Rhetorical Analysis Of Cunningham's 'Why Women Smile'

One day, you are eating dinner with your friend and you ask her opinion about your newly bought dress. Guess what, her reply is only: “It’s pretty nice” without a smile or any kind of facial expression. Yes, it’s very awkward. But on the other hand, you might assume that she doesn’t like your dress. Neither to a person we know nor a stranger, we expect the standard reply which it should be complementary with a smile; we called it courtesy. In fact, nobody would care whether the smile is sincere or what’s the truth behind it, all they wish is only the response with a courtesy standard-smile. In the article “Why Women Smile”, Cunningham shares how women use the smile as a tool to manage and resist society’s expectation, overall the society has the most control over women’s freedom and emotion. According to a famous psychology expert Carl Jung, “woman is expected to be more nurturant and less aggressive” (Jung 1875 – 1961). For sake of the society acceptance, women have no choice, but to use the smile as a …show more content…
A sound argument is persuasive and able to convince readers to agree on author’s stand, therefore it must contain both valid and true premises with a complex rhetorical skill. The most remarkable example of Cunningham’s rhetorical strategy is: “The only smile deemed appropriate on a privileged woman’s face was the serene, inward smile of the Virgin Mary at Christ’s birth, and even that expression was best directed exclusively at young children” (Cunningham 372). In this premise, Cunningham shows the well-balanced of the usage in logos, ethos and pathos. Undoubtedly, “The smile of Virgin Mary at Christ’s birth” is an objective fact for everyone, Cunningham has smartly demonstrated the essence of logos which she makes readers to accept the argument as the absolute truth for the entire