Journalist Anna Quindlen in her article, “The C Word in the Hallways”, argues that children with mental health issues should receive help instead of stigmatization. She supports her claim by utilizing quantitative data when illustrating what happens when a mentally ill child doesn’t receive correct help, then guilting the audience when explaining how society views mental illness, and finally commanding the audience when describing how society should fix its issue on how it perceives mental health. Quindlen’s purpose is to criticize society's outlook on the issue of mental health in children in order to change the way people view mental health. She establishes a critical tone for parents and healthcare providers. Anna Quindlen begins her …show more content…
In regards to the Kip Kinkel case, Quindlen criticizes the judge who scolded Kinkel in court. She explains that the judge was extremely ignorant in the subject of mental health when he told Kinkel, “you know the difference between what’s right and wrong, don’t you,” (5). Quindlen believes that these mentally ill children who commit atrocities don’t need to be prosecuted, instead, they need help with their state of mind. In this quote Quindlen hopes to guilt ignorance regarding mental health issues, and that it’s not all about knowing what’s “right and wrong”. Additionally, she often cites general scenarios throughout her article, like when she writes, “And there’s still plenty of that useless adult ‘what in the world does a 16-year-old have to be depressed about’ mindset to keep depressed 16-year-olds from getting help,” (3). Quindlen uses a scenario like this in order to shame those reading who may have thought or said something related to this. With this clever use of pathos, Quindlen attempts to change the audience’s view of mental health, and how it can occur in teens. The diction in this quote speaks volumes of Quindlen’s tone as well. The word “useless” makes Quindlen seem almost angry at the thought of the misconceptions of mental