Quintana 1 Valerie Quintana Professor Patten English 1010 6 March 2014 Rhetorical Analysis: Something Borrowed Since 1996,

Malcolm Gladwell has been a journalist staff writer for The New Yorker. He is also a bestselling author and speaker, the five books that he has written have shown up in The New York Times Bestseller list. Gladwells written pieces usually have unexpected conclusions of study with in the field of social science. When asked how he goes about his writing, he answers, I have two parallel things Im interested in. One is, Im interested in collecting interesting stories, and the other is Im interested in collecting interesting research. What Im looking for is cases where they overlap. (Wiki, Malcolm_Gladwell). He has used ethos, pathos, and logos to get his point across very well within this article to make one think that plagiarism is something that should have consequences. This article, Something Borrowed, which can be found in The New Yorker, deals with exactly that. It was published on November 22, 2004, the targeted audience seem to be anyone who may be interested in Psychiatrists who study serial killers, people who read articles on charged cases such as attorneys, also maybe anyone how has felt they they too have had something taken from them and do not know how to deal with it. The larger conversations is stated at the beginning of the article, which is, Should a charged of plagiarism ruin your life? Gladwell, throughout this article explains what plagiarism is, the many different forms, and how it has occurred several times throughout history.

Quintana 2 The print is about a Psychiatrist who devoted her life on the study of serial killers. She finds that her life research has been looked through without her knowing and parts have been used without her permission. She latter is exposed to a Broadway play and sees her research cases, her work, in an others creation, a play called Frozen. She then charges the play writer for plagiarism but feels uneasy about why she is really making the charge. The author writes about many types of situations where others have either charged or have been charged for plagiarism. The question stated under the title of the article is the argument that the author wants you to keep in mind throughout reading the text to make a decision in the end. The definition of plagiarism out of the American dictionary is, The practice of taking someone elses work or ideas and passing them off as ones own. All most everyone has been accused of this act; even if it was not done intentionally. When something is borrowed, there is a high chance that one maybe charged of plagiarism. The word borrowed, well that means that you will return it as soon as youre done with it. One cannot simply borrow anothers ideas, thoughts, or work, at least you shouldnt or then it is consider stealing and depending on how it is used it can be found as plagiarism. Malcolm gives several examples to back up the main points throughout the article. Ideas was one of the points mentioned, how one uses anothers ideas for their own or societies benefits. The example is the idea of putting a picnic table in your backyard, also finding a cure for a disease. They take, borrow, steal, or however you prefer to say it or maybe see it as is all your choice. This can be seen through the appeal of ethos, I never thought that the idea of having a picnic in your back yard like the rest was stolen from someone else once upon a time. Either way someone, an individual had to first work for the discovery of the outcome and later finds out that the rest of the world is using it and there is no consideration, credit given to the creator. This

Quintana 3 personally make me think twice on using things or maybe just not being supportive on specific things because they came about unethically. The article was all about a woman that used another womans work to create her own creation. Everyone had loved the play, it was on Broadway, and it was a great success. In till the world found out that Bryony Lavery was being charged of plagiarism and everything went downhill from there. People should always give credit no matter what, it would be better if they accidently over credited, if that is even possible. The examples that were given were within the music industry. Music writers use the same beats and notes as other groups but its hard for others to charge them of plagiarism because no one really owns a note or beat. The chief expert witness for the Beastie Boys in the Choir case was Lawrence Ferrara, who is a professor of music at New York University, and when I asked him to explain the courts ruling he walked over to the piano in the corner of his office and played those three notes: C, D-flat, C. Thats it! he shouted. There aint nothing else! Thats what was used. You know what this is? Its nothing more than a mordent, a turn. Its been done thousands upon thousands of times. No one can say they own that. (Something Borrowed, Gladwell). Song Melodies, many are used within different genres of music but not all publications go through the full process of gaining the right to produce a new creation. Logos I feel plays a great deal with this perspective. Logically no one owns notes or beats like stated before, so Malcolm makes you think that through music plagiarism is different, that its harder to accuse some one of stealing. This part in the article I think helps the reader realize that plagiarism deals with much greater things such as time and hard work not something that is already made and there to use such as a note and beat. After the Psychiatrist, Dorothy Lewis charged play writer, Bryony Lavery for using parts of her research cases for basically the whole plot summary of the play she shows up at Lewiss

Quintana 4 house and ends with, Its been horrible and bloody. She began to cry. Im still composting what happened. It will be for a purpose whatever that purpose is. (Something Borrowed, Gladwell). These last few sentences are that ending to the article. It makes you want to feel sorry for the poor lady but still you may be thinking that well she should have known better. After all she is a play writer, dont they always have to get permission to use others peoples ideas and thoughts? Right here pathos plays apart to affect the readers emotions, trying to make them side with the play writer to make the Psychiatrist look like a bully. Thats the way that I saw the last few paragraphs of this article. It was done very effectively, we can sense that she is an older lady and has taken a great deal of anxiety and feels she has failed her whole life from her one mistake. The purpose could be that she has been made an example to the rest of the entertainment producers to watch out because your career could be ruined too. It may give people to second guess themselves to make them think, do I need to be giving credit to anyone for this? It will help cause less embarrassment to others and will help people to be less ignorant with where they get there information and with borrowing other peoples work. It should also make use be considerate of others and to make us be less self-righteous. When words are borrowed you are taking the risk that it may ruin your life. Ending the text with a question from the accused may give the reader a hard time with being able to provide an answer for the question that was stated at the beginning of article, which is also the larger conversation of the whole text, Should a charge of plagiarism ruin your life? (Something Borrowed, Gladwell). The other question that we are left with is was is plagiarism and what is not. Malcolm used ethos, pathos, and logos very effectively throughout the article. I liked how he used everyday life things to affect our way of thinking such as the picnic table, the creation of new music, and peoples works of study for us to relate to.

Quintana 5 It helps us to open our eyes and see the different type of people there are in the world. The ones who are careless and those who strive to be self-made. The characters given throughout the article are the two different kinds. I liked that he gave the question in the beginning to make us think about it through every situation that built up to the final question. What the play writers purpose was/ is. In the end I saw her as an example to the rest of the people that take other peoples hard work and use is as their own and claim is as their own just because they changed simple things within it, but theyre so ignorant because is still holds the same summary plot.

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Work Cited "Malcolm Gladwell." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Mar. 2014. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_Gladwell Gladwell, Malcolm. "Something Borrowed." The New Yorker. The New Yorker, 22 Nov. 2004. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/11/22/041122fa_fact?currentPage=all