Rhetorical Analysis Of The Death Of Honesty By William Damon

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Rhetorical Analysis of “The Death of Honesty” by William Damon. The essay, “The Death of Honesty” written by William Damon in 2012, introduces the idea of how the world has evolved and accepted a culture of dishonesty. This essay appeals to a large variety of different populations. This can include parents of all school aged children, young adults, politicians and professionals. Damon also targets this essay to appeal to those who preach honesty, such as teachers. Damon quickly establishes a connection with the reader by justifying dishonest acts such as acts done in honor or life threatening situations. He demands their attention by applying real life situations and rationalized stories of dishonesty. Damon sympathizes with the reader, thus allowing them to feel that it is…show more content…
Damon uses many real life examples of students, teachers, business professionals and the general public to strengthen his pathos appeal. Damon recognizes that there is a strong emphasis placed on teaching morals including honesty in today’s children, from a very young age. He encompasses emotion in the essay by implying that dishonesty is not largely focused on as a building block of self-integrity. This implication allows the reader to have mixed emotions such as pity, distress and hurt. Damon is very careful to not show his true emotion towards the subject, rather he clearly displays the facts in such a way that the reader develops their own emotional response. Damon continues to show a strong pathos appeal in his essay when he states “Too many breaches in honesty can corrode relationships beyond repair”. Almost every reader will be able to remember a time this has personally happened and immediately they build a strong connection to Damon’s essay. Thus, Damon has again used a strong pathos appeal to persuade the reader of the validity and strength of his essay and opinion of honesty in the current

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