Introduction
Writers employ diverse techniques to express thoughts and convey meanings through their works. Bullock et al. suggest that a rhetorical analysis should begin by summarizing the writing and providing context and then proceed with analyzing the text (The Little Seagull 49-53). To understand how and what the author is saying, one can explore essays such as Sometimes the “Tough Teen” Is Quietly Writing Stories by Matt de la Peña. In his literacy narrative, de la Peña intends to explain biases and advantages concerning reading by utilizing rhetorical strategies and elements, such as comparing and contrasting.
Summary
Firstly, to apprehend the following analysis, one must be familiar with the text. In Sometimes the “Tough Teen” Is Quietly Writing Stories, Matt de la Peña presents his personal experiences that shaped his purpose in life and in the essay. The writer shares that he did not read as a teenager because he was “a tough kid from a tougher family,” and reading was considered “soft” and “sensitive” (de la Peña 688-689). Nevertheless, de la Peña claims that he became fond of books after his college professor asked Matt to read a particular novel before graduation (689). Although reading did not seem acceptable in their “machista, Mexican family,” his father grew interested in books after Matt, and such an attraction changed their lives (de la Peña 690-691). Through his writing, de la Peña attempts to demonstrate that despite some people perceiving reading as unfavorable due to their biases, such a hobby offers many benefits.
Context About the Author
Secondly, to comprehend the writer’s usage of rhetorical elements, it is important to determine the author’s field of creation and audience. Matt de la Peña has written multiple works, including young adult novels, picture books, and articles for newspapers and literary journals (Bullock et al., The Norton Field 688). In the mentioned above essay, de la Peña notes his Mexican heritage, which is an aspect that can be compared to his other writings, such as Mexican WhiteBoy (Bullock et al., The Norton Field 688). Moreover, de la Peña often gives talks and presentations at libraries and schools (Bullock et al., The Norton Field 688). Consequently, one can assume that de la Peña writes for multiple audiences from various backgrounds (Bullock et al., The Norton Field 58-59). Accordingly, I have in mind two audiences that involve my instructor and classmates, whom I expect to be familiar with terms and ideas concerning rhetorical techniques and the essay’s context after reading the above paragraphs.
Analysis
Causes and Effects
Furthermore, de la Peña uses several rhetorical strategies in his Sometimes the “Tough Teen” Is Quietly Writing Stories. The text focuses extensively on analyzing causes and effects, with some being obvious and others harder to recognize (Bullock et al., The Norton Field 392-393). It is apparent that because his family and friends considered reading books “sensitive” and unsuitable for a man, Matt did not read until after graduating high school (de la Peña 688). It is also evident that the author became interested in reading because he wondered why his college professor had connected Matt to “one specific book” (de la Peña 689). Moreover, the audience can comprehend that Matt’s father decided to enroll at college after reading a lot for at least two years (de la Peña 690-691). However, the reason why Matt’s father wanted to borrow the son’s books in the first place is unclear (de la Peña 690-691). Nevertheless, by utilizing the causes and effects strategy, de la Peña guides the readers to understand how books can change a life.
Comparing and Contrasting
The second strategy de la Peña uses in his essay is comparing and contrasting. While the latter concentrates on similarities, the former assesses differences (Bullock et al., The Little Seagull 21). The author suggests that reading has positively affected himself and his father, as one became a writer while the other returned to studying and finished his bachelor’s degree (de la Peña 688-691). On the other hand, de la Peña describes the transformations in his father’s personality. A man who had never “read much of anything” began to read “fiction, nonfiction, essays, plays” (de la Peña 690). The writer states that although his dad remained “tough,” when the two talk about books, the father’s “eyes light up” (de la Peña 691). By employing the comparing and contrasting strategy, de la Peña attempts to demonstrate that books can bring people closer together and facilitate personal growth.
Narrating
Perhaps, the primary strategy that de la Peña utilizes in the essay is narrating. According to Bullock et al., “narratives are stories,” and de la Peña tells a story through his text, as he uses chronological order and incorporates flashbacks (The Norton Field 462-464). de la Peña briefly explains his journey toward books from school to becoming an author, illustrates how his father has gradually changed, and reminiscences about certain situations (688-691). It appears that the essay is based on the narrating strategy to move the readers to feel as if they were a part of the story so that they could comprehend it better.
Elements
Finally, de la Peña employs several linguistic and rhetorical elements. The essay is written in the genre of literacy narrative as a story that traces Matt’s and his father’s development and learning experience with books (Bullock et al., The Norton Field 62). As mentioned above, the writing is structured in chronological order, and de la Peña uses transitions to assist the audience in following narratives (Bullock et al., The Norton Field 462-466). For instance, de la Peña begins some paragraphs with such words as “after” and “first of all” (688-691). As the author shares his own experiences, the essay lacks factual evidence and seems to appeal more to one’s emotions, referring to ethos (Bullock et al., The Norton Field 410; de la Peña 688-689). Overall, de la Peña appears to utilize elements that demonstrate his personal knowledge in an organized manner.
Conclusion
To summarize, Matt de la Peña uses three rhetorical strategies and some linguistic and rhetorical elements trying to describe his and his father’s journeys with books and how reading impacted their lives. In particular, the author uses narrating to tell the audience a story, compares and contrasts his own and his father’s experiences, and explains those experiences through causes and effects. Some claims about the essay that can strike the audience as believable are that one can start to read when they are curious about something and that books can change character. A claim that may seem unlikely is that de la Peña’s father, who used to regard reading as unsuitable for men, suddenly decided to read with no explanation. Therefore, more information about the writer’s father may help readers make a better judgment about the essay. Nonetheless, de la Peña appears to have succeeded in explaining how and why he began and continued reading, and his story seems quite right with what I know about the topic of books.
Works Cited
Bullock, Richard, et al. The Little Seagull Handbook. 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2017.
Bullock, Richard, et al. The Norton Field Guide to Writing. 5th ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2019.
de la Peña, Matt. “Sometimes the “Tough Teen” Is Quietly Writing Stories.” The Norton Field Guide to Writing, edited by Richard Bullock, Maureen Daly Goggin, and Francine Weinberg, W. W. Norton & Company, 2019, pp. 688-691.