the metaphor to compare life’s challenges to “raging water” and “crashing waves,” suggesting that people face tough situations that can leave them feeling stranded, like fish out of water. It affects the audience by evoking empathy and resilience, which sends a powerful message to the audience about overcoming hardship and using their strengths to support and assist others.