Rhetorical Analysis Of The Ways We Lie

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Nicholas Martin
Ms.Williams
English 111 D-35
14 December 2015
The Allure Of Lying
Stephanie Ericsson is an American screenwriter and author, Ericsson’s piece “The Ways We Lie” (1993) uses classification to display different types of lies people use and the way lies affect people. Richard Gunderman is a doctor and professor at Indiana University, Gundermans essay “Is Lying Bad For Us?” (2013) uses a broad and casual view to support the claim that lying affects people's health. The classification that Ericsson uses in its entirety is a collection of short personal allusions describing a few of the many types of lying, this method is not the best way to persuade someone that lying is unacceptable. The modernized and casual tone of Gunderman helps in the effort to persuade the readers about the unhealthy effects of living “inauthentic and irresponsible lives” (Gunderman 8). Richard Gunderman does a better job in persuading the reader than Ericsson. Gunderman essay is more persuasive than Ericsson’s essay because of the broader view of lying in society, the structure of the essay, and his play on human insecurities.
Gunderson attacks society as a whole with the broad view on the way people lie. This helps Gunderson reach more individuals and to educate them on the philosophy that there is a difference between liars and bullshitters. Gunderson states: …show more content…

Researchers at the University of Notre Dame followed 110 people over a period of ten weeks. Half of the participants were asked to stop lying over this period of time, and the other half were not. Both groups took weekly polygraph tests to determine how many times they had lied in the previous week. Those who were able to reduce by three the number of lies they told had four fewer mental health complaints (such as feeling tense) and three fewer physical health complaints (such as headaches) than those who did not. (Gunderman