Final IRB Post: This I Believe II Pages 59-245

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.

Rhetorical Devices:

• Definition: one author uses the Random House Unabridged Dictionary to define the term "to settle," which essentially sets up the rest of her argument
• Communal Memory:
• NRA
• Liberal vs. Conservative
• the Gap
• Holocaust
• etc...
• Universal Analogies:
• "A bird in the hand is two in the bush"
• Personal Anecdotes: These were used in many of the essays to illustrate their point. These anecdotes ranged from being held up at a red light to being at the foot of her mom's deathbed
• Repetition: Some essays repeated a singular phrase or a word over and over again to stress its importance
• Climax
• Humor
• Contrast: Some authors used contrasting situations to accentuate the benefits of one situation
• Irony
• Anaphora: One essay, which dealt with our roots, used the phrase "each of whom came from" in three successive clauses
• Testimonies

Effectiveness
Each essay included in this book provoked a different response from me. As there were 70-some essays in this book, there was no way that each response was a positive one. In fact, I disagreed with many of the assertions made by some of the authors. There was an essay about settling, rather than pursuing your goals, which raised a red-flag in my mind; no matter how convincing their argument may be, I would have refused to acknowledge this as truth. Even though I disagreed with many of the mindsets reflected in this book, most, if not all, provoked me to either redefine or rediscover my own viewpoints on subjects that I hardly ever think about. In this way, all of the essays were successful.

Rhetorical Analysis of That Old Piece of Cloth:
Frank Miller makes use of contrast in this essay. He begins by introducing his original viewpoint of "that old piece of cloth," indicating that it stands for "unthinking patriotism." He then goes on to describe his newfound love for that piece of cloth, indicating that it now stands for "self preservation." The way in which the author describes the reason for this change of perspective, is what makes this such an effective essay. In this description, he uses pathos, vivid imagery, strong diction, and communal memories such as 9/11 to make the reader sympathize with his views. He states that "thousands of my neighbors were ruthlessly killed" and that terrorists "want us to die". He also creates analogies throughout the piece. The terrorists are like the bad guys he imagines when creating his comic books about Batman. These elements all work synergistically to suggest the idea that America is being targeted and in need of protection. After this idea is established, he proclaims that "you've got to do what you can to help your country survive."
The writer of this essay establishes his credibility early-on. He comes off as a thoughful, non-comformist who uses logic and "indestructible ideas" to formulate his opinions on certain matters. This is done through the brief narration of his childhood and upbringing. This helps readers to become more open to hear his argument. Furthermore, the mindset discussed in the beginning also help to convince the opposition to side with his views. He first offers the opposition's viewpoint and then, throughout the rest of the essay, refutes it, making the essay somewhat of a long refutation. Lastly, Miller ends with a testimony from Ben Franklin that basically asserts that we must all join together if we don't want to perish. All of these elements contribute to the success of the essay.


*I chose to rhetorically analyze just this one story because it's impossible to analyze the whole story considering its comprised of over 70 different essays, each with their own purpose and message