Analysis Of Margaret Talbot's 'Best In Class'

Margaret Talbot in “Best in Class” pushes a very subtle message through her use of anecdotes and a general appeal to logos to display that high school students are overly competitive or overreact when competing in the position of valedictorian and should move towards a friendlier competition or needs necessary change. Talbot does not directly state her message at anytime, rather, she indirectly states it through her use of anecdotes which contain conflicting viewpoints. In the article, Talbot mentions Davies who is “a firm believer in the idea that people benefit from a healthy competition” (224). Davies viewpoint is obviously positive, but that is not the message, the reason Talbot decided to include this is to advance her message in “friendly