BJ Sutcliffe

Lance Sacknoff

ENGL 250 Section HB

7 October 2013

It's not DiGiorno, it's delivery!

What makes a good persuasive argument? Facts? Stories? Maybe, but how

about the proper use of argumentative tricks? Many methods have been created

over the years to persuade such as having a credible source or arguing in a way that

makes people emotionally attached. A vast majority of what makes a good argument

is it’s rhetorical situation. Such as organization, context, substance, style and

delivery. The use of such methods can be used in both visuals and writing. Michael

Kimmel and Steve Kelley are two persuaders that properly use methods such as

engagement and accessibility in their own style to help their particular pieces.

"Bros Before Hoes": The Guy Code is Michael Kimmel’s explanation as to why

guys act the way they do. This essay can be found in his book "The Perilous World

Where Boys Become Men" written in 2008. His intended audience is young males,

but he writes so it can appeal to anyone. The essay is about how guys around age

twenty fit into a social group. This group follows a set of rules taught to them as a

child known as The Guy Code. The Guy Code governs a majority of their actions. It is

also the rules that turn boys into men. The rules seem to have originated from the

elder men in the boys’ lives and they make a man appear cooler to other men. Guys

are taught to be daring, emotionless, independent, to brush off pain, and to think of

items and wealth as the ultimate success. In an attempt to stay manly, boys must

Sutcliffe 1

alter everything they do to avoid being called feminizing names. Anything that

appears to be feminine or gay must be avoided such as dressing nice and showing

emotions. Homophobia is one of the biggest driving forces that make men feel the

need to appear manly. Men would resort to using drugs and some say they would go

as far as killing themselves if they didn’t fit in with other men. Kimmel then gives

example about how this way of thinking starts at a young age of three and a half

years old. He then explains how the rules cause issues socially and psychologically.

The men were taught to never express weak emotions and that the use of anger and

violence is how they should act.

Right away the title to the essay is an early attention grabber to get

Kimmel’s specific audience engaged. I happen to fit right into his audience, so

for me, when I read the words “bros before hos” I was already curious to read

more about it. Shortly after the intro is a list of phrases or rules most guys

have heard of and some would even agree upon. This is merely a page into the

essay and he already has his readers interested in the material to come.

Kimmel also includes a quote from a well-known rapper, Eminem, giving his

description of the word “faggot.” This is a good use of an Ethos appeal.

Throughout the essay he gives multiple quotes of stories from multiple

situations relating to masculinity. These stories range from parenting a young

boy, to guys talking about various ways they were picked on for showing

unmanly attributes. These are all various attempts at getting a reader more

connected to get them more intrigued with the essay.

Sutcliffe 2

The idea Kimmel is trying to say in this essay is fairly hard to detect. It does

not explicitly say the topic in the introduction or throughout the rest of the essay.

But does this mean the audience cannot understand the message? The point of the

essay is almost subliminal, it’s not very easy to notice, but yet it’s understood

nonetheless. After reading the end of the essay and questioning myself as to why

guys would act in a way would cause them so much mental harm, the answer had

something to do with the boys being taught that way. After more thought I realized

that is the topic question and the answer to it. Kimmel asked multiple guys where

they learned to be tough or manly. The guys answer with: their father, teachers, PE

teachers, brothers, coaches, and grandfathers, mainly any male elder in their life.

The idea of the code of masculinity was then reinforced by the boys peers by way of

name-calling. Words such as: wuss, nerd, queer, pussy, gay, or faggot. This is just a

way that guys keep other guys in line. Kimmel is trying to say that this guy code way

of thinking is taught to them rather than being a man’s instinct. By making his topic

a little unclear, it almost makes the piece irrefutable. The way he writes makes it

easy to accept the message. The message he’s stating is that of a sociology trait

rather than psychological one. So overall the topic question does not have to be

explicitly known in order to absorb the message and that is the beauty of how

Kimmel writes this piece.

Steve Kelley, on the other hand, prefers a different approach to persuasion.

Kelley uses visuals for his methodology. The visual is an editorial cartoon about the

legalization of same sex marriage. It depicts a man and women lying in bed,

presumably after intercourse. The man is then reading a paper discussing a court

Sutcliffe 3

ruling in favor of same sex marriage. He says, “It will make an absolute mockery of

traditional marriage!” The woman responds with, “That’s just what my husband

says.” In the corner of the picture are the words “The Times Picayune, 2003, S.

Kelley.”

Within the cartoon are a few examples of proper argumentation. These techniques

are used to give the argument strength. Due to these practices, this cartoon is very

effective to people who relate to the characters, the adulterers. Anyone else who can

understand its message will also appreciate its humor.

To engage the audience, Kelley uses irony within a controversial subject. The

irony creates a sense of humor to keep the image and it’s message within the

reader’s head. This helps the overall purpose of the piece by letting the reader think

more about what they’ve seen. People tend to be fond of controversial matters; this

may also play a small role in his engagement. The sole fact that it is a visual is very

Sutcliffe 4

attractive to some people. Having something to look at rather than read appeals to

people because pictures are usually short and sweet.

The message within the picture is very easy to understand. In the picture it

has the topic clearly written. The picture includes someone saying gay marriage is

wrong. Then it shows that he is doing an equally wrong if nor more wrong of an act

than what he is against. Therefore it is clear that Kelley is poking fun at these people

that are against gay marriage by saying that some of the things they partake in are

sometimes worse than what they are against. Kelley uses a clear topic, and a clear

message to make his point.

Both Kimmel and Kelley use engagement and accessibility to their advantage.

Kimmel uses multiple quotes and common phrases to attract his readers while

Kelley uses visual appeal. Kelley simplicity of a visual may be quick and easy, but if

given the time to read through Kimmel’s work, readers would feel a more powerful

argument because he offers so much more to keep his readers attracted. Even

though Kimmel’s topic may be a little harder to understand at first while Kelley’s is

pretty strait forward, Kimmel still has much more power behind his accessibility.

They both have a message that can be understood, but Kimmel writes his in a way

that makes it practically irrefutable. Overall they both use the techniques as a good

demonstration for others to use within their own pieces of work.

Sutcliffe 5

Works Cited

Kelley, Steve. Cartoon. Rereading America. Ed. Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and

Bonnie Lisle. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s. 2013. 73. Print.

Michael Kimmel. “’Bros Before Hos’: The Guy Code” Rereading America. Ed. Gary

Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

2013. 461-470. Print.

Sutcliffe 6