A Critique of “Thank You for Smoking…?”
Intro:
The essay “Thank You for Smoking,” written by Peter Brimelow, is far from an influential essay on why people should smoke. Through this essay, Brimelow makes an effort to convince the audience smoking is actually beneficial to your health. I find it hard for people to write about what they think are the benefits of smoking when there are so many obvious reasons why you should not smoke.
The main audience being targeted in this article is those who already smoke and those who are thinking about smoking. One thing mentioned in the article is the fact that smokers are usually lighter in weight. In my personal opinion, I would rather eat a balanced diet and walk daily rather than walk around with a cigarette in my mouth and risk lung cancer.
Inductive or Deductive:
When trying to find if an essay is logically stated, you first must find if it is inductive or deductive. This is an example of an inductive essay. What inductive means is that the author goes from using specific samples to generalizations that are drawn from those examples (McFadden).
Major Claim:
The major claim is usually the topic sentence or main idea in the article (McFadden). Through the major claim, Peter points out that smoking has beneficial factors. He states those who smoke are less likely to get many diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, endometrial cancer, prostate cancer, osteoarthritis, and colon cancer (Brimelow 142).
Another example used in this essay is the author’s comparison of driving automobiles to smoking cigarettes. Brimelow states, “But so is driving automobiles dangerous to your health (over 40,000 deaths a year)” (141). This to me just seems like a completely ridiculous comparison to include in this article, especially when in the prior paragraph he states that there are approximately 400,000 deaths annually, which are smoking-related (Brimelow).
Minor Claim:
One minor claim pointed out through this essay is how smoking helps to relax people, which is one form of a stress reliever (Brimelow). In addition, smoking is said to stimulate alertness, dexterity, and cognitive capacity (Brimelow). It is true these are all things in which people can benefit from; however, these are far from being favorable enough for people to decide to go light up.
Grounds:
Grounds include all evidence, facts, and logic used in supporting claims (McFadden).
By saying smokers have the “right to die,” but non-smokers have the right to “not die” puts non-smokers in the dangers of smoking as well. This says that non-smokers can also be harmed by smoke and can cause death either way. A letter to Jeremiah O’Leary said, “Smoke yourself to death, but please not me.” By the writer adding this in her article, she inserts brutality from the non-smokers. It makes the readers believe that non-smokers will use violence and harsh words to stop smokers from smoking.
The smoking issue is very complicated and some of the arguments are beyond the scope of this essay. Still, we can obtain a balanced outlook if we consider the following: the facts of smoking, individual right, societal responsibility, and the stigma of smoking. Haviland and King write essays which contain very important points, but seem to contain a bias which may alienate some people. To truly reach a consensus on the smoking issue, we must be willing to meet each other halfway. We must strike equilibrium between individual right and societal responsibility.
Thank You for Smoking, a satirical comedy, conveys the film’s overall meaning while directing its viewer’s attention through different elements of cinematography. The angle, height, and distance of a frame contribute to the film’s meaning and stimulates a viewer to notice important aspects, while also shaping its viewer’s feelings.
One of the major motifs in Invisible Man is blindness. The first time we’re shown blindness in the novel is at the battle royal. The blindfolds that all of the contestants wear symbolize how the black society is blind to the way white society is still belittling them, despite the abolishment of slavery. When he arrives at the battle, the narrator says “I was told that since I was to be there anyway I might as well take part in the battle royal to be fought by some of my schoolmates as part of the entertainment” (Ellison 17). Although, the white men asked him to come to the battle royal in order to deliver his graduation speech, they force him to participate in the battle royal, where the white men make young black men fight each other as a form of entertainment for them. When the black men put their blindfolds on to fight in this battle, they are blind, both figuratively and literally. They can't see the people they are fighting against, just as they can't see how the white men are exploiting them for their own pleasure. Shelly Jarenski claims “the Battle Royal establishes the relationship between white power, male power, and (hetero)sexual power, the “self-grounding presumptions” of dominant subjectivity” ...
Thank you for smoking is a satirical comedy about a lobbyist whose job is to promote tobacco use at a time when the disease burden secondary to smoking threatens to cripple the nation. The film presents how industries, media and the government interact to influence the consumers’ decision. While the use of rhetoric, such as fallacies and twisted truths, is evident throughout the film, it is most evident midway when the chief spokesman, Nick Naylor, assists his son with his assignment. The son, Joey Naylor, enquires why the American government is the best and in response, the father argues it is because of America’s ‘endless appeals system’ (Thank you for smoking). His response seamlessly captures the tone of the movie as much as it represents the extensive use of a combination of fallacious arguments and twisted truths. This essay attempts to analyse the use of fallacies and twisted truths to appeal to the emotion of the
Smoking cigarettes is a detrimental practice not only to the smoker, but also to everyone around the smoker. According to an article from the American Lung Association, “Health Effects” (n.d.), “Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., causing over 438,000 deaths per year”. The umbrella term for tobacco use includes the use of cigarettes, cigars, e-cigs and chewing tobacco. While tobacco causes adverse health consequences, it also has been a unifying factor for change in public health. While the tobacco industries targets specific populations, public health specifically targets smokers, possible smokers, and the public to influence cessation, policies and education.
Every year cigarette smoking is responsible for 500,000 premature deaths (Nugel), you do not want to be just another statistic, do you? America’s first cash crop was tobacco. That means that tobacco has been around for a really long time. It was not until 1865, though, that cigarettes were sold commercially. They were sold to soldiers at the end of the Civil War (Dowshen). From then, cigarettes spread like wildfire, and it was not until 1964 that anyone made a stand about the negative effects of tobacco and cigarettes. People start smoking for all different reasons, some to fit in and some to “escape”. Regardless, it is a horrible habit. 3900 children will try their first cigarette today. Amongst adults who currently smoke, 68% of them began at age 18 or younger, and 85% at 21 or younger (American Lung Association). And of all those people, 70% say if they were given another chance they would never have picked up that first cigarette (Tobacco Free Maine). Smoking is responsible for 1 and 5 deaths in the united states, and is the number one preventable cause of death (NLH). Smoking burns and there is no doubt about that, but before one picks up that cigarette, understand the negative effects on not only oneself, but others affected by ones poor choices, like second-hand smoke. Because of smoking cigarettes, many types of cancer, decrease of life quality, and negative health effects have become all too common in the world today.
"On Liberty by John Stuart Mill." Utilitarianism : Past, Present and Future. Web. 26 Nov. 2011. .
Throughout the essay, he was unsure of which side he should have been on. He discussed his opinion and stories that support both arguments. A smoker knows the effects of smoking, as well as the obvious outcomes. Some smoke for the sake of smoking and most continue to smoke due to the effects of nicotine. Everyone seems to have an opinion on smoking, regardless of whether they do or don't.
I would not think smoking could be beneficial in any way. However, Brimelow achieved his purpose in this essay and may have changed my mind. He used reliable resources for his evidence with studies that astonished me. I did not know some studies have shown some cancers to occur 50% less in smokers than nonsmokers. He gives a valid argument with these studies along with a theoretical example which I am still thinking about.
Hemingway tells a story in which Jake Barnes, the main character, views his social circle as it reacts to being bombarded with life’s struggles. Jake witnesses every one of his acquaintances as they go through the cycles of life. What Jake does not realize is that he, too, is undergoing psychological development. Much like the natural cycle of the sun, these characters have hi...
In The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway uses irony and symbolism to illustrate how a group of Americans and English expatriates lived life. They try to forget the war and restore a sense of meaning to their lives, which he would have liked to do. Hemingway’s attitudes are expressed in the book, including his idea of, “emphasize the optimistic idea of progress of life’s cycle.”
Ainsworth, Patricia. Understanding Depression-Understanding Health and Sickness Series. Jackson, Miss.: University Press of Mississippi, 2000.
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