Rhetorical Analysis of "make Love Not War"

Rhetorical Analysis of "Make Love Not War"

The established columnist, Kathleen Parker, presents her views and opinions on who takes the responsibility for drunk sex. She begins by stating the known issue, then presents her questions for the reader, and finally ends strongly on her opinion, which she entirely believes to be correct. Throughout the article, she effectively uses the strategies of giving details, allusions, and diction to support her tone of condoning foolishness.

A popular rhetorical device this columnist uses is giving details one can relate to. This makes it easy for the audience to connect with the message she is trying to portray. When parker says, "men have more responsibility because they are physically stronger…" she intends to ease the reader into sharing her same opinion by stating well-known facts. It is a logical statement that even the dimmest of people know to be true. This strategy shows its face again when she says, "few males charge females with rape…" It takes a person with a tad more education to know this to be fact, but they start to think about how this is true and make sense, furthering their opinions about this topic to lean more to Parker's side. Connecting the reader with logic reveals that she is not only condoning foolishness, but also making it appoint to show that many people can relate to these fact-based situations.

Further down in the article, allusions seem to be the prominent strategy. Her reason behind using this device to get her tone across is to again connect the reader, but in a different manner. Instead of having the audience relate to factual information, Parker now does it on a more personal level using common situations and experiences. However, since she is alluding to the college life (and beyond), it may be a bit more challenging for younger readers to comprehend. But nonetheless, this article was primarily targeted for adults.