Exploring the Text

1. Note three or four examples of highly charged diction in the first two paragraphs. How do those choices and Benjamin Anastas’s use of hyperbole contribute to the tone he establishes right away?

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Exploring the Text: - Note three or four examples of highly charged diction in the first two paragraphs. How do those choices and Benjamin Anastas’s use of hyperbole contribute to the tone he establishes right away?
2. A sensitive reader might say that Anastas commits several fallacies in this short piece. For example, might “Mr. Sideways,” as characterized in paragraphs 3 and 4, be regarded as a “straw man”? Does the speaker “beg the question” in paragraph 5? And does he overgeneralize in paragraph 10? Analyze each of these examples. Does the reader’s determination of them as fallacies depend on the extent to which that reader agrees with Anastas’s position? Explain.

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Exploring the Text: - A sensitive reader might say that Anastas commits several fallacies in this short piece. For example, might “Mr. Sideways,” as characterized in paragraphs 3 and 4, be regarded as a “straw man”? Does the speaker “beg the question” in paragraph 5? And does he overgeneralize in paragraph 10? Analyze each of these examples. Does the reader’s determination of them as fallacies depend on the extent to which that reader agrees with Anastas’s position? Explain.
3. In paragraph 8, Anastas makes a parenthetical statement: “(At least Emerson saw well enough with his transparent eye to criticize both.)” Here “both” refers to “the institution of slavery and the genocide of the Indians.” How does such a “concession” contribute to the effectiveness of his argument? Explain.

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Exploring the Text: - In paragraph 8, Anastas makes a parenthetical statement: “(At least Emerson saw well enough with his transparent eye to criticize both.)” Here “both” refers to “the institution of slavery and the genocide of the Indians.” How does such a “concession” contribute to the effectiveness of his argument? Explain.
4. How would you analyze Anastas’s rhetoric in paragraph 10? Is the paragraph effective? Explain why or why not.

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Exploring the Text: - How would you analyze Anastas’s rhetoric in paragraph 10? Is the paragraph effective? Explain why or why not.
5. How would you describe the overall tone of this piece? How does it contribute to the success of the writer’s argument?

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Exploring the Text: - How would you describe the overall tone of this piece? How does it contribute to the success of the writer’s argument?