Gregg Easterbrook The Real Truth About Money Rhetorical Analysis

Can money bring you happiness: many Americans believe that having lots of money can bring happiness? However one writer, Gregg Easterbrook, in his article, “The Real Truth about Money,” promotes that having a lot of money in your pocket doesn’t bring happiness in this world. He writes this article to persuade his audience that money doesn’t bring happiness. Easterbrook begins building his credibility with personal facts and reputable sources, citing convincing facts and statistics, and successfully employing Logical appeals; however, toward the end of the article, he attempts to appeal to readers’ emotions weaken his credibility and ultimately, his argument. In his article, Easterbrook starts his article by showing people how life has changed since the World War II and the Depression eras of life, and then he outlines that people that people spend lots of their time trying to keep up with the norms of life and draws the comparison that people who have higher income have depression or unhappy with themselves. He continues by explaining anxiety. He states that in a neighborhood where all homes are the same size everyone anxiety is low because it is normal, but when there are

These sources include, “A study by Ronald Kessler shows that one in fifth teen Americans experience depression”. Citing these sources help Easterbrook logical reasoning for his argument by showing that he has done some research and he has polls, surveys, and statistics. He has expert opinions to back up his claims. He also uses relatable examples the reader can prove reasonable and able to prove to the reader that his position is valid. He uses logical appeal to show that as income is rising depression is rising as well. Some if the sources include this abundance of statistics and surveys makes the article valid and probable to the Americans reading this