The End Of The Affair Summary

"The End of the Affair" is an article written by P. J. O'Rourke for the audience of like-minded conservatives or readers seeking entertainment in the 2009 weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal. O'Rourke is known for his satire, humor, and candid comments on the affects of the government's influence on society and the influence it has had on him. In this article, he vents on the downfall of automobiles and the bankruptcy of General Motors, blaming liberal environmentalists who seek to ruin the bond men have had over time with cars and the automobile industry as a whole. Contrary to the condescending, modern day analysis placed on automobiles O'Rourke pleads for his readers to have a positive outlook on cars and the contribution they have

He uses pathos to appeal to emotion by stating that we should turn to melodrama as opposed to economics to solve the answer for the declining industry; this claim reveals the nostalgic approach O'Rourke will be using for the article and sets the stage for the purpose of his essay by luring his audience in to the body of the essay and main point. To start off, financial gurus and politicians scrutinize cars as a business to be analyzed for profit, instead of the symbolic and sentimental value. In his essay, O'Rourke states that "Politicians, journalists financial analysts and other purveyors of banality have been looking at cars as if a convertible were a business" (O'Rourke 1). By stating this, the author builds the base of his opponent's perspective and clearly defines the problem at hand with the two different kinds of controversial thinking. In this pathos approach, O'Rourke inappropriately uses binary thinking to form only two sides of the essay: those who view cars as nothing more than a financial business and those who hold the value of cars in high regard on a sentimental value. Although he uses binary thinking, it proves to be effective in painting a clear picture for the readers to side with

He relates cars and horses together by categorizing them as a "cool" sense of transportation and a hero coming to the rescue. This attempts to display a key role he believes cars were built to serve by stating "-and the U.S. cavalry that coolly comes to their rescue plus the proverbially cool-handed 'Man n Horse back' to whom we turn in troubled times" (O'Rourke 2). This type of atmosphere O'Rourke creates is highly effective in persuasiveness due to the author's awareness of his audience and the younger generation's importance of style. His repertoire of elaborate and creative examples benefits O'Rourke's impression he seeks to have on the enthusiastic readers seeking entertainment through his article. He typically seems to stray from ethos, hardly touches on logos, and displays that his goal is not to overturn those with preset, political opinions that are controversial to his own. He seeks, rather, to humor and persuade like-minded conservatives who stand by O'Rourke in the political field. As soon as the automobile became available to the middle class, everyone became a "Sir Lancelot", he imagines, and the car became the object of popularity and sensuality. He continues by explaining the upgraded relief for women from riding side saddle to the prestige of a car with