Blog Response to “A Letter to Jim”

After reading Rebekah Taylor’s letter to her friend, I had a better understanding of the Rogerian approach to arguments (Ramage 143). She wrote in simple form something that is hard for me to put into words. Not the about being a vegetarian, but the simple argument that she wrote: her assignment in the form of a letter. The words flowed smoothly and it was very easy to understand. I read it several times and wished just once that I could get these arguments down and write something like it. The way Rebekah eases into her discussion of the arguments she has had with her friend is very empathetic. She makes her Rogerian argument very well by doing what should be done for this type of argument and that is by disarming any hostility by showing her respect for her friend’s view of eating meat (Ramage 140).  She strives to lessen the force of her argument by stating how and why she started being a vegetarian by stating her motivation is deeply rooted by her respect for animals (Ramage 143). When she puts it this way, she not only makes good use of ethos to make her point, but displays her pathos equally as well by focusing attention on the values and beliefs that she feels she has with her friend: the common bond of animal suffering and factory farms (Ramage 142). Her logos, the reason for not eating meat, is clearly defined by stating the difference in the way she was raised as opposed to the way her friend was raised and that it is (logically) clearly more healthy to be a vegetarian than to eat meat (Ramage 143).

            Although I was raised as a meat eater, I can clearly understand her point of view and she almost had me convinced that I need to become a vegetarian by the time I finished her short but very persuasive argument. Rebekah finishes her Rogerian argument with a compromise by proposing that her friend Jim buy meat from small independent local farmers and that she will earnestly consider whatever he writes in response. This completes the win-win negotiation of Rogerian arguments. She shows that she is respectful of her friend’s beliefs and in so doing show’s her understanding of his position.

            I only hope that with practice, I can write such simple but persuasive arguments. I believe this Rogerian argument is one of my favorites. The win-win negotiation appeals to me as a writer, as a person, and as someone who feels it is important to be heard. Arguments are definitely not as simplistic as I first thought when I started this class, and hopefully I will be able to grasp the concept better after a lot more practice.

Works Cited

Ramage, John D., John C. Bean and June Johnson. Writing Arguments:  A Rhetoric with             Readings. New York:  Longman, 2010. Print.