ipl-logo

Rhetorical Analysis Of Small Change By Malcolm Gladwell

1180 Words5 Pages

In “Small Change: Revolution Not be Tweeted” by Malcolm Gladwell , Gladwell explains his own thoughts on why even in the age of technology social media will never be the strongest way to display activism. Throughout the article the author highlights what he feels makes activism work and what he feels may not work. He thoroughly explains his reasoning for his opinions by using rhetorical strategies. For example, he notes that for a cause to be effective the people pursuing it must have a strong tie or a strong connection to it. This can tie/connection can come from experiencing the problem first hand or having multiple friends or family already involved in the cause. Gladwell then goes on to explain that because social media is such a broad …show more content…

The audience of The New yorker are middle class citizens with upper class ambitions. Based on this intended audience of this article and the rhetorical strategies used this article is mostly effective in persuading the audience because the audience is assumed to be educated and ambitious. To sway his audience the Author uses rhetorical strategies like Allusion, anecdotes, and assertion. He also uses rhetorical appeals like ethos and pathos to convey his opinion on social media as an activist …show more content…

The first few paragraphs of his article were almost entirely a story about four college students who started a sit in strike at a local restaurant in segregated Greensboro North Carolina, 1960. By telling this story the author reiterates his point about strong ties being a major key in successful activism but also creates some pathos. All four of these boys were close friends, lived in the same dorm building, and were roommates. This gave them a strong tie to each other so when one of them suggest the sit in, the rest jumped in line too. This story also produces a sense of pathos between the characters and the audience. The audience is interested in the story and also feels empathy for what these men went through and for the progress they made, thus making this strategy effective in persuading the

Open Document