Rhetorical Analysis Of On Dumpster Diving By Lars Eighner

In the essay Eighner provides various examples of rhetorical appeals such as ethos. Eighner uses the appeal of ethos when he explains the different methods that scavengers and can scroungers have to obtain the necessary material. Eighner states that can scroungers are drug or wino addicts who turn to dumpster diving to trade in cans for money. Since they only want money they do not care for personal space or private property and are described as people who would go as far as to search individual garbage cans. Eighner explains how no other scavenger would do this because it is an invasion of privacy since it requires “trespassing close to a dwelling” (Eighner 115).

The entire chapter is an example of ethos because when Schlosser tours the nation’s largest slaughterhouse he gets firsthand experience of what goes inside. He reveals the truth about the slaughterhouses describing the inhumane treatment of the animals and the hazardous conditions that the workers face. Many of the workers have shared their experience at the slaughterhouse with Schlosser. One employee told him that “a coworker forgot to turn off a machine, lost two fingers, and went into shock…the next week the supervisor told him if one hand is no good, use the other.”, which demonstrates the unfair treatment given to the workers. This quote gives Schlosser’s argument more credibility because it is coming from an employee who has had an experience

Bags the bane of the sea rhetorical analysis on Bag Ban Bad for Freedom and Environment.”

After seeing the video Royals Fans Come to Rescue, the watcher is left with a much larger lasting emotional impact than Staff Rescues Puppy Left in Hot Car at Stadium because of the immense use of pathos. The level of emotional appeal were vastly different, one being much greater than the other. In Royals Fans Come to Rescue, the news reporter uses loaded words in many of their phrases to convey emotion. They use the phrase, “Eight-week old puppy trapped in a car, with the windows barely cracked.” In just this one sentence, we can analyze the choice of words that make this news report much more compelling than the other. It uses the young age of the puppy to make the watcher feel remorse, the word “trapped” to make the car seem like a prison,

In the essay “On Dumpster Diving”, Lars Eighner speaks of his experience on dumpster diving. While he was homeless, her discovered the art of dumpster diving and how this sort of life really is. Eighner uses his experience to explain to the general public how it was for him to dumpster dive, as well as the lessons he learned in this time. While doing this, Eighner also takes this as an opportunity to explain how the stereotypes of dumpster divers are not always true. To fully explain his experience, Eighner uses multiple rhetorical devices.

Lars Eighner has a very professional attitude towards the act of dumpster diving and those who go forth with it. Eighner uses certain features of style and rhetoric to help convey his professional attitude. He uses forms of the rhetoric such as his diction, the irony used, and the tone to achieve the main purpose of maintaining the “professional attitude” towards dumpster diving throughout the piece. With the use of these rhetorical forms, he is able to maintain the professional tone throughout his essay.

Dumpster Diving is an essay written by Lars Eighner. The Texan and former homeless man who roamed the streets searching for food from unpleasant sites in order to help him survive the harsh times. His loss of income made him to get food from garbage sites, which he refers to as ‘Dumpster’ He wrote this essay to express his experience as a homeless and destitute person. The essay gives a detailed explanation of how people like him struggle to get food from dump sites and the dangers they face. Eighner used basic English to describe the process of scavenging and its consequences in the essay.

Rhetorical analysis is looking at something such as an essay, newspaper, movie or advertisement and looking beyond the story, information and intended audience. To analyze the purpose behind what’s written or said, to discover the intended audience and why they are writing what they are writing. There are three parts of rhetorical appeal persuasion: Ethos, pathos, and logos. Ethos or an ethical appeal. This is the audience’s perspective on what the author is writing and to decide how credible it is. Who the author is and if they are credible. Pathos or pathetic appeal is the writer's attempt at connecting with the audience through experiences or examples. It is directly connected to interests and emotions of the audience.

Lars Eighner’s book, “Travels with Lizbeth”, was published in 1993. It is a memoir of his experience being homeless. Eighner uses the appeal of ethos the most prominently in his book to prove he is credible, followed by an appeal to logos by applying logic and pathos using stories.

Plain folks appeal is used to show that anyone can buy these treats for their cat and feed it to them. This is shown by an average woman in a normal looking house. Pathos is used to show the emotional appeal of giving your cat a treat. It shows the cat leaping out of the basket to be next to his owner. The owner petting the cat afterwards gives people an emotional appeal since it is cute. The satisfaction and joy of giving your cat a treat also shows pathos since many cat owners will be able to relate to this. Repetition is shown by the words “meow” being repeated in a catchy jingle. “Irresistible moments” is an example of loaded language because it is saying that if one buys these treats, your cat will automatically gravitate towards them and will seem to love their owner. It also hints at the fact that your cat will not be able to resist these treats. Transfer is shown when the cat runs towards his owner for a treat. This connects to the audience's emotions because the cat creates a feeling of joy and maybe a feeling of even wanting or playing more with a

There are several tactics a writer can use to connect with an audience; one can appeal to logic and statistics, one to character and credibility, and one to emotion and feelings. Michael Burke chose to connect with his readers through all three of these methods; however, pathos - appealing to

Her use of appeal to pathos is pretty similar to that in the use of appeal to logos. She describes her dog and crumbling relationship with her husband in order to create an emotional bond between the reader and the piece itself. When it comes to her dog it is obvious. There is no way that she simply could let go of something that she holds so dearly in a time where her

Eighner himself has lived on the streets as a homeless man. He allows the reader to join him in his own personal life stories in order to show the severity of his past situation. Eighner tells of the embarrassment and shame that comes from scavenging through trash to stay alive. He writes of the woeful feelings that a homeless person possesses in their time of wander. “He can wipe the egg yolk off the found can, but he cannot erase the stigma of eating garbage out of his mind” (Eighner 144). With much passion, he speaks of the homeless as victims of a undeserved life. However, according to Linderman, the life of a dumpster diver can be quite satisfying.

Nicholas Carr addresses and adapts to his audience by effectively using pathos, a rhetorical appeal. The author captures his audience by appealing to their emotions. For example, Carr explains on page five,

The tone of “On Dumpster Diving” is straightforward. In the beginning of Eighner’s essay, he goes straight into talking about dumpster diving, and he does not beat around the bush. For example, in the beginning of his essay, Eighner says, “Long before I began Dumpster diving I was impressed with Dumpsters, enough so that I wrote the Merriam-Webster research service to discover what I could about the word “Dumpster,”’’ (p 1). Eighner describes dumpster diving as his profession. Eighner says, “Eating safely from the Dumpsters involves three principles: using the senses and common sense to evaluate the condition of the found materials, knowing the Dumpsters of a given area and checking them regularly, and seeking always the question “Why was this discarded?”” (p 10).