Have you ever had a disagreement with someone about a difference of opinion? Sarah Vowell, in her book Shooting Dad, talks about how she has a very different viewpoint on guns. From a young age, she said that she does not like guns, while on the other hand, her father loves them. Vowell encounters obstacles with her father because of their differences but still learns to accept his passions, which proves how differences can be overcome.
Vowell and her father express their own opinions very vividly to each other, which sometimes causes problems. Though Vowell respected her father, she could not understand why the most important things to him were guns. She even mentions “All he ever cared about were guns. All I ever cared about was art”
Even if their ideals and beliefs do not coincide with each other, the attitude and stubbornness about their individual hobbies is exactly the same. In a sense, this home was divided and united at the same time. From the very beginning of Vowell's essay, she depicts a strong sense of discord between her and her father as she explains how different they are. Her father had a strong interest in guns and firearms, while Vowell herself had a strong interest in music and art (par. 6).
Jack Hunter’s “How Gun Control Kills” takes a more logical stance on the current issue of gun control. However, Hunter starts off using pathos, an appeal to emotion, and ethos, appealing to ethics. “Is there an evil worse than killing children?” Hunter asks in the opening paragraph. “Is there anything more heart-wrenching than the feeling of absolute helplessness in our inability to protect them?”
Within American ideals, laws, and opinions concerning gun control, firearms continue to be a critical matter in the government, schools, and communities. Notably, the nation 's government has attempted, and or passed, laws that inhibit guns in some kind of way. Now, generally the issue of gun control is viewed differently by either political parties; liberal Democrats tend to sway towards the side that is in favor of gun control laws, while Conservative Republicans have opposing views about these ideas. Therefore, since our nation is executively governed by Barack Obama, a democrat, the concern around firearm laws have intensified over the past eight years he has been in office.
“Our Blind Spot about Guns” Rhetorical Analysis Essay American Journalist, Nicholas Kristof, in his essay, “Our Blind Spot about Guns”, addresses that if only guns were regulated and controlled like cars, there would be less fatalities. Kristof’s purpose is to emphasize how much safer cars are now than in the past, while guns do not have the same precautions. He constructs a compelling tone in order to convince the reader that the government should take more control on the safety of guns and who purchases them. Kristof builds credibility by successfully exerting emotional appeals on the audience, citing plausible statistics, and discussing what could possibly be done to prevent gun fatalities. Kristof begins his essay by discussing how automobile
For others, a view that has arose later, guns are the “perpetuation of illicit social hierarchies, the elevation of force over reason,” and a promoter of collectivity and remover of individuality. This latter view of guns is a direct application of the conflict theory. For those who hold this view, and likely support the passage of gun control laws, guns are representative of social inequality that is abundant in modern society, that the usage of guns is a means of violently coercing those of lower classes to remain in their class. The view of guns as a symbol of protection is also an application of the conflict theory.
Guns don’t kill people. People kill people. Many believe this, but columnist Nicholas Kristof, author of “Our Blind Spot about Guns,” published in 2014 in the New York Times, disagrees. A rhetorical analysis should consist of: logos, pathos, and ethos. Kristof’s use of logos is strong due to the amount of facts and statistics he offers to his audience, but he fails to strongly use pathos and ethos, due to the lack of these elements Kristof’s argument is weakened.
In modern society, guns are seen as a form of control. Those who have guns are able to overpower those who do not. This trend was set when guns were first invented and has stayed the same throughout history. The one place where guns are not a symbol of power and control is in literature, specifically “The Old Gun” and Hamilton. In Mo Yan’s short story “The Old Gun”, the protagonist is a hungry boy who does not even know how to use the titular firearm.
Sarah Vowell and Annie Dillard both wrote essays about their youth with nostalgia, highlighting the significance of childhood as an innocent and mischievous time in their lives. In Sarah Vowell’s essay “Shooting Dad,” Vowell realizes that despite their hostility at home and conflicting ideologies concerning guns and politics, she finds that her obsessions, projects, and mannerisms are reflective of her father ’s. On the other hand in Annie Dillard’s essay “An American Childhood” Dillard runs away from a man after throwing a snowball at his car, after getting caught she realizes that what matters most in life is to try her best at every challenge she faces no matter the end result. Sarah Vowell’s essay is more effective than Annie Dillard’s because she includes allusions and tones, which juxtaposes warfare and religion with the innocent
She uses powerful quotations from people like John Cotton to pull parallels from there words and make you understand how the Puritans were feeling. Ethos: You see ethos many times throughout Vowell’s story. She uses many historical references to notable people like Martin Luther King and Henry VIII. Vowell gives her explanation and her opinion and then adds the quotation to back her up.
Rhetorical Analysis of Shooting Dad The story “Shooting Dad” by Sarah Vowell discusses a story about a teenage girl and her relationship with her father and how they are constantly clashing with each other because they are almost exact opposites. The author develops her story by creating images in the reader 's mind to describe events that happened in her life, the use hyperbole for comedic relief, and irony for emotional effect. The use of these emotional strategies is effective because Vowell is able to use these strategies to help the readers understand the relationship between her and her father. Overall by the use of strategies like imagery, hyperbole, and irony the author creates a piece of writing that shows the relationship between the main character and her father.
Argumentative Essay In the USA, there is an overwhelming number of children are dying every day, influencing a great deal of money that is spent, while the topic of gun control is discussed as a solution for these events. There is a big talk about deciding if creating more gun control laws is the right decision to prevent more events of gun violence. Everyone knows that gun control laws are not a realistic solution because guns don't kill people. Gun control is not the answer to our nation's number of violent shootings; because most of these shootings happen as a result of mental health struggles and also because there is an overwhelming lack of early crisis intervention screening programs as well as a need for better education for caregivers
A weapon in the wrongs hands is the maximum danger humanity can face. Nowadays, violence and delinquency in society are viewed as the maximum problem solver. Humanity is full of chaos; hate and envy seize our souls. Guns are the ultimate security for some citizens but for others, these add to a feeling of defenselessness. Throughout history, any topic related to guns means a plethora of problems.
Katie Lee British Lit 13 April 2016 Gun Control Research Paper: An Annotated Bibliography Dickerson, John. " Why Newtown Wasn’t Enough." The Slate. The Slate Group, a Graham Holdings Company, 17 Apr. 2013. Web.
The use of and the owning of guns is a very hot and debated topic in society today. For many, this is a life and death debate due to the recent and numerous school shootings. These school shootings have caused an outcry for more gun control, specifically in relation to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. Despite these calls, increased gun control is not the answer. Most gun owners’ use their guns responsibly and for good purposes.
The Gun Control Debate In recent years, there’s not many topics on the political spectrum that aren’t absolutely polarizing. This essay will attempt to show each side’s generalized opinions, and find flaws in each of their arguments, as every ethical argument has flaws. Analyzing each side will help anyone understand their own opinions better, because without the demonization of the opposite party, ethics get much more difficult. Gun control is everywhere in the news right now, as three months into the year, the country has had12 school shootings in 2018. Exploring the ethics of gun control can get messy and emotional, but it’s important to understand all sides of a subject.