Rhetorical Strategies in Butler’s “phylosophe” and Brook’s “Honor Code”
Judith Butler and David Brooks both use the similar method of telling a story at the beginning to convince their audience that what they are saying is true. Judith Butler, a philosopher, in a youtube interview, “phylosophe” (2007), argues that society has a severely deep fear relating to gender norms. Meanwhile, David Brooks, a columnist, in “Honor Code” (2012), from The New York Times claims that the education system is to blame for the increase of males failing each year, not the males themselves. While Butler tells an anecdote, Brooks uses an allusion which both are stories that get the audience involved, appeals to pathos and logos, which is when the author tries to affect the audience’s personal feelings and tries to persuade the listener through deductive reasoning, and uses tone, the attitude of the speaker and the effects it has on the audience. Butler begins by …show more content…
It demonstrates the problem he will be covering later in his article, “Henry V is one of Shakespeare's most appealing characters. He was rambunctious when young and courageous when older. But suppose Henry went to an American school. By about the third week of nursery school, Henry’s teacher would be sending notes home saying that Henry ‘had another hard day today,’” (1). The audience can relate to this character because he is being labeled as the typical young male, the one who gets in trouble regularly. Brooks makes an allusion to Shakespeare’s character because he believes it will entertain the audience more since it is not just any boy. When he says, ‘had another hard day,’ it is hinting that the problem he will discuss later on is about teenager boys having difficulties in school. For now, Brooks is just making his audience want to read more about how the boy’s behavior is the reason for him having problems in