Rhetorical Analysis

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Reading through the article it is easy to tell that the author is explaining how people can associate happiness more from experiences, rather than tangible items. The essay follows the author as he discusses this idea with professors and researchers in the field of psychology, and presents this through the rhetorical devices of logos and pathos. He provides examples to support his claims, and shows that he is a credible source. Along with this he can draw the reader in as he explains why people have more happiness after an experience as appose to an object purchase. Throughout this article, the author is able to relay his ideas to his readers because of his accurate usage of the rhetorical devices.
The first rhetorical device displayed was logos, as it attempted to have the reader gain confidence in the article with quotes from a number of reliable sources. The author, James Hamblin, “is a senior editor at The Atlantic. He writes the health column for the monthly magazine and hosts the video series If Our Bodies Could Talk” (James Hamblin, 2014). Hamblin also has a MD, which only adds to his good reputation and background, so he can be seen as a credible source. As the article progresses the author dialogues part of a conversation with ‘Cornell doctoral candidate Amit Kumar’ (James Hamblin, 2014. Para 2.). The two discuss how a negative turn of events can have a good turnout, if we change the way in which we choose to see the experience. Amit Kumar, then points out how this cannot be done with a material purchase, showing the contrast of happiness one can gain from the experience rather than the object (James Hamblin, 2014). The usage of logos in the article is effective in showing the credibility of the information presented. The article’s resources can be seen as accurate and what is displayed in the article as credible. This helps the article by presenting the reader with a information
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It did so by explaining just how material positions couldn’t bring as much joy as experiencing life events. The author used the example of a rained in family vacation explain his point. He told how even though the trip could have appeared to be a wasted time by the weather, the family turned it around by playing board games and enjoying each other’s company. This can give more satisfaction then waiting in line for an item, such as a new iPhone (James Hamblin, 2014). This is because we often get impatient while waiting for something we order on line to come, because we just want it instantly. But when we order concert tickets for example, we wait in giddy anticipation for the day we can live out the moment of enjoying live music (James Hamblin, 2014). These examples the author uses effectively causes the reader to see how much of a difference it can make to gain happiness from an experiential purchase. Hamblin uses pathos to show how much happier a person can be, which could cause the reader to have a moment of self-reflection. The thoughts along with feelings the article stirs up would have the reader then go out and take the words to heart and begin to live for moments of joy instead of things that can be held. Because, objects can break and wear down, but memories can grow rich with age and bring joy and even fulfillment, where an iPhone for example, never

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