Anna Quindlen's Analysis

Anaphora and epistrophe is used in the ending to further emphasize Anna Quindlen’s argument by tying all of her ideas together in a compelling way. In order to expound the minimal effort that could have been used to change the outcome of the tragedies caused by Kip Kinkel and Sam Manzie, Quindlen uses the phrase “if only” (9) repeatedly. This brings about the theme of the importance of treatment once again as she suggests “if only there had been long-term intervention and medication” (9) and “if only Sam Manzie had been treated aggressively earlier” (9). These provide a sense of pathos also because when one realizes that these ideas for treatment were very attainable, their stories become extra melancholy. This connects back to the claim that society needs to change its perspective on the mentally ill in order for these children to receive the proper treatment that they deserve. …show more content…
She makes it known for the final time that society shares the devotion to help mentally ill people, but still faces too strong a stigma to actually do anything that will help these people. This time she actually addresses society by enumerating “insurance providers,” “hospitals and schools,” and “we parents,” (9) saying that they need to “act like it” (9) regarding the idea that mental illness is not a character flaw. She ends by emphasizing that children “will believe it” (9) that they have a legitimate reason to be depressed (in reference to 3) and that they are not “crazy” (8) like some peers might call them in the hallway. Anaphora and epistrophe in the end of the essay reiterates the main reason why Quindlen wrote this essay, which is to argue the importance of treatment for mentally ill