"The Bad Lion" by Toni Bentley

 There are explorers in South Africa who witness violent attacks between lions. The most aggressive and terrifying lion is “Satan”. Satan is a “serial-raping lion”. Unlike most lions that kill other males for territory, females, and food, Satan always tries to mate with a lioness. If the lioness refuses, Satan kills her. Ranger Alfie admits that the killing will not stop unless Satan wears out or the son of the dead lioness goes to fight against Satan.

            Toni Bentley is credible because she experiences a first-hand account of a safari adventure. She strengthens her essay by using imagery to describe what she sees such as, “...opens his jaws, showing huge bloody incisors” (24). This shows how Satan appeared right as about he was about to attack the other lions. The reader can understand Satan’s state of being in that moment.

            Normally, if one hears of a rape in the “human” world, the rapist goes to jail and so on; that is the law. In this case, that law is out of context. A lion cannot go to jail for rape.

            Toni Bentley’s purpose of this essay is to portray her frustration with the lack of concern for lionesses. She sees that in the “lion world”, females are unimportant. She soon realizes that the role of women has only changed recently. Unluckily for the lionesses, they are still worthless against lions.

            Seeing as how the author sympathizes for lionesses, Toni is reaching out to people who do not understand the negative status that women used to have.

            Toni speaks indirectly in order to achieve her purpose. She states, “…it would not be to avenge his murdered mother. It would be to protect his pride” (26). Toni is displeased with the fact that the lioness’s son cares for his pride rather than his own mother. She speaks sympathetically towards the lionesses.

            Toni Bentley accomplished her purpose; she wanted readers to understand that women’s roles have changed not long ago. She supports her opinion by describing her experience of vicious lions fighting with one another and the lions’ disregard for the lionesses.

Gender Equality-

Men and women are equal. No gender is superior to the other. (lantalanta.wordpress.com)

"Irreconcilable Dissonance" by Brian Doyle

The author, Brian Doyle, talks about divorce, how common it has become, and how frequent it is happening. He also describes the many people he knows that are getting divorced.

            Doyle is credible since he is in fact married. He reads in the newspaper of people reasoning they got divorced due to unruly public behaviors. Once he even accounted the first time he saw a couple’s divorce. Although he is not divorced, he has witnessed others getting a divorce, making him experienced of the topic.

            Ironically, Doyle is talking about divorce when he is not. As he states in the first sentence, he is “still married”. So, his talking about divorce is out of context (in his life).

            Doyle’s purpose was that he was ridiculing the reasons for why people are getting a divorce. He says, “I read about a woman who divorced her husband because he picked his nose” (34). He is trying to point out that the reasons for people divorcing are unreasonable and petty.

            Believe it or not, Doyle is speaking directly to those who are married. In the final paragraph he says, “…she might end your marriage in a moment, and you might end hers…” (35). He is trying to show that anyone’s marriage can end in a second.

He compares marriage and death by using a metaphor. He states, “The instant there is no chance of death is the moment of death” (35). Everyone who is married has a chance of divorce, if not, then they are either single or already divorced.

Brian Doyle accomplished his purpose; he wanted to show the reader how much divorce has become ridiculous. He supports his argument by giving many examples of couples divorcing and their reasons for it. He emphasizes the over usage of the word “tired” by so many people who have gotten divorced. Doyle realizes that the same thing that “makes marriage work is also what causes marriage to dissolve” (35), as in all the little surprises that spark a relationship, the “spark” can be either good or bad determining where one’s relationship stands.

Divorce Rates-
Divorce rates have increased throughout the years and are becoming more and more common. (www.bsos.umd.edu )

"Guy Walks into a Bar Car" by David Sedaris

A man describes his crazy experiences throughout his years of rigorous traveling on a train. He talks about the people he has encountered, the things he wishes he had done, and his viewpoints on traveling.

            Sedaris describes homosexual people and how they seem to him. He is credible to speak of this subject because he is gay as well, making him share a special connection with the homosexuals. Also, he talks about his relationships with past boyfriends and brief encounters with strangers during his travel.

            Sedaris is a big fan of smoking. He begins his essay with how travel used to be. People could smoke anywhere. Smoking cars existed in the early 1900s. But that is out of context because the Sedaris is retelling his story during a time when the concept of smoking in cars did not exist.

            Sedaris’s purpose of writing this essay is to show how frequent travel has changed him and how he has learned about himself as a person more because of traveling and meeting unique people.

            He is writing to people who understand his viewpoint of traveling and love affairs with strangers. He is writing to those to have experienced being crammed with others on a train or have seen people similar to the ones he has encountered.

            Sedaris uses many rhetorical devices in his essay to express what he sees. He describes his travel friend, Basir who he has just met, by using a simile. He says, “It was as if someone has coaxed the eyes out of Bambi and resettled them, half asleep, into a human face” (177). This shows that he was meaning to portray Basir as beautiful.

            David Sedaris successfully accomplished his purpose. He wrote an essay to show his views on traveling at the same time relating to any person who has traveled for many hours before. Despite if the reader was homosexual, bisexual, or heterosexual, the reader could have related to David Sedaris’s essay, whether it was meeting a new person, feeling a strong connection with a random stranger, or traveling, for what it seems like interminable hours.

Traveling- You will be surprised to see the types of people you will meet as you travel. (www.pcmag.com)