Rhetorical Analysis
What is the weirdest thing that a person can meet in their life? Born with blue blood or wearing black lipstick on campus every day are some of the things that people win society would consider weird. Other than the weird nature of such tendencies, wearing black lipstick and having blue blood are some of the various features that may be considered as deviant behavior. To be specific, being deviant can be separated to two different kinds including being and doing, so blue blood is being, and black lipstick is doing. According to John Curra, a hematologist from the University of Kentucky, deviance can be a seen not only in the things that people do but also through the traits that people are born with. In his paper, Being Deviant, John did a lot research on the topic of deviance. The author provides a definition of deviance, a matter of being or being doing. He further states lots of examples to show the behavior of deviance, which helps audience, understand the definition. According to John, being born with deviant traits is similar to choosing to be deviant. In addition, his research further demonstrate that deviance often has little to do with the person engaging in deviant acts because in most cases, these acts are only seen as deviance when judged by society.
John Curra is a professor at Eastern Kentucky University and employs the use of ethos in his research. Before he wrote the book about deviance, he did a lot of research on this topic, combated with his background, “He has taught courses in social deviance, criminology, sociological analysis, social problems, social psychology,” and “he received the prestigious excellence in Teaching Award from the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and he was selected as a foundation Professor” (SAGE). From the information above, he has full confidence to write about this topic because he has accomplished a great deal on this. According to courses that he taught, most of them are related to society. He cared about and focused on social problems, and through his own research he also found social problems that led to these conclusions. Deviance is a hard topic to explain to readers, he used his own knowledge to recombine some stories and true examples in real life. In addition, he received some important awards which can prove he has strength to make his writing more convincing. In this chapter, he used own words to explain the definition of the word deviance, and then used a research on a child with a blood disorder to spread out the topic.
John Curra starts the chapter with a child that has a blood disorder as an example to introduce the word deviant which can be defined as pathos. The child is an example of being deviant as he was born with blue blood. After the medical training by the physician and nurse, the blue blood problem was solved. According to author’s writing, “however, for the transformation to last, the former blue people of Kentucky would have to take a pill every day because the effects of methylene blue are short-lived” (Curra 19-21). To Kentucky people, the methylene blue is not a disorder, they seem like a normal phenomenon in their region, but they do not know the harm of this before. Those affected need to take pills to switch their blood color back to normal, like other people who have pink skin instead of blue skin. The author uses a child as an example because he wants to gain the sympathy of hid audience as no one wants to see a child as a freak when he was born.
The author uses logos to talk about interesting stories an example being his focus on what he refers to as “Discrediting Lips”. The main character, Karle Chapman, is a good example of doing something deviant. The story tells audience about a girl who wears black lipstick at elementary story which is not allowed and conti9nues to do so even after being cautioned by the principle. The girl continues to use the shade of lipstick even after being suspended from school and this is when true deviance is seen. “If Karle Chapman had been born with black lips, the principle would have found herself in a more difficult situation in trying to expel her” (Curra 30). From this story, Karle is trying to go against the authority, she knows the story rules, but she chooses not to follow. She chooses this way to show the difference between her and other students in the elementary school. The principle of the school thinks this is not a right age for wearing discrediting lips color.
The author mentioned that Karle has a choice on what color of lipstick to use but the principle has no choice but to punish her for being deviant. Here readers can see that someone is choosing to be deviant but other has no choices. Another story is a baby born with blue skin. “The boy was as healthy as a newborn could be, but he did have one curious trait: dark blue skin, the color of a plum or denim blue jeans” (Curra 21). The baby was born with blue blood because of the genes from his mother and therefore did not have any options in the matter. When he grows, he might be very sad why he is different from other people, but he cannot change it. This is possible lead to a very different life in the future for him.
From the research, Curra demonstrates that deviance has more to do with opinions held by people in society rather than the type of actions a person engages in or the traits they are born with. The author gives a good example of the Fugate boy born with blue skin. Despite being a common occurrence in Kentucky, people still consider blue skin to be a deviance despite it having no effects on the individual or the people around him. “The boy was as healthy as a newborn could be…” (Curra 21). From the example, it is clear that people do not have to engage in deviant acts because society considers most differences from the norm as being deviant. The boy in no way chose to be born with blue skin but his condition is seen as deviance because it is not normal in the eyes of society.
Similar to the act of being born deviant, choosing act of deviance is also mostly determined by what society deems normal and appropriate. In most scenarios, wearing black lipstick is considered a fashion choice and accepted in society. However, when Karla Chapman wore the same shade of lipstick to school, she was suspended as it was seen as deviant behavior. “At another time or place, with different people, this probably would have been no big deal” (Curra 30). While the same act is acceptable in society, it is treated as deviance by the principal on the belief that it distracts other students even if this is not what Karla intended.
While being deviant and engaging in deviant acts is often the basis of deviance, the author reveals that often times, the defiant nature is not on an act or on a person’s state but rather on the opinions and beliefs held by people in society. In Kentucky, blue skin is common and therefore not that much of a defiant trait. Similarly, choosing to wear black lipstick is acceptable in society but deviant in the eyes of the principal. The research therefore demonstrates that defiance is not a matter of being or doing but rather how society views the individual’s state or actions. Curra further points out that anything can be classified as being deviant even when it is not. “If being blue among other blue people can be labeled as being deviant and in need of change, anything can be” (Curra 22). It is therefore based on the personal opinions held by people and the views that they have of each other.
In conclusion, the author uses rhetorical appeals ethos, pathos and logos to persuade readers the facts, people who are born to be different to other people are seen like freaks, and they probably will not fit into their group. Nevertheless, some people set themselves apart in order to show that they are different from others or to fell that they belong to another group. Normal people will express and make different opinions about these two kinds of deviant people. Deviance is therefore not a matter of being or doing but rather what society classifies as deviance depending on personal opinions, experiences and other factors.
Work Cited Page
Curra,J.. Understanding social deviance: From the near side to the outer limits. New York: HarperCollins. 1994
