I’ve always been intrigued by The New York Times opinion articles. I can’t count the number of times my outlook on an issue has been swayed by these savvy columnists. My searching eyes reached a halt yesterday upon reading the title “Why Men Fail.” ‘Really?’ I thought as I stared at the picture of author David Brooks looking quite professional and intellectual. This guy has something negative to say about the male gender?
Instead of summarizing this article, I thought it would be interesting in light of today’s class to present its information through pretending to enter the mind of David Brooks. In essence, the following is what I believe his mission statement would be…
- I want readers to understand that adversity among a historical minority group (women) has rendered them advantageous in today’s workplace.
- I want my audience to understand that flexibility and adaptability is perhaps just as important as mastery of the current times. Change is inevitable – today’s norms are tomorrow’s outdated practices.
- Stubbornness with what is limits vision and movement.
- Lastly, clinging to certain ideologies without an open mind will only hinder your progression within society.
Nice–you’ve got a great grasp of the content here! What do you think his “mission” might have been in terms of structure? Or voice? Or rhetorical choices?