Analysis Of Gretel Ehrlich's About Men

Writer, Gretel Ehrlich, in her excerpt, "About Men," describes people's perception of Cowboys and their masculinity. Ehrlich's purpose is to reveal that cowboys are not only masculine but compassionate too. Ehrlich uses personal experiences, her audiences sense of sympathy, and images of masculinity to claim that Cowboys are both masculine and compassionate. Ehrlich provides personal experiences that Cowboys are manly but caring as well. She uses personal experiences of her own staying in paragraph one, "... a reminder of the ranchers and cowboys I've ridden with for the last eight years." And in paragraph three she also states, "The cowboys I was sitting with laughed in agreement." Besides providing her own occurrences she includes …show more content…
She calls to her audiences sense of sympathetic emotion by demonstrating images of manliness in her writing. In paragraph Ehrlich states,"If a cow is stuck in a boghole he throws a loop around her neck, takes his dally (a half hitch around the saddle horn), and pulls her out with horsepower. If a calf is born sick, he may take her home, warm her in front of the kitchen fire, and massage her legs until dawn." Another example from the same paragraph she states is, "One friend, whose favorite horse was trying to swim a lake with hobbles on, done under water and cut her legs loose with a knife, then swam her to shore, his arm around her neck lifeguard-style, and saved her from drowning." Other examples of pathos and imagery used by Ehrlich are in paragraph seven she states a friend told her,'" Those rare occasions when they do bare themselves in confusion. "I feel as if I'd sprained my heart,"' She calls to her readers empathetic feeling and provides a description of masculinity to persuade her audience that Cowboys are tough and softhearted. The pathos and imagery used in her writing for her readers reassures that Cowboys are masculine yet