ENG4U1 Personal Persuasive Essay Unit: Discussing Sample Student Answers for the Essay,
“This is Emo” by Chuck Klosterman
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The following answers are sample student responses for each of the assigned
personal persuasive essay analysis questions for “This is Emo”. Let’s discuss the
strengths and weaknesses of these answers, and use them as a model for how to
dissect a personal persuasive essay!
Question #1:
I believe that Klosterman’s thesis is that the media has ruined people’s perception of what
true love is, which in turn is setting people up for failure because they will never find the love
they want, and believe exists. I believe that Chuck Klosterman’s thesis is that through the
media’s faulty representation of love and relationships, today’s society hungers for an
unattainable thing, leaving us to wallow in unnecessary despair.
Question #2:
I do agree with Klosterman’s thesis, yet perhaps not to his outrageous extent. I agree that
the media has represented love in unrealistic ways (thanks, John Cusack), and due to this,
society parades around trying to find the unfindable. However, this leads to the question,
what is real love? While one couple may be under Chris Martin’s musically illustrated illusion
that they are in love, another couple may truly feel that the stars are indeed yellow. I believe
that it is unfair to deem everyone’s attempts at romance as futile, because who really knows
what love is? I agree with Klosterman’s funny and somewhat pessimistic view that love can
be fabricated through the magic of the media, however, I believe that this is only one face of
the metaphorical coin.
Question #3:
The tone of this essay is bitter, angry, and hopeless. Angry because of the whole paragraph
dedicated to Coldplay in which swear words appear every other word. Hopeless when he’s
talking about how every one of his relationships is bound to end because eventually people
run out of things to say to each other. He is bitter that the mass media shapes our ideas and
expectations of love. This greatly affects his credibility, particularly his crudeness, because it
makes the essay unsophisticated. It is too emotional, like someone having a temper tantrum.
In fits of rage people cannot be taken seriously because they are overcome with emotion,
and therefore are not perfectly logical or credible. This frustration and hopelessness tells the
reader that this author may be sad or depressed, and in such a state he cannot be an
objective critic for romantic relationships, therefore he is not credible.
Question #4:
Three pro arguments that Klosterman integrates into his essay include the argument,
“Americans all seem to share a single, unifying characteristic; the inability to experience the
kind of mind blowing, transcendent romantic relationship they perceive to be a normal part
of living”, which provides the answer for why Klosterman begins his essay with the assertion
that he will “never satisfy a woman…”. Another argument that is posed in the essay is that
people are “pretending to be characters that don’t exist”, which explains the movie portion of
the essay, and informs the reader how people get this idea of a ‘perfect romance’ into their
minds. Finally, Klosterman includes a supporting argument that discusses the “interpretation
of how being in love is supposed to feel, and people find themselves wanting that feeling for
real”, as well as how “real people are actively trying to live like fake people, so real people are
no less fake”, which is an effective point because it ties all of his ideas together with the
thesis to get to the root of the essay. This final argument shows exactly what the author
means about people being fake as they try to be like characters from the movies.
Question #5:
Chuck Klosterman’s con argument states that “Woody Allen made it acceptable for beautiful
women to sleep with nerdy, bespectacled goofballs.” He considers that, in the case of Woody
Allen, the media has improved people’s perceptions of reality.
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Now, with a partner, improve your previous analysis of the internal strategies
and rhetorical devices that Klosterman uses in his essay by including more
analytical detail and direct evidence (quotations) from the essay as support for
your assertions. Consider: Do you understand internal strategies and rhetorical
devices? If not, ask for clarification! Can you identify internal strategies and
rhetorical devices in a personal persuasive essay and then examine their effect
on the essay in a meaningful and critical way? If not, practice this skill more
actively! Try this below!
Question #6: Internal Strategies - Narration, Cause and Effect, Example
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Question #7: Rhetorical Devices – Allusions, Humour, Repetition
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