Analysis Of Roxane Gay 'The Illusion Of Safety: The Safety Of Illusion'

In Roxane Gay’s essay “The Illusion of Safety/The Safety of Illusion”, the argument being made here is in part the usefulness of trigger warnings, as well as the idea that everyone has a situation that is unique to them and that we need to avoid putting everyone in the same box. Because Gay’s main argument is on the usefulness of trigger warnings, it’s imperative that she convince readers that she knows what she’s talking about. Gay proves this effectively by immediately listing her triggers using a unique technique. Every sentence begins using the same word. In addition to this she doesn’t actually finish her thought. For instance, in sentence one she writes, “When I see men who look like him or his friends”, or in the next sentence when she writes, “When I smell beer on a mans breath.” These are incomplete thoughts or sentence fragments. Gay allows these intentional mistakes to hook readers into finding out what happens next. This form of repetition also drives home what triggers are, showcasing their importance, and forcing readers to meditate on them.
In the next paragraph the author re-affirms that she knows what she’s talking about by listing how she feels when any of her triggers get pulled. She effectively uses ethos, and pathos by proving that she experienced sexual abuse in these first two paragraphs. Again, this lets readers know that her opinion on trigger warnings going forward is probably valid (ethos), while creating a feeling of sympathy (pathos), towards