As the famed philosopher, Plato once said, “Rhetoric is the art of ruling the minds of men.” While each piece of literature may not cause the readers to praise it, each piece does have rhetorical context, playing a huge role in its meaning. This rhetorical context must match the writing to be successful, as seen with “The Barbie Birthday” and “Let Women Fight.” “The Barbie Birthday,” by Alison Townsend, informs the reader of the thought process children have when growing up with Barbie, as well as those who they look up to, based off her own experiences. “Let Women Fight,” by Megan H. Mackenzie, attempts to persuade the reader to believe that women should have the right to hold combat positions in the U.S. military. Both pieces have drastically
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“The Barbie Birthday” perfectly matches the definition of a short story. Throughout the entire story, the author refers to her own experiences. She commonly said things like “As I lifted the lid of Barbie’s narrow, coffin-like box, she stared up at me” and “She was who I wanted to be” (Townsend, 2003, p.265). By using the words “I” and “me,” the author becomes the subject. Also with most shorts stories, the mood of the character is taken into account more than the plot. “The Barbie Birthday” focusses most lines onto the appearance of the doll and how the author felt, pushing the plot to the side. “Let Women Fight” is once again different, as it is an advocacy piece. Megan H. Mackenzie lets the audience know that she disagrees with the current regulations on women in the military. She then spends the next pages arguing for why women should be allowed, even invalidating counterarguments. In one example about physical fitness of women, she says, “The argument continues to receive a significant amount of attention in the United States, despite the fact that other militaries across the world have found that with proper training and necessary adaptations, women can complete the same physical tasks as men” (Mackenzie, 2012, p.343). During the entire article, she shows that she is an advocate for women to be able to fight in combat for the U.S.
“The Barbie Birthday” perfectly matches the definition of a short story. Throughout the entire story, the author refers to her own experiences. She commonly said things like “As I lifted the lid of Barbie’s narrow, coffin-like box, she stared up at me” and “She was who I wanted to be” (Townsend, 2003, p.265). By using the words “I” and “me,” the author becomes the subject. Also with most shorts stories, the mood of the character is taken into account more than the plot. “The Barbie Birthday” focusses most lines onto the appearance of the doll and how the author felt, pushing the plot to the side. “Let Women Fight” is once again different, as it is an advocacy piece. Megan H. Mackenzie lets the audience know that she disagrees with the current regulations on women in the military. She then spends the next pages arguing for why women should be allowed, even invalidating counterarguments. In one example about physical fitness of women, she says, “The argument continues to receive a significant amount of attention in the United States, despite the fact that other militaries across the world have found that with proper training and necessary adaptations, women can complete the same physical tasks as men” (Mackenzie, 2012, p.343). During the entire article, she shows that she is an advocate for women to be able to fight in combat for the U.S.