As human beings one of the things we feel we never have enough of is time. Well what if there was a way to acquire more time by prolonging your own life? The answer to this question is what author Susan McCarthy discusses in her essay “On Immortality.” McCarthy uses several types of appeals to persuade her audience that prolonging human life poses many different complications and moral questions that have yet to be answered. One of the most effective appeals that she uses in her essay is logical appeals because they are based on things such as human evolution and facts. McCarthy uses these appeals to point out that extending a human being’s life may not be as easy as one two three, and what happens after we accomplish this goal, do we stop …show more content…
These questions make the reader think about the information that was presented to them and decide for themselves what the answer should be. In her opening paragraph McCarthy introduces her essay by talking about extending human longevity and eventually becoming immortal without stopping to think if we should or shouldn’t. She ends her paragraph by asking “Is that a perfectly good thing?” (544), by placing this question in the opening paragraph she is getting the readers mind engaged in her essay to start questioning the things their reading. Later in the essay McCarthy starts to ask questions regarding evolution, again these are rhetorical questions. In one instance she is discussing the topic of immortality and what were to happen if we really did achieve it and asks “If we stop dying will our species stop evolving?” (548) This question is harder to answer than just simple yes or no which is why it is so engaging to the reader, it really makes them think about what all the possible outcomes …show more content…
This example is another way in which McCarthy is logically appealing to the reader, she is presenting them with facts about getting older that are hard to ignore. In the essay McCarthy brings up “The fact that we spend such a huge proportion of our health budget in the last few months of our lives.”(549), by telling the reader this she is really putting into perspective how expensive getting old is. As a reader it brings to mind several questions about how we can afford to live longer lives. Would we continue to get older and just take longer to die? If so would we work longer to be able to afford to live longer? These are just a couple that come to mind but the point is, that pointing out facts like that is very effective. Again McCarthy presents the reader towards the end of the essay with the fact that “Everybody dies eventually” (549), which may not seem like a big fact that would blow the reader away; but in an argument about possibly becoming immortal it brings the reader back the fact that we indeed cannot live forever. Having that statement towards the end of essay is almost a final reminder to the reader before they finish reading that immortality is not
Jacob Hosp Mrs.Wachter 8 Literacy May 18, 2017 Do you like a good mystery then check out the book Dead Letter, by Betsy Byars, a fantasy story. When Herculeah finds a note inside a coat, she instantly wants to find out what happened to the person who wrote it. But what she does not know is that everywhere she goes to find new clues she is being stalked by someone who would kill to keep the truth a complete mystery. The theme of the Dead Letter is that Taking risks can help you in the long run.
Stress can be seen in everyone’s life but not everyone reacts to stress in the same way. A friend who just lost his job that helped him cover tuition costs might feel very stressed out. He could have many different potential reactions to his job loss but if one were to apply Lazarus and Folkman’s cognitive theory then he would not be too devastated by this stressful event. With this situation, he would engage in primary appraisal, secondary appraisal and a stress response to tear down the stressful event and figure out what he will do.
Americans are living too long. They are trying to prolong life and delay death. One such person, Ezekiel Emanuel wrote "Why I Hope to Die at 75," and he argues that living too long is a loss (1). He is stating that he does not like this trend. Emanuel does not hope to extend his life as long as possible.
Syeda Ahmed prompt 5 The Awakening AP LIT Mr. Amoroso A modern woman emerging and developing ahead of her time, dealing with the challenges of gaining independence in a time period where woman weren’t human. This is Edna Pontellier’s conflict told in the novel the Awakening by Kate Chopin. Late in her already establish life Edna a wife and mother of two discovers herself to realize she goes against society’s ideals as a woman.
Theme 1: Science "That's because we don't allow them to be like that. We preserve them from diseases. We keep their internal secretions artificially balanced at a youthful equilibrium. We don't permit their magnesium-calcium ratio to fall below what it was at thirty. We give them transfusion of young blood.
Kennedy’s purpose in writing this article seems to both inform about the topic but to persuade the reader as well. He also seemed to intend to be writing for a resistant
In the smoking advertisement by CDC, the message that they are trying to get across is the effects of smoking on people’s lives and health. As commonly known, tobacco is one of the most dangerous drugs in the world; thus, tobacco kills between six and eight million Americans annually. By having Terrie Hall tell her story and show all the ways that smoking has affected her life drastically. Most of the commercials take place in Terries hospital room where she does not have a wig on or her dentures. Terrie persuades the audience that smoking has truly ruined and changed her life forever.
In Jeffrey Kluger, Alex Aciman, and Katy Steinmetz’s article, “The Happiness of Pursuit,” several rhetorical strategies make their argument persuasive for their intended audience. The first technique they employ is clear structure in organizing their piece. In the beginning Kluger, Aciman, and Steinmetz use a hook detailing a historical funnel that paints a picture of how many things in America have risen out of difficulty. Specifically they state, “We created outrageous things just because we could--the Hoover Dam, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Empire State Building, which started to rise the year after the stock market crashed, because what better way to respond to a global economic crisis than to build the world 's tallest skyscraper?” (Kluger,
The ability to divide our attention during cognitively demanding tasks and the allure of technology creates a delicate balancing act that can at times have grave consequences. On September 22, 2006 in Utah, Reggie Shaw placed the fates of James Furfaro and Keith O’Dell, as well as his own upon this deadly scale. Tragically, the lives of James and Keith were lost, and Reggie Shaw’s future would be forever altered by the events and decisions of that day (Richtel 16). In this modern age of technological marvels our attention is vied for in a constant conflict. Frequently in our lives or particularly in our jobs we are called upon to execute mentally demanding and at times dangerous tasks.
Her use of sarcasm and oxymorons challenge the audience’s sense of what is possible, which causes them to more deeply ponder the situation at hand. Florence Kelley wrote her speech with the intention of attacking the dangers of the country’s policies and in the hope of making a difference in the country’s
Over the decades, the topic of the environment has always ended in endless arguments and debates. In Edward O. Wilson’s book The Future of Life, he satirizes two passages about stereotypes of environmentalists and people first critics. Using rhetorical questions, ad hominems, Irony, and logos, Wilson illustrates the unproductive manner of environmentalists. Using ad hominems, both passages mock each other. “Environmental wackos” frustrate Wilson because the environmentalists think they have control over the county.
It is after apocalypse world where all signs of life are extinct. People and animals are starving, and predatory groups of savages wander around with pieces of human bodies stuck in their teeth. It is both oppressive and disheartening. McCarthy sets an atmosphere like one mediately after the world wars. It is not far-fetched to imagine the possibility of such a sad environment today.
Every time the phrase “it would” is repeated the audience recognizes the repetition causing them to keep the focus on the points Kennedy wanted to make. All of the points Kennedy wanted to make happened to be against the actions of the steel industry. This again helps link all of Kennedy’s ideas into one clear section. Similarly using the phrase more difficult, in mind 85 Kennedy uses the rhetorical strategy of anaphora. With the phrase more difficult Kennedy is able to list some of the economic conflicts created by the increase in steel prices.
Some days they go hungry, the weather uproots their lives, and other hindrances place a awful, dark outlook on life. Cormac Mccarthy writes about a disgusting world. It is the dying of lie on the planet, the end of the world. Not only do the gruesome events in the novel led the reader to take an opposing view, but even the setting of the novel
In the essay, “The Death of the Moth”, Virginia Woolf uses metaphor to convey that the relationship between life and death is one that is strange and fragile. Woolf tells the story of the life and death of a moth, one that is petite and insignificant. The moth is full of life, and lives life as if merry days and warm summers are the only things the moth knows. However, as the moth enters it’s last moments, it realizes that death is stronger than any other force. As the moth knew life seconds before, it has now deteriorated into death.