Sarah Vowell's Shooting Dad

“Shooting Dad,” by Sarah Vowell, is about two completely different groups, with contrasting views, that can learn to get along with one another. The reader learns through unsubtle clues that Vowell is a Democrat and her father is a Republican. These collective groups offer completely different viewpoints on many topics, therefore Vowell has a hard time getting along with her father. Vowell is not a strong supporter of guns; however her father has magazine subscriptions devoted to gun ownership, owns many guns, and belongs to an association for gun enthusiasts. Each group had their own areas devoted toward their favorite candidates and used the kitchen and living room for neutral zones. Vowell and her father both share the trait of a messy work area, but in their own way. Her father’s work area, in the shop, consisted of a “museum of death,” that displayed antler from deer that he had previously shot and metal shavings from ammunition covering the surface of the floor. Vowell spent her free time in the music room, which had musical instruments and staff paper covering her available surfaces. Vowell decided her opinion on all firearms when she was six years old. After shooting it once, she knew that guns were not made for her use. She disliked the gun so much that she whispered to it the gun as if it were a possession of Satan as soon as it went off. Years later her father completed a replica of the Big Horn Gun. It was a cannon that was used by white merchants

In “Confessions of a Liberal Gun Owner” by Justin Cronin, he uses logos, ethos, and pathos to discuss the pros and cons on the much debated topic of gun laws and ownership. His intent is to inform the readers of his view on the topic and why he appreciates and accepts gun usage.

Shooting Dad, by Sarah Vowell, is a story about the author's relationship with her dad, herself, and guns. Not being a huge fan of guns, as much as her father is, she continues to live with her father in a "divided house,'' confirming that one of them is republican and another is democratic. Instead of the author starting off the story with " i am a gunsmith's daughter,'' she created a short explanation of both point of views, herself and her father, allowing the audience to have a better understanding of the situation. This , of course, is effective to the reader to capture a sense or feel into what the author is trying to express with statement as '' a home for the civil war'' or ''hunter's orange was never my color.''

In today's world, for most people, it is hard to feel safe walking down the street. Linda Hasselstrom, in an excerpt from her essay Land Circle, explains her reasons and thinking behind becoming a licensed gun holder and why she feels that this is necessary. With Hasselstroms strong personal connection to this topic, she achieves powerful ethos within her storytelling, and combines it with effective emotional word choice to create a strong argument on why she needs a gun to feel safe in today's society.

Woods’ novel raises questions about the effects gun violence has on communities, which leads into how it can have negative mental effects on children, and how more laws should be passed for the expansion of

Sarah Vowell’s essay, Shooting Dad, is a story about how Vowell does not see eye-to-eye with her family. Vowell is interested in music while her dad is interested guns. Vowell is predominantly Democratic and her father is Republican. Even though Vowell’s father is on the different end of the political spectrum, they are both very patriotic. Vowell takes the First Amendment to heart while her dad lives by the Second Amendment, the right to bear arms. Vowell’s father is also a gunsmith, so guns have become his lifework. When Vowell and her sister Amy were both younger they shot guns for their first time. In addition, Vowell doesn’t have the same interests as Amy. When Vowell and Amy shot the guns, Amy enjoyed shooting the guns and Vowell wanted

The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution entitles citizens the right to possess and bear arms; which has continually been an important issue for decades. Gun control is not just one concern, but rather many, within a common category. One may consider gun control a crime issue, while to others it may be a rights issue. Inside each and every issue, there are particular people who want more gun control legislation, and those who want less. Dorothy Samuels does a phenomenal job of portraying her stand on gun control through the use of ethos, logos, and pathos, in her article, “Wrong on Gun Rights”. Samuels utilizes the rhetorical strategies in order to persuade the audience into agreeing with her views.

In Sarah Vowell’s essay, Shooting Dad, there are many examples of hyperbole, but one that caught my attention was where she explains her father’s shop being a messy disaster area, a labyrinth of lathes (p.2, 7). She is implying that her father’s workshop resembles a maze, meaning that it is large and unorganized with metal and wood machines. An understatement found in this essay was when she explains how her father wants to die and she describes it in a nonchalant matter. Usually you figure people would mourn for their parents but Vowell writes it as, “When my father dies, take a wild guess what he wants done with his ashes. It requires a cannon.” He wants to take his last hunting trip on open morning. The essay also has examples of humorous tone such as, “I taped the front page of the newspaper on the refrigerator door. But there was some sort of mysterious surge in the kitchen. Somehow, that picture ended up in the trash all the way across the room (p.2, 5).” We can imply that the mysterious surge was her father and he threw the newspaper in the trash as a sign of disagreement.

In the article “A peaceful Woman Explains Why She Carriers a Gun,” the author Linda M. Hasselstrom has a credible argument for carrying a gun. Hasselstrom has a solid ethical appeal and her argument had logic based on her many dangerous personal experiences. Although her article is credible, she uses many fallacies to make it seem that if women have a gun they can protect themselves from men.

Sarah Vowell’s “Shooting Dad” discusses the relationship between a daughter and father. Engaged in a lifelong opposition to her father’s politics, interests, and his work, Vowell discovers just how much she actually has in common with him. Throughout her adolescent years, she was her father’s polar opposite. Her room was littered with musical instruments, albums, and Democratic campaign posters while her father’s, an avid gunsmith, was strewn with metal shavings and Republican party posters. Amongst all this conflict, Vowell found that they had more in common with each other than either of them realized. As she looks back on her childhood, Vowell explains that although it may take a while to see and understand others’ perspectives, once you

There are many debates about gun violence and gun control, but no one can really find the common ground to stop the violence. Mallory Simon is an experienced writer who makes it aware that the people need take the shootings more literal than just brush them aside. She argues that there is a need for steps to be put into place to stop the reoccurrence of gun violence within our communities. She developed an article about the ongoing debate about gun violence, called “Gun Debate: Where is the Middle Ground?” She uses the emotional point of view from those that are affected by the violence, to show their concern and struggles they face in their lives to prevent the shootings.

* Page, Clarence. “Children are at Risk From Handgun Violence.” Gun Control: Opposing Viewpoints. Ed. Tamara L. Roleff. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1997.

Charles W. Collier’s article, “Gun Control in America: An Autopsy Report”, dives into the controversial topic of gun ownership and gun control in the United States. He uses recent shootings, including the George Zimmerman case and the Connecticut elementary

In America guns have been a part of the country’s society since it’s birth. Throughout history the citizens of the US have used firearms to protect the nation, protect their families, hunt for food and engage in sporting activities. The issue of Guns and gun control is complex. Weighing the rights and liberties of the individual against the welfare and safety of the public has always been a precarious balancing act. In the United States, gun control is one of these tumultuous issues that has both sides firmly entrenched in their positions. Those parties in favor of gun ownership and the freedom to use and keep arms, rely on the fact that the provision for such rights is enshrined in their constitution. In this climate of

In the past year, I am sure that you have heard about the issue of gun control. Well, do you really know the full story behind the debate? My goal for this essay is to fully explain everything to you behind this issue and why it is such a big deal in our world today. There are many different problems behind why gun control is such a big issue in the world today, and why some people want gun control and others do not. Through these contrasting opinions on gun control, the world will never fully decide what is completely right.