Rhetorical Analysis Of Superman And Me

Before an author begins composing a body of work, there are three requirements necessary to establish beforehand. The composer must first “have a specific purpose and an audience”( Braziller, Kleinfeld, 7). A purpose allows there to be an overall reason to write. The purpose is necessary to persuade, inform, educate, or entertain the reader on a certain topic. The topic can be caused by "the time period, location, current event, or cultural significance (University, 1995-2018 )”. Identifying the audience is necessary since it instructs the composer how to communicate in a way the audience will appreciate and understand. Knowing how the audience will best understand the information gives the composer an advantage when trying to communicate the

A rhetorical situation can be found in every composition since it serves as the foundation. To further provide evidence towards my claims about the function of the rhetorical situation, I will analyze how three different compositions were influenced by the rhetorical situation.

The three reading are Superman and Me by Sherman Alexie, You’re not going to believe what I’m about to tell you by The Oatmeal, and Girl by Jamaica Kincaid. While analyzing these readings, it became apparent all three contained different rhetorical situations. The purpose, or reason to write, in Superman and me, is the cultural significance. Superman and me is a rare story where a Native American was able to succeed by reading books. The purpose can be identified after Sherman mentions how “A little Indian boy teaches himself to read at an early age”(Alexie, 130). An Indian boy teaching himself how to read was significant since all “Indian children [are] expected to be stupid"(Alexie, 130). Alexie mentioned if he had “been anything but an Indian boy living on the reservation, he might have been called a prodigy. But he is an Indian boy living on the reservation and is simply an oddity”(Alexie, 3). The purpose allowed Sherman Alexie to speak

Just like purpose, there can be a primary and secondary audience. The Primary is the audience the composition is intended for, and the Secondary being for the group receiving the message indirectly. The audience can range from one to millions of people depending on where the essay is found and what the essay is about. The primary audience in Girl is the daughter. Since the mother knew the compositions audience, she was able to mention instructions she felt her daughter will find valuable. Knowing the audience also allowed the mother to structure the composition informally since it was only intended for her daughter. The secondary audience in Girl is everyone reading the composition since the composer’s only speaking to a specific individual. The primary audience of you’re not going to believe what I’m about to tell you finds it hard to accept the facts that challenge their core beliefs. The composer's knowledge of the audience allowed him to present the information as if the composition was speaking towards the reader. The secondary audience of you’re not going to believe what I’m about to tell you was not intended, but came as a result of choosing the genre to be a comic book. Choosing a comic book attracts a new audience, due to the different display of information. In Superman and Me, the intended audience can be anyone interested in his biography, but more specifically Indian kids