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Essay / Analysis of the figures and rhetorical means of “small changes”
Piercing screams, angry songs and sincere tears: such is the climate of change. Compare this to the placid clicking of keyboards, the informal passing of emoticons; it is obvious which situation will go down in history. This is Malcolm Gladwell’s central argument in his essay “Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted.” In order to convince readers that progress cannot be made through social media, Gladwell uses logos and philosophy, an intellectual personality, and his unique writing style. He appeals to his audience and convinces his readers that “social media cannot provide what social change has always demanded” (315). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay Gladwell's abundant use of real-world examples and facts allows him to validate his argument. The best example of this tactic is the anecdote at the beginning of his article: the two-page summary of the famous Greensboro sit-in in 1960. At the end of the spiel, Gladwell grabbed his reader's attention and put his audience put themselves perfectly into the situation, making their statement: “…it all happened without email, text, Facebook or Twitter” (314) powerful and sufficient without any sort of explanation. Likewise, he does not express any opinion without giving a concrete and valid example of why he thinks a certain way. Mentioning the disappearance of the Palestine Liberation Organization and Al-Qaeda reinforces his point of view on the insufficiency of networks to change any type of social order. These well-known examples give it credibility as well as a crucial way to appeal to its audience. Yet Gladwell's use of logos is not the only rhetorical device that helped convey his argument. The essay itself begins by throwing the reader directly into the tense situation of the Greensboro sit-in in 1960. Presented with visual details of how the rebellion occurred, the reader can almost hear the sounds and feel intensity during this period. This is Gladwell's tactic to convince the reader of the wisdom of his point of view. After a lengthy introduction that undoubtedly held the reader's full attention, Gladwell explains his opinion on the inadequate role that social media has played in activism today. His explanation includes specific examples of the use of Facebook and Twitter, indirectly juxtaposing the social activism of the 1960s with that of today. He then discusses a different idea of the "so-called Twitter revolution" in Moldova and Iran, giving the reader a different perspective on the irrelevance of social media in revolutions around the world. After concluding this argument, he picks up where he left off regarding the sit-in; he continues to do this throughout his essay, each time proving that the use of social media is inferior to directly confronting unjust hierarchies when it comes to social change. This type of writing strategy keeps the reader engaged, a task that is the most important aspect of conveying an idea. However, it wasn't his writing strategy alone that kept Gladwell's readers coming back for more. Throughout his essay, Gladwell maintained an intellectual, yet humble tone. His choice of words and syntax gave him an educated personality. This identity is essential to establishing credibility, which allows the reader to trust that Gladwell knows what he is talking about, thus helping him convince the reader of his point of view. Consider his statement on how social media has given.