TAG! You're it!

If you're missing class to play TAG today, here are the discussion questions for "On Dumpster Diving":

1.     What is the effect of Eighner’s attention to language in the first five paragraphs? Does this opening appeal more to ethos, logos, or pathos? Explain.

2.     In paragraph 7, Eighner identifies the rhetorical direction he plans to follow. What is the effect of such information?

3.     Note the technical and clinical nature of much of part one of the essay. In paragraph 19, for example, he writes of de-emulsification and the behavior of pathogens. What is the effect of such scientific language and information?

4.     Indentify and explain two examples of irony in the section about the students (paragraphs 25-30).

5.     Paragraph 37 concludes, “I do not want to paint too romantic a picture. Dumpster diving has serious drawback as a way of life.” What is the effect of these sentences? What is their rhetorical purpose?

6.     Note the careful distinction Eighner makes between the “true scavenger” and the “can scrounger.” What purpose does it serve?

7.     Do Eighner’s thoughts of Lizbeth in paragraph 63 appeal chiefly to ethose, logos, or pathos? Explain.

8.     Provide an example of an appeal to ethos. Explain its significance.

9.     Explain the irony in the closing passage (paragraphs 78-80).