Mary Sherry defines it as “a healthy fear of failure.” She claims the word is a beacon of hope and a source of liberation and strength for women. Sherry believes the f-word can be used as a weapon of power to encourage women to take control of their lives. Let us see how Mary Sherry promotes her idea in this in praise of the f word rhetorical analysis.
Rhetoric Through Ethos, Logos, and Pathos
The author uses ethos effectively throughout the novel. She praises the power of the f-word and convinces us of its valuable nature. Sherry uses examples and personal anecdotes to emphasize her argument. She carefully states that she does not advocate vulgarity or violence. No, she praises the word as she believes women can use it for liberation and self-empowerment.
When put to the test, Mary Sherry’s paper is an excellent argument that favors the f-word. Women can use it to gain strength. A healthy fear of failure is a powerful tool to empower people. Sherry’s ethos provokes discussion and debate. Nobody wants to be associated with failure. Yet she illustrates how numerous people have drawn strength from failure and risen to greatness.
Mary Sherry’s Son
Mary’s son did not pay a lot of attention to his schoolwork when he was in high school. He would sit in the back row and enjoy talking with his friends. Mrs. Stifter would say she would flunk him even if he sat in the front row. When Sherry told her son about this development, she witnessed a sudden change in his life. He started taking his English class seriously and got an A at the end of the semester.
Students need a little push to succeed in life. Mary claims that every year, many 18-year-olds receive useless diplomas. They are victims of a convoluted education system. She talks about how a fear of failure motivates many students to work harder—Sherry advocates for Mrs. Stifter’s type of class. Threatening to flunk students is a great motivator. You can argue about the morality of using fear to get results, but you can’t deny better grades helped these students.
Logos
Mary Sherry had been teaching for almost twenty years when she wrote In Praise of the F-word. She is a high-school graduate, making her the perfect candidate to present ethos; she knows the schooling system. Logos appears in examples such as when she mentions that an average American worker in her time has much more knowledge than one from the previous generation. While this may sound like a good thing, she believes the gap should be wider.
The author also shows an in-depth use of logos when she states that we should radically redefine success and competence. This is to ensure her audience understands this point of view. She tries to evoke an emotional reaction from the reader to consider the validity of her opinion. Mary’s son’s transition in school further exemplifies this as he goes from coasting by to getting As in his English class.
Pathos
Sherry generously uses pathos in her work. She uses various anecdotes to bring out an emotional response toward the issues under discussion. Mary Sherry uses words with a stinging effect to evoke emotion. Her son’s dismal performance and rejection at school are examples of this. He is deemed a failure before he even tries. His redemption evokes a feeling of triumph in all of us. Everyone loves a good underdog story.
It would appear that Mary Sherry makes a pretty compelling argument in her work. She shows us how failure does not define a person. Only by picking oneself up and using it as a lesson does one succeed through failure. She illustrates how the underdog, in this case, students, can draw strength from low points in their lives and create a better life for themselves.
We hope this rhetorical analysis shows the value of strength through failure. Buy a rhetorical analysis from Masters and PhD degree holders with not less than ten years of academic writing experience.
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