Summary Of Stiff: Rhetorical Analysis Of Human Cadaff

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Amaris Cardona Mr. Gore English 1021 March 10, 2024 Chapter 11 Rhetorical analysis In her creative nonfiction, "Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers," Mary Roach goes through what happens with human composting. Her purpose is clear – supporting this sustainable, eco-friendly burial method to make the environmental impact of traditional practices less severe. This text examines Roach’s persuasive skills, revealing how she navigates the topic through a strategic blend of humor, facts, personal anecdotes, and juxtaposition. Placed in a conference room where Wiigh-Masak talks about and presents human composting, Roach addresses an audience fascinated by death, science, and the medical field. The setting, which has discussions on the unconventional practice of human composting and talks about Sweden, provides the …show more content…

Throughout this chapter, Roach keeps an informative, engaging, and occasionally humorous tone. Her approach incorporates the use of humor, factual evidence, personal anecdotes, and the presentation of contrasting ideas to introduce complex concepts in a manner easily digestible for her audience. Roach strategically uses humor and factual evidence to introduce the benefits of human composting. Through humor, she amusingly compares the disposal of dead farm animals to the process at Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital, putting humor into a potentially morbid topic (Roach, 251). Also, she provides factual evidence for Kevin McCabe's plans for "tissue digestion" in mortuary practices, grounding the concept in reality and establishing human composting as a legitimate option (Roach, 252). Notably, Kaye and Weber's equipment can dissolve the tissues of a corpse within hours, reducing it to a minimal percentage of its body weight (Roach, 252). This blend of humor and factual evidence makes the topic accessible and highlights the viability of human

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