Six Feet Under Rhetorical Analysis

How often do we think about death or the process of death? I know, kind of a morbid subject, right? Death is just another part of life, and yet as a society we fear it. I never thought much about death or my own morality until I watched Six Feet Under. I chose to analyze Six Feet Under because I was impressed by how the show dealt with homophobia and grief in such realistic ways. I’ve decided to analyze the show using narrative criticism and rhetorical analysis. Narrative criticism deals with the notion that humans are essentially storytellers (Fisher 1). It focuses on how humans find meaning in stories. Rhetorical analysis deals with how media texts persuade their audiences through logos, ethos, and pathos. Six Feet Under shows its viewers …show more content…
I will focus specifically on how the show uses allegory and metaphor to appeal to the audience. In the beginning, Nate Fisher serves as an allegory for the prodigal son. He leaves home at a very early age and does everything that he can to avoid his family. He moves away to Seattle and spends most of his time there. Once his father dies, he’s forced to stay home to help take care of his family. At first, he’s rejected by his siblings, David especially resents him. The two of them argue quite a bit in the beginning. He also tries to reach out to his sister, Claire. She rejects him as well. Nate and David become closer towards the end of the second season when Nate reveals that he has a potentially life-threatening brain condition called AVM. By the end of the second season, Claire and David have completely accepted him. While Nate’s father is gone, he still longs for his acceptance. Six Feet Under also uses metaphors. The title of the show itself is a metaphor for death. The title sequence shows two hands clasped together and then pulled apart. This could be a metaphor for death or letting go. The introduction also shows a body being prepared for a viewing. In the title sequence, the body is pushed down a hallway with a white light at the end of it as well as an apparition. The white light at the end of the tunnel is a very common metaphor for dying. There is also a shot of the sky which could be a metaphor for heaven. Nearly every episode of Six Feet Under begins with a death. When the death occurs, the screen fades to white, which is another metaphor for death. Perhaps the most powerful metaphor the show left us with was during the season finale. During the finale, Claire leaves the Fisher family to start a life of her own in New York City. As she takes a picture of her family before leaving, she sees an apparition of her dead brother,