The infamous 2016 election shined a great light on the undecided voters of America, television shows such as Saturday Night Live taking advantage of the obvious humor behind those who were unable to weigh the “lesser of two evils” out of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. In their segment of Weekend Update in October of 2016, Michael Che interviewed dysfunctional “Cathy Anne,” an undecided voter who, although clearly supporting Clinton more over Trump, had identified as undecided. Just as SNL had taken on the issue of addressing the Americans who simply claimed that they were undecided, David Sedaris, a writer for the liberal New Yorker, had written a piece, prior to the election of 2008 between Barack Obama and John McCain, detailing how undecided …show more content…
“I look at these people and can’t quite believe that they exist. Are they professional actors? I wonder. Or are they simply laymen who want a lot of attention?” His rhetorical questioning carries a sense of disbelief, verging on annoyance. A few lines later, Sedaris directly questions the reader, “I mean, really, what’s there to be confused about?” This casual tone truly helps to capture Sedaris’ feelings towards the undecided public, illustrating how he finds them to be obviously ridiculous. There is, however, a shift in tone when David begins to talk about his mother and father fighting over who she did or didn’t vote for. After his mother lied to his father about voting for democratic nominee Humphrey, Sedaris stepped up and decided to tell the truth about who was voted for, ending the anecdote by saying, “He patted me on the shoulder and as my mother turned away I understood that I had chosen the wrong person.” At this point, Sedaris makes it abundantly clear that he finds that undecided voters all truly have decisions made up in their heads, but are too afraid to voice them, such as with his own mother who truly wished to vote for the democratic nominee, and not Nixon as her husband …show more content…
“The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her food cart and, eventually, parks it besides my seat. ‘Can I interest you in the chicken?’ she asks. ‘Or would you prefer the platter of shit with bits of broken glass in it.’ To be undecided in this election is to pause for a moment and then ask how the chicken is cooked.” This is a very strong and absolute comparison, making one choice undoubtedly better than the other, just as one candidate would be better than the other. Describing the time that his mother had taken him out to the election polls in order to have him make a decision on a candidate for her, Sedaris makes sure to note her saying, “I don’t have an opinion.” Her general anxiety and need to get out of the polling machine was evident, as she pointed out how they were wasting too much time and that David wasn’t making a decision quickly enough. When she had finally had enough, both David and his mother reached for two different candidates, him going for Nixon while she went for true choice, Humphrey, but David had hit the button quicker than she. This is quite notable and important to Sedaris’ experience with undecided voters, showing how he thought that they were simply, just like his mother, unable to come to terms with their true choice, choosing to stand behind a “child” of sorts. Later, when talking about
Eugene V. Debs, the United State’s most influential union leader and avid socialist gives light to many issues including presidency, systems of society, and most importantly the unemployed in his speech “The Issue”. Debs was imprisoned in the 1890s for illegally encouraging a railroad strike, he also was sentenced to 10 years for his discouragement to the United States’ involvement in World War I. Debs has been a remarkable figure in the socialist party and had influenced so many. In Eugene Debs’ speech, Debs’ uses rhetorical appeal to relate to and convince his audience of the “issues” in the United
Melissa Ames and Chris Hedges address the similar theme of political apathy in America, but deviate starkly in their respective audiences, tones, subjects, and methods of delivery. Because the authors possess differing viewpoints about the future of the country, are shaped by distinctive backgrounds and experiences, and have explored various unique concepts, one can detect a great degree of dissimilarity between the works in question. Even so, a thoughtful reader can also grasp quite a few similarities between their articles, “American Psychosis” and “Engaging ‘Apolitical’ Adolescents.”
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.
“The Onion’s” mock press release on the MagnaSoles satirical article effectively attacks the rhetorical devices, ethos and logos, used by companies to demonstrate how far advertisers will go to convince people to buy their products. It does this by using manipulative, “scientific-sounding" terminology, comparisons, fabrication, and hyperboles.
In the video “An Evening With MR QUENTIN CRISP (1980)”, the main speaker Mr. Quentin Crisp begins the speech by allowing the audience to acknowledge that the ideas he is presenting are different from world-wide standards and are not accepted by the mass. As he says: this is “consultation with psychiatrist madder than you are” (Mr. Quentin Crisp).
A town, a team, a dream. Friday Night lights document the 1988 football season of Permian High School in Odessa, Texas. Bissinger explores the various themes of the novel and uses conceit to colorfully describe the contrasting attitudes towards sports and academics. In the small town of Odessa bases Fridays nights in the fall are dedicated to Permian football. As a result of the obsessive attitude towards football a ridiculous amount of pressure is thrusted upon the coaches and players. Bissinger tackled the many problems in the town such as extreme pressure to perform, racism, and the relationship between parent and child. While Bissinger had several preconceived notions, he was ultimately proven wrong and through analysis of themes and incorporation of comparisons in the form of conceits he was able to develop his understanding of the town and accurately depict the events that transpired.
Retrieved from http://content.time.com/time/specials/2007/la_riot/article/0,28804,1614117_1614084_1614831,00.html. Levy, W. (2013). The 'Standard'. United States presidential election of 2000.
Finally, within the syntax of the novel, Sedaris has interlocked various arguments together with the choice of his words. He skillfully crafts a very sarcastic and humorous piece through applying an argument that is intermingled with generalizations. Thus, it means that the syntax is direct and declarative. For instance, the author states that the teacher is exhausting him with her foolishness and is rewarding her efforts with barely anything but pain. However, the syntax that the author used in some parts of the essay can be said to be confusing because he is fond of changing the topics or employing a different approach of transition in order to make his point of view clear to the readers. This is evident because at some point of the story, he would insert the earlier events or apply metaphors to describe a given occurrence.
South Park is an animated TV series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, which first aired on Comedy Central in 1997. The show features four boys Eric Cartman, Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Kenny McCormick. South Park has been seen as one of the most controversial shows due to its raunchy humor and obscene depiction of characters in the show. South Park deals with many current issues in the news surrounding anything from in politics to religion. In dealing with these issues South Park involves adult comedy that parodies current issues going on in the United States and around the world. South Park also uses many other rhetorical deceives, such as
4. Sedaris language is beyond effective, his sentences are full of considedness and snobby comments. “When asked most people say my greatest asset is my skin, which glows it really does! I have to tie a sock over my eyes in order to sleep at night. Other’s like my eyes or my perfect ,gleaming teeth my thick head of hair or my imposing stature, but if you want my opinion, I think my most outstanding feature is my ability to accept a compliment.” His conclusion to the story makes up for all the nonsense he had mentioned before.
By comparing their familial attractiveness, Sedaris makes it clear that in this life, he values not the relationship that he has with family, but qualities that family has given him. He has inherited a lot more than skull shape from his father, but he specifically chooses those words to emphasize his shallow interpretation of the meaning of family. This idea is further developed by a similar statement, in which Sedaris’ braggadocio further exemplifies this parental relationship. He continues his description of his family’s talents, by boasting “because we are so smart, my parents and I are able to see through people as if they were made of hard, clear plastic.” (1) In addition to putting value in the things his parents have given him, rather than the relationship they have, Sedaris’ diction borders on patronizing. He specifically uses the word “we” in order to subliminally
For example, Sedaris uses hyperbolic statements to connect to the audience by using humor. The statement, “... and had front teeth the size of tombstones...” (P8) is meant to be humorous, which creates a sense of amiability between Sedaris and his audience. When Sedaris says, “Her reaction led me to believe that these mistakes were the capital crimes in the country of France,” (P16) he is referring to his poor pronunciation, and is highlighting the teacher’s extreme responses to the slightest mistake. Language is also used to create an easygoing relationship between the speaker in the audience. Sedaris uses informal language--as can be seen in the quote,“the teacher killed some time …” (P14)--to create a companionable tone, and makes it appear as though the story is being told to you by a friend, rather than reading an essay. The point of view is also essential to achieving the purpose of the essay; it is a first person
Comparing apples to oranges is not always futile. This statement is clearly proven to be true when comparing David Sedaris 's essay, "Me Talk Pretty One Day," and Dave Barry 's, "Lost In the Kitchen." Both of these essays are humorous examinations of human experiences. While Barry 's, an essay about men 's innate disadvantages in the kitchen (compared to women), relies on unjustified stereotypes, obviously false assertions, lame hyperbole, and overwrought imagery to convey his purpose, Sedaris utilizes a plethora of varying rhetorical devices and strategies to convey his purpose throughout his essay about taking a french class in France under the tutelage of a tyrannical and cruel teacher. He uses devices such as; vivid diction, credibility
One of the major revolving themes throughout the collection is the relationship between Sedaris and language. This relationship represents his obstacle of speech impairment in his childhood in Go Carolina and his French language class in Jesus Shave which emphasize Sedaris’s inability to conform to or use the language spoken by the people around him. It played an important role of presenting Sedaris as someone who is outcast and different
...relies on this basis, to establish a greater awareness and comprehension of 1960s society. Without this assumed knowledge of Hamlet, one cannot truly appreciate Stoppard’s play, which informs society about their nature and shortcomings.