Rhetorical Devices In Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation

Already has the significance of Eric Schlosser’s “Fast Food Nation” been discussed, but one crucial aspect of this novel has not yet been explored- and that is what rhetorical devices were used. Rhetorical devices are often times used subtlety throughout the entirety of the novel, which helps move the purpose of the work along whilst keeping the reader indulged. The range of the types of devices used is broad, but there are some that stand out a bit more than others. In this analysis, only chapter 3 will be used to display the devices used. Diving right into it, the first strategy stands out immediately in this chapter: imagery. Right off the bat, the author begins to vividly describe the scenery and the people with “The old road takes you from the city limits to Cripple Creek, once a gold mining town with real outlaws,
The effect of this is often self-explanatory as the purpose of this device is often to draw emphasis to something. An example of this would be “The vast majority do not set out to eat at a Burger King, a Wendy’s, or a McDonald’s. Often, they’re not even planning to stop for food- until they see a sign, a familiar building, a set of golden arches.”. To clarify, the author uses “a” in a sequence here to put emphasis on the fast food joints as well as how just seeing them affects the reaction of people in society. To conclude, Eric Schlosser does indeed utilize many different rhetorical strategies; all of which contribute to the overall theme of the novel. Even those that may be harder to spot still have an effect- which has the purpose of drawing in the readers even further and making it clear what the problem is when it comes to fast food. Plus, to think that the examples given above is only a single chapter full of devices makes one wonder just how many are used throughout the entirety of the novel- the answer is “a lot”- and how these all still have the same purpose is quite an amazing