The Great Influenza Rhetorical Analysis Essay

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Science is a study that can be viewed and interpreted in various ways. Some believe science to be based on facts and specific results, while others believe it to be based on creativity and spontaneity. In his account of the 1918 flu epidemic, The Great Influenza, John M. Barry characterizes scientific research as work that requires creativity, spontaneity, and intelligence through his use of rhetorical devices such as allusions, metaphors, and rhetorical questions.
As Barry begins his passage he introduces the uncertainty of science, listing qualities that a great scientist should have. As he begins to name these qualities, Barry utilizes long syntax by writing a list sentence. Barry says that “To be a scientist requires not only intelligence …show more content…

Barry opens up this section with a metaphor, stating that “all real scientists exist on the frontier,” and continuing on to compare scientific research to the western frontier. As the western frontier was new and undiscovered in early America until people became bold enough to venture out there, scientific research is new and undiscovered as well until one has the boldness to explore the work. This metaphor relating to the frontier allows Barry to clearly paint a picture of his characterization of scientific research. As he continues on in explaining the unknown, Barry writes a series of rhetorical questions relating to the metaphor of the frontier. As the rhetorical questions continuously follow one another, they mimic the job a scientist would have in inquiring date within an experiment. These questions not only make the reader think thoroughly about the roles of scientists, but also force the reader to think like a scientist his or herself. This comparison of scientific research to the frontier, as well as the rhetorical questions within it, allow Barry to portray the unknown factor within science, emphasizing the boldness and curiosity a great scientist must have in order to be truly

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