What Is Thoreau Saying?

Henry David Thoreau is big supporter of the following three things; nature, education, and the individual. And throughout the paragraph he zeros in on the individual by pointing out our need for clothes and materialistic items that hold no true unchanging meaning for us through his pointed diction and harsh tone.

            Thoreau expresses that the hunger for materialistic items, specifically clothes, is disgusting due to men’s “childish and savage taste.” It makes me think that we’re the animals trapped in a zoo running after a piece of meat; reminding us that we are a part of the animal kingdom. It causes a person to be taken out of reality and to take a good look at themselves. One may re-access what they did every time they went shopping or think about the amount of clothes or shoes they have in their closet. And as that person thinks of this, it reminds them of the true beast within the civilized body we call man. But this is how new trends begin, because the manufacturers see our “childish and savage taste” as “merely whimsical.” It’s sad because we are supposed to be man; true thinkers and not shallow, hungry beasts. It’s like the manufacturers are the zookeepers who throw us the meat and watch us fight for it, laughing at our “savage” like actions.

            It makes the reader feel chastised for acting in such a manner. But, it has the power to make one realize what truly is important and admirable, especially when he does a dramatic tone shift at the end of the paragraph when he says, “It is not barbarous merely because the printing is skin-deep and unalterable.” As one reads this aphorism, it all comes together. It makes one realize why they felt chastised throughout the paragraph. And it’s because we think shopping and being materialistic isn’t barbarous due to the fact that these materials hide our nakedness and keeps us warm. However, he sets the tone with his use of phrases showing us that we shop unnecessarily; making us see that it holds no meaning. But when something does hold a true  unchanging meaning it is not barbarous. It is proof that man has the power to feel and think with the act of attaching a feeling to an action or an object.  

Outsourcing Rhetorical Analysis

The new popular kids on the block, in terms of business, are offshoring and outsourcing. It has become quite the topic of many people due to its amazing pros and devastating cons. Apurva Bose in her article, “Outsourcing: An Indian Perspective” shows off her parallel structure and wide range of diction to explain that outsourcing is a flourishing trend, but shouldn’t compromise a career’s true purpose.                                   

            Throughout the article it seems to me that the author has an affinity for parallel structure. It was used several times throughout the article; however, it got repetitive. It was effective in terms of getting her arguments across clearly. It was interesting in the beginning because the claim that was made was elaborated on, and made it more clear to the reader. After some time of using, it actually did opposite of what it was doing in the beginning. The claim became a little lost in her constant use of parallel structure. There were points in the article such as, “…getting skilled expertise…to to saving on manpower…” became more of like a catalog, a listing of ideas, than using parallel structure to get her major claim across clearly and effectively.         

            Unlike the parallel structure confusing the reader, the diction clarified her claim a little bit more. Her choice of words captured situations very well, helping to make the major claim understandable. The first word of many great word choices was, “bandwagon.” When she used this word she was describing how outsourcing became a big trend. The term “bandwagon” has a lot of connotations to it. It’s more of neutral word, it doesn’t have any good nor bad connotations to it; however, when you think of bandwagon it’s just the hot new things. It’s not a necessity. Since outsourcing isn’t a necessity, it’s just a way to do business more effectively. It’s nothing more than an aid, and an aid shouldn’t compromise the integrity of anything. And that’s what the author is trying to point out. If outsourcing is the hot new trend and aid, it shouldn’t compromise the integrity of a line of work such as, architecture.

            Her diction was a little more enjoyable than her tone. The tone was very critical towards India and the US. No country was better than the other in this situation, which is good because there is no bias in this article. The critical tone added to the sense of power in this article. It gave the article a little jump start because her critical tone was driven by the pathos she introduced in the beginning with her anecdote about the position she was offered.

            The claim had the potential to be really strong because she had great diction, a strong voice, and a strong consistent tone. But the main reason that it was weighed down is because the overuse of parallel structure. Other than that, this article was pretty good, but could’ve been better and more clear.