Med Page – James S.

Grisolia (neurologist)
1) Why did Dr. Grisolia use the phrase “White Death” in his title?- It references the Red death, but
uses White death as a reference to the White House in order to create a comparison between
Prospero and the Trump administration,
2) What was his purpose of interspersing passages from the Poe story into his opinion piece?- To
demonstrate that events that occurred in the short story, are occurring in reality
3) Are the quotations an effective strategy?- yes
4) What was the purpose behind including the statistic about the spike in searches for
“schadenfreude” (pronounced “shodenfroid” it’s a German word which means “joy in others’
suffering”) mentioned in the 8th paragraph?- It was to display the joy in the irony from Trump
going against mask to use to him catching the virus.
Identify 2-3 sentences or phrases which indicate Grisolia’s obvious disdain for the administration’s
response to COVID-19- "Ironically the White House took such inept precautions that SARS-CoV-2
stalked the reception itself, so far with numerous attendees testing positive, including Trump himself and
his wife Melania." and "Sadly, our Commander in Chief has now received experimental and unproven
treatments at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, while his minions give conflicting and
probably fictitious accounts of his progress."
5)
6) Do you feel this opinion piece is likely to change anyone’s mind? Why or why not? – No, it
doesn’t really use any evidence or trends to persuade anyone. It mostly just mocks the situation
Trump was once in.
Los Angeles Times – David L. Ulin (book critic/author)
1) What is the author’s purpose behind the 4th paragraph?- To show that the author is not trivializing
the events just coitizing the Trump administration
2) Do you find this strategy effective?- Yes, I think it’s important that the author does this so that the
audience does not misinterpret his message.
3) In your own words, what does the author mean when he says we should focus on the “arrogance”
of the official response to COVID, rather than wallowing in the schadenfreude or supposed karma
of Trump officials contracting the disease?- We should focus on preventing more events that are
formed from our own arrogance rather than laugh at the irony of these events.
4) What is an example of “ethos” used by the author? (ex: In paragraph x the author…)- In
paragraph 11 the author states “When I see my son, it is at a distance, and both of us are masked.
As for my 83-year-old mother, who lives on the East Coast, the last time I saw her in person was
New Year’s Eve.”
5) What is the purpose behind ending the opinion piece on a rhetorical question?- It displays that the
author feels that the standards for what the president should be in this situation have fallen, and
that it is time for Trump to be direct and clear with his people.
The Intelligencer – Richard Clikeman (USA Today reporter)
1) While all three of these op-eds criticize the President and his administration, this one is the most
overtly political – it’s literally a plea to vote the President out of office. As such, it’s the most
nakedly persuasive essay. Identify any elements of Ethos, Pathos and Logos you can find which
the author uses to make his point.- Ethos: Paragraphs 1, 2, 3; Pathos: Paragraphs 1,2,3,6,7,8,9,10,
and 11; Logos: Paragraphs 4 and 5
 2) Identify the hyperbole in the final paragraph.- “Yet, COVID-19 is merely the overture to the first
act of the looming climate catastrophe and poisoning of America Donald Trump is egging on.”
3) What is the purpose behind the use of hyperbole in that final paragraph? – To exemplify the
threat that Trump poses on the American people.

In General:
Which of these do you feel is the most effective at conveying what its author intended and why?- I
believe that Ulin’s article was most effective in his intentions. What Ulin tried to do was unify people
under a banner of reflection and improvement rather than the cynicism that was evident in Trump’s
diagnoses of COVID-19. He does this by using examples of pathos and ethos throughout the piece and
brings up points about learning from our failures rather than reveling in the failure of others.