University:
California State University, Northridge
Course:
ENGL 208 | Creative Writing
Academic year:

2021
Views:

107

Pages:

2
Author:

Accinkiquicpqw

Rhetorical Analysis Essay In the article, “America Needs its Nerds”, the author, Leonid Fridman expresses his perspective about the issue of how American idolizes social skills and physical abilities and overlooks the importance of academic and intellectual means. Fridman establishes his argument by implementing emotion through pathos and strong word choice to fight the dilemma of America’s anti-intellectual society. From the start, Fridman appeals to pathos by providing a distinct image of how nerds are viewed at the time. A geek is “compared to a freak biting the head off of a live chicken” (Fridman 9). The author evokes emotion through the harshness of this analogy and also the intentional diction: “freak”, which sticks out, and catches the attention of the reader. This analogy was deliberately used to hook in the reader to evaluate the reasoning behind his argument, and yearns that they will listen for his reasoning on this matter. Additionally, later on in the article the author includes other sentences that evokes emotions for the readers, appealing to pathos and implementing rich diction that uplifts his argument. Leonid wants the reader to understand the struggles nerds endure and that there needs to be a stop to the “haunt[ing of] the bright kids with thick glasses from kindergarten” (Fridman 9). The use of the word haunt shows that the ridicule these individuals get undoubtedly affects them and they are underappreciated when they should be uplifted. Not only that, it provides an image that makes is seem almost realistic for the little kid. The image he creates could provide a connection to the reader, thus giving his argument a boost in development, possibly persuading the perspective of the reader. Furthermore, in the first half of the article, Fridman repeatedly uses strongly connotated words that add to the emotional appeal that his argument needs. For example, he continually adds how nerds are “ostracized”, yet the word he uses to describe how America views physical prowess is “idolized”. Also, nerds are labeled as “deprived”, “social outcasts”, and “ashamed”. These words were intentionally weaved in to accentuate the pain nerds endure and how intelligence is overlooked and looked down on by others. On the other hand, physical and social prowess is awarded. Overall, the words chosen by the author were to accent the way nerds are viewed in America’s culture, and Fridman does this for the ambition that his readers would be persuaded to join this call to action. In conclusion, the author Leonid Fridman primarily uses pathos and diction to evoke emotion in the reader to uplift his argument in the inclining dilemma of our anti-intellectual society. Fridman uses these rhetorical devices to highlight this dilemma and how he aims for the readers to help to stop it with their acceptance in his argument.