Comparing Wallace's Rhetorical Analysis: David Foster Wallace And Paul Bloom

Designing an article or a speech is a little like painting a masterpiece. Even the slightest falter in a brush stroke could potentially ruin the piece. The same goes for writing using the wrong words at the wrong time can completely change the meaning of the paper or article. David Foster Wallace and Paul Bloom both attempt to create a masterpiece. They both use incredibly charged language and all of their rhetorical choices are well placed. They know how to appeal to their targeted audience so much so that it comes down to only a few mistakes made by the other to decide which article is more rhetorically sound. David Wallace’s speech by far uses the right language at the right time, his use of ethos logos and pathos narrowly edges out Bloom, …show more content…
Since Bloom’s article isn’t a speech like Wallace’s it doesn’t require the same type of interaction with the audience leading a lack luster ethos presence. Bloom uses sources to back up his credibility rather than personal interaction with his audience. This is effective, but doesn’t provide the same effect as Wallace relating to the audience and gaining their trust through common connections, which is ironic since Bloom’s peace is about …show more content…
Wallace doesn’t use much of logos, as he relies more on ethos and pathos, but when he does use logos his points are rather credible. He first starts off with “the really significant education in thinking that we're supposed to get in a place like this isn't really about the capacity to think, but rather about the choice of what to think about.” (Wallace). Here he is positing to the students that their education was more of what to think. That is what a major is. Focusing down to a certain school of thought whether it be engineering, business, or liberal arts. He uses these points to Segway into other uses of pathos to finish off his points. He continues to use logic like “That is being educated, and understanding how to think. The alternative is unconsciousness” (Wallace). He postulates that understanding how to think provides us a purpose in life and that without it we lose the spark of hopes and dreams one can reach. Wallace does an excellent job of using logos with his analogies to suggesting we are a fish and that a fish doesn’t know what water is. Speeches usually rely on stories and word choice, but Wallace does an excellent job of fitting logos into his speech to provide an even more sound