Larsen 1 Justin L Larsen Professor Devin Patten English 1010 5 March 2014 Mental illness in America (The hidden

giant) Liza Longs Thinking the Unthinkable first appeared on a formerly anonymous blog called The Anarchist Soccer Mom December 14, 2012. It was then picked up by the Blue Review, a journal of popular scholarship that is put out by Boise state University, college of social sciences and public affairs. It was then re-published under the heading I am Adam Lanzas Mother. The writer attempts to create a sense of urgency and unity for families dealing with mental illness. The larger conversation is about the public and our nation as a whole not understanding how serious the problem of mental illness is. The author is telling us that the problem starts in the family home and we must recognize it and fix the problem at the source, before it explodes and is taken outside of the home and into our schools, workplaces, etc. The opening of the article begins with Long stating In the wake of another horrific national tragedy (referring to the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting) its easy to talk about guns, but its time to talk about mental illness. The technique she uses immediately establishes the direction the writer wants to go and pulls the reader in by making it about an issue that is quite prominent in America, school shootings. Although she is more interested in taking the reader through a journey regarding mental health in the households of America this was a good way to grab the attention of the reader right from the beginning.

Larsen 2 The author goes into her personal background and her challenges as a single mother with a mentally ill child. She states at one point that that I live with a son who is mentally ill. I love my son. But he terrifies me She gives an instance where Michael her 13 year old son pulled a knife out and threatened to kill himself and the mother because she asked him to return his overdue library book. His 7 and 9 year old siblings already had a safety plan that their mother had created for them- they ran to the family car and locked themselves in before the mother even asked them too. This scenario creates such an overwhelming reaction within the reader and immediately had me yearning to learn more about the struggles this family is going through. This story alone helps the author relay how out of control this child was, and that she was dealing with her particular situation the best she knew how. The writer establishes reader confidence that she knows firsthand what she is writing about, she starts giving some contrast to the situation. She explains that Michael is in highly gifted classes at school and is very intelligent for his age. She states he likes to talk about Greek mythology and the differences between Einsteinium and Newtonian physics. She writes that he loves Harry potter, and his snuggle animal collection, but as soon as something doesnt go his way he can explode into an uncontrollable often violent rage. By providing this contrasting view she can show that the situation is not always out of control. She also establishes that her son is human and not some monster, this way we can grow to care for the boy and his struggle as well as his mothers. She uses this throughout her writing. She is very careful to not demonize her son while still relating how serious the problem can be at times.

Larsen 3 During many of her sons episodes of rage the writer gives examples of the fact that when she would take him to the hospital for assistance, they didnt have any beds in the mental ward available. Michael would calm down after hours in the ER and the doctor would prescribe Zyprexa or some kind of other anti-psychotic medication and send them out the door to start the process all over again. At the time this article was written there was no diagnosis given to why Michael acted the way he did, although many ideas had been thrown around by doctors. During this same time Michael was removed from his junior high because of odd and aggressive behavior towards others, and is put into a restrictive behavioral program. She states its a contained school environment where children who cant function in normal classrooms can access their right to free public babysitting from 7:30-1:50 Monday through Friday until they turn 18 This cynical statement shows just how frustrated she is and how difficult the system has been to work with. I found a certain paragraph very enlightening and felt I needed to include them in this analysis. It will show you a firsthand examples the writer gives to add credibility to her writing and to show that we as a country do not have good working systems in place to keep up with societal demand, here is the quote: When I asked my sons social worker about my options, he said that the only thing I could do was get Michael charged with a crime. If hes back in the system, theyll create a paper trail, he said. Thats the only way youre going to get anything done. No one will

pay attention unless youve got charges. When reading this statement from a city social worker it really hit the core of the issue and I felt sad for this mother and her child.

Larsen 4 This author uses different strategies to relate to the audience. It is important to use more than one mode of persuasion to suit different types of personalities. The main mode of persuasion used is an emotional one. By sharing with the audience her and her sons conversations, it is easier for the audience to relate. One example of this is when she tells us about an argument with her son when she told him he needed to change his pants. The son replies with Youre a stupid bitch. I can wear whatever pants I want to. This is America. I have rights! What a hurtful statement that would be for a mother to hear that from a small child. She not only takes responsibility for her child, but for other mentally ill individuals that have murdered others. She makes a statement in the article which says, I am sharing this story because I am Adam Lanzas mother. I am Dylan Klebolds and Eric Harriss mother. I am James Holmess mother. I am Jared Loughners mother. I am Seung-Hui Chos mother. And these boys and their mothers- need help. While some may disagree, I feel that someone who not only represents their own feelings but stands up for others and takes responsibility for their actions creates great trust in an individual. The last mode of persuasion is a very important one. It refers to the clarity of the claim and the effectiveness of its supporting evidence. The author is very wise to use statistics to support her claim. It is a different way for the audience to relate to her story. She says, According to Human Rights Watch, the number of mentally ill inmates in U.S. prisons quadrupled from 2000 to 2006, and it continues to rise. In fact, the rate of inmate mental illness is five times greater than in the non-incarcerated population. (http://www.hrw.org/news/2006/09/05us-numbermentally-ill-prisons-quadrupled)

Larsen 5 The Author wraps up her writing with a very dramatic statement, she writes God help me. God help Michael. God help us all. What a poignant way to wrap up this story of struggle than with an appeal for help for all of us from God. We have all asked at one time or another for help from god or appealed to him in some other way. Her statement helps the audience be more able to relate to the problems of this mother and these issues that are affecting our society as a whole.