Rhetorical Analysis of a Public Document: “Buy Experiences, Not Things”
The Atlantic monthly published an article called, “Buy Experiences, Not Things,” written by James Hamblin (the senior editor at The Atlantic). The Atlantic monthly is a magazine known for publishing literary and cultural articles and review with a modern worldview. The article, “Buy Experiences, Not Things,” is more of a cultural article because it refers to the ideas and social behaviors of society. The authors purpose for publishing the article, “Buy Experiences, Not Things,” was to convey the reader to realize the significance of experiences and the insignificance of material goods through the use of ethos, logos, and pathos.
The authors appeals to ethos by using evidence …show more content…
For example, Kumar explains how, “social interaction is one of the most important determinants of human happiness, so if people are talking with each other, being nice to one another in the line, it 's going to be a lot more pleasant experience than if they 're being mean to each other which is what 's (more) likely to happen when people are waiting for material goods." (Hamblin, 2014) What Kumar is saying is that waiting outside for a material good and connecting with others is the experience and that feeling of connecting with other will bring you happiness; as to where after the purchase of the material good you have no connection, one is so focused on their possession that they have no physical connection with anyone therefore cannot experience happiness. Hamblin also states how, “bad experiences even make good memories.” (Hamblin, 2014) Experiences have can have many different outcomes and that’s what makes things fun. If the experience turns out to be a bad one you can look back at it in the future and maybe even crack a joke about it or maybe even want to relive that moment. Regardless of the outcome, whether it is then or after the experience, you will experience happiness. For example, you cannot look back to an iPhone 4 after buying Apple’s new release of the iPhone 6 and even consider going back to it; material goods become a thing of the past and experiences do
The Atlantic monthly published an article called, “Buy Experiences, Not Things,” written by James Hamblin (the senior editor at The Atlantic). The Atlantic monthly is a magazine known for publishing literary and cultural articles and review with a modern worldview. The article, “Buy Experiences, Not Things,” is more of a cultural article because it refers to the ideas and social behaviors of society. The authors purpose for publishing the article, “Buy Experiences, Not Things,” was to convey the reader to realize the significance of experiences and the insignificance of material goods through the use of ethos, logos, and pathos.
The authors appeals to ethos by using evidence …show more content…
For example, Kumar explains how, “social interaction is one of the most important determinants of human happiness, so if people are talking with each other, being nice to one another in the line, it 's going to be a lot more pleasant experience than if they 're being mean to each other which is what 's (more) likely to happen when people are waiting for material goods." (Hamblin, 2014) What Kumar is saying is that waiting outside for a material good and connecting with others is the experience and that feeling of connecting with other will bring you happiness; as to where after the purchase of the material good you have no connection, one is so focused on their possession that they have no physical connection with anyone therefore cannot experience happiness. Hamblin also states how, “bad experiences even make good memories.” (Hamblin, 2014) Experiences have can have many different outcomes and that’s what makes things fun. If the experience turns out to be a bad one you can look back at it in the future and maybe even crack a joke about it or maybe even want to relive that moment. Regardless of the outcome, whether it is then or after the experience, you will experience happiness. For example, you cannot look back to an iPhone 4 after buying Apple’s new release of the iPhone 6 and even consider going back to it; material goods become a thing of the past and experiences do