Rhetorical situation

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“Adam” is an interview with Adam, a young American banker, by author Michael Lee Cohen. As it features the voices of both the interviewer and the interviewee, we will focus on Michael Lee Cohen as well as Adam in this section. 

Michael Lee Cohen

The interview “Adam” is part of Cohen’s book The Twenty Something American Dream: A Cross Country Quest for Generation, which is a collection of interviews with young Americans belonging to Generation X. Since he was born in 1965, author Michael Lee Cohen is himself part of Generation X, and was probably motivated to do these interviews to better understand his generation’s views and aspirations, and how they relate to the American Dream. 

Michael Lee Cohen graduated from Harvard University, one of the top US universities, which adds to his credibility. This is increased by the fact that he conducted interviews across the US, which he then published in a collection. 

Although the interview consists mostly of quotes from Adam, Cohen also inserts some of his opinions and observations in the ...