Pretending By Max Beerbohm Analysis

Responsive Essay In "Pretending," Max Beerbohm addresses the issue that people are too blinded by impressing others that they fail to appreciate what they already have. Through the detailed characterization of the poor City clerk, Beerbohm made this one solid point that people are creatures that are easily influenced by others, and that humans will do anything to obtain what they want. However, it is another story once the person obtains their desired item, because they will lose interest in it. Beerbohm organizes his passage from specific to general. He begins the passage with his opinion of the Strand in London, and then directs the attention to a certain poor clerk man. His criticism towards the clerk was evident once he discovered that
He was able to persuade his readers and reveal his idea by expressing his own opinions and appeal to the readers emotionally. For instance, when Beerbohm introduces the young pretender, he states that the man is a fool, and that the pretender could have lived a happier life if he did not act and chose to be "himself." Many readers can relate to this and empathize with the poor man because in a certain point of their life, they have also tried to put a facade on. The author's opinion is understandable and clear-cut. Additionally, the author manages to convey his idea by exaggerating things. The use of exaggeration allows the topic to be more clear, and in a way, making it stand out. For example, Beerbohm went from the simple idea that people "care nothing" for the things that they own to that they are "heartily ashamed" of what they have. This is not always true and is a bit stretched, but it gets the point across straightly and clearly. Readers are able to get a more solid grip on the general idea. Although Beerbohm has succeeded in carrying out his ideas, his choice of words takes away from his passage. For instance, he uses words that people normally would not use, such as "raffish" or "masquerade" and this complicates the passage. If the readers did not spend his/her time to search for the definition of these words, they may miss a large part of the message that the author is trying to convey to them. Why don't he just