Rhetorical Analysis of StudentPulse essay

Landon Fischer

AP Literature

Period 4

9/5/11

Rhetorical Analysis of Ahab's Devolution in Herman Melville's "Moby Dick"

It is kind of hard to tell what the author’s purpose in writing this piece was.  Marina A. Kinney, the author, could be trying to get us to think more deeply about the book Moby Dick or simply just using Captain Ahab to teach us a lesson about the consequences of obsessing over something.  Either way, whatever her goal was in writing, she did an excellent job of expanding on her ideas and persuading her audience to understand where she is coming from.  

Kinney seemed to be directing her writing to the people who have read the book Moby Dick.  I believe she is quite aware of her audience because she assumes people know the book when she quotes and describes scenes from the text.  Kinney, being aware of her audience, doesn’t have to summarize the story because she knows that the majority of people who have read Moby Dick are reading her writing.  This influences the construction of her text because she can spend more time on her deeper ideas that only previous readers of the book would understand.  Also the author has a solid subject to her writing that would be appreciated by her target audience.  Everyone can relate to the idea of obsession because it’s not just something written about in books.  People in real life obsess over things and that is why Kinney’s subject can be appreciated by the audience.  

The overall main point of Kinney’s writing is that Ahab’s obsession with catching Moby Dick ends up making and outcast out of himself.  Ahab can no longer relate to others and his obsession leads to his transformation which continues to his “complete loss of humanity.”  Kinney seems to be trying to prove to us that obsessions lead our own fall in society. She also selects text from the book that captures Captain Ahab at his worst.  Kinney does this to put emphasis on the fact that Ahab is completely socially incapable.  The type of evidence that the author uses is more on the dramatic side.  She wants us to get this image in our heads that Captain Ahab is this guy that obsessed almost to the point of insanity with catching the White Whale.  Her structure also helps with the desired effect of her piece.  Her ideas are arranged sequentially which makes it easier for the reader to understand.  Kinney’s introduction refers to events from the story to set up for her thesis.  Her strategy is effective because it allows the reader to follow along without risking confusion.  The structure is pretty basic, but it gets the point across.
Kinney also manages to establish herself as a credible source on the subject.  She has this way of using words and turning them into valid ideas.  Kinney builds a strong ethos by appealing to our emotions.  She knows everybody has their own obsession and she uses that to get us to relate to Ahab from the story.  Kinney is successful in making her audience feel that their obsessions can and will cause their own downfall.  

http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/400/ahabs-devolution-in-herman-melvilles-moby-dick