The idea reading, written by Malcolm Gladwell, was an
interesting and relatable piece that I enjoyed. The author did a very good job
of utilizing all three types of the rhetoric triangle in his piece, however if
I had to say which he used best I would say logos. He uses ethos in the piece
when discussing the many books, articles, periodicals, etc. written about this
topic, which adds credibility to him as an author. It allows us as readers to
believe he has done sufficient research to know what he is talking about and it
only helps his topic to be more interesting with other opinions to compare and
contrast. He also uses a good amount of pathos in his diction when discussing
his own view about high-risk ties and how he claims that the social media ties
we create are “weak”. By using these wordings he portrays to us how
insufficient social media is compared to the real thing, and that we as a
society should recognize that our efforts are basically nothing in comparison
to the effort of the past generations, they had to get out of the house and
spend time and effort to actually show genuine care and we as the lazy
generation just have to like a post or retweet a hash tag. But I believe the
best-used rhetoric in this piece is the logical aspect of it. By using ethos
and pathos to spark our interests and add credibility he is able to appeal to
our logic by pointing out how little of a difference we actually make in
comparison. It is shown in the writing as if the quicker awareness and
adaptability only can cause smaller weaker changes, and he uses this to lead
into that if it came to issues involving danger or structure this will not be
enough. Which I believe to make sense as a conclusion, he is right because if
the like, retweet, or repost came with a chance of being in legal trouble or
being assaulted physically by opposition I can guarantee not nearly as many
people would be “involved”. The weak ties he speaks about are not enough to
start a revolution, even though they can help spread awareness. If we as
countries are participating in another revolution, more effort must be made as
we follow the precedents of those who protested before us.
After reading this article, I would have to agree with my classmate that Galdwell uses logos most effectively. Not to say that he does not use the other appeals. The types of examples and some of the stories he uses in his writing has an effect on your emotions. When he talks about the sit-ins and and the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project, it describes what these people went through and the physical dangers they faced. It makes the reader feel remorse. After Gadwell tells those stories, he then connects it back to the comparison of activism of today's world and of the past. This is what makes the authors logos so strong because he supports his claim with these stories. Galdwell also provides many examples of different revolutions that have happened from all over the world. This uses of ethos makes him seem educated and that he has done his research on the topic. Also when he is talking about online activism, Galdwell states the pros and cons of it which makes him seem more understanding and intelligent. His use of ethos and pathos makes his use of logos the strongest. Overall, "Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted" is a well written piece by Malcolm Gadwell.
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