In Nicholas Carr’s article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” He address the social topic of the effect of technology on our brain, more specifically certain processes that occur within our brain such as thought process, attention span, mental capacity, and so on. Throughout this article, Carr attempts to use many different rhetorical strategies to bolster the argument of his essay and its purpose. These rhetorical strategies include tone, Carr’s specific use of diction, and the overall organization of Carr’s article. All of these rhetorical techniques are used to effectively expose the argument of the article to the reader and lead the reader to the same conclusion as Carr fulfilling his purpose as the author.
First, Carr uses the tone of the opening passage and article to set the basis for the article and establishes how the rest of the essay is going to be. Carr seems to be using a ominous, foreshadowing tone that is shedding a public light on a darker topic. The tone, matched with the theme of the article, is best expressed in quotes such as one found on page 3 of his …show more content…
Carr begins the article with an allusion to a famous movie piece where the super computer H.A.L in Apollo 2000, is having its electronic brain taken apart by the astronaut. This serves as a bit of ironic foreshadowing to the rest of piece with the basis of the article being the internet’s effect on our brain. Carr then follows this with an immediate appeal to pathos, when he compares himself to the supercomputer in the sense that he can feel his mind slipping. The body paragraphs were filled with dense information, both studies and references to credible individuals. Finally, Carr wrapped up and summarized his argument at the end of his article, effectively capturing and focusing the reader’s attention one last time on the summation of his argument and what it possibly