Rhetorical Analysis of Slouching Towards Bethlehem Literature Article (Article Sample)

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Rhetorical Analysis of Slouching Towards Bethlehem
Introduction
Joan Didion’s “Slouching Towards Bethlehem” is a collection of non-fiction essays and articles composed by the author during the 1960’s. The book was first published in 1967 and explores how the American culture was destructive to American youths. Didion explores the decentered and disintegrated nature of life in Haight-Ashbury in 1967. The author blames this disintegration on the American culture, a culture that encourages laziness and other social evils. According to Didion, the American culture encouraged the youth that success and happiness in life can be achieved if one is wealthy and living extravagant lifestyles. Therefore, the central theme in the collection of non-fiction essays is social disintegration. Didion uses the rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos and logos to develop the theme in her essays.