In Charlie LeDuff's book Detroit an American Autopsy, there are a number of fallacies used from The Thinker's Guide to Fallacies: The Art of Mental Trickery and Manipulation. Some of the Fallacies used are:
#5 Appeal to Fear
This fallacies is used in many parts of the book. It is shows on how corrupt the government is in Detroit. The government has many people controlling the face figure of who the citizens see to go through with their own ideas. These figures are being controlled through fear of what could happen to them if they don't listen.
#14 Devise Analogies
This fallacies is used metaphors and analogies to get your point out to the audience and could be false. In the book, LeDuff uses this fallacies to show how bad a situation is in the book. How little things could mean a lot in Detroit, and how the situation is very shocking.
#19 Demonize His Side, Sanitize Yours
This fallacies is basically putting your view as good and other's view as bad. This is used in LeDuff's writing because all LeDuff is writing about is the bad Detroit and he doesn't include the parts of Detroit that are decent to see. He only talks about the parts in Detroit that are run down and need help from the government. But there are nicer areas in Detroit isn't what LeDuff describes in his book.
Monday, May 19, 2014
Fallacies found in Detroit: An American Autopsy
Reading the Fallacies book helped me connect many of the mental manipulations to the book Detroit: An American Autopsy, since a lot of the book focuses on the corrupt politics of Detroit as a city. However, the fallacy that stood out to me as I was reading Detroit, was "Dirty Trick #7: Appealing to popular passions". This trick was unique, because it was not the author, Charlie LeDuff using a fallacy to manipulate the reader, but the new mayor using it to appeal to the voter. "After retiring from basketball, he started his own business manufacturing auto parts in Detroit. He ran his mayoral campaign tutoring this executive acumen" (p.176).
Although his statement appealed to the voters of Detroit, LeDuff adds: "An elegant, introverted and geriatric figure, Bing neglected to tell the voters that his business was failing and that it had existed hand-to-mouth for a number of years" (p.176). This shows that Bing was appealing to the voters of Detroit by identifying with being apart of the auto industry and starting his own company (to show success) but denied telling the voter the whole truth.
Although his statement appealed to the voters of Detroit, LeDuff adds: "An elegant, introverted and geriatric figure, Bing neglected to tell the voters that his business was failing and that it had existed hand-to-mouth for a number of years" (p.176). This shows that Bing was appealing to the voters of Detroit by identifying with being apart of the auto industry and starting his own company (to show success) but denied telling the voter the whole truth.
Fallacies in Detroit
Appeal to Pity is used by Mario Willis when trying to escape prison time for hiring an arsonist who ended up killing Walt Harris: "I just once again, just thank you. I ask you to have mercy upon me and I'm very humbled by the situation."
LeDuff's coverage of Monica Conyers is a subtle and ongoing invocation of Make Your Opponent Look Ridiculous. Conyers is consistently portrayed as a caricature of a spoiled, vain, hot-tempered weasel.
LeDuff also employs Demonize Their Side, Sanitize Yours throughout the book. He portrays himself as a bold, fearless hero crusading to expose Detroit's evils, while his opponents are crooks and cheaters who are destroying the city.
LeDuff's coverage of Monica Conyers is a subtle and ongoing invocation of Make Your Opponent Look Ridiculous. Conyers is consistently portrayed as a caricature of a spoiled, vain, hot-tempered weasel.
LeDuff also employs Demonize Their Side, Sanitize Yours throughout the book. He portrays himself as a bold, fearless hero crusading to expose Detroit's evils, while his opponents are crooks and cheaters who are destroying the city.
Fallacies in Charlie LeDuff's Detroit: American Autopsy
Charlie LeDuff in Detroit: American Autopsy combines a "gritty reportage and personal memories" (Goodreads) which accurately describes the situation in Detroit, although, as readers, there are some of the occurrences that he writes in the book we would never know were proven. If the journal was a reportage that is supposed to report only truth, yet, some of the metaphors that he uses to express his view seem a little bit to "extreme" to readers. According to Fallacies, this move fits Dirty Trick #14 about devise analogies. In Detroit, after the corrupt mayor had been taken out, LeDuff promised himself to find out who was responsible for the outrage of murderers walking free while the city burned night after night. "I was going to become real reporter. Someone had to answer this shit. ... That's when a bird shit on my face." (158) We never know if this was truly what happened to him as he voices the irony in the tragedy. Another example was when GM planned to officially declare bankruptcy, and the whole city lost its dependable workplace. "This was like living in Pompeii, except the people weren't covered in ash. We were alive. ... And if you needed a metaphor for how retrograde things were becoming, a beaver was sighted nesting in the Detroit River for the first time in seventy-five years." (175) When Detroit became the home of automobile industries, the rapid development of city was said to have caused beavers to "extinct," and LeDuff claims that the downfall of Detroit many years later have caused the beavers to come to sight, yet again. This might be a little to far, however, we never know if this was part of the truth that he told in his journal.
In addition to the point, Detroit in general describes how bad it was in Detroit and how damaged the city and the people were. In this case, LeDuff seems to demonize others' side and sanitizes his presence when he went back to his hometown. The government was falling, the firehouses were broke, the people were all bad, and murders followed him everywhere he goes. And there he was, reporting and publishing his stories to get the people in charge to do the right thing. Even tough this is not the focus of the book, he fails to recognize the good parts about Detroit, which is categorized to Dirty Trick #19 according to Fallacies. He describes himself as the only one source of virtue among all evil things in Detroit, and explains his moves to be righteous.
In addition to the point, Detroit in general describes how bad it was in Detroit and how damaged the city and the people were. In this case, LeDuff seems to demonize others' side and sanitizes his presence when he went back to his hometown. The government was falling, the firehouses were broke, the people were all bad, and murders followed him everywhere he goes. And there he was, reporting and publishing his stories to get the people in charge to do the right thing. Even tough this is not the focus of the book, he fails to recognize the good parts about Detroit, which is categorized to Dirty Trick #19 according to Fallacies. He describes himself as the only one source of virtue among all evil things in Detroit, and explains his moves to be righteous.
Fallacies in Detroit: An American Autopsy
LeDuff's style of writing uses many different fallacies. He uses these fallacies to appeal to emotions in the reader causing a more profound reaction in the direction pointed to by the induced feelings. Of these many fallacies he uses #14 Devise Analogies, also known as metaphors to provide a deeper reaction in his audience. He plants metaphors in ways that describe a situation in more understanding terms as well as to perhaps tell more about the situation. The are many #5s which are Appeals to Fear. They are constantly being used by those in charge to keep those with less power too afraid to move. For example with politicians and the general public. In the US, depending on which party you associate with, they are always telling you things that you should be afraid of. The politicians appeal to the fears of the public to get their support. LeDuff also employs #15 that being Questioning Your Opponents Conclusions. He has to make himself look better than all the "enemies" he has in this book. He constantly questions their conclusions in order to illustrate just how much of what they say is proven to be true and not just wild speculation.
Fallacies in The Glass Castle
In The Glass Castle, I found the fallacies 2, 6, 18, and 23 to show up throughout the story.
Fallacy number 2, "Accuse him of sliding down a slippery slope", refers to Rex and his alcoholism when people try to confront him about him and what it will do to him in the end. Fallacy number 6 has to do with appealing to pity. This one made me think of Jeannette's mother when she gets caught stealing food for herself. She says she needs it more than the kids do and makes up excuses so that the family feels pity for her. It shows how manipulating she is and how she makes people feel bad for her. Fallacy 18, Deny or Defend Inconsistencies, also has to do with the mother. Throughout the book, she does many questionable things and denies she did anything wrong. She says she cares about her kids even though her actions prove otherwise. The 23rd fallacy is to ignore the evidence. I relate this to when Rex responds to the abuse going on in his mother's house. He chooses to ignore the problem so that he does not have to deal with it.
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Fallacies In The Book Detroit: An American Autopsy
In the book Detroit: An American Autopsy I notice that some fallacies are used.
There are three major Fallacies: 6, 14, 41
Fallacy number 6
Appeal To Pity (or sympathy)
Charlie LeDuff may be using this when explaining his personal connections to the city of Detroit. When LeDuff informed me as a reader that his sister had died, it made me feel a emotional connection or sympathy for him. This caused me to become more understanding about his points of view.
Fallacy number 14
Devise Analogies (and metaphors) That Support Your View
LeDuff uses many metaphors and analogies in his book. He seem to use them specifically when he feels strongly about a topic. He does this in order to get his point across in a more convincing way. He also uses these when he wants to emphasize how ridiculous something is.
Fallacy number 41
Treat Abstract Words and Symbols As If They Were Real Things
LeDuff does incorporate many abstract symbols in his story. These symbols can be interpreted in many ways. these symbols are used to further prove his point but can do the opposite if someone views these symbols in a different way.
There are three major Fallacies: 6, 14, 41
Fallacy number 6
Appeal To Pity (or sympathy)
Charlie LeDuff may be using this when explaining his personal connections to the city of Detroit. When LeDuff informed me as a reader that his sister had died, it made me feel a emotional connection or sympathy for him. This caused me to become more understanding about his points of view.
Fallacy number 14
Devise Analogies (and metaphors) That Support Your View
LeDuff uses many metaphors and analogies in his book. He seem to use them specifically when he feels strongly about a topic. He does this in order to get his point across in a more convincing way. He also uses these when he wants to emphasize how ridiculous something is.
Fallacy number 41
Treat Abstract Words and Symbols As If They Were Real Things
LeDuff does incorporate many abstract symbols in his story. These symbols can be interpreted in many ways. these symbols are used to further prove his point but can do the opposite if someone views these symbols in a different way.
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