Kingsolvers Rhetoric

Barbra Kingsolver is known for being an extremely relatable and highly skilled writer. She typically writes about issues that are controversial to the American public. For example, in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, and Lily’s Chickens, Kingsolver writes about the debated topic of where our food comes from and if it is safe or healthy to eat it. Throughout these compositions she uses ethos, pathos and logos, among other rhetorical strategies, to send us a message to be more wary of where our food comes from. This style of writing is very successful for Kingsolver to express her beliefs on growing your own food and how easy it can be.

            Barbra Kingsolver frequently uses ethos, or credibility, to let the audience know that she does have experience when it comes to growing her own food because she, as well as her husband, grew up on a farm. However, this strategy is made successful when she tells us that she herself is not flawless when it comes to this lifestyle. As Kingsolver tells us about the big diet change that she and her family made, she does not make it seem like her way to eat should be the only way. Instead, she is humble while merely suggesting a new dietary style that you might be interested in trying. She never says “you must eat this” or “never eat that”, she is simply trying to offer you a lifestyle that she believes will be healthier for you. Kingsolver also uses humor in her writing to keep her readers interested in what she has to say because even she knows that what she is writing about can get a little boring at times.

            Perhaps Kingsolvers most effective strategy is the use of logos. While her writing can be humorous at times, Kingsolver includes numerous facts to assure her audience that the issue at hand is very serious and relevant. She mentions that one of the most serious problems with most Americans diets is the “food miles”. Food miles are the distance a product travels to the point where it will be sold. She also tells us that many foods, like apples, are imported from all over the world when it would be much more cheap and healthy to grow them right in your backyard. Kingsolver also includes facts about what kind of foods grow best in your part of the nation and how to get healthy food that may not be able to grow where you live.

            Barbra Kingsolver has made a successful career out of informing people about healthy ways to eat by making her audience feel like she is a trustworthy and reliable source. She wants to make you aware of the negative affects that unhealthy food can have on your body while encouraging you to live a healthier lifestyle. She does this effectively by carefully selecting what kind of rhetorical strategy would work best, and deciding which one would help persuade her reader the most.