Fast Food Nation Rhetorical Analysis

Human beings have always gravitated toward competition and success – from the first wars of the earliest humans, to the fierce franchise wars of the twentieth century’s prospering fast food industry. Eric Schlosser defines and analyzes what it means to be successful in one of the world’s greatest industries throughout, but particularly in the fourth chapter of his book, Fast Food Nation. Through his argument, it is clear, that Schlosser believes there is a sizeable gap between the success of those at the top and bottom of the fast food industry. Schlosser includes a great variety of rhetorical techniques to convince the audience of his claim. By using conflicting points of view, irony, tying in religious references, and giving anecdotes, Schlosser is able to effectively prove that success is not attainable for all fast-food workers.

The various viewpoints that Schlosser presents are essential to his argument as they illustrate the gaps between achievement and failure in the fast food industry. Schlosser notes that, when a restaurant owner takes his crew to a conference meant to teach techniques to the average workers by upper-class business professionals, “The Little Caesars employees…have never seen anything like this before” (105). The

By providing conflicting viewpoints, using irony, tying in religious references, and giving anecdotes, Schlosser proves that success is not equally attainable for every fast-food worker, but is restricted to those on top. By narrowing down his argument to the general principles of success and failure, Schlosser provokes intense emotion and understanding in the reader. He successfully teaches that success is made by the individual, but that it is generally unattainable for the common worker in the fast food industry, because the gap between those who make it and those who don’t is too large and