Backpacks vs Briefcases

In Backpacks vs Briefcases by Laura Carroll the main idea is focused on analyzing rhetoric. It begins with an introduction, stating that the typical human being is very observant especially when meeting someone for the first time. These certain things that we tend to notice or draw our attention about someone tend to hold biases that we weren’t even aware of, leading to our minds persuading us on how we should even view an individual, and all of this happens before a person even speaks. Now even though we tend to get ahead of ourselves often, this isn’t the only form of rhetoric that follows us around our everyday lives. A majority of us were taught in high school what in the world rhetoric is and how to analyze it, we don’t typically analyze things rhetorically immediately, or even at all for that matter. Carroll goes on to state that although analyzing a rhetorical situation is a very important first step, the biggest thing is whether or not “you really understand the argument”. Of course even though Carroll started to divulge in a setting where one needs to analyze an article or structure an essay, this could be used in simple topics today such as commercials, small talk with colleagues, advertisements on social media. Now to truly understand an argument, the obvious ethos, pathos, and logos that we were all taught in school come to be picked out of a line-up. Simple rhetorical devices can’t be the only things we analyze, we must ask ourselves important questions such as “Does the rhetoric attempt to manipulate in anyway?”.If so how? Now the biggest thing that stuck to me that Carroll pointed out at the end of her article is why we should even do this type of analyzing anyway, especially when we aren’t even forced to anyway. She closes her article with “Individuals who understand rhetorical analysis and act to make a change can have a tremendous influence on their world.”