Blink: Beauty of Snap Decisions

Accredited journalist, Malcolm Gladwell, delves into the hidden truth behind the subconscious mind and explores the psychological process of intuitive thinking, both good and bad, in the novel Blink. Gladwell’s purpose is to exploit how the unconscious works and to expose the connection between your intuition and the real world which helps educate the reader on how to develop advanced decision making skills. He adopts an informative and passionate tone in order to establish credibility with his older audience and emphasize his dedication toward his works. Through the use of rhetorical questions and repetition, Gladwell demonstrates that a thin-slice of information can be used to deduce deeper comprehension.

Society is stocked full of various trends and epidemics. To many, the way in which these trends start is a mystery. As members of a society, we often subconsciously take part in these patterns without questioning our participation. Therefore, people continue to ignore the drastic changes in society, and the reasons why they occur so swiftly. There is a lack of motivation to take a step back and inquire about society as a whole, and rethink one’s actions. In The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell effectively discusses and analyzes how and why ideas spread throughout societies using the rhetorical appeals, ethos, pathos and logos.

uses the rhetorical devices of paradox, symbolism and the rhetorical appeal of pathos in his novel

Many persuasive authors, such as Martin Luther King Jr. and John F Kennedy, utilize a variety of rhetorical devices to clarify and balance ideas, and to appeal to human emotions. One of the devices they applied to their literary works was parallelism, which is the repetition of word, phrases, clauses, or sentences that have the same grammatical structure or the same meaning. The second device, antithesis, is a form of parallelism that emphasizes strong contrasts. These devices are both used in “Inaugural Address” by John F. Kennedy and in “Letter from Birmingham City Jail”, by Martin Luther King Jr. to accentuate ideas and create a pleasing cadence.

In the article from Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv the use of rhetorical strategies happens with small stories. Louv tells stories in his article to develop his argument. The use of these

Rhetorical devices are used to strengthen writing and add dimension. When used properly, they add layers of complexity to any prose as well as further evidence for an argument. No one understood this better than Upton Sinclair. Four strong rhetoric devices are periodicity, the Rule of Three, metaphor and rhetorical questions. Sinclair masterfully demonstrates these in a speech featured in his novel, The Jungle.

In our poem “Dear America, the Land of the Free” and other writings and speeches, rhetoric helps to powerfully convey a message to an audience. The more powerful the argument is, the more likely the audience is to spread the message to others and attempt to make changes in support of the message. The most effective literature and speeches are strewn with various rhetorical devices, as these devices cause the message to become clearer and more powerful. We see authors using rhetorical techniques to convey a message in each text we discussed in class. For example, “The Declaration of Independence” uses logos and parallelism to convince the King of Great Britain and the American people of the King’s wrongdoings and the necessity of American independence. The author, Thomas Jefferson

A specific rhetorical device that Douglass encompasses in his piece is the element of rhetorical questions. Throughout the entire piece, he uses the specific technique to make his audience of lawmakers stop and question their beliefs. Rhetorical questions evoke emotional reactions and is an effect way to make people of opposing views

One of the most notable uses of rhetoric is Jefferson’s skillful intertwinement of tone and pathos. Like others who have used rhetoric in their writing, Jefferson weaves multiple aspects together

One rhetorical device in this paragraph was his point of view. He is talking in the first person. This supports his purpose because it shows that he is standing up for what is right. Another rhetorical device was the time the letter was written. It was written from Birmingham Jail in 1963. One structural device would be the way he is using his past experiences. This shows the reader what he has been through and gives them a better understanding of how he feels.

Abigail Adams uses several rhetorical strategies in her letter that she wrote to advise her son on the many things he will face in life. Whether it be times of misfortune, negative critique, or even moments of uncertainty. Abigail utilizes certain rhetorical strategies like developing in difficult situations, responsibility, and incorporating people in which John Quincy greatly respects and admires.

In The Declaration of Independence there are multiples examples of rhetoric. Many of these examples are hard to find and at the same time there are some that are very easily noticed. Thomas Jefferson as well as Congress wrote the Declaration of Independence in a time of tension. The Declaration was written in order to persuade the king as well as loyalists to the king that they should have unalienable rights. He accomplished this persuasion while being passive aggressive at the same time.

Rhetorical devices are often turned to because of how effectively they are able to convey ideas--Henry, Paine, and Jefferson being prime users of them. Often times, these devices are used to make ideas clearer or to provide insights for the audience. These techniques allowed Henry, Paine, and Jefferson to illustrate their hatred towards the British and effectively influence their audience to feel the same. As a result, the audience is able to be easily manipulated by their impassioned appeals. Rhetorical devices such as antithesis and repetition are commonly utilized within their works in order to push their audience to formulate strong opinions against the British.

Rhetorical device (can use diction, sentence structure, grammar, etc) and/or Logical Fallacies: Identify 5 Rhetorical devices or Logical Fallacies in each chapter and discuss what effect it has on the tone, message, etc – in other words, what is its significance?

“Blink” by Malcolm Gladwell is a book about how we think without thinking, about choices that seem to be made in an instant – in the blink of an eye – that actually aren’t as simple as they seem. The book deals with the smallest components of our everyday lives—the content and origin of those instantaneous impressions and conclusions that spontaneously arise whenever we meet a new person or confront a complex situation or have to make a decision under conditions of stress.