Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Chapter 3 Question 2


After reading this section on chapter 3, I was rather shocked at how much I use rhetorical devices. Rhetorical devices are basically a form of persuasion that does not use reason. One form of a rhetorical device is sarcasm. I believe everyone uses this almost every day. One day at work, I had an opening shift and I had been working for almost 6 hours at that point and a co-worker that had just clocked in asked me if I was tired. I replied saying no I’m not; I just opened at 5:30 am. Sarcasm is the use of ridicule, insults, taunting or irony. This example I used was irony.  Another form of a rhetorical device is lying. Lying is a deliberate attempt to mislead without the prior consent of the target. I believe lying is a negative thing, but sometimes it can be to save people. For example, yesterday I was working and my boss asked if opening in the mornings were too much for me. In my mind, I wanted to ask for less hours, but I lied and said no it was not, because 2 people had quit and she needed workers until new employees got hired. 

3 comments:

  1. Hello Richard,

    I have the same thought as you did after reading the rhetorical devices on chapter 3. At first I thought that rhetorical devices are something that only use by writers or lawyers. After reading that section, I changed my mind because those devices are using by everyone on a daily basis. I agree with you on the lying part; lies can be differentiated by good and bad. I think in your case, you lied to your boss but you are not hurting other people. Therefore, it is a good lie. I think you are a very good employee and a thoughtful person.

    Thank you,
    Adrian (:

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Richard Ayala,

    I agree with you when you wrote that everyone uses sarcasm in their daily lives. I think sarcasm comes naturally to people, just because it's kind of funny and makes life interesting. I think that lying, even for the sake of helping your boss out, will hurt you in the end. I know exactly how you feel; I want to ask for less hours as well and I know that my workplace has lost employees, but I think it is important to voice your concerns or else people will take advantage of you.

    I thought this was a very interesting discussion question for this week!

    ReplyDelete
  3. What's up Richard Ayala,

    I have to agree with you that nearly everyone has adopted some form of sarcasm and uses it in their daily lives. It's a second language that nearly everyone has learned throughout the course of todays world. I agree also with what you said about your work situation where you state that you're not tired when you've actually been working for 6 hours and have already woken up at 5:30 A.M. This sarcasm can be funny at times, I'm sure it was, but could also get you into little bit of trouble.

    Thanks for voicing your opinion!
    Chandler Martin

    ReplyDelete