Engl 312 Rhetorical Analysis -Encounter

"BEST LOTION IN THE WORLD"

The encounter is an interaction between a sales lady at a kiosk in the mall and myself.

1. The argument of this encounter is that I need this lotion from Israel because it is the best lotion in the world.

2. The audience of this encounter is myself, a 20 year old poor college student who is fairly concerned with having somewhat beautiful skin.

3. The goal of this encounter is to get me to buy this lotion.

4. The speaker tries to persuade me to buy this lotion through several elements of rhetoric:

Ethos: The speaker stated that the lotion comes all the way from Israel so it is very rare, and thus very valuable. The speaker explained how it is made from minerals that can only be found in the Dead Sea and these minerals are the best in the world for skin treatment. By explaining where the lotion is derived from, the speaker was building up the credibility of the product, and thus the respect I should have for its quality. The speaker also went on to explain that she was the manager and was leaving to head back to Israel the next week so she offered me a very "special" deal by cutting the price of the lotion in half. She then went on to explain that she could only do this because she was the manager and I would not find this kind of deal anywhere else. By stating her position as the manager and reducing the price for me, the speaker was attempting to increase her ethos, or her authority and power, thus demanding some level of respect from myself.

Pathos: The speaker also attempted to use pathos to sell the lotion to me. The speaker came up to me right away as I was walking buy her kiosk and kept exclaiming how beautiful I was and how handsome the man I was with was as well. The speaker kept trying to ask me questions and get to know me, thus using pathos to instill flattery and a sense of connection with me, so that I would be more persuaded to buy her product.

Relevant- The speaker also found out I was traveling to Israel the next summer and she started talking all about beautiful land of Israel, thus using the emot ion of excitement to help raise my interest in her, and therefore her product. The lotions and products she was selling are from Israel, and therefore she felt it was relevant to keep describing the land the product came from.

Sufficient- The speaker kept explaining how this lotion was the "best lotion I could ever find", but there was very little evidence to support her claim. She said the minerals were the most rare in the world, but this was not only questionable, but also did not lead to prove that this lotion was the best lotion I could find. The speaker claimed that this lotion was of such a high quality that I would not need to use as much, and therefore it would last longer than other lotions but there was no way to prove or test this.

5. Although the speaker used the rhetorical element of ethos effectively, the lack of sufficient evidence made the speaker unsuccessful in her goal of getting me to buy her lotion. Her use of pathos seemed overly dramatic, and did not instill the intended emotions of connection and excitement about the product that was needed. Her failure to provide me with logos or logic to support the claim that this lotion really was indeed the best lotion in the world was one of the biggest factors in making this encounter unsuccessful. The speaker's argument was also very bold, and this took away some of the credibility. The speaker also failed to take into account her audience, being me, a very poor college student with little money to spend on expensive lotion.