Smith, Block 1
AP Lang & Comp
25 August 2015
Art Buchwald
1. Art Buchwald, in the column, “Unreasonable Conditions for Christmas”, argues that Christmas has come to be the support of a thriving economy, based on the expectation of consumers of all classes spending their money out of guilt. Buchwald supports his argument by explaining that no matter what class (upper, middle, or lower) it is a well known fact that during the Christmas season one must ‘spend their share” (1), ultimately feeding the economy to be better off than the year before. His purpose is to inform his readers of the commercialized nature of Christmas in order to make them better, more knowledgeable shoppers. Buchwald writes in a conversational tone for a mature …show more content…
Art Buchwald, in the column, “A Turkey With French Dressing”, explains the story of Thanksgiving to the French that gives all the praise to the French for the “grande fete” (1), or big holiday. Buchwald supports his explanation by telling a Thanksgiving Day fairy tale using garbled French language including the character Kilometres Deboutish or Miles Standish. His purpose is to point out that American families do not celebrate Thanksgiving Day for its historical significance, in order to shed light on the ignorance when it comes to the true meaning of a holiday. His establishes an informal relationship with his broad audience because of the storytelling nature of his …show more content…
William Safire, in the column, “Emoticons”, questions why iconography is now replacing the communication of descriptive words in instant messaging as well as in real life. Safire supports his question by explaining how “desktop” has come to mean a computer’s opening screen displaying icons used to file (folder), and eject (trash bin) from the use to describe the size of the computer. His purpose is to persuade the reader that the symbolic image “takes no less space than a descriptive word” in order to make the reader more aware of the sudden need for a quick answer when it comes to descriptions and such. Safire writes in an informal tone for a technologically aware adult audience.
4. William Safire, in the column, “ Age-Defying”, questions the sudden change on how manufacturers of beauty products market their “age-defying” products. Safire supports his question by explaining how the use of “age-defying” instead of the classic “anti-aging”, makes the product seem to have a more “positive and hopeful” effect. His purpose is to show how the simplest change in how a product is marketed changes the whole premise of what that product stands for in order to make shoppers more aware of what they are buying. Safire has a informal tone to connect to a wide consumer