What is the purpose of the argument? What does it hope to achieve?
In Chapter 1 of Laughing Matters, in the section written by Robin Hemley, Hemley explains to the reader that “funny is a matter of perspective,” which is true. Something that may appeal to one person or group of people may not necessarily appeal to another person/group. Hendley hopes to convince the reader that this is true. In the example that he gave about the two women who were discussing how they've known "parents with kids who've lost their front teeth and then have to go their whole lives with fake teeth," although the women’s conversation was not necessarily meant to be funny, to him it was. In this example Hendley proved that you can find humor anywhere. This observation made perfectly good sense to me because I've always been that one person when watching a "scary" movie that laughs hysterically because of the idiotic situations that the characters put themselves in. And although you're not supposed to laugh in a horror flick I do (much to the dismay of my fellow audience members).
What appeals or techniques does the argument use – emotional, logical, and ethical?
By using his own personal experiences (such as the conversation he overheard between the mothers and the reference he made to his daughter being unable to tell knock knock jokes effectively) the author pulls his reader in emotionally, because by allowing the reader to share his experiences the reader is better able to comprehend the point that is being made.
How does the language or style of the argument work to persuade an audience?
The language that Hendley uses also plays a significant role in how the reader interprets what he's saying. Since the author uses a very simple, yet educated language the reader is able to follow exactly what he is saying and there is no question as to what he’s making reference to.
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I really like your reason why you think Hendley uses an emotional argument of writing. At first glance, I would have thought that his technique was a logical style. You will have a really well-written paper when you elaborate on your second point.
ReplyDeleteOn your third point, I would also say that to make the text approachable to a larger, more general audience, Hendley categorizes his topics by basic ideas.
This is an excellent topic proposal and should give you a good start to writing your essay. Make sure that any time you refer to something specific that the writer does, give examples that support your point and make sure you fully develop your explanations of these examples.
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