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In Judy Brady’s satirical “I Want a Wife” she writes about the extensive expectations for wives. The passage details different duties of being a wife. Brady’s purpose is to convince the audience that women take on a lot of work when they become a wife, and it’s not a simple job. The tone is caustic, as the sarcasm in the passage is easily detectable. The author’s most prominent rhetorical device is repetition. Nearly every sentence in the passage begins with “I want a wife who….” and then goes on to list different requirements. This helps prove her point. Another rhetorical device seen is a rhetoric question. The author asks the audience “My God, who wouldn’t want a wife?” right at the end, which calls attention and provokes thinking.
Although I thought this was an interesting passage, there were multiple issues in it that kept me from liking it. First of all, the author creates a huge generalization with this whole passage. She implies that all men expect women to do this huge load of tasks as it is the women’s job. Not every husband believes that all of the burden to take care of the house and the children should fall on the women. Secondly, this passage is outdated. Written in 1971, it is clear that gender roles are already changing and a likely story is that the woman goes to work while the man stays at home. Lastly, the use of repetition and the detail following it was unnecessary. It got to the point where the author wasn’t even trying to make a point, she was just ranting. For this passage to be better, the author needs to calm down.
Although I thought this was an interesting passage, there were multiple issues in it that kept me from liking it. First of all, the author creates a huge generalization with this whole passage. She implies that all men expect women to do this huge load of tasks as it is the women’s job. Not every husband believes that all of the burden to take care of the house and the children should fall on the women. Secondly, this passage is outdated. Written in 1971, it is clear that gender roles are already changing and a likely story is that the woman goes to work while the man stays at home. Lastly, the use of repetition and the detail following it was unnecessary. It got to the point where the author wasn’t even trying to make a point, she was just ranting. For this passage to be better, the author needs to calm down.