Corbyn Rasque
Prof Dimick
College Writing 1
2015.04.03
Rhetorical Analysis In the course of making an argument, there are untold tomes filled with the ways an advocate for a cause or a conclusion can go about persuading, enlightening, or inveigling their counterpart or congregate into grasping on to. Like most subjects in the world, the method chosen in constructing those arguments varies widely in their efficacy. One such method is that of using rhetorical strategies in order to further one’s argument with elements specifically to cater to an audience, adversary, or both. This very method has long been used as a meter or sorts to gauge the effectiveness of each facet of a standpoint in an argument. In the book Eating Animals, the author Jonathan …show more content…
As demonstrated, ethos and pathos are heavily incorporated into the opening sequence of Eating Animals, drawing his audience in. Logos, however, was reserved largely for the actual exploration of farming and slaughtering of animals. In reporting about the conditions of chickens, Foer asks the audience to actually pause and consider; “Find a piece of printer paper and imagine a full-grown bird shaped something like a football with legs standing on it. Imagine 33,000 of these rectangles in a grid. … This is a farm.” (130) Not only is factual evidence put forth, but also given is a literal ‘appeal to reason.’ In asking the audience to not just accept the numbers he has put forth, but to visualize it and have their own sudden revelation on just how small the space is, Foer has let the audience convince themselves of his argument – part of why his rhetoric is so effective. Multiple other instances occur in the chapter “Words, Meaning”, when he introduces the exact meaning and implication of a myriad of terms employed by the industry. Foer makes a compelling argument by removing much of the bias and replacing it with carefully selected facts laid out and substantial supporting evidence, as well as writing with devices like repetition and strong language. “BULLSHIT / 1) …show more content…
The chapter “All or Nothing or Something Else” focuses quite a bit on pathos, relating eating animals like cows, horses, and fish to eating dogs. Catering entirely to the intended audience, the author draws on the relationship between dogs and humans, as well as between dogs and other animals; “Don’t eat companion animals. But dogs aren’t kept as companions in all of the places they are eaten. … Don’t eat animals with significant mental capacities. If by ‘significant mental capacities, we mean what a dog has, then good for the dog. But such a definition would also include the pig, cow, chicken and many species of sea animal.” (26) The audience’s love for dogs is captured and pitted against their current convictions, using the reader’s emotions to coax them to the conclusion presented. Furthering the point, the relationship with dogs is utilized to introduce the topic of large-scale fishing and trawling: “No reader of this book would tolerate someone swinging a pickaxe at a dog’s face. Nothing could be more obvious or less in need of explanation. Is such a concern morally out of place when applied to fish…?” (31) All three finally come together in this line, with Foer’s use of pathos leading to a solution arrived at by logos, with ethos established by sound logic and the same conclusion that the reader will have gotten to on their
Prof Dimick
College Writing 1
2015.04.03
Rhetorical Analysis In the course of making an argument, there are untold tomes filled with the ways an advocate for a cause or a conclusion can go about persuading, enlightening, or inveigling their counterpart or congregate into grasping on to. Like most subjects in the world, the method chosen in constructing those arguments varies widely in their efficacy. One such method is that of using rhetorical strategies in order to further one’s argument with elements specifically to cater to an audience, adversary, or both. This very method has long been used as a meter or sorts to gauge the effectiveness of each facet of a standpoint in an argument. In the book Eating Animals, the author Jonathan …show more content…
As demonstrated, ethos and pathos are heavily incorporated into the opening sequence of Eating Animals, drawing his audience in. Logos, however, was reserved largely for the actual exploration of farming and slaughtering of animals. In reporting about the conditions of chickens, Foer asks the audience to actually pause and consider; “Find a piece of printer paper and imagine a full-grown bird shaped something like a football with legs standing on it. Imagine 33,000 of these rectangles in a grid. … This is a farm.” (130) Not only is factual evidence put forth, but also given is a literal ‘appeal to reason.’ In asking the audience to not just accept the numbers he has put forth, but to visualize it and have their own sudden revelation on just how small the space is, Foer has let the audience convince themselves of his argument – part of why his rhetoric is so effective. Multiple other instances occur in the chapter “Words, Meaning”, when he introduces the exact meaning and implication of a myriad of terms employed by the industry. Foer makes a compelling argument by removing much of the bias and replacing it with carefully selected facts laid out and substantial supporting evidence, as well as writing with devices like repetition and strong language. “BULLSHIT / 1) …show more content…
The chapter “All or Nothing or Something Else” focuses quite a bit on pathos, relating eating animals like cows, horses, and fish to eating dogs. Catering entirely to the intended audience, the author draws on the relationship between dogs and humans, as well as between dogs and other animals; “Don’t eat companion animals. But dogs aren’t kept as companions in all of the places they are eaten. … Don’t eat animals with significant mental capacities. If by ‘significant mental capacities, we mean what a dog has, then good for the dog. But such a definition would also include the pig, cow, chicken and many species of sea animal.” (26) The audience’s love for dogs is captured and pitted against their current convictions, using the reader’s emotions to coax them to the conclusion presented. Furthering the point, the relationship with dogs is utilized to introduce the topic of large-scale fishing and trawling: “No reader of this book would tolerate someone swinging a pickaxe at a dog’s face. Nothing could be more obvious or less in need of explanation. Is such a concern morally out of place when applied to fish…?” (31) All three finally come together in this line, with Foer’s use of pathos leading to a solution arrived at by logos, with ethos established by sound logic and the same conclusion that the reader will have gotten to on their