This I Believe 2: Pages 1-59

Summary/Author:
This book is a collection of essays from Americans throughout the nation. The topic and "prompt" of this issue is: "What would you say in five hundred words to capture a core principle that guides your life?". The book includes around 75 different three to four page essays written by a diverse selection of people. The authors of this book range from the famous, such as: Pulitzer Prize winners, professional athletes and singer, to your ordinary diner waitress. In this section, I read essays about integrity, sexuality, memories, relationship, and what it means to be American.

Context:
The title of this book comes from a segment on National Public Radio, in which people talk about their unique (and often not so-unique) life experiences. The overwhelming success of the segment led to the creation of the first edition of This I Believe, which became a New York Times' Bestseller. The positive feedback for first edition, probably allowed and prompted this second edition to be released.

Purpose:
The purpose of this book was to give an opportunity for people to express their own opinions and convictions about life, as well as for others to hear, reflect, and perhaps apply these teachings into their own life.

Audience:
All of the essays that I've read thus far were written by Americans. The use of communal memories, such as the U.S court system, typical family, and American born cliches indicate that these essays were written for Americans. However, in the introduction of this book, one editor claims that these essays are as much for the writers as they are for the readers, for they allow writers to explore an come to terms with some of the experiences they've had and examine its impact on their life.

Rhetorical Devices:

• Repetition
• Contradictory language
• Humor and Irony
• Every essay included pathos of some kind. One of which sought to explore the implications of the death of a child on their life, which is sure to provoke an emotional response from readers
• Strong diction which every American can relate to in some way (i.e Yankees, terrorists)
• Imagery. In an essay about applying the behavior of his dog in his own life, the author used vivd descriptions to allow the reader to imagine his actions.

Effectiveness:
I would say most of these essays had some impact on the way I see things making the strategies they used effective, some more than others. The ones that were most inspiring/thought-provoking placed a strong emphasis on pathos and the use of humor and irony though.