Intention
Overall intention
Rob Haskell’s overall intention with the article is to explore the topics of being famous and social media influence while conveying a portrait of pop star Selena Gomez.
In pursuing this general intention, you may argue that Haskell has – and achieves – a series of sub-intentions. Haskell wants readers to empathize with Gomez and understand that being famous is quite challenging. Additionally, he wants to raise awareness about how the media and the entertainment industry can put even more pressure on celebrities.
Making readers empathize with Gomez as a person
Throughout the article, Rob Haskell tries to show readers that, even if Selena Gomez is a famous person, she is still as normal as everyone else. To make readers empathize with her, he uses descriptive words that suggest she is both strong and vulnerable: “battle-ax laugh” (ll. 10-11), “enchanting incongruities” (l. 11), “chocolate-brown hair” (l. 39), “tiny waist” (l. 40), “tearful speech” (l. 66) etc. See more in our Language section.
Using irony and contrast, Haskell suggests that, despite being a celebrity, Selena Gomez buys the brands of food that everyone else does: “She sets down her Givenchy purse and brings up, in gaudy succession, a frozen package of Giant Eagle Potatoes O’Brien…” (ll. 5-6).
Citing Gomez directly, the writer adds emphasis to his point of Gomez being a very authentic person: “ ‘I’m not di...