AOW #11- "A Shopping Guernica Captures the Moment"

"A Shopping Guernica Captures the Moment"
by Peter S. Goodman for The New York Times (Nov. 29, 2008)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/weekinreview/30goodman.html?ref=blackfriday

This is a credible source because it is in the New York Times, which is a well-known and well-established news source.

This article was about a Wal-Mart employee who was trampled to death attempting to police crowds at the Wal-Mart opening on Black Friday. The article briefly describes the incident, then goes on to talk about how it was practically inevitable due to the current economical status of our country, which is the reason that there is such frenzy on Black Friday. It discusses how because our economy is so poor at the moment, it is easy for stores to create a demand for items and make them seem like they must be purchased immediately for the best deal, when in fact that is not the case. This has become the central reason that Black Friday is such an ordeal these days.

The context of this piece is the current economic situation that our country is in. Also, the current hype that is Black Friday, and its affect on people.

The purpose for this piece is to explain why Black Friday is in fact such a rip-off and how the extremity of it is actually absurd, unnecessary, and in this particular case, deadly.

The audience for whom this piece was intended is anyone who went or plans on going out on Black Friday. It is meant to teach those people how unnecessary it actually is.

Some rhetorical elements in this piece include:

• arrangement- In this article, they start off discussing a few tragic incidents in history and comparing them to the Wal-Mart employee killed on Black Friday. They discuss this incident for only a second, then go on to explain why Black Friday has become what it is today, and how absurd it actually is.
• diction- The diction in this article is extremely dry and blunt. It basically very harshly accuses every person who goes out on Black Friday of being ridiculous and falling for the sales techniques of the stores. It leaves no room for debate and never discusses the opposing views.

I do not think the author accomplished their point. I initially thought this article would talk about the Wal-Mart incident, which I had never heard of before and was interested in learning about how such a tragedy could possibly occur. I think that the author used way too much of his own opinion and much too harshly generalized every person who goes out on Black Friday.