Rodriguez 1

Josejuan Rodriguez ENC 3311 An Examination into the Rhetoric of Authority In the information age, the drastically improved accessibility of public writing has spawned a number of publications and allowed writers of all creeds to participate in the discussion of their choosing. Despite the many publications and authors that are available, only a handful ever seem to see the limelight, though there are some hidden gems that provide a meaningful contribution to a discourse community. These hidden gems and widely read works can be powerful messages that provide a commentary to an aspect of either the authors perceived culture or the culture that their publications are trying to attract. In order for these writers to garner any attention from the public, they must establish authoritynot the one that has more militaristic implications, but rather these writers employ strategies that allow them to be seen by the public as a figure who can be respected and is credible. For writers to be successful in establishing authority, they must employ a set of writing strategies that allow them to gain familiarity and accessibility with their audience. Some of the strategies that will be examined in this essay are the use of timing, simplicity, and ethos building, with essays by Welsey Yang and Gene Demby standing as examples of how these strategies can be successful. As a note, the strategies mentioned in this essay are not meant to be an all-inclusive list, as other observers may find other strategies that are more effective or more useful for successful writers. The essay, Paper Tigers by Wesley Yang encapsulates one of these major strategies very wellthe strategy of timing. Going hand in hand with the idea of kairos, some of the most successful works are effective because the authors choose the right time to write their respective essays. Paper Tigers was written as a response piece to the book Battle Hymn of

Rodriguez 2

the Tiger Mother mere months after the book was released. This was at a time where there was considerable controversy on the book, specifically on the parenting methods author Amy Chua employed as she raised her two daughters. Yang took this controversy and provided his own voice into the discourse, questioning how successful in the real world does so-called Tiger Parenting make the child. His response, eloquent and succinct, soon rose to prominence in the discussion of Tiger Parenting, enough so to appear in the collection of New York Magazines Most Popular: Readers 26 Favorite Stories of the Past Five Years. If the same essay were taken and released later (lets say a year after Chuas book was written), the discourse surrounding the book would not be as prevalent in popular culture as it would have been a year agorendering Yangs essay as a puzzling piece concerning old news. With the controversy taking a backseat, readers wouldnt look upon Yangs essay with the same vigor and emotion because the essay would seem like an afterthought as opposed to a well versed response to the controversy. The timing for this essay was paramount to its success, and Yang successfully employed kairos to write and have his essay published at the most opportune moment and be seen by the public as a figure to listen to. Another strategy that authors use to gain rapport with their audience and be seen as a person of authority is that they dutifully employ the age-old adage: keep it simple, stupid. Gene Demby employs this adage well in his essay When Our kids Own America. Demby explores the concepts of demographics and changing cultural viewpoints in a manner that seems almost conversational, Exhibit A: the Harlem Shake. (We know youre tired of hearing about it at this point. We feel you. But walk with us here.) (Demby) Here, Demby poses a point of examination but concedes to the audience the knowledge of the Harlem Shake and how many may be tired of seeing or hear the cultural phenomenon. Its a simple, yet effective way for Demby to seem conversational and have a sense of cultural relevance in his essay. It makes the essay seem less like an article and more like a written conversation.

Rodriguez 3

Demby even examines the often verbosely defined concept of gentrification quite simply, noting gentrification, but its not the way we often think of gentrification. Its not white people pushing out black folks; in Oakland, its black folks leaving of their own volition (Demby) Instead of using a long definition, he breaks gentrification down quite simply, in a way that a reader who doesnt know what gentrification means may be able to understand the concept and quickly move on to the major points of the essay. Cultural commentary that examine any racial issues are never a simple task, and the more successful works are usually delegated to the realm of academic writing where a bias is less likely to lean too heavily in one direction or another. Demby circumvented these problems by building ethos with his audienceanother key strategy for successful essayists. Demby presents himself as a figure of authority through his thorough his extensive examination of his chosen occasion. Statistics are a main stay in building ethos, since it shows to the reader that Demby is working beyond mere speculation, but Demby also takes this a step further by discussing culturally relevant phenomenon, such as the Harlem Shake phenomenon and related disagreement on the use of the term harlem shake. It allows Demby to be seen more as a figure who is active in current pop culture and less like an essayist practicing arm chair observational methods. Dembys use of notes that in page margins can serve to enhance his essay and build ethoshere he cites where some of his information stems, but also where he clarifies terms that the reader may not know, particularly his explanation of what the word b-boying means. One important item to note as well, is that Dembys occasion fit with his audience. National Public Radio (NPR) is widely recognized, much to the vexation of conservatives, as a media organization that caters towards people who identify as left leaning on the political spectrum. As such, it makes sense that Demby would write an essay that talks about progression and change (arguably the hallmark of modern left leaning individuals views), especially on the subject of race. Given

Rodriguez 4

NPRs diverse and generally left leaning audience, an essay concerning changing cultural trends in reference to demographics would be warmly welcomed by NPRs audience. Dembys essay, unlike Yangs, does not rely on the timing of the essay as much for it to be effective. This is mostly due to his chosen occasionsince it is a cultural phenomenon, his subject will take time to develop. That is to say, culture takes a relatively long time to change, so the essay could have been written some time later, but most of the content would still be rather relevant. The content that wouldnt be as culturally relevant at a later point in writing would likely be replaced with newer contenta different song by a newer artist, etc. The timing of the essay isnt as sensitive, and therefore isnt as important to his essay. Yangs essay, however requires the same strategies to be successful that Demby employed in his essays. Yang keeps his essay simple, refraining from the use of any jargon or other such terminology that would make his essays less accessible to readers, though his writing would likely be appreciated by college students and beyond, which fits quite well with the readership of the New York Magazine. While a little more complex in writing style, Yangs essay compliments the publication that it belongs to, while also complimenting the subject matter of the essaypost grade school success for Asian Americans. Yang follows Dembys essay a little closer in its appeal to ethos. Like Demby, Yang uses statistics to base his arguments on factual evidence and operate on a level beyond speculation; to the audience, it makes Yang seem well informed on his occasion. Yangs ethos is further developed by the wide range of people that he interviewed for his essay, as it established a wide variety of subjects that shared similar, but different backgrounds, thereby reducing possible bias by Yang, though Yang himself demonstrates a bias against Asian American parenting, Let me summarize my feelings toward Asian values: Fuck filial piety. Fuck grade-grubbing. Fuck Ivy League mania. Fuck deference to authority. Fuck humility

Rodriguez 5

and hard work. Fuck harmonious relations. Fuck sacrificing for the future. Fuck earnest, striving middle-class servility. (Yang 274) He goes into detail with each interview providing another level of thoroughness in his essay while also allowing the reader to better understand different viewpoints on and possible repercussions of an Asian-American upbringing. Quite possibly his most significant appeal to ethos is that he himself is an Asian American, making his occasion very close and intimate to not only himself, but other Asian Americans that had a similar upbringing. In some ways, the essay stands as a message to other Asian Americans, and let them know that they are not alone in their troubles. Yang and Demby wrote excellent essays that challenged prevailing ideas and social norms by bringing to light their respective cultural phenomenon. These two essays stood out among thousands of other essays because of a various set of strategies (some of which covered in this essay, but certainly not all) that allowed them to build authority with their audiences. These contributions to their discourse communities invite a reflection of our culture in its current state and challenge us readers to be think critically about our daily interactions.

Rodriguez 6

Works Cited Demby, Gene. "When Our Kids Own America." NPR.org. National Public Radio, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2014. Yang, Wesley. "Paper Tigers." The Best American Essays 2012. N.p.: Mariner, 2012. 274-95. Print.