Article Analysis: Why People Cheat By Esther Perel

Counselor, Esther Perel, in her article “Why People Cheat,” provides insight on how common affairs are. Perel’s purpose is to disclose that infidelity is as common as it is due to human nature. She adopts a professional tone in order to make the information she is presenting more believable. The author uses polysyndeton to emphasize that there is a multitude of people that cheat. Perel begins her article by discussing how often she has conversations about affairs: “They’ve happened on airplanes, at dinner parties, at conferences, at the nail salon, with colleagues, with the cable guy, and of course, on social media.” Perel describes how in all the different places filled with different people, this same conversation is reoccuring. This behavior

Perel describes the difference sections of the globe her knowledge on why people cheat comes from:”From Pittsburgh to Buenos Aires, Delphi to Paris, I have been conducting an open-ended survey about infidelity.” She then continues to state, “In Paris, the topic brings an immediate frisson to a dinner conversation, and I note how many people have been on both sides of the story. In Bulgaria, a group of women I met seem to view their husband's’ philandering as unfortunate but inevitable. In Mexico, women I spoke with proudly see the ride of female affairs as a form of social rebellion.” While these places do not share a language, adultery serves as a common factor shared between all locations. Even if Perel speaks with someone who has not personally cheated on their spouse, they know what it feels like to be cheated on. Travelling to another continent does not end the conversation about adultery, because it is something everyone can understand. No matter the reason why, the list of people that have been disloyal is never ending. This is not something that is instilled in one specific region, rather something that is inescapable for