Rhetorical Analysis America Needs Its Nerds

“Nerds and geeks must stop being ashamed of who they are.” Leonid Fridman says this in his passage from “America Needs Its Nerds.” In this passage, Fridman uses a comparison of nerds to athletes, a comparison of America to other countries, and rhetorical devices to develop his argument that society is wrong for calling someone that is intellectually curious a nerd or geek. Fridman compares nerds to athletes to develop his argument. In the dictionary, a nerd is a “... street performer who shocks the public by biting off heads of live chickens.” Fridman also says nerds are outcasts, while athletes are idolized. As a result, nerds are deprived of a good education because they followed society. A reader can feel sympathy for nerds, thus helping