Metaphor by Metaphor

There are at least six ways of effectively linking evidence and claims. Richard Fulkerson’s Teaching the Argument in Writinghas a chapter devoted to them. They are argument for a Generalization, from Analogy and Sign, Causal arguments, and arguments from Authority and Principle. None guarantee anything and all can be used fallaciously, but when used well they can be extremely persuasive. This link describes them in greater detail.

From Atul Gawande’s compelling essay “Hellhole” in the 30 March 09 New Yorker:

The main argument for using long-term isolation in prisons is that it provides discipline and prevents violence. When inmates refuse to follow the rules—when they escape, deal drugs, or attack other inmates and corrections officers—wardens must be able to punish and contain the misconduct. Presumably, less stringent measures haven’t worked, or the behavior would not have occurred. And it’s legitimate to incapacitate violent aggressors for the safety of others. So, advocates say, isolation is a necessary evil, and those who don’t recognize this are dangerously naïve.

The argument makes intuitive sense. If the worst of the worst are removed from the general prison population and put in isolation, you’d expect there to be markedly fewer inmate shankings and attacks on corrections officers. But the evidence doesn’t bear this out. Perhaps the most careful inquiry into whether supermax prisons decrease violence and disorder was a 2003 analysis examining the experience in three states—Arizona, Illinois, and Minnesota—following the opening of their supermax prisons. The study found that levels of inmate-on-inmate violence were unchanged, and that levels of inmate-on-staff violence changed unpredictably, rising in Arizona, falling in Illinois, and holding steady in Minnesota.

Can you identify where Gawande summaries an objection to his claim that extended solitary confinement is cruel and unusual punishment? With which word does he begin his concession to those who support solitary confinement? With which word does he begin to redeem the case for ending solitary confinement? How does he support his claim?

Consider these three examples of how the first sentences of an annotated bibliography can address a source’s use of rhetorical strategies:

• Crucial to Spunk & Bite’s persuasiveness is Plotnik’s ethos as a friendly iconoclast, which he begins to establish with the title of his first chapter: “E.B. Whitewashed.”
• A range of words that lend it academic credibility surround Helen Fein’s essay “Genocide by Attrition 1939-1993,” including “Harvard,” “PhD,” and an abstract in three languages. This probably increases the essay’s persuasive power for studious audiences.
• The first chapter of John C. Bean’s Engaging Ideas begins with a rational for the book’s organization: “Teachers who are pressed for time can read this chapter and then . . . turn directly to the other chapters that address their most immediate concerns” (1-2). This direct appeal to his audience, indicating an awareness of their needs and respect for their autonomy, very likely persuades them to read on.