Fraye

Mitchell Fraye

Professor Beadle

English 115

September 27, 2018

Rhetoric and the Importance of Writing

Communication and the art of language is arguably one of the most important tools that

mankind has discovered. Relaying thoughts, ideas, and emotions has allowed us to expand

beyond our native instincts and allowed us to develop fully into the complex culture and

society of the twenty-first century. Our ability to shape language and our ability to inspire and

affect one another with language is important. This manipulation of composition and

expression has allowed writers to use rhetorical strategies to express and relay their ideas for

their audiences. Specifically, the use of space in regard to writing has become important for

these authors to articulate and further express meaning in language. This can be physical or

conceptual, as everything from the format of the literature to the mindset of each individual

audience member will change their interpretation of the communicated material. This has

allowed writers to communicate according to the environment, as it can change the interaction

and overall effect that both the writer and reader exchange through language. Overall, Space

and other rhetorical strategies are very important in modern persuasive writing and our ability

to influence each other.

In the Articles “What Suffering Does” by David Brooks, “Living with less. Alot Less.” by

Graham Hill, and “How Happy are You? and why?” by Sonja Lyubomirsky, we see three

separate authors use different spaces to express and argue thoughts about happiness and

contentment. They all approach rhetoric from different directions, all trying to persuade our

viewpoint on happiness and how we can change our levels of it. Brooks uses historical

references and ethical applications to show that their suffering, both physically and

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emotionally, will allow people to live a happier lifestyle. Hill's article uses narrative and

personal anecdotes to talk about physical space and the relationship of your environment and

your emotions. It argues that breaking away from materialism and a less materialistic lifestyle

will help you to lead a more fulfilling life. In a less argumentative theme, Lyubomirsky breaks

down happiness logically, using personal interviews and mathematics to discover healthier

ways of becoming happy. She also discusses different aspects of behavior, goal-setting,

mindset, physical and emotional triggers, and how they can help lead that happier life. These 3

articles manipulate space and rhetorical strategies to draw conclusions on how to live more

prosperous and content lives.

David Brooks attempts to question the idea of maximizing happiness in his article. He

argues that living through suffering, it will allow yourself to have more empathy and sympathy

for others, and overall live a happier lifestyle. His main evidence supporting this claim is

historical examples that draw conclusions based upon the specific events and history and their

motivations behind them. One anecdote was that Brooks believed that the destruction and pain

of the civil war was important for Abraham Lincoln to emerge and help end the war. “He

emerged with this sense that there were deep currents of agony and redemption sweeping not

just through him but through the nation as a whole, and that he was just an instrument for

transcendent tasks” (Brooks, 286). As the American government was feeling the torment of

fighting each other, his suffering allowed him to be more compassionate later in his life (shown

in his second inaugural address and policy later in his life.) Another argument spoke about the

physical suffering of the Polio disease and how it made Franklin Roosevelt to be a more

sympathetic president and create more humane policies. Brooks also appeals to his own

credibility on the subject, as his diction and tone shows confidence and expertise. The evidence

and strategies shown in his article are used to prove his argument that suffering, and anguish

overall allows a growth of character and a happier situation later in life. He suggests that this

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torment can be either physical or emotional, and that we can transform our emotional space and

character through the overcoming’s of those hardships. Although useful, his rhetorical strategies

is hard to follow at times and risks using fallacies (slippery slope, straw man, and false

reasoning).

Graham Hill argues that living with less belongings, and overcoming our societal need for

physical wealth, will allow us to be more content with ourselves and our situation. By using

personal anecdotes, narrative, and hypothetical scenarios, he tries to persuade the reader by

appealing to their emotional side and connecting them to his personal story. He starts his article

by describing his current living situation, and his transition from owning a lot to owning a little.

He tries to use emotional imagery and diction, so the reader can imagine the scenario of his

living situation and relate it to their own. He would use powerful wording and phrases to create

an emotional response, and to prove his point of having an anti-materialistic lifestyle. “Somehow

this stuff ended up running my life, or a lot of it; the things I consumed ended up consuming me”

(Hill, 308). That quote allows Hill to connect with people who have been in the same place or

have had the same feeling; the feeling that someone else is controlling their life. His article is

based upon the relationship of your physical environment and your happiness and your stress

levels. Hill suggests that changing your physical space and the number of things you surround

yourself with, is important as “material objects have a tendency to crowd out the emotional needs

they are meant to support” (Hill, 313). Overall, he argues that changing your physical space and

your interactions with tangible objects will help your contentment and happiness throughout your

life. His appeal to emotion is very successful in my opinion, as he uses powerful imagery and

tone to persuade the audience.

Sonja Lyubomirsky has a Ph.D in social psychology from Stanford and has published many

written works on the subject of happiness and its influences on the mind. She has a lot of

credibility as a expert on this subject and has allowed herself to become an active member

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in this field of research. In this article “How Happy are You and Why?”, she tries to

explore what factors go into happiness and what steps can be used to increase happiness in

their lifetime. Using the scientific method, statistical ideas, personal interviews, and a

strong, educated diction, she suggests that changing your behavior and your mindset, as

well as setting more goals and other activities will allow you to have an increase of

happiness with your mind and your life. She starts out her article with interviews of people

who call themselves happy and asks how and why they believe so. This is all analyzed

through a mathematical approach she calls the “subjective happiness scale.” She uses this

research and creates her personal definition of happiness to compare and relate it to the full

article and study. “I use the term happiness to refer to the experience of joy, contentment,

or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one's life is good, meaningful, and

worthwhile” (Lyubomirsky, 184). This creates a solid foundation for a term that is usually

relative from person to person. She follows up with different questions to the interviewers

to debunk popular ideas about being happy in our modern society. As final evidence for her

study, she talks about how genetics play into overall happiness in one's life, and how

environmental triggers can affect a term she calls your “happiness set point.” Overall, while

using knowledgeable and professional diction, she concludes her argument that although

genetics do play a role in your “happiness set point”, changing behavior and

physical/mental space can allow for a positive influence on how happy you are. Her in-

depth and large appeal to logic and credibility makes her argument very strong, and her

conclusions from her study seem very valid.

As represented in all 3 articles, rhetoric and the art of language is an important tool we use to speak

to one another. Space can have lasting effects on the way we communicate with one another and

the way it affects ideas and/or thoughts. A genius idea is not important if not shared and applied

with others, and effective communication is very important in our ability to comprehend and

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understand them. These 3 authors use a variety of techniques and evidence in order to argue points

involved in happiness. Although they have varying levels of effectiveness, they all attempt to use

different strategies and different appeals to humanity and creating good argument. This can include

emotion, credibility, logic, and space and delivery. They all suggested that we should all transform

different aspects of space, and how that will help us live more fulfilling and meaningful lives. The

ability to manipulate language is important to every human being, and the ability to recognize,

analyze, and create arguments is an essential part of being successful in the modern world.

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Work Cited

Brooks, David. “What Suffering Does.” Pursuing Happiness, edited by Matthew Parfitt and

Dawn Skorczewski, Bedford St. Martins, 2016, pp.284-287

Hill, Graham. “Living with Less. A lot Less.” Pursuing Happiness, edited by Matthew Parfitt and

Dawn Skorczewski, Bedford St. Martins, 2016, pp. 308-313

Lyubomirsky, Sonja. “How Happy are you and Why?” Pursuing Happiness, edited by Matthew

Parfitt and Dawn Skorczewski, Bedford St. Martins, 2016, pp. 179-197.

Sherman, Jeremy E. “The Secret to Happiness and Compassion: Low Expectations.” Psychology

Today, Sussex Publishers, 2014,

www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ambigamy/201408/the-secret-happiness-and-compassion-lo

w-expectations.

Picicci, Jen. “How Expectations Undermine Our Relationships & Happiness.” Tiny Buddha, 13

Jan. 2016, tinybuddha.com/blog/how-expectations-undermine-our-relationships-and-happiness/.

Bemer, Amanda Nicold Metz, "The Rhetoric of Space in the Design of Academic Writing

Locations" (2010). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 752.

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Work Cited

Mountford, Roxanne. “On Gender and Rhetorical Space.” Rhetoric Society Quarterly, vol. 31,

no. 1, 2001, pp. 41–71. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3886401.

Matajc, V. Neohelicon (2014) 41: 3. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11059-013-0217-6