Slaughter's Rhetorical Analysis: Can Women Really Have It All
Can women really have it all? According to author Anne-Marie Slaughter, who wrote “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All,” published in 2012 in The Atlantic, believes this way of thinking is an “airbrushed reality” (87). These words of Slaughter are the unfortunate truth for many women working today. Slaughter writes about her decision to leave her high powered job in Washington to spend time at home with her children. It is a looked-down-upon choice by many in the business world, but one she made all the same. After careful examination of her options, she decided that she was indispensable to her children but not to her job. She reaches her audience by using ethos through personal career background. She shares antidotes to pull-in pathos,
…show more content…
She transitions from being a corporate role model to being the CEO of her home. She goes from selling her great positions of power to the audience thought establishing her work history. Her added work antidotes about parties with the president add that extra punch to convince the audience that she is a dependable source of information. Then the audience is pulled into the emotional struggle she is having. She’s at the top and has everything she’s worked so hard to achieve; however, she makes us feel her longing to be at home with her family. There is a clear switch in her attitude and her desire for society to change their views, so that the corporate world is obtainable for both men and women while having a family. She did an effective job using statistics and facts to persuade her readers to believe and trust her, but her stories of her feelings about her children were the real draw. When things change and she realizes, “I didn’t just need to go home. Deep down, I wanted to go home. I wanted to be able to spend time with my children in the last few years that they are likely to live at home….irreplaceable year” (98). She created such understanding and desire parents have to be with their children. She wins the audience over and we are on her side. Her use of pathos for the emotional journey is by far her strongest view. She makes us question why a woman is treated like a criminal or less-than for wanting to invest their time in their children and family instead of work. Slaughter uses the right mix of devices to persuade both women and men that this is a real
She transitions from being a corporate role model to being the CEO of her home. She goes from selling her great positions of power to the audience thought establishing her work history. Her added work antidotes about parties with the president add that extra punch to convince the audience that she is a dependable source of information. Then the audience is pulled into the emotional struggle she is having. She’s at the top and has everything she’s worked so hard to achieve; however, she makes us feel her longing to be at home with her family. There is a clear switch in her attitude and her desire for society to change their views, so that the corporate world is obtainable for both men and women while having a family. She did an effective job using statistics and facts to persuade her readers to believe and trust her, but her stories of her feelings about her children were the real draw. When things change and she realizes, “I didn’t just need to go home. Deep down, I wanted to go home. I wanted to be able to spend time with my children in the last few years that they are likely to live at home….irreplaceable year” (98). She created such understanding and desire parents have to be with their children. She wins the audience over and we are on her side. Her use of pathos for the emotional journey is by far her strongest view. She makes us question why a woman is treated like a criminal or less-than for wanting to invest their time in their children and family instead of work. Slaughter uses the right mix of devices to persuade both women and men that this is a real