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Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior Rhetorical Analysis

Decent Essays

Parenting is always a debatable topic, especially here in America. Every person has their own opinion on how a child should be disciplined and raised. In Amy Chua’s “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior”, Chua explains different aspects of Chinese parenting and how it has been effective in her life. She claims that by breaking a child down and pushing them to their full potential, the child will become more confident and very successful. Through the use of several different rhetorical devices, Chua supports and weakens her claim and expresses a controversial way of parenting.
Ethos is a very large part of Chua’s argument. She is clearly intelligent, considering she is a Yale University professor. Her writing style adds a certain character to the …show more content…

She states, “ Chinese parents believe that their kids owe them everything. The reason for this is a little unclear…” Her credibility begins to disappear once she uses the word “unclear”. This small line suggests that she does not even know why she parents the way she does. It also presents the perfect opportunity for an opposing argument against Chua’s choice of parenting.
Another place where Chua’s credibility becomes debatable is when she writes of picking at her husband when he came between a conflict between her and their daughter. This shows that she is not willing to listen to the other side of an argument. One would assume that an effective author would be more open to looking at someone else’s viewpoint, but for Chua this is not the case.
Chua’s use of pathos is especially inconsiderate. She uses it to take a stab at Western parenting rather than make an actual point. At many different times Chua makes hypothetical scenarios and determines what Western parents would do and then what Chinese parents would …show more content…

“All decent parents want to do what’s best for their children.” This confuses everything because this statement gives credentials for her claim. First, she discredits Western parenting. She then comes back to say that Western and Chinese parents are all one in the same because they both care for their children.
Contrary to Chua’s strong opinions, she uses logos or statistics and facts in her argument. The statistics at the beginning of the writing describe percentages of Western and Chinese mothers who agree that “‘stressing academic success is not good for children’ or that ‘parents need to foster the idea that learning is fun.’” The outcome showed that 0% of Chinese mothers agreed and they, instead, valued the idea of successful children resulting from successful parenting. These types of statistics definitely support Chua’s “Chinese mother” persona.
The statistics also supported her claim of how much time Chinese parents put into helping their children make academic achievements. It is difficult to argue with facts and data, however, Chua does not cite the sources of this data. For all the reader knows, she could have made it up. It may be a more functional logical appeal if the studies she quotes were from a well-known and respected

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