As the novel progresses Levitt and Dubner continue to focus on an audience made up of teenagers and adults. Levitt and Dubner choose to focus on the same audience rather than adjusting focus because the structure of their argument remains geared towards the same audience to maintain a sense of stability. When Levitt and Dubner write, “the first trick of asking questions is to determine if your question is a good one,” they effectively emphasize that their audience has not changed since they rely on inclusive words like “your” to maintain an intimate relationship with the audience (Levitt and Dubner). Additionally, the audience is shown to remain constant since Levitt and Dubner do not attempt to change their diction instead they continue to rely on American vernacular which adds to the informal and objective nature of their writing, thus making the audience more likely to accept their various unconventional conclusions. …show more content…
When they assert, “but if you can question something that people really care about and ... overturn the conventional wisdom-then you may have some luck,” they clearly state that in digging into topics important to the majority of their audience and using evidence to draw an unconventional conclusion they can teach their audience to look at the world differently (Levitt and Dubner 89). When they state, “how is the Ku Klux Klan like a group of real-estate agents?” they employ a shocking rhetorical question as a means of encouraging self reflection thus causing their audience to reevaluate the way in which they view the world thus making them more likely to accept a new, albeit mildly, unconventional perspective (Levitt and Dubner
A TED Talk video is spreading ideas in a speech that takes about eighteen minutes or less.In a TED Video, the speaker uses Ethos, Pathos, and Logos, to persuade their audience to believe them.Ethos is an ethical appeal (credibility), convincing the audience that the speaker is someone worth them listening to.Pathos is when the speaker uses emotions to persuade their audience.Logos is when the speaker uses reasoning and common sense to get to their audience.
Audience (Who was the audience for this work? What evidence from the author’s writing leads you to this conclusion?)
How would you define your position as an audience member (resistant, neutral, etc.)? With your own position in mind, what kind of audience do you think the author is trying to reach? Please provide an example to support your answer.
What do these details tell you about the writer’s assumptions about the knowledge and experience of readers?
Through this, the authors effectively convince readers to dig deeper and find the truth behind reality. Another instance where the authors use juxtaposition is when they compare the Ku Klux Klan to real estate agents, showing how both have used informational asymmetry to their benefit. The Ku Klux Klan instilled fear into the population by having so called “information” that the public didn’t have: when they would attack. Because fear was implanted into the minds of the public, most of the Ku Klux Klan’s “threatened violence never [went] beyond the threat stage” (Levitt 53). By having an informational advantage, the Ku Klux Klan could voice threats without having to execute them because people would comply with them out of fear. Likewise, real estate agents essentially use the same informational asymmetry to their benefit. Because they are the so-called “expert” in their field, real estate agents will pressure sellers into accepting a lower offer on their house, so the agent can swiftly close a deal and collect commission. An agent will only gain slightly more from a seller selling at a higher price, “so her job is to convince you that a [lower] offer is a very good offer, even a generous offer” (Levitt 65). Because
Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt believe that voting in an election is seemingly ineffective, that the chances of you winning a lottery and actually affecting an election are very similar. This article I’m analyzing questions why we vote, and if voting is even worth your time.
David Foster Wallace, author of the essay “Authority and American Usage*,” praises and advocates for “good” writers who have a strong rhetorical ability, which he defines as “the persuasive use of language to influence the thoughts and actions of an audience” (Wallace 628). To have a strong rhetorical ability, an author needs to be aware of whom their audience is, in order to present their information in a way that will be influential on their audience. Wallace recognizes that an author who applies a strong rhetorical ability will be able to connect with the audience so that they respond “not just to [their] utterance but also to [them]” (Wallace 641). An author needs to take into consideration not just content, syntax and grammatical structure (their “utterance”) but also how their character will be perceived by their audience. A positive tone will make the author seem more pleasant and relatable, whereas a negative tone connotes arrogance and pretentiousness. That is why it is crucial for an author to recognize that an audience will respond to “them” and not just their “utterance,” as an author’s appearance to their readers can also shape how impactful their writing is.
Jack Shakley’s “Indian Mascots- You’re Out” published on the op-ed page of the LA times, he impacted readers about the argument over professional and college sport teams whose mascots are using Native American names. Shakley is the former chair of the Los Angeles city/county Native American Commission. The author describes the history of using Indian mascots and how it hurt a group of people. He wants readers to know that it is necessary to remove Native American names and mascots from college and professional teams. Jack Shakley uses three strategies to present his argument to show his attitude to remove Indian mascots in teams.
In a quote by John Mill, “Does fining a criminal show want of respect for property, or imprisoning him, for personal freedom? Just as unreasonable is it to think that to take the life of a man who has taken that of another is to show want of regard for human life. We show, on the contrary, most emphatically our regard for it, by the adoption of a rule that he who violates that right in another forfeits it for himself, and that while no other crime that he can commit deprives him of his right to live, this shall.” Everyone’s life is precious, but at what price? Is it okay to let a murderer to do as they please? Reader, please take a moment and reflect on this issue. The issue will always be a conflict of beliefs and moral standards. The topic
The movie trailer “Rio 2”, shows a great deal of pathos, ethos, and logos. These rhetorical appeals are hidden throughout the movie trailer; however, they can be recognized if paying attention to the details and montage of the video. I am attracted to this type of movies due to the positive life messages and the innocent, but funny personifications from the characters; therefore, the following rhetorical analysis will give a brief explanation of the scenes, point out the characteristics of persuasive appeals and how people can be easily persuaded by using this technique, and my own interpretation of the message presented in the trailer.
The Letter from Birmingham Jail was written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in April of 1963. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of several civil rights activists who were arrested in Birmingham Alabama, after protesting against racial injustices in Alabama. Dr. King wrote this letter in response to a statement titled A Call for Unity, which was published on Good Friday by eight of his fellow clergymen from Alabama. Dr. King uses his letter to eloquently refute the article. In the letter dr. king uses many vivid logos, ethos, and pathos to get his point across. Dr. King writes things in his letter that if any other person even dared to write the people would consider them crazy.
In a persuasive essay, rhetorical appeals are a very important tool to influence the audience toward the author’s perspective. The three rhetorical appeals, which were first developed by Aristotle, are pathos, logos, and ethos. Pathos appeals to the emotions of the audience, logos appeals to the facts or evidence and ethos exhibits the credibility of the writer.
The YouTube video “U.S. Armed Forces – We Must Fight – President Reagan” by Matthew Worth was made with the intention to motivate the viewers to support the U.S. Armed Forces. The purpose of this Rhetorical Analysis is to determine whether or not the video has been successful in doing just that, motivating and drawing support for the United States Armed Forces. The video was uploaded to YouTube on February 19, 2012 and has nearly 4 million views. Matthew uses the famous speech “A Time for Choosing” by the United States former President, Ronald Wilson Reagan, who has a reputation for his patriotism, to complement the video. This video has been effective in motivating the viewers because of its strong use of the rhetorical concepts logos, ethos, and pathos.
“1.The reader response is what counts. We can’t know for sure what an author intended, and the text itself is meaningless unless a reader responds.
For example, Blee’s writing allows the reader new insights regarding women in the movement. Standard documentary sources, assembled by contemporaries and historians who assumed that women were politically insignificant, focus entirely on the male Klan” (Blee 427). Klanswomen defined their role in the women’s right era of the first half of the twentieth century, and “participated in the women’s temperance movement and the extension of the right to vote to women.” Another takeaway from the reading was regardless of their view about “others,” they viewed themselves as everyday people. Klan families participated in “weddings, baby christenings, teenaged auxiliaries, family picnics, athletics contest, parades, spelling bees, beauty contest, rodeos, and circus, it is little wonder that the 1920s Klan is recalled by former members as normal white Protestants” (Blee 428). The oral interview project, allowed me to understand that their personal beliefs about African Americans, Jews and Catholics was the dominant definition of who they were 24/7. But the reading allows us to understand their mindset, and how they just view themselves as “ordinary