Rating Rhetorical Effectiveness

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Early in history DDT was a very effective chemical that killed many parasites and stopped the mass spread of malaria. But the reward is not worth the damage that it does to the environment, especially in modern day where we have other ways to prevent parasite and diseases from getting to us. "Top of the Food Chain" by T. Coraghessan Boyle, is a story about the absolute absurdity of things that human beings do to their world and to their fellow living beings. Set during a Senate hearing by a chemical company executive on the defensive about the effects of DDT in Borneo. Basically, poison was used to get rid of mosquitoes. Didn't work. So they brought in geckos, that died from the poison. Cats ate dead geckos, and cats died. This brought on rat infestation. So they brought in more cats and cycle started over again. He is arguing that humans are wrong for destroying their planet with pesticides and other harmful things; this satirical piece effectively supports his argument.

Boyle effectively uses rhetorical devices to support his argument that humans are ravaging their own planet. During his defense to the senate, the executive says, “[they] practically begged us-and not only the World Health Organization, but the Sultan of Brunei and the government in Sarawak too” (Boyle). This is an appeal to authority because he says that World Health Organization and that governments and leaders “begged” them to spray DDT. Obviously, these highly intelligent identities probably did not ask for a banned, dangerous chemical to be sprayed into their countries. This device was effective because of the pure absurdity that it presents; that these identities would ask for an unimproved, deathly chemical to be sprayed. Later in his argument he talks ab...

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...was nothing that could have been done to prevent but really the author means that there is no excuse for humans to continuously harm their planet and home. This device is effective because it helps the reader realize that once one harms the planet, they can not “un-harm” it. Through satirical devices, T.C. Boyle effectively, argues that the populace needs to stop harming the planet.
In his short story, “Top of the Food Chain”, T.C. Boyle effectively argues that humans are destroying their planet with chemicals and that the general consensus of the public is that it is okay. He argues this efficaciously through the use of rhetorical and satirical devices, which are used throughout his story. Overall, I agree with Boyle’s argument that DDT is an especially harmful chemical to our planet, and while it may have had a place at one time, there is no need for it any longer.

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