Argumentation

Argumentation refers to the way the author presents the arguments that support her ideas through various language devices and techniques. In “Mothers and teenagers: a modern tragedy”, Rachel Cusk uses closed argumentation, and rhetorical devices like analogy, irony, and figurative speech. Cusk also appeals to the reader through pathos and ethos.

Closed argumentation

Closed argumentation means that the ideas and arguments a sender supports are conveyed indirectly, instead of being explicitly stated.  The point of the article is made clear from the title – “Mothers and teenagers: a modern tragedy”— which indicates the author wants to argues that the relationship between teenagers and mothers is conflicting. However, the text of the article is less explicit.

Cusk uses a personal story to illustrate indirectly the way in which teenage-parents relationships change over time.

... 

Rhetorical devices

By rhetorical devices we mean language features that make a communication (written or spoken) appealing, that help engage the receivers and keep them focused on the message of the text. Their purpose is to convey meaning and to persuade. Here are some of the most important rhetorical devices Rachel Cusk uses in her article:

The author makes several analogies through similes and metaphors when she compares people and attitudes to other situations: “Sometimes I feel it has displaced me as the navigator of our lives; it has become her compass.” (ll. 17-19)

In this example, the mother is associated with a navigator and the laptop with a compass. Other relevant examples are:

“…her temper instantly rises, like mercury shooting up in a thermometer.” (ll. 23-24);

“…I’m forcing myself on her, like an insistent hostess forcing food on her guests.” (ll. 34-35)

“They talk about their fathers, usually with an experimental air of equality, as if they were trying on a pair of shoes that were slightly too big for them.” (188-192)

“…still having to operate bodies and minds that are like new, complex pieces of machinery.” (ll. 261-263)

“It is as though we have absconded together from that mild prison, home...” (283-285)

Allusion (references to literature, historical events, etc.) is constructed through references to the story of Medea, an Ancient Greek story about a mother who kills her children.

...

Forms of appeal

In order to make her arguments and ideas more convincing, Rachel Cusk frequently evokes authority and emotional language, or ethos and pathos.

Ethos is constructed through the writer’s authority (legitimacy) generated by the fact that she is a respected writer and a parent of teenage girls. Being a parent of teenage girls makes her suitable for discussing the topic of mother-daughter relationships. Furthermore, she appeals to ideas of common shared values by presenting the perspective of the two categories being discussed—parents and teenagers: “Because they’re told by my daughters, these stories have the teenagers as their protagonists. The stories told by my peers work the other way around.” (ll. 75-78)

...