Stuever's Argumentative Essay

At the beginning of this section, Stuever talks mainly about the artificial side of Christmas, about how everything can be “better”, which is talked about repeatedly on page 306. “They suggest the lakeside lights… villages and quain sounding burgs in Minnesota and Vermont.(306)” “... people waiting in line to see one Santa tell me about Santas who are better (more beloved)... People point me to “better” people, too, by which they mean people having nobler, more storybook Noels…(306)” All around him there is unhappiness or dissatisfaction with what people currently have. He can find nothing else except people seeking for something “better” to fill their shallow hearts, and when that isn't enough, they move on again. Then, Stuever drops one tiny little bomb meant to touch our hearts on what Christmas is really about: the children.
and it’s something I do not have, and never will: a child.(307)” The “something I do not have, and never will” is put in to bring forth the natural curiosity of the human mind. Why is he never going to have a child? Is it something in his life that he doesn’t want, or is it something his partner doesn’t? Have they tried and failed? He doesn’t say, and you keep reading to see where this child road will take you. Once Stuever paints a picture about how Christmas is “wonderful by the simple fact that it delights children- and therefore delights the children within any