Analysis

Here you can get an overview of our analysis of Beth Macy’s article “‘I Am Going to Die if I Keep Living the Way I Am.’ She Was Right.”

The rhetorical situation of the article is that it was written by Beth Macy, a journalist with much experience covering the opioid crisis, and published in The New York Times, a well-known US paper. Macy’s target audience are people in the US who have an interest in the opioid crisis, especially families of addicts or politicians and healthcare professionals responsible for dealing with the crisis.

The article has a circular structure, as it begins and ends with the story of Tess’s tragic death. In the main body of the article, Macy alternates between telling Tess’s story and sharing general facts about the opioid crisis in the US.

Macy’s style of writing mixes formal and informal elements, giving the impression of a journalist who is both knowledgeable about the opioid crisis and personally invested in solving it.

Macy occasionally makes use of rhetorical devices to support her points. For instance, she uses antithesis to contrast abstinence-based treatment with M.A.T, and she includes metaphors that help her describe Tess’s desperate situation.

The article makes use of all three forms of appeal. Macy uses logos to present general statistics and arguments on the opioid crisis and the various treatment options available, while she builds ethos by describing herself as both professionally and personally invested in the issue. Pathos also plays a significant role when Macy zooms in on the sorrow of an individual family which has been affected by the crisis.

Finally, note that you have been specifically asked to focus on how the writer conveys her attitude to the issues explored. It is probably most useful to consider the language features of the article here, such as its style of writing and use of rhetorical devices and forms of appeal. All of these abovementioned sections may therefore be helpful when you describe how Macy conveys her attitude to the opioid crisis.

You can read a more detailed analysis in the following sections.