Lucy Dineen Ms. Remmey
Freakonomics Assignment August 2015
Argument: What Do Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers Have in Common?
Based on Paul Feldman’s findings, the authors of Freakonomics argue that a person, who is faced with an efficient way to cheat, will not necessarily choose to. The data involved in Feldman’s accidental bagel study proves that not all humans are corrupt. However, their tendency to cheat alters based on several factors, such as the characteristics of the person, the value of the incentive, and the impact of the setting on the person’s mood. 1. Metaphor- “He had thrown off the shackles of cubicle life and made himself happy.” (Levitt/Dubner 45) 2. Juxtaposition- “But in the big-office/small-office comparison, bagel crime seems to mirror street crime. There is far less street crime per capita in rural areas than in cities, in large part because a rural criminal is more likely to be known (and therefore caught).” (Levitt/Dubner 46) 3. Allusion- “Because many of Feldman’s customers are affiliated with the national security, there may have been a patriotic element to this 9/11 effect.” (Levitt/Dubner 47) 4. Antithesis- “But often a small and simple question can help chisel away at the biggest problems.” (Levitt/Dubner 45) 5. Pathos- “Paul Feldman’s bagel business was different. It did present a victim. The victim was Paul Feldman.” (Levitt/Dubner 46)

Argument: How is the Ku Klux Klan like a Group of Real-Estate Agents?
The second chapter of Freakonomics states that, though