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Rhetorical Analysis Of 'Richer And Poorer Accounting For Inequality'

Decent Essays

Rhetorical Analysis of the Essay “Richer and Poorer Accounting for Inequality”
Jill Lepore’s essay “Richer and Poorer Accounting for Inequality” was published in The
New Yorker on March 16th, 2015. This essay accurately portrays the economic and financial imbalance between the rich and poor in America and the struggle for a solution. Jill Lepore expertly uses multiple strategies of rhetoric in order to capture and relate to her audience. She is able to incorporate stories as well as facts to aid in reaching the audience. This essay is primarily directed towards the literate middle class, however Ms. Lepore is able to encompass people of all financial backgrounds using logos, ethos, and pathos.
Jill Lepore begins the essay by using powerful information that provides evidence backing her claim. By incorporating evidence into her writing, this is a demonstration of a powerful rhetorical device. Evidence shows the audience the purpose behind the writing, as well as the factual basis. Jill Lepore builds credibility by using ethos in order to bring forward strong evidence involving facts. One of the sources that she uses is the Gini index. The reason that the
Gini index is such a powerful motivator is that it shows the extreme divide between the 1% and the 99%. Jill Lepore introduces reliable information showing the financial divide that citizens are continuously faced with “the United States has regularly had the highest Gini index of any affluent democracy” (Lepore 1). This is

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