Preview

Waitng For Superman Rhetorical Anlaysis Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
691 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Waitng For Superman Rhetorical Anlaysis Essay
Maddy
November 11th, 2013
Waiting For Superman Rhetorical Analysis
Davis Guggenheim is the director of two documentaries examining education in America. His latest one, Waiting for Superman, was released in 2008 focusing on the idea that the American public school system is failing. Mr. Guggenheim even sent his own two sons to private school because he felt so disappointed and pessimistic of the public school system. Although most parents and teachers of the public school system feel the pressure of the rapidly declining organization, he still wishes to inform people about the most pressing issues within the school system. Davis Guggenheim wishes to enlighten his audience through the rhetorical appeals: pathos, logos, and ethos, as he opens up the eyes of the blind in Waiting for Superman, and expresses the issues within the American public school system.

Guggenheim strives to make the documentary an emotional rollercoaster through the stories of the five children. In a personal anecdote from the grandmother of one child, Anthony, she explains that she herself never much cared for school and did not finish because of poor experiences. That disposition transferred to her son, Anthony’s father, who later died from drugs. In order to potentially prevent Anthony from the same fate, she tells how she hopes that he has a better education aiding him to be proud of his success. This heart-clenching remembrance helps us, as viewers, to fully comprehend that the need for education is rising and that the people of our nation recognize it and are pushing their children to strive for the ability to learn from the older generation and live in the world of education.

Guggenheim attempts to advise his audience about the inconveniences in the public school system. He conveys the abomination in many ways. One way he expresses this is by showing his viewers an animated map of the United States and reading scores in every state. Surprisingly, the worst reading

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Sean's Story

    • 745 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The schools are seen in contrasting close-ups. At Ridge, children like Bobby are learning elementary skills that may equip them to find jobs at places like McDonald's or a grocery store when the time comes. At Sparks the attempt is made, with the help of specialist, to bring the new pupil as close as he can come to the level of normal children of his age. I particularly find plenty of disagreements among parents and teachers about which children are being better served.…

    • 745 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    When reading Sherman Alexie’s essay, “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me”, his words, “a paragraph is a fence that holds words” (1), caught my attention. I thought that the analogy is strange, especially coming from someone so young. My first thought was that the phrase implied the connection to how words and ideas function to support the main point of a paragraph. However, after reading the essay, I understood that the fence could represent the societal divisions that make up his world.…

    • 169 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The article “Tarmageddon”, written by Andrew Nikiforuk, elaborates about the negative effects of the tar sands on Canada. In his essay, Nikiforuk mainly makes use of the logos appeal repeatedly to get his point across to the reader. The author also makes use of the other two rhetorical appeals to get to the reader. While the author uses logos in the essay to appeal to the audience, he missuses it as he uses it to appeal to the reader’s emotions rather than using it to make a logical argument. This is shown through his word choices and name calling through the essay.…

    • 868 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jonathan Kozol’s “Fremont High School” describes the tragedies of Fremont High and how the staff and students are affected. Kozol shows Fremont High School a school in LA. He explains the squalor conditions both staff and students have to put up with. He discusses everything from the student count to bathrooms all with supporting details and first-hand accounts. He presents Fremont as a failure of the highest degree for a place of education. He shows the inequality and pathetic conditions at Fremont High. The purpose is to make the school visible for what it is a tragedy for everyone subjected to it."Fremont High School" is engaging, it shows what is happening, painting a picture of the high school with information…

    • 872 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fake and gay. Most people would have the same sentiment about the primary and secondary school systems in America. While the argument against the public school system is often presented to the masses in segmented bits and pieces, John Taylor Gatto attacks the meat of the issue in his essay, “Against School.” A retired teacher of thirty years, he engages readers in a conversational dialogue and outlines the ways the educational system fails to address the age-old question: how do I reach these kids? It turns out that the solution is not to try to reach these kids, but to make these kids reach for the knowledge themselves. By differentiating between the definitions of…

    • 935 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    These two different topics can easily go hand in hand with each other. Some may not realize it but your level of poverty, whether you are in any way poor or whether you are not even close to it, can truly affect your education. When schools are in a poorer district, that can have a drastic effect in the school. They wouldn’t have the same technology or programs as other schools may have. But that doesn’t always mean they can not have the same opportunities as other kids; It’s all about how they make the most of what they have. Both Wes Moore’s grew up in a very poor and dangerous area, but they did not end up the same way. One decided to take charge in his life and became a Scholar, decorated war veteran, and a White House Fellow. His mother worked very hard to allow him to get all the opportunities that he ended with. She worked multiple jobs to provide for her kids to go to private schools. Moore’s mother didn’t allow him to fall into the “thug” lifestyle. She refused to allow her children, and herself, to fall into the lifestyle of those around them. On the other hand, the other Wes Moore did not have as great of a turn out. His mother simply did not have the drive that the other mother did. She allowed her kids to be immersed into the world where violence and crime was okay. Wes’ mother allowed the poverty and crime around consume and define…

    • 508 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the essay, Against School, John Taylor Gatto, expresses his strong belief in middle diction of how students in the typical public schooling system are conformed to low-standard education in order to benefit the society much more than the student themselves; causing schooling to be unnecessary as opposed to education . He believes that children and teachers are caught in extreme boredom as a result of repeated material. This boredom also causes a lack of maturity and independence in the students. Gatto wrote this essay in 2003 which appeared in Harper’s magazine. He gathered these observations during his 30 years of teaching in the best and worst schools of New York City. In 1991, he was named the New York City Teacher of the Year and later on New York State Teacher of the Year. He has written many publications on his experience with being an educator including Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling (1992) and The Underground History of American Education (2001). This essay was most likely written to inform any American reader (student, parent, and teacher) of the reality of our modern schooling, based on Gatto’s use of modes of development and formal diction.…

    • 890 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me, Sherman Alexie shares with his audience his story of when he learned to read at a young age through a Superman comic book. Through stories and memories of his childhood, he explains how Indian children on reservations were expected not to try in school and fail in the non-Indian world. In order to successfully portray his ideas, Alexie uses many rhetorical techniques and ideas. By using these techniques the audience is forced to look more into the writing instead of just being given the direct meaning of what Alexie is trying to share.…

    • 590 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    “The Dark Knight,” a movie directed and produced by Christopher Nolan, depicts the way a system of justice deals with terrorism. If an archetype is defined as a symbol that exists instinctively in the collective consciousness of the human race, the terrorism in Batman The Dark Knight represents an archetype through the violence, murder of the innocent, mayhem and mass destruction. Governments often lay down laws and procedures for a country to function, and to avoid anarchy. The laws promote wellness, equality, and justice, but sometimes even these entities of justice are forced to break the law for a greater good. In contemporary U.S. history, President Barack Obama, the head of one of the most powerful countries in the world, decided to introduce a select team of individuals into Pakistan, in an illegal manner, in order to kill Osama bin Laden, the head of an international Islamic terrorist group known as al-Qaeda. In the movie these two sides of justice are represented by two “knights.” On one side, Batman, who is constantly referred to as the dark knight and on the other Harvey Dent, who is referred to as the white knight. The words “white” and “dark” have two specific connotations, one which brings to mind the concept of light, an archetype that symbolizes purity, justice, hope, and clarity. The other invokes into mind the concept of darkness, an archetype which embodies fear, ignorance, despair, and the unknown. The use of this archetypical antithesis throughout the whole movie is an allusion to the two sides of justice: the “white side” and the “dark side.” Terrorism is represented by the criminal mastermind known as “The Joker,” a cynical clown that is very similar to Islamic terrorists, an archetype of the devil figure. The most prevalent real life terrorist in current world news is Osama bin Laden, the head of al Qaeda. He plans and orders attacks onto specific targets through suicide bombings, representing the notion…

    • 1596 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The scary truth behind Benjamin R. Barber's "America Skips School" is shocking. In an attempt to change society, Barber informs us of the hopeless struggle many indignant youths are facing today, and where they will end up tomorrow. He also stresses the responsibility of teachers and how important their roles are, not only for the future of their students but for the future of the nation as well. The stories are real and Americans should quit ignoring the truth and finally make an effort to end the struggle that their predecessors cannot ignore. Our children need us to moderator them by improving education such as raising teachers' salaries, extending the school year to year-around, or more importantly just taking responsibility.…

    • 689 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Published in 1894, “The Story of an Hour,” has endured longer than the title would indicate and is a declaration of the support of independence for women from its author Kate Chopin. Having read this story before in other courses, and having spoken at length about how Chopin was in support of the idea of woman’s suffrage even before the suffrage movement caught hold, this story leaves a lasting impression and resonates deeper with me every time I read it. Chopin uses her work to illuminate the joy of independence and the oppression that marriage can bring. Whether intentional or unintentional, her message is not only meant for women but, extends to men as well. It is a timeless theme that anyone can learn from in every age. By her use of various literary elements such as, structure, and style, and the use of rhetorical devises such as pathos Chopin creates a work that provokes deeper though and asks a reader to delve into the emotional struggle of her character Mrs. Louise…

    • 679 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    John Gatto’s “Against School” is a persuasive essay arguing both the ineffectiveness and negative outcomes of today’s public school system. Not only does Gatto provide credibility with his experience as a teacher, but he also presents historical evidence that suggests that the public school system is an outdated structure, originally meant to dumb down students as well as program them to be obedient pawns in society. Fact and authority alone do not supplement his argument. Gatto also uses emotional appeals, such as fear and doubt, to tear down the reader’s trust in the schooling system. Although it may seem to be so, Gatto’s argument is not one sided. He also offers suggestions to make the educational system more efficient at the hands of positive reinforcement and the employment of more motivated teachers. Through the effective application of ethos, logos, and pathos, John Gatto provides a well-rounded argument against the public school system that would cause any reader to question the goals of modern schooling.…

    • 1386 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Superman And Me

    • 907 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Intolerance on the basis of color, gender, religion, sexual orientation, social status, wealth, and other factors has caused the undue suffering of millions around the world. Even as early as the colonial era, Native Americans have been a prominent target of discrimination; the treatment of the American Indians portrays how modernization can open the door to oppression. Sherman Alexie, a Spokane author, illustrates how past prejudice continues to obstruct his fellow people from attaining success. The underlying theme in Alexie’s writing is his cognizant awareness that intolerance left unchecked makes oppression inevitable. In "The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me,” he tells the story of how he developed his love of reading, and how he uses his gifts to challenge the boundaries that society has set for…

    • 907 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Critically evaluate how the principles and approaches of your school meet the holistic needs of every child…

    • 2384 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Superman And Me Essay

    • 546 Words
    • 3 Pages

    This essay “Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie was about how he learned to read. For Alexie, he picked up the habit of wanting to read from his father. He explains how long before he could even read he would pick up his father’s books and just look at them. Looking at how the books were structured allowed him to grasp the concept of books and paragraphs but it also allowed him to relate it to his own life. He looked at his own life, his family and thought about how they are each like their own little paragraph. The very first time he started to read was with a superman comic when he was a younger kid. Throughout his essay he talks little about learning to read from the comic book but more of how hard it was to fit in wanting to be a smart indian. He felt it was hard growing up because indians didn’t approve of him being smart, they were supposed to be stupid to society. But it was the books, and ambition to read…

    • 546 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays