Rhetorical Analysis: Born To Be Good

Born To Be Good is a non-fiction novel by Dacher Keltner. Keltner is a psychology professor and a director of a science center that studies emotions. He has dedicated his time and research to the study of positive emotions thus, giving him the credibility and authority to write this book. Throughout the entire novel he uses accurate representations of rhetorical devices to make the argument seem more plausible to his audience. The novel gives an in-depth analysis about emotions and their origins. Chapter six focuses specifically on the concept of smiling and its importance in human interaction. Keltner incorporates ethos in this chapter by justifying his claims and supporting them with other professional’s work in order to prove that smiling is one of the most powerful forms of communication. Keltner claims that smiles and laughter are evolutionary traits and that each has a different purpose. He said, “The smile emerged to facilitate cooperative and affiliative proximity. The laugh emerged to promote play and levity” (103). He supports this claim by using the evidence and research of Signe Preuschoft, a primatologist who studied primates closely. Preuschoft examined primates looking …show more content…
He references sociologist Arlie Hochschild, who believes that there is a certain smile that is associated with many service-related jobs, for instance, those of restaurants or stores. This service smile portrays a welcoming effect and entices a customer to come in and buy a product. Even though, a worker using this smile may or may not necessarily be feeling that specific emotion inside, they are solely presenting it to benefit the business. The service-related smile is a relevant example of a Non-D smile. Thus, the work of Hochschild helps Keltner prove that some smiles are not a direct result of happiness or an individual’s internal