Rhetorical Analysis Of Road Warrior By Dave Barry
Taylor Johnson
Professor Cernich
English Composition 101
2/13/2012
Humor can be one of the most effective tools to use with persuasion, as it can provide many benefits with very little cost or drawback. Some of the benefits of using humor to communicate an argument include increased attention span, an overall more enjoyable reading experience, not to mention the comfortable environment comedy will give for the writer to communicate their ideas. Enter humor columnist Dave Barry and his essay, “Road Warrior,” which introduces the quality of road rage that is said affect the American public today, and he also sheds a humorous light on how easily people are angered. His use of various techniques in his writing makes his approach to the problem of road rage effective, because humor can make something that is tedious become interesting. The techniques he utilizes include the use of metaphors, rhetorical questions (a figure of speech in the form of a question without the expectation of a reply), capitalized words, sarcasm (a sharp, bitter, or cutting remark; or a bitter taunt), and labeling. Barry’s use of humor in his writing contributed greatly to the overall effectiveness of the essay. Through the use of humor, Barry not only contributes to the overall funny tone of the essay, but he sheds a …show more content…
People have been known to express anger towards various situations in many different ways, most commonly being “flipping the bird.” First, road rage can cause stress while someone travels, which would in turn create health problems. Secondly, road rage can be deadly whether a person is the victim or the offender, as some accidents are known to have been caused by chancy driving due to road rage. Essentially, road rage is an important quality to try to avoid in today’s society for those two very important reasons, and
Professor Cernich
English Composition 101
2/13/2012
Humor can be one of the most effective tools to use with persuasion, as it can provide many benefits with very little cost or drawback. Some of the benefits of using humor to communicate an argument include increased attention span, an overall more enjoyable reading experience, not to mention the comfortable environment comedy will give for the writer to communicate their ideas. Enter humor columnist Dave Barry and his essay, “Road Warrior,” which introduces the quality of road rage that is said affect the American public today, and he also sheds a humorous light on how easily people are angered. His use of various techniques in his writing makes his approach to the problem of road rage effective, because humor can make something that is tedious become interesting. The techniques he utilizes include the use of metaphors, rhetorical questions (a figure of speech in the form of a question without the expectation of a reply), capitalized words, sarcasm (a sharp, bitter, or cutting remark; or a bitter taunt), and labeling. Barry’s use of humor in his writing contributed greatly to the overall effectiveness of the essay. Through the use of humor, Barry not only contributes to the overall funny tone of the essay, but he sheds a …show more content…
People have been known to express anger towards various situations in many different ways, most commonly being “flipping the bird.” First, road rage can cause stress while someone travels, which would in turn create health problems. Secondly, road rage can be deadly whether a person is the victim or the offender, as some accidents are known to have been caused by chancy driving due to road rage. Essentially, road rage is an important quality to try to avoid in today’s society for those two very important reasons, and