On Rhetoric of David Schallar

Persuasive writing is a powerful art that can change the world, if done correctly. The source of the great influence of these writings is not necessarily the message they carry, but the tools and strategies that the writers use to deliver the message to the reader. In the article “American Consumption Patterns Destroy the Environment”, David Schaller is trying to persuade the American economists to reduce the consumption of products and generation of waste of the American people by appealing to the emotions of the audience and by using exaggerated examples.

In the first paragraph of his article, Schallar lists different personal meanings to the word “footprint”. As the final item on this list, Schallar writes that “footprints” remind him of the junior high kids called “Big Feet” on the playground that loved to torment first- and second- graders. This is an effective appeal to the emotions of any reader, as everyone has been through the experience of having being tormented as a child. Although many of the previous examples of “footprints” did not have such a negative meaning to them, Shcallar wanted to end this paragraph having the reader feel as if these “footprints” were a bad thing. This sets Schallar up for the bulk of his argument. Indeed, in the remainder of the article, Schaller does his best to persuade the reader that ecological footprints are bad and “equally symbolic and full of meaning” as the example given about the “Big Feet” on the playground.

In another attempt to grab the emotions of his audience, Schaller exaggerates his argument using large numbers to convince the readers that the world economy must change. He states: “The two ounces of rice that a billion of our poorest neighbors call their “daily bread” leaves a rather transparent ecological footprint. Notice his word choice here: two ounces, billion, poorest neighbors, daily bread, transparent. The emotional appeal is clear in all of these words, but the exaggeration in numbers is especially noticeable. Two ounces of rice is not likely the only thing that a billion people eat every day. I’m not saying that poverty does not exist, but clearly Schallar is using an exaggeration of numbers to create a stronger emotional persuasion to him audience. This is not a good or a bad thing, he is simply using the powerful tools of language to make the communication of his message more effective.

For my Issues Paper, I will write about the harm to Utah forests that skiing and snowboarding has created.