The Advantage of Sarcasm
“Sarcasm is a form of humor that uses sharp, cutting remarks or language intended to mock, wound, or subject contempt or ridicule, generally saying the opposite of what the statement really is” (Oxford). Brian Dickerson, a free press columnist, does just that to bring the readers over to his side. He utilizes a very convincing combination of sarcasm and emotional appeal in his column called “Promises to Keep? Not in the Government”, that ultimately seduces the reader to believe exactly the point he tries to get across.
Dickerson uses emotional appeal in a tricky way. Instead of the usual positive emotions, Dickerson angers his audience right of the bat, instilling a fury which is directed towards the opposing side, the government. The remark, “Suckers!” (Dickerson) is not a very polite comment. It is, on the other hand, a very sly way to bring out anger in the reader. Brian Dickerson uses that closing line in the first part of his column and right from the start he has an advantage. He makes the point that the government does not keep its promises by hitting the audience with the painful stab that they were “suckered”. Who in their right mind would side with the government now? Dickerson has the audience eating out of the palm of his hand thanks to his cunning emotional appeal.
Dickerson also does a very good job of grabbing the attention of not only the students affected and their parents, but everyone else as well, by playing the sympathy card. He states that the government took away the promise grant “that some 96,000 students…were counting to shave up to $4,000 from their tuition costs…” (Committees). How exactly is this statement playing the sympathy card? Simple. Who but a cold hearted bastard wo...
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... as raising taxes on movie tickets or bottled water or beer is considered more dishonorable than stranding 96,000 college students at the bursar’s office, most of Michigan’s promises are likely to be empty ones”(Dickerson), he definitely plays on people’s emotions in his favor. He is brutally honest and easily tugs the audience over to his side by convincing the audience the government is just one big fat contradiction.
Dickerson’s sarcasm and emotional appeal puts him ahead of any opposing party. Even if there is a hole or weakness in his reasoning, it is all but impossible to find because of his strong emphasis on sarcasm and how expertly he puppeteers the strings of emotion. Dickerson ultimately has succeeded in his task of convincing readers that the government can not keep a promise, through a very intricate web of emotional games and witty sarcastic remarks.
What those student did actually changed the policy and made it easier for families to afford college without heavy loans. This showed others that activists can make a difference, something she presses on in this
To apply this rhetorical strategy, she incorporates several crucial phrases and words to which one can appertain. One example of Thatcher’s use of diction occurs in line twenty-three of her eulogy when she refers to Reagan as “Ronnie.” While to the reader, this name is but a sobriquet Thatcher uses for Reagan, one must identify her use of diction to understand her intention for using this name. After analyzing the word’s connotation instead of its denotation, the reader can discover that she incorporates this word into her eulogy to give the reader a thorough comprehension of the friendship they shared. For the reader, this diction permits him or her to identify Thatcher’s credibility, and for Thatcher, she strengthens her claim by validating her relation with Reagan. Thatcher, however, goes beyond reinforcing her claim through credibility; upon analysis of her eulogy, one can recognize her use of diction to depict historical occurrences surrounding Reagan’s presidency. The reader can identify an example of this tactic when Thatcher states in lines five and six, “[Reagan] sought to mend America’s wounded spirit” (Thatcher). On a superficial level, this
Satire can be defined as any work in which a human vice or folly is attacked with irony or sarcasm. An example of satire can be found in the song "When the President Talks to God" by Bright Eyes. In this song, the lyrics lay out hypothetical conversations between the President and God, which mocks current President George W. Bush and his use of strong religious influence while in office.
As a typical politician should, Shepherd uses emotional appeal or pathos in his defense. When defending character, when defending emotion, the most logical approach is pathos. If one uses emotion to defend himself from emotional attacks, one is capable of producing a very strong persuasive argument. Give the opposition a taste of their own medicine. Shepherd does exactly that when address’s the American people. He talks about the constitution, the foundation on which this great country is built.
By the end of the book, Dick makes conclusions about reality when he discusses Ragle’s temporary family. “…I will consider them my family, because in the two years and a half at Old Town they have been a genuine family…” (Dick 253). This had become his reality, which furthers Dick’s assertion that reality is what is perceived and experience by an individual, since experience represents fact. Narrative structure was crucial to this understanding of fiction versus reality, and the development of the disappearing soft-drink stand as a symbol of the skewed perception of America in the fifties. It is also by making “time out of joint” that a shift in power occurs, and peace is finally attainable.
In chapter 3 he encourages the exchange of favors. He mainly focuses on others doing favors for you. Matthews incorporates Jimmy Carter’s plan on hiring people who worked in failed companies. The mentality behind this is by offering work in their time of need will create this sense of gratitude towards the former president. Politics is all about understanding what people want and getting in tune with the minds of others. Chapter 3 circles that concept and giving advantages on how to make yourself almost indispensable in the eyes of some people; having a more personal connection with people so they would not have a reason to vote against you. Even chapter 4 and 5 show this type of mentality; viewing politics as a mind game and playing tricks to succeed. For example, chapter 4 discusses loyalty and keeping the mentality of “What have you done for me lately?”. By doing little favors for someone after certain periods of time so they can remember it easier. Even chapter 5 discusses the relationship a politician should have with their enemy. This novel shows the lifestyle a politician must lead to be acceptable as a
Doing so, he had the citizens of America think of how the government is violating their rights and making them oppose against the government. He created rhetorical devices like: the appeal to logic, appeal to emotion, and juxtaposition. Giving the rhetorical technique to have people believe that the government has been taking away all of their rights has been an effective outcome because it was encouraging citizens to think that they’re better off with a smaller and less powerful government. The speech he constructed in all was an impactful speech to the people of America because the way he handles his words to have America think they’re making the country a better place, but slowly making the government become a capitalist
Outwardly, the politicians seem love peace and uphold justice but on the sly, they are keeping scheming and may furtively deride the common people who are deceived by them. Huck runs to Judge Thatcher’s
Likely the first observation made when reading the article is how Hannan uses a very cutting, sarcastic style when discussing those he deems members of the “multi-culti apparatus.” With his opening statement, “the shocking thing is that anyone should have been shocked,” he sets the tone of the article right away and clearly identifies his position: that the Prime Minister's remarks were c...
Stephen Graubard focused on Kissinger’s writing and career pre-1969. Graubard’s work, published in 1973, viewed Kissinger not as a realist, or a historicist but as a statesman. The statesman, based on European models was intellectual and diplomatic . Graubard’s Kissinger saw peace as ...
...hes its purpose in a different manner. Taylor’s blunt symbolism displays the truth openly to the audience in order to place emphasis on the injustice of the outcome of such government. The bitter irony and sinister characters combined with the horrifying tales of the witness puppets create a truly uneasy atmosphere that serves her purpose well. In contrast to this omniscient viewpoint, Churchill produces a world in which the truth is hidden from the audience as well as the characters. This choice puts the audience in a position of great anxiety as well and just as effectively communicates the potential dangers of such an environment. Both Caryl Churchill and Jane Taylor explore the horrors of corrupt government with dramatically different methods, but both successfully construct worlds that force the audience to deal with these issues involving truth and corruption.
President Bush’s speech was directed towards an audience of northern Arizonan republican supporters. Bush continuously uses the rhetorical appeal of pathos, the appeal to the audience’s emotions, to gain support from the crowd and connect them to the issues he addresses on an emotional level. The best example of such an issue is the promise of creating a new forest policy. By raises an issue that the audience was emotionally concerned with, Bush is able to persuade the audience to his purpose as well as relate them to it on an emotional level. It was likely that there were people in the audience who were directly affected by the recent forest fires in Arizona who felt very passionately about the topic of a new national forest policy. The appeal of emotion became a very effective tool in motioning the audience in the direction of his purpose, mainly the gain of support for the republican candidates in the next Arizona election.
Collecting funds from the state’s taxes is an effective solution because students get more academic support programs, which decreases dropouts. In Discounted Dreams, journalist, John Merrow interviews Kay McClenney who explains, “I do think it's a concern students tell us year after year that the most important service is academic planning and advising”....
He utilizes the fact that the White House has gone through nearly eight years of Democratic occupancy to comment on the conduct of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and use them as a reason for a Republican overhaul. He establishes that he is “proudly not a politician” (56:00) under the notion of its negative connotations. After mentioning the media’s selective focus (3:53, 14:34) and the government’s inactivity (3:53, 46:04, 55:39), the audience is more convinced by his ‘expose’. This results in distrust in the current government and more support for Donald Trump, despite his lack in political background. With this trustworthy persona, he mocks the Democratic platform. He draws attention away from issues like global warming (14:34) and political correctness (27:29) as those topics do not directly concern nor benefit the working class. When people see that the opponent has no regard for their interests, they then put their efforts into supporting Trump.
Dick's career is given its first great boost by a chance meeting with Torpenhow, a Special Correspondent for a news syndicate sent to the Sudan to cover the ultimately unsuccessful expedition to relieve Gordon. Torpenhow sees Dick's talents and immediately signs him up to supply drawings for his syndicate at a pittance. In this world of manly men, it's assumed that the strong will struggle forward on the thinest of chances, and the weak will be swept away. Dick and Torpenhow become close friends in the course of the campaign, but in the midst of a battle Dick is wounded on the head and has a moment's flashback to the world of his childhood and Massie, whom he fell in love with shortly before they last parted.