In What Do Murderers Deserve? David Gelernter explores the idea of the death penalty, and its acceptable uses. He does this by providing complex ideas, analogies, and examples, allowing his numerous evidence to actually prove his point. His writing style is eloquent and slightly inflammatory, as he tries to inspire support to an issue that is often pushed to the periphery of other discussions. An interesting aspect of this essay is how Gelernter makes his point. His essay is persuasive, but not overtly forceful. Instead, he introduces his ideas with stories, facts, and popular opinions, all the while gently coaxing the reader over to his own point of view. This method is quite different from other, more common methods of persuasion, in which
