Rhetorical Analysis Of Hyperbole In I Want A Wife

In the essay, “I Want a Wife” by Judy Brady, she uses hyperbole and a sarcastic writing style to emphasize the high expectations that men have for a wife. The writer expresses what she wants in a wife and then lists the many responsibilities within the paper. Although women have recently made great strides toward achieving professional and social equality, Brady uses hyperbole and parody to show how many men 's selfish and brutally unrealistic expectations of women 's roles still persist today. During the first time reading this article the reader may find the paper humorous, insulting or wonder who and why the writer would even expect this from a wife. The writer doesn’t insist that this is how a wife is supposed to act. Brady is using

(Brady 1993)," which brings about the illusion that not all the expectations within a wife can be achieved. The author describes wants in a wife from taking care of the children, doing chores, scheduling events, making dinner, and to, providing sexual favors. Although some of the quoted wants are expected of a wife to preform, and for her to be willing to preform, it is a fanciful idea to believe one woman alone could fulfill every action in question. Quotes from Brady of the obvious expected activities for a wife are; "I want a wife who will take care of my physical needs. I want a wife who will keep my house clean (Brady 1993)." Then, there are the arrogant expected activities such as, "I want a wife who will not bother me with rambling complaints about a wife 's duties (Brady 1993)," "I want a wife who will not demand sexual attention when I am not in the mood for it (Brady 1993)," and "I want a wife who understands that my sexual needs may entail more than strict adherence to monogamy (Brady 1993)." These three previous quotes show the man expects everything and doesn 't care about or consider the thoughts or feelings of the wife. This thought lead to a response by Adam Ayd titled, "Why I Want a Real

Adam ends his paper with the final paragraph stating, "What I 've just described to you are not just my expectations of my perfect wife, but also of me. I can only expect something from someone if they can expect it from me. Basically, I want a wife who is just like me. (Ayd 1995)" Adam also adds and improves quotes of his own like, "I want a wife who will come and talk to me about her problems and not keep them away from me (Ayd 1995)," "I want a wife who will be a part of my social life (Ayd 1995)," and "I want a wife who likes the same things I do. I want a wife who is my best friend (Ayd 1995)." While adding and editing wants in a wife, Adam begins to create a new idea of a perfect wife that is more realistic. A best friend and expecting something you would only expect from