Ethos

Even Wives Want a Wife In today’s society the wife is seen as the member of the household that upkeeps the house and caters to other’s needs. Who wouldn’t want one of these of their own? In “I Want a Wife” the author Judy Brady sarcastically explains why everyone would want a wife. She begins with a story of how a friend of hers is newly single and he is looking for “a wife” although in reality he wants a servant; Brady then realizes that she too wants a wife of her own (Brady 542).

The main points made in the essay are what the wife would do for the author such as household chores, taking care of children, catering to her friends and many other satirical duties. All the while several literary devices are used to enhance the article. She uses these elements to show sexist and selfish ideas of men that are prevalent in society. “I Want a Wife” efficiently reasons for how the male gender generalizes the role of a wife in a sexist way in our society by making use of ethos, logos, pathos, satire and repetition.

Ethos is used in the essay as Brady is a wife herself. Since she is she must have a certain expertise of being a wife. As she states in one of the beginning paragraphs “I belong to that classification of people known as wives. I am a wife. And, not altogether incidentally I am a mother” (Brady 542). This shows her credibility; that all the jobs and duties she mentioned must have been personally experienced by her. The many jobs and chores discussed make the audience feel sympathy for wives and the author herself through pathos.

The author concludes the essay by saying “My god, who wouldn’t want a wife” (Brady 544)? This rhetorical question allows the readers to determine that this idea is wrong and treats women like a lesser being compared to men. The ending also evokes the reader to take action towards the topic. The author utilizes logos by stating many facts such as jobs women often do while speaking through experience. She lists all of these over exaggerated duties to indirectly saying that women are expected to do too much in today’s society.

Brady speaks of several seemingly unethical chores like cleaning the house, preparing dinner to serve to friends and not speaking when the husband is talking (Brady 543). This helps get her point across by exaggeration to show how the wife is expected to have a servant like persona. Brady uses satire from the beginning of the essay to the very end of it. It is mainly used to show a male viewpoint of a wife. “And I want a wife who understands that my sexual needs may entail more than strict adherence to monogamy.

I must, after all, be able to relate to people as fully as possible” (Brady 544). Here the author satirizes the man’s view of what the wife must do and what he should be able to do, which in this case is have various partners. The use of satire is very effective in this article demonstrating how a man expects to have a perfect wife further illustrating the author’s image of sexism in society. Repetition is used in several of the author’s paragraphs. “I want a wife” (Brady 543) is used in the beginning of a few paragraphs to catch your eye and to get Brady’s idea burnt into your brain.

This also helps as a smooth transition for the many duties described that the wife must do. Continually stating this phrase raises the thoughts of the audience making them want a wife as well. The author made fantastic use of literary devices throughout the essay. The effectiveness of satire to me was the most powerful using it to demonstrate how men expect so much from women and how many of the duties they perform are almost slave like. Ethos, logos and pathos were used successfully in many instances that appealed to the senses.

As Brady is a wife and mother herself this make her a credible source so she clearly knows what she is speaking of. There was emotional appeal making the audience sympathize for the wife and feel anger towards men. Logic was used to show the wife’s duties and what their husbands expect of them. In conclusion I thought this was a very well thought out and written article because it attempts to make the reader want to take action against the topic through all of these elements.

Rhetorical Analysis: Too Much of a Good Thing “At least 25% of all Americans under age nineteen are overweight or obese, a figure that has doubled over the last 30 years. ” says Greg Crister in his article titled “Too Much of a Good Thing” which appeared on July 22, 2001 in the Los Angeles Times. In his article, Crister uses three common rhetorical strategies, ethos, pathos, and logos, in an attempt to persuade his audience, anyone raising children or interested in children’s health issues, of how prevalent this epidemic has become and provide them with some solutions as to how they can help prevent childhood obesity.

Overall, Crister’s argument succeeds and his audience walks away convinced that childhood obesity is, in fact, an epidemic that plagues children in their own country and that they must act immediately themselves to help fight the fight and insure that it does not become a problem with their own children. One common rhetorical strategy is ethos, which is the use of credible sources to support a claim.

Since Crister is a writer and not an expert on childhood obesity himself, it is important that he uses creditable sources to persuade the audience of the epidemic that childhood obesity is becoming. Crister uses ethos very well in his argument by providing current findings from reliable sources that are relevant to the immediate problem of childhood obesity. At the beginning of his article, Crister says, “Obesity,’ the U. N. roclaim[s], ‘is the dominant unmet global health issue, with Westernized countries topping the list. ” It is a common belief that the United Nations predominately only deals with epidemics that plague children in third world countries so by bringing to the audience’s attention that the U. N. is now focusing on the United States, Crister encourages them to look closer to home to see what an immediate crisis that childhood obesity has become.

By making the audience aware that childhood obesity is being treated as an epidemic by a trustworthy and knowledgeable organization such as the United Nations, Crister succeeds in persuading his audience that this is a serious issue in their own country and they are more likely to want to do whatever they can to prevent childhood obesity since it could affect their own children rather than children on the other side of the world. The rhetorical strategy pathos means to appeal to the audience’s emotions when making an argument and one way in which Crister uses pathos effectively is by his word choice.

In his article, Crister says, “Closer to home, at least 25% of all Americans under age nineteen are overweight or obese, a figure that has doubled over the last 30 years and a figure that moved the surgeon general to declare childhood obesity an epidemic. ” Knowing that, generally, parents only want the best for their children, Crister use of descriptive words, such as calling childhood obesity an epidemic, invokes a negative reaction in his audience and causes their protective, parental instincts to immediately kick in.

Most parents could never fathom their own child might be part of an epidemic of any kind so by referring to the fact that childhood obesity is becoming an epidemic itself, Crister creates a sense of urgency in his audience that in turn makes them want to act on their protective instincts by helping to prevent the spread of this epidemic. In keeping with his strong use of word choice, Crister also uses the word gluttony twice in his article and even elaborates by pointing out that gluttony is “vilified as one of the seven deadly sins. Again, the use of such strong language causes the audience take notice of the severity of childhood obesity and makes them want to do whatever they can to prevent it so that their own children are not considered gluttons or part of an epidemic. Another rhetorical strategy is logos, which means using logic, common sense, and reason to appeal to an audience. In his article, Crister uses logic to provide some solutions to help prevent childhood obesity as well as discredited some long-standing myths on how these solutions might not work.

One solution that Crister offers is when he points out the early on so that overeating, one of the main causes of obesity, can be avoided. To help persuade the audience that this is an important step to take, Crister discredits the common misconception among parents that children will stop eating once they are full. Crister mentions a study led by Barbara Rolls, a nutritional scholar at Pennsylvania State University, in which she observed the eating habits of two groups of children.

Rolls found that the three year old group would stop eating once they were full, regardless of how much food they were given, but the five year old group would continue to eat, long after they were full, until everything on their plate was gone. This study helps persuade the audience that what they believed to be true about the eating habits of children might not be true after all and that it is their job to help their children learn how to develop good eating habits at an early age.

Crister goes on to point out that parents are led to believe that restricting a child’s diet will cause them to, in turn, overeat. In an effort to explain this to his audience Crister says, “The operative notion is that a child restrained from overeating will either rebel by secretly gorging when away from the table or, worse, will suffer such a loss of self-esteem that a lifetime of disastrous eating behavior will follow. ” Another solution that Crister offers is to stigmatize overeating. He says, “Of course, no one should be stigmatized for being overweight.

But stigmatizing the unhealthful behaviors that cause obesity would conform with what we know about effective health messages. ” This helps his audience see that stigmatizing overweight people might be detrimental but stigmatizing overeating itself might be one of the most logical solutions in preventing childhood obesity. Crister also notes that in the early 20th century France, when first faced with the excessive weight gain among children, they adopted the belief that meals should always be supervised by adults, food should be served in moderate proportions, and second helpings should be rare.

The French are often stereotyped for being some of the most confident people in the world so Crister ends his article with the logical, yet tongue-in-cheek statement that, ”[The French] were taught in childhood not to overeat. And it didn’t seem to do much harm to their self-esteem. ” This quote combined with his use of logos works well for Crister’s argument because they make his audience realize that what they have been led to believe in the past about restricting a child’s eating habits and how children approach eating in general might not, in fact, be true.

By discrediting all of these myths, Crister’s persuades his audience that they must take responsibility in teaching their children good eating habits early on in their lives and they become more comfortable with the idea that stigmatizing overeating as well as restricting their own child’s eating are other ways in which they can do their part in preventing childhood obesity.

Overall, Crister’s uses of ethos, pathos, and logos succeed in persuading his audience what an epidemic that childhood obesity has become and they walk with a couple of solutions to help them act immediately in helping to prevent this epidemic in their own children or children in this country. Works Cited Crister, Greg. “Too Much of a Good Thing. ” Los Angeles Times 22 July 2001. 16 November 2012 .

Sometimes life gets tough and gives us obstacles and challenges just to see how we overcome them. It only takes one mistake for someone’s life to be turned upside down. Watching people go through hardships and life challenges helps us get on the right path and succeed. The book The Other Wes Moore written by Wes Moore himself, is based on real life challenges that two boys ironically with the same name and hometown were faced with and how their decisions on overcoming them lead them to two completely different places.

One living free and being able to experience things and the other living unfortunately behind bars. Wes Moore uses the rhetorical appeals ethos, logos, and pathos to engage the readers attention on how two boys with so many similarities can grow up and live two completely opposite lives. Wes Moore is a talented and educated man and accomplished an enormous amount of things while growing up. He was a Rhodes Scholar and was recognized in the Hall of Fame, but that never fazed him it just made him want to achieve bigger and better things. He looked past that and reached out to someone whose life didn’t go as planned.

By doing this he gave the other Wes Moore something to live for, something that would help him forget his past and make him feel like he was a good person again. Wes Moore wrote this book to inspire people and let them learn from other people’s mistakes. He clearly found a wide range of audiences since his book became a New York Times Best seller. This book was made for anyone going through a tough time, struggling for hope, or just an excellent book to read. Wes Moore’s intentions for this book was to show people not to give up on themselves and anythings possible.

People choose their own destiny, that you can be what you want to be, so don’t give up even if you hit a pump in the road. Wes Moore studied at two distinguished universities, first John Hopkins then Oxford University where he received a full scholarship. He strongly shows his intelligence by his language and his choice of vocabulary which helps the book appeal to all ages. Moore makes it clear, in the introduction, that this book was written to “use our two lives as a way of thinking about choices and accountability” (xiv) and not a way to supply excuses for the tragedy that happened on February 7, 2000.

This quote and the whole last paragraph in the introduction demonstrates ethos right from the beginning. The way Wes Moore doesn’t judge the other Moore for what he has done and the way Wes Moore interacts with the audience to make sure they do the same shows his credibility. He knows what the other Moore did was a terrible and hurtful thing and tore many family and friends apart, but he wanted his audience to learn from this tragedy and from Moore’s mistakes. In the end, he wanted to show his audience that you can come from hardships in life and still better yourself, but you just need to get up and try.

Since the author decided to make his appeal to logos more deeper and complex it was difficult to identify it through the text. Wes Moore can make an argument that the two boys grew up with similar home lives by looking at different relationships within the families. Since Wes Moore, the author, was a little boy he was making decisions on his own and being the man of the house. His father passed away when Moore was at a young age so he never had a male role model. He only had his mother to look up to who was still growing up herself.

On the other hand the other Wes Moore had a loving mother who cared dearly about him but at the same time was very young and still trying to figure out her own life. Overall both Wes Moore’s had to overcome tough challenges and make the best of it. This comparison of their relationships with their families helped with the appeal to logos because it showed how two people with similar childhoods can handle almost identical situations differently and end up in complete opposite places. Anyone could read this book and feel emotionally touched by the stories that are told.

The author has a strong appeal to pathos throughout the whole book. The audience can either feel shocked by how their lives went in such opposite directions or sorry for the obstacles these boys had to go through growing up. The author decides to start the book with a lot of affection to show the audience that both of these boy’s childhoods were similar and that their lives could of easily been flipped. Wes Moore caught the readers attention at the beginning by trying to get them to figure out how their two lives went in two different directions.

Having a strong appeal to pathos is a good benefit because reaching out to the audience through emotion is so much more affective then logic or credibility. People are more connected on how people feel then their knowledge or trustworthiness. For example, when the author said “HIs body was sprawled and withering at the foot of the stairs” (13), no reader is going to just close the book and stop reading. He or she is going to want to continue reading to figure out why the father died and how the little boy is going to overcome this obstacle.

Pathos has a much more affect on the readers then ethos or logos. By reading just the introduction and understanding the lives of these two boys the reader can feel the great amount of emotion put into this book. From the beginning the reader is trapped and doesn’t want to put down the book with the help of the authors use of rhetorical appeals. The differences that lie in their future of these two similar men leaves the audience hanging on what caused so much change in their two lives.

Albert Einstein the Menace of Mass Destruction Speech On November 11th 1947 the renowned scientist, Albert Einstein, presented his case against nuclear warfare and the real dangers that come with it. He was able to grab his audience’s attention by great use of literary devices and rhetoric techniques. The argument delivered in this speech proved to be effective because till this day a nuclear bomb has yet to be dropped. Albert Einstein was one of the scientists assigned to the Manhattan projected during the 2nd world war. The project was a success as the United States effectively dropped the only two nuclear bombs ever in history.

The decision was made because the Japanese refused to surrender with defeat looking them in the eyes. In order to end the war quickly and save many American soldiers’ lives the bombs were dropped on two Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, causing devastating damage to each. After seeing the results of his creation, Einstein made it his mission to deliver a speech to the General Assembly and Security Council of the United Nations in hope for a peaceful future for all of mankind. Albert Einstein uses the rhetoric device logos to make his argument much more effective to his audience.

For example “ General fear and anxiety creates hatred and aggressiveness. ” Using diction he is able to better describe an often seen human reaction. The words “ anxiety” and “aggressiveness” are used effectively and really allows the audience to see and make the connection of the logic used in the argument presented. Also the use of foreshadowing can be seen as he uses this quote to setup for the important, bigger picture later in the speech. Einstein’s use of logos through diction provides an excellent use of rhetoric. Later in the speech Einstein has another outstanding use logos with the help of syntax.

He states “ The adaptation to warlike aims and activities has corrupted the mentality of man; as a result, intelligence, objective and humane thinking has hardly any effect and is even suspected and persecuted as unpatriotic. ” Einstein does a perfect job of ordering the sentence for cause and effect. In doing this he presents a problem with humanity and he then directly delivers the negative results that follow. In using the cause and effect approach he amplifies the logic used in the sentences. Overall this grabs the audience’s attention and allows them to better understand the argument and connect to it.

Einstein wraps up his speech effectively using the rhetoric device ethos. He does this to help prove his over all argument and to support his logical statements. He begins saying “ We scientist believe that what we and our fellow men do or fail to do within the next few years will determine the fate of our civilization. ” The audience will take note and appeal to his authority because he is one of the most intelligent men that have ever lived. Also by using foreshadowing when he says, “within the next few years will determine the fate of our civilization” he is able to make the audience entice to his argument with the help of ethos.

As one can see with the help of the rhetoric devices used along side with the literary terms Albert Einstein was able to deliver a powerful speech about mankind’s nature and how it must change in order for life, as we know it to survive. Throughout the speech he continues to use logos and pathos to help persuade his audience to agree with his argument. One can see the effectiveness of this speech because there has yet to be another nuclear bomb dropped since that day in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The Rhetorical Analysis of the Seriousness of Food Thinking about the importance and significance of food respective to our health, ethnic culture and society can cause cavernous, profound, and even questionable thoughts such as: “Is food taken for granted? ”, “Is specialty foods just a fad or a change in lifestyle? ”, and even “Is food becoming the enemy. ” Mark Bittman, an established food journalist, wrote an article called “Why take food seriously? ” In this article, Bittman enlightens the reader with a brief history lesson of America’s appreciation of food over the past decades.

This history lesson leads to where the social standing of food is today and how it is affecting not only the people of America, but also the rest of the world. Bittman attempts to display awareness in his audience by supporting his argument and encouraging his readers to see his perspective through three proofs of persuasion: ethos, logos, and pathos. Bittman’s ethos is immediately realized simply through who his stature. Bittman has been a food journalist for the past thirty two years. Within that time, he has managed to write bestselling books including: “How to Cook Everything”, “How to Cook Everything Vegetarian”, and “Food Matters. He also writes for the New York Times in his own weekly column called “The Minimalist. ” Along with professional experience, there is personal experience. The article opens with Bittman stating, “Our relationship with food is changing more rapidly than ever, and like many others, I’ve watched in awe. ” Bittman has been a food journalist since 1980. Therefore, he has witnessed the ever changing perspective of food in society with an “unusual” perspective. He has observed and followed the effects of which foods has brought forth to health, media, and the rest of the world.

This gives the reader a sense of trust because he has experienced it first hand. Even with his palpable experience and expertise with food, his ethos is continued throughout the article. Bittman exemplifies his ethos through his use of sarcasm. He says, “Each year, each month it sometimes seems, there are more signs that convenience, that mid-20th-century curse word, may give way to quality — even what you might call wholesomeness — just before we all turn into the shake-sucking fatties of “Wall-E. ” The movie “Wall-E” is an extremely recent and popular Pixar film.

It is about Earth no longer providing living conditions for life. This causes humans to live in a space craft where robots did essentially everything for them; the result, “shake-sucking fatties. ” Bittman’s use of sarcasm throughout the entire article adds a comic relief giving the reader a sense that Bittman is just a normal funny guy. Along with using his humor, Bittman makes references to well known figures in today’s society, like “Wall-E. ” By doing this, Bittman shows that he is current and up to date with media and society.

He references, “We were ripe for the Food Network’s Emeril, Rachael, Mario and Bobby, who created a buzz based on celebrity that grabbed not only the middle-aged and the young but also the very young. ” Food network is incredibly popular along with the network’s stars that Bittman referenced. Bittman displays that he is well knowledgeable of who is who and what is what in today’s society. Bittman’s ethos is exemplified through his professional and personal experiences, along with his humor and up to date knowledge of media. Bittman goes on to establish logos through structure.

He begins with a quick introduction of who he is and discloses the problem of society’s relationship with food and it “changing rapidly. ” Bittman then presents a brief history lesson starting with before the 1950’s leading to today. He says, “Until 50 years ago, of course, every household had at least one person who took food seriously every day. But from the 1950s on, the majority of the population began contentedly cooking less and less, eating out more and more and devouring food that was worse and worse, until the horrible global slop served by fast-food and “casual dining” chains came to dominate the scene.

One result: an unprecedented rise in obesity levels and a not-unrelated climb in health-care costs. ” Bittman continues to go through each decade presenting new facts about what was the “thing” or “latest fad” at that time. For example he says, “Of course, food continues to be fetishized; organic food has been commodified; the federal government subsidizes almost all of the wrong kinds of food production; supermarkets peddle way too much nonreal food (“junk food” or, to use my mother’s word, “dreck”); and weight-loss diets still discourage common-sense eating. By individually going through each decade, it helps the reader see the evidence Bittman presents. It then furthers what society’s relationship towards food has evolved into. Also, it allows the reader to understand and relate. The reader, depending on their age, can mentally travel back to previous decades and think back to instances they remember experiencing themselves. Bittman establishes logos through structuring a time line for the reader to understand and relate to. Lastly Bittman exerts pathos through his mood and tone. The mood of the article transfers into awareness and humorous but possibly the actual reality.

The reader can distinguish Bittman’s attempt to raise awareness for the topic from his presentation of what he believes to be the real issues, “The real issues — how do we grow and raise, distribute and sell, prepare and eat food? And how do our patterns of doing these things affect the rest of the world (and vice versa)? — are simply too big to ignore. ” By Bittman directly pointing out what the “real issues” are, the reader is automatically more aware of the problems with food. The reader now ponders what they can change and do or learn to help relinquish the issues at hand.

Bittman continues to raise awareness, more so in a comical way, when he states: “This has led many Americans to think as much about food as they do about “Survivor” or the N. F. L — which is to say a lot — and its preparation is no longer limited to what was once called a housewife. ” Bittman’s is saying this too purposely so the reader has an eye opener moment, while others may get a chuckle out of it. Either way, Bittman is trying to compel the reader to be conscious of what the importance and significance of food has become. Bittman uses his sarcasm to enforce awareness upon the reader.

Bittman’s tone throughout the article ranges from sarcastic to passionate to a want for change. He says, “I’ve never been more hopeful. (In fact, I was never hopeful at all until recently. )” Bittman is stating that he believes there is potential for change and people are realizing that food needs to be taken seriously. He continues to express his sense of humor intermixed with his passion and hope for change when he concludes the article with, “Perhaps just in time, we’re saying, “Hold the shake,” and looking for something more wholesome. ” Bittman is ending the scene and leaving the reader with something to ponder.

Bittman sets his tone and the mood of the article to leave a lasting impression on the reader. Mark Bittman used the three proofs of persuasion to better appeal to his audience. He exemplifies ethos by using his professional and personal experiences. Bittman then moves on to establish logos through the structure of a time line of facts for the reader to understand and relate to. Lastly, Bittman creates pathos with his spewing emotion of passion, awareness, and sarcasm. He portrays these emotions through his tone and mood. Bittman uses the three proofs of persuasion to open the readers eyes to the seriousness of food.