Comparative and Rhetorical Analysis

Comparative and Rhetorical Analysis

Argumentative writing is one of the fields in literature that require a combination of great artistries. Successful and outstanding argumentative articles are relevant to their target audiences, use appropriate tones, and have clear purposes according to Aristotle. In other words, they must have a value and be appealing and engaging to their audiences. However, how can such works be identified? This essay explores the art of distinguishing between excellent and poor argumentative writings using a comparative and rhetorical analysis of four works on the “dark side of technology.” The works include the article “Is Google Making Us Stupid” by Nicholas Carr, the TED talk “Connected, but Alone,” by Sherry Turkle, the spoken word“Touchscreen” by Marshall Soulful Jones, and the scholarly article “The Effect of Technology on Face-to-Face Communication” by Drago. While they pursue different pieces of evidence and approaches to support the premise that humans are in a race against the machine, the works also effectively employ pathos and logos and portray strong ethos, which makes them purposefully, appealing, and engaging.

In “Is Google Making Us Stupid,” Carr suggests that Google is making humans stupid. He effectively uses ethos to persuade his audience to buy into his idea when he laments that the internet is acting to”…supply the stuff of thought, but they also shape the process of thought,” such that, his “mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles.” As such, Carr concludes that, “…what the Net seems to be doing is “chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation. He summarizes his desperation in the saying “Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski (426, Par. 2). In this way, Carr demonstrates effective use of ethos through personal experiences.

Carry’s personal stories come in form of stories. Alongside other tales he uses in his article, Carr demonstrates effective use of pathos. For example, his statement, “Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski” (426, Par. 2) draws sympathy from the audience. In this way, his article is able to appeal to the readers emotionally.

While Carr trades his ideas on the destructions of technology to humans through an article, Sherry Turkle does so through a lecture on TED. In this talk—, “Connected but Alone”—, Turkle is of the view that technology has seen people expect less from each other. She argues that from her research of mobile communications, she has found out that “the little devices in our pockets not only change what we do, but also what we are” (16:55-56).

Turkle demonstrates her ethos by revisiting her extensive credentials and publications. For example, she mentions that before her first TED talk, she had written a book “…that celebrated our lives on the internet and I was about to be on the cover of Wired Magazine” (18:30-31). By retracing her first TED talk in 1966, Turkle also portrays herself as an expert in the lectures and technology—the talk’s subject matter. Turkle’s mentioning of her profession—“as a psychologist—“also does good for her ethos as it does using her personal experiences in the talk.

On the other hand, Turkle’s logos, first, are embedded in her use of examples. One of such cases is when she says today, “…people text, (and) study emails, when on board meetings. They text and study and go on Facebook during classes, during presentations, actually, during all meetings” (16:24-25). The talk’s logos are also grounded on the speaker’s use of precedents particularly her specific personal examples. A good case is when she says, “…my daughter is 20. She is a college student. She sleeps with her cell phone and so do I…”

On pathos, Turkle appeals to her audience emotionally with appropriate connotations and such a moment is when she says, “…I am still excited about technology, but I believe, and I am here to make the case that we are letting it take us where we do not want to go.” Instead of using denotations, for example, simply saying ‘we are letting technology destroy our human contacts,’ she goes for ‘we are letting it take us where we do not want to go.’ By this, Turkle appeals to her audience because of the secondary meanings, undertones, and implication of these connotations.

While “Is Google Making Us Stupid” uses the internet to expose the dark side of technology on humans, “Touchscreen” is a case of robots. A spoken word by Marshall Davis Jones, the poem mainly contends that humans are gradually becoming robots as they are flabbergasted by the world’s technology. One notable thing about this piece is that reading it on paper would leave it ineffective. Jones recitation is so stunning such that it gives the poem life but also grounds its ethos. For example, through his tone and body language, Jones makes the spoken word as if he were a robot using robotic movements and voice, which enhances the poem. One such a moment is when he says, “…now money can buy love for $9.95 a month click to proceed to checkout click to x out where our hearts once were, click I’ve uploaded this hug I hope she gets it click I’m making love to my wife I hope she’s logged in. …” (17:14-15). With such a performance requiring great perfection, it portrays Jones as an outstanding poet and spoken word specialist.

This piece also exhibits sound logos. Inductive reasoning, for example, is notable when the poet combines the Bible story of Adam and Eve and the today’s reality to prove his point. He says, “…from the Garden of Eden to the branches of Macintosh / apple picking has always come at a great cost / iPod iMac iPhone iChat / I can do all of these things without making eye contact…” (1851-53). With his proper diction, here, Jones use the double meaning of “macintosh” and “apple picking” to elaborate how from going out and doing things to being all about what the next product is today, technology has turned people into robots.

Pathos is illustrative in Jones’ diction as he uses words that carry appropriate connotations. In saying, “it used to be hard to connect when friends formed cliques, but it’s even more difficult to connect now that clicks form friends…” ( 18:18-19), for example, Jones uses the homophones, clique, and click, to establish contrast of how technology has replaced human contact. Equally, in the “…from the Garden of Eden…” statement aforementioned, Jones applies assonance and parallel structure with the repetition of the “i” sound, to drive home his point about how the “iProducts” have replaced human interaction.

Lastly, “The Effect of Technology on Face-to-Face Communication” echoes the other sources’ sentiments about the technology by showing that it negatively affects face-to-face communication. On content grounds, the article mirrors “Touch Screen.” However, while “Touch Screen” is a piece of fiction, this dissertation is scientific. Thus, Drago’s ethos derives from the fact that the work is a scientific study report and is based on empirical data. This point is confirmed in the abstract where he says, “In this research, previous studies were analyzed, field observations were conducted, and an online survey was administered to determine the level of engagement individuals have with their cell phones, other technologies and with each other in face-to-face situations.” The fact that the article is scholarly and academic, and hence published in the Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications only adds to its credibility. The only concern is that most undergraduate works are underdeveloped. Thus, Drago’s ethos is grounded on extensive research as well as recognized authorities.

Science deals with facts. As a scientific piece, therefore, this report has a robust ground for its logos. Drago’s logos also draws from his massive use of examples and precedents. A clinical case is of use of examples is when the author argues that because of the negatives of technology, “…some Los Angeles restaurants have banned the use of mobile devices to ensure customers enjoy both their meal and their company” (13, Par. 2).  Precedents refer to specific personal or historic examples, which are largely covered in the article’s literature review.

However, unlike the other sources, it is very difficult to distinguish this dissertation’s pathos. Nevertheless, it should be noted that such may not be Diego’s witness or of this paper, but of scientific works, because most of appeal not through emotions or logic but empirical facts. Diego’s article, thus, and all scientific pieces thrive on presentation of verifiable facts.

Conclusion

All these works share one perspective about technology; it is destroying humans in one way or the other. Contrarily, they appeal and engage their audiences in different ways. “Is Google Making Us Stupid” has sound ethos, logos and pathos same to “Connected, but Alone,” and “Touchscreen.” However, “The Effect of Technology on Face-to-Face Communication” has no pathos ground because it is scientific. Thus, it is safe to argue that all these works are credible and reliable.

Works Cited

Carr, Nicholas. “Is Google Making Us Stupid””They Say / I Say”: the Moves That Matter in Academic Writing with Readings, by Gerald Graff et al., 4th ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2018, pp. 421–529.

Drago, Eily. “The Effect of Technology on Face-to-Face Communication.” The Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications, Vol. 6, No. 1. 2015

http://www.elon.edu/docs/e-web/academics/communications/research/vol6no1/02dragoejspring15.pdf ) Accessed 20/3/2020

Marshall, Soulful, Jones. “Touchscreen.”Youtube. Uploaded by speakeasynyc, Oct 12, 2011https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAx845QaOck. Accessed 20/3/2020

Graff, Gerald. They Say I Say. , 2006. Print.

Turkle, Sherry. “Connected but Alone.” TEDtalk. Uploaded by Tedtalk, February 2012. https://www.ted.com/talks/sherry_turkle_connected_but_alone#t-125386. Accessed 20/3/2020