Through the use of anaphora, metaphor, and informative figurative language, Barry portrays the work of a scientist as challenging and complex. Barry begins by using patterns of repetition and anaphora in the first paragraph. He does this to strengthen the traditional recognition that certainty is good and uncertainty is bad. Providing these antithetical concepts of uncertainty v. certainty, or good v. bad, also strengthen his claim that the work of a scientist is challenging and complex. Next, Barry complicates our understanding of the nature of scientific research through the use of metaphor throughout the essay.
These rhetorical questions throughout the essay help establish the author on the audiences’ level, it helps establish his ethos not only as an educated scientist, but also as a
In an excerpt from The Great Influenza by John M. Barry, many rhetorical devices are used to fully represent the process of a scientist. Some of the most commonly used devices are metaphors, anaphoras, and imagery, these three devices help the reader understand the main ideas of the story. The metaphors allow the reader to perceive the process of a scientist in more simplistic ideas such as science being an undiscovered wilderness. The anaphora used in the beginning of the passage emphasises that the world of science is full of uncertainty and is constantly changing, this drives the idea into the mind of the reader. The imagery is used alongside the metaphors to assist the reader in grasping the foreign ideas.
Barry expresses the need for a scientist to possess “passion, patience, creativity, self-sufficiency, and courage” (Barry 7-8). He further explicates the word courage as not a pivot by which the pioneer dashes into the unknown but as the beacon by which the investigator must accept, utilize, and even “embrace” (Barry 10). Barry also uses diction to support the ultimatum he presents as the character of scientific research by using the word “ultimately” in lines 19 and 49. The word “ultimately” is a readily usable term that reiterates the finality of any notion, and Barry makes excellent use of it because it allows him to create a profound characterization of scientific research— his ultimatum revolves around the uncertainty which paradoxically captures the meaning of scientific research as concrete theorization founded upon infinite possibility. The pandering of intellectual curiosity to physical emotions is an irony that is not lost on Barry; he reaffirms that “to move forcefully and aggressively” requires “confidence and strength deeper than physical courage” (Barry 20-22).
Author John M. Barry, in The Great Influenza, claims that scientists must embrace uncertainty and doubt their ideas in order to be successful in their research. To support his claim, he first states that “uncertainty creates weakness”, then lists the traits required by scientists (including curiosity and creativity), and finally explains that experiments must be made to work by the investigator. The purpose of this is to further support his claim in order to encourage readers to embrace uncertainty because certainty creates something to lean on, while uncertainty forces one to manipulate experiments to produce answers. Barry adopts a formal tone to appeal to a worldwide audience, specifically those interested in scientific research, by using
John M. Barry uses pedantic diction and metaphors, to captivate his audience. Barry lectures to his audience about how in the realm of science a person must have the courage to be innovative, Barry states, "To be a scientist requires not only intelligence and curiosity, but passion, patience, creativity, self-sufficiency, and courage" (Barry 6-8). Barry uses scholarly diction to get his point across when inferring about how a scientist must explore the unknown. Barry states, "The less known, the more one has to manipulate and even force experiments to yield an answer" (Barry 66-68). With Barry’s borderline lecturing, he adds in metaphors, which the audience has to then work to uncover its hidden meaning.
He goes on to explain what people who go into science as a career expect, and how this can be corrupted by government intervention. He effectively makes his argument and supports it with details about the life of a
The rhetorical devices imbue the text with power by describing the intricate parts of the scientific method and how it affects scientists greatly. These rhetorical devices also make the text beautiful and easier to connect with by including imagery of the unknown wilderness and nature, which relates with scientists and their studies. Being a scientists and delving into scientific research is a difficult task and it requires not only scientists, but also the every day person to be the torch bearers of discovery as
In John M. Barry’s “The Great Influenza” scientific research is made out to be a process based off gaining knowledge in fields that have little base knowledge and then cooperating with other researchers in order to either further develop from that point or to further validate the current idea. Barry supports this ideal through his extended metaphor, parallelism, and the exemplification. Throughout the piece, Barry describes scientific research as a step into the unknown through his extended metaphor. Barry relates all scientists together onto the same playing field stating, “All real scientists exist on the frontier. Even the less ambitious among them…”
(Barry) which serves as a final reminder of the vastness of possibilities in the work of a scientist and the intelligence it requires to narrow down those vast possibilities into one solid method that both succeeds in completing the research and in revealing something new and interesting. In conclusion, author John M. Barry uses rhetorical questions in order to give readers a glimpse into the world of scientific research. (Jessica
Many people already see scientists as intelligent, but it is not as common to hear that scientists have “passion, patience, creativity, self-sufficiency, and courage.” Popular culture may promote scientists as automaton-like and lacking sentiment, or perhaps as the classic mad scientist, but Barry’s description of scientists shows that they are indeed real people whose work requires a great determination and confidence and extends beyond the realm of pure intellectualism. Using simple, but positive language allows Barry to create empathy in the reader for the scientist, but perhaps more importantly, to convey his message to a broad
Barry’s use of syntax to effectively state his argument, his use of diction to allow the reader to comprehend the meaning of a phrase, and the allegories to add further emphasis to his main points all are important rhetorical strategies. These strategies don’t just emphasize the important of certainty and how it can benefit the field of science, but they also describe how uncertainty can also impact discoveries and how it can prohibit discoveries from being
How the original Superman shorts in the 1940's shaped the modern superhero. Decades ago, the saying "Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound!" it meant exactly that.
It is often stated that people relate to emotions and not facts, and it seems Goodman understands just that. She clearly states the concepts and fundamentals behind the triumphs and struggles of modern day science while presenting them in a way that is filled with emotion. From jealously, delight and frustration, Goodman captures it all. Goodman writes, “Over and over he looked, and each time he made the discovery again: his virus worked on cancer cells. He had never seen anything more beautiful or more important than that mouse before him on the table,” (Goodman, 75).
This Science Fictional novel depicts a world with many of the real life technological advances off when it was written. It is a story of how knowledge drove a scientist to a point of potential detriment. The creation did not come out how Victor envisioned it to be. A main theme throughout the book is the use of Science and Technology. These two huge ideas are what made Frankenstein’s monster.
