With this being said, the author’s tone conveys the idea that he is knowledgeable in this subject. His overall tone can often be angry at times, showing frustration about the current use of English in America. This shows that Simon is passionate about showing people the overwhelming benefits of proper English. Since he obviously views himself as a person who employs good English, Simon tells the audience how it has helped him. This makes the reader see how it has benefited someone else, so they imagine how it could benefit his or her own life.
One of the rhetorical devices that John Simon uses is a rhetorical question. In fact, he uses multiple rhetorical questions in a row to begin his article. The bold question, “What’s good English to you that … you should grieve for it?” is the first sentence in his article, followed by four more rhetorical questions (333). Simon’s assertive and passionate tone is established right away by the use of this rhetorical choice. This is because the rhetorical question itself is very efficient rhetorical …show more content…
The author also presents a possible argument to his point of view that will be addressed later in the article: “Isn’t grammar really a thing of the past, and isn’t the new idea to communicate in any way as long as you can make yourself understood” (Simon 334)? This is an idea that some members of his intended audience might agree with, which encourages them to read on to find out what makes that idea so wrong. The goal of Simon’s use of the rhetorical question is to really open the mind of the reader in order to more effectively promote his ideas later in the article. This way, the reader is slightly groomed before being exposed to evidence that supports John Simon’s