In the New York Times article “When a Crop Becomes a King”, author Michael Pollan argues there is an overproduction of corn that does more harm than it does good. He writes this in response to a farm bill signed by then President Bush to increase the budget for corn production which caused much controversy. Pollan uses an infuriated and frustrated tone in order to convince American consumers that corn has taken over their environment and economy. Michael Pollan uses rhetorical strategies to challenge conventional views of corn and to argue against additional corn production. Pollan introduces his argument by providing statistical evidence which shows the mass amount of money that is spent on corn. He appeals to the audience's logos by revealing that “taxpayers will pay farmers 4 billion …show more content…
dollars a year” to grow corn.
The audience uses logic to understand that an overwhelming amount of their own tax dollars are being put into a cause that is unnecessary and could even be harming their health. The statistics provided helps Pollan prove his point and achieve his purpose by angering readers into being against the growth of additional corn crops. The statistical evidence has an effect on readers to feel concerned with the shocking numbers that have a direct consequence on Americans’ wallets. As the article continues, Pollan argues with cause and effect strategies. He begins by stating a cause: Congress decided to dedicate “125,000-square mile (of) American habitat” to corn. This then leads to the effect: Recently, there has been a rising “epidemic of obesity and Type 2 diabetes in this country.” Pollan reveals this connection to prove to Americans that the over-consumption of corn damages their health. This cause and effect helps Pollan achieve his purpose of persuading the audience that overproduction of corn can lead to serious medical problems. The author concludes his argument by introducing a metaphor that reveals a deeper meaning to
the title. He threatens readers by identifying that “corn has indeed become king.” The corn metaphorically has become America’s king because it has taken over billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of acres of land, yet there is nothing Americans can do about it because it has such a dominant role in a majority of foods consumed. The meaning of this metaphor sparks interest and urgency among the audience to avoid being controlled by corn. Pollan successfully creates this metaphor in his conclusion to reconnect his purpose and reveal the true meaning of the article’s title. Michael Pollan reveals to readers the dangers of corn and warns Americans about the risks of relying too heavily on corn and corn byproducts through the use of Rhetorical devices. He writes this article with the intention to open the audience’s eyes and realize a change must be made. He attempts to warn Americans of the wrath of corn and avoid being overruled by corn. Pollan expresses his opinion in hopes to be America’s savior from the infestation of corn.
In 102 Minutes, Chapter 7, authors Dwyer and Flynn use ethos, logos, and pathos to appeal to the readers’ consciences, minds and hearts regarding what happened to the people inside the Twin Towers on 9/11. Of particular interest are the following uses of the three appeals.
Patrick Henry’s effective diction emphasizes how much the British had suppressed the colonists and that it was time to fight for their freedom. Henry displays this through his strong use of pathos, logos, and ethos. His rhetorical questions really appeal to the logic and ethics of the colonists and leaves the no choice but to join him and rebel.
The Grapes of Wrath explicates on the Dust Bowl era as the reader follows the story of the Joads in the narrative chapters, and the migrants in expository chapters. Steinbeck creates an urgent tone by using repetition many times throughout the book. He also tries to focus readers on how the Dust Bowl threatened migrant dreams using powerful imagery. As well as that, he creates symbols to teach the upper class how the Dust Bowl crushed the people’s goals. In The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck utilizes imagery, symbolism, and repetition to demonstrate how the Dust Bowl threatened the “American Dream.”
Egan notes, “No group of people took a more dramatic leap in lifestyle or prosperity, in such a short time, than wheat farmers on the Great Plains” (Egan 42). The revenue from selling wheat far exceeded the cost of producing the wheat, so the large profit attracted people to produce more and more wheat. On top of the high profit from wheat, the Great War caused the price of wheat to rise even more. The supply of wheat rose with the price, but Egan points to information to demonstrate that the rapid increase in production can lead to overproduction, which is damaging to the land. Also, the invention of the tractor also lead to overproduction of the land by creating the ability to dramatically cut the time it took to harvest acres. When the prices for wheat began to fall due to overproduction, this caused the farmers to produce even more output to be able to make the same earnings as when the prices were higher. The government also played a part in promoting the overproduction of the land. The Federal Bureau of Soils claimed that, “The soil is the one indestructible, immutable asset that the nation possessed. It is the one resource that cannot be exhausted, that cannot be used up” (Egan 51). Egan points to factors such as a high profit margin, the Great War, tractors, increased outputs when wheat prices fell, and governmental claims that caused the people to overproduce the land of the Great Plains. Egan then gives examples of how the overproduction destroyed the land. Egan explains that the farmers saw their only way out was to plant more wheat. This overproduction tore up the grass of the Great Plains, thus making the land more susceptible to the severe dust storms of the Dust
There are few speeches in the American history that compel us towards great acts of patriotism. Patrick Henry's speech in the Virginia Provincial Convention of 1775 is a prime example of one of these great speeches. During the debates on whether or not to compromise with Great Britain, Patrick Henry proposed the idea to his fellow members of the First Continental Congress to declare war on Great Britain. A reason why the speech was so powerful was the rhetorical strategies of the diction of slavery, the appeal to God, and the appeal to logic, that he deftly employed.
In “What’s Eating America”, Michael Pollan starts off his article by providing his audience with a background on the history of corn and its production. Additionally, he goes through both the sinister and positive sides in the history of corn, all while building a connection with his audience through his utilization of ‘we’ pronouns and by having direct conversations with his readers inside parentheticals. He continues to develop this connection throughout the text in order to slowly inch the reader towards his argument, which he presents in the final paragraph of the piece as a climax to the slow buildup of facts that previously followed the main argument. In addition, he surprises his readers by drawing grisly connections between corn and Zyklon B, amongst other images, creating a visual in the minds of his readers of corn as a malicious entity. He does this in order to to bolster his argument against the industrialization of food production, placing it in a gory, gruesome frame,
In the argument “Bad Food? Tax It, and Subsidize Vegetables” by Mark Bittman, it talks about taxing unhealthy food and promoting vegetables. With the use of different strategies like emotions, credible research, solutions to problems, and much more he effectively assures that a diet change is what Americans need and will benefit from.
“He say Mr. Parris must be kill! Mr. Parris no goodly man, Mr. Parris mean man and no gentle man and he bid me rise out of bed and cut your throat!” (Miller 47).
Michel-Guillaume-Jean de Crevecoeur was a French born citizen who moved to New York and became a naturalized citizen of Great Britain. After living in America as a citizen for a while, Crevecoeur decided to write an essay titled “Letters from an American Farmer”. During this time, tensions in America between the colonists and loyalists were increasing, and because of this the idea of America as a sovereign nation and territory was becoming popular. Crevecoeur wrote this essay in order to discuss what it means to be an American, and why people should be honored to be called an American. Crevecoeur believes that America is a melting pot of the world, and is full of opportunities for anyone who lives there. In order to back up his claim, Crevecoeur uses rhetorical devices, especially pathos, while he does also use ethos and logos as well.
The twenties brought a great shift for framing, overreaching during the war causing severe economic circumstances for farmers. The war was the first time in American history that many farmers were not growing for subsistence, but instead they were growing on a production scale for the war. Since the first humans began to rely on agriculture 10,000 years ago, farming has always been used as a form of subsistence, growing what a family needed to survive, and selling any extra you managed to grow. Humans require a variety of foods and cannot only live on a single crop. This meant the c...
The subject of death is one that many have trouble talking about, but Virginia Woolf provides her ideas in her narration The Death of the Moth. The moth is used as a metaphor to depict the constant battle between life and death, as well as Woolf’s struggle with chronic depression. Her use of pathos and personification of the moth helps readers develop an emotional connection and twists them to feel a certain way. Her intentional use of often awkward punctuation forces readers to take a step back and think about what they just read. Overall, Woolf uses these techniques to give her opinion on existence in general, and reminds readers that death is a part of life.
From time immemorial, the promoters of social justice utilize rhetorical strategies to persuade theirs opponents of theirs claims. The proponents of the movement for civil rights for African Americans have made an intensive use of those strategies to advocate their cause. On April 16, 1963, from the jail of Birmingham, Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote an extensive missive to eight clergymen who had attacked his work for civil rights in a public statement released on April 12, 1963. Martin Luther King, Jr. primarily aimed this letter at those eight leaders of the white Church of the South. However, the eight clergymen's letter and the response from Martin Luther King, Jr. were publicly published. Martin Luther King, Jr. wanted to convince of the utility of his commitment in this particular area at this specific moment. To persuade his readers, Martin Luther King, Jr. predominantly employs Aristotle's three types of persuasion that are appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos. First, he appeals to his own reputation and wisdom. Second, he tries to arouse emotions or sympathy in the readers. Finally, he appeals to logic, supported with evidence and citations from influential thinkers.
Salinger employs a multitude of narrative devices in order to reveal and craft Holden’s mood as he narrates. Throughout this excerpt, Holden is portrayed as being in a despondent mood as walks through Central Park, drunk due to drinking during the night. He has reached a point in his destructive depression where he no longer maintains the will to live.
His argument is very reasoning to his defence and he eats so many reason to why the work works in its evil ways of discrimination. He wants everyone to that, it's very easy to not be very discriminated by the way you look but the way your skin color. Mr. King is very descriptive of his words and his meaning for them. He can really make the world change if everyone really did follow. King's reason for the speech is because he is trying to make a difference, he is a very good well taught speaker and he speaks with so much enthusiasm and nothing could really stop him from anything he's doing.His argument is very reasoning to his defence and he eats so many reason to why the work works in its evil ways of discrimination. He wants everyone to that,
In “Against The Grains”, Moyer uses statistics to show the logic of the article. She reports the result of a research published by researchers at the US Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Duke University. The result is low-carb dieters lost 12.9 percent of their former weight, while low-fat dieters lost only 6.7 percent (Moyer 8). “12.9” and “6.7” and directly shows the difference between low-fat diet and low-carb diet. First of all, people are more sensitive about statistic numbers than words. So, these numbers let readers clearly know the point that the author wants they get. Moreover, these numbers can make the main idea more logical and