Analyzing Susan Eva Porter's Overusing The Bully Label

Argument Analysis

Overusing the Bully Label by Susan Eva Porter is an argumentative essay that discusses the opposing viewpoints concerning bullying and perception. The main idea of this argument is to determine if the name “bully” is given to kids by adults for the wrong reasons. By relating ethos, logos, and pathos to the research and claims of the author, a complete analysis will determine if the argument she has presented would appeal to the reader and sway them to one view.

The first main claim presented shows how adults can act irrationally to their view of bullying. Firstly, a ladies two sons were involved in an altercation with a group of boys, and when she comes outside to settle the dispute, she stabbed two of the kids that her sons

By illustrating, “… labels create something called a ‘fixed mind-set,’ which limits how children learn and perceive themselves and how we perceive them…” (citation), she explains how labeling a child as a “bully,” changes their whole perspective on how they act and priorities become second to putting people down. Porter demonstrates an example of ethos by using the creditable research of Dr. Carol Dweck of Stanford University’s psychology department (Dweck, 2012). The entire argument is tied into how labels are the main cause of why children act the way they do. Tying everything together, lastly, she relates the view of Dr. Dweck to both examples of the mothers who “over reacted” in the beginning, and concluded that instead of the continuation of labeling, maintaining and controlling the children’s reaction is the key goal to a bully free

Firstly, Porter states, “… children who commit these acts with a degree of intolerance that we wouldn't consider in other areas of their lives, and we assume that when children feel pain as a result of such mistakes, they will be scarred for life” (citation). All children do not feel remorse after the same actions, because everyone is different conscious wise. The author uses the context of “we assume” in the quote presented above; therefore, it would be considered implicit because it is clearly stated. Secondly, “It is not uncommon for adults to define even minor difficulties between children, such as being left out of social situations, as bullying. This is fundamentally changing the way we understand childhood” (citation). Even though the author has been in academia for a lot of years, she cannot concretely conclude that small situations could be considered bullying because all adults are different. Assumptions give an argument more information to try to influence the reader to agree with their