Rhetorical Analysis of the Vampire
The essay “Vampires: The Ever Changing Face of Fear” was written to tell an audience of readers about the evolution of the vampire myth in society. The author begins with a historical account of the first mention of vampires and then moves on to cite many famous authors who have written stories about the creatures. From Mary Shelley to Stephanie Meyer, the author wants her readers to see the change in our opinions from mass hysteria to literature to modern phenomenon. The author, Tori Gibbs, seems to be speaking to an audience made up of curious vampire researchers and movie-goers looking for more information about the characters from their favorite box office hits. I think that Gibbs wanted her piece of writing to show humans that in the past, society may have hated vampires but today they embrace them. According to Gibbs, it seems most teenage girls secretly yearn for the romantic, pale, and forever young face of the vampire to sweep them off their feet into a mythical world of romance and action packed fun. It's the modern day Romeo and Juliet with a better ending. In today's society, people want to be taken away from their dreary everyday lives into a supernatural paradise that fulfills their emotional and creative desires.
Gibbs plays on this desire of her readers by citing authors and newspaper critics who speak of vampires taking over the media. Knowing that their characters live on, people continue to believe in the mythical powers of the vampire and other creatures. When writers like Gibbs write about these creatures, the public has the assurance that the vampire fad is still the “in thing.” That's how the movie industry insures their new movie will please the audience's love of vampire creatures and mythical beings. Whether love or action based, the movie will continue to top the box office as long as it is related to the vampire. In Gibbs's essay, she quotes the Associated Press by writing,“The dead used to be a world away, far beyond the realm of mortal existence. If they walked the Earth at all, they inhabited the night. But the coffins and long black capes are gone. The destructive haunting is over. And forget about menacing the living — these days, the dead are just like us. Hollywood's dead, circa 2008, wear jeans, type obsessively on their BlackBerries and fret over relationship woes. They solve crimes, they give advice.”
Although the author is an author, she doesn't distinctly provide the authority that a respected author entitles. There is no history about her reputation or following. Her essay about vampires is in itself probably a considered a controversial topic. Gibbs was writing about a mythical creature that goes against many people's beliefs and religions. Therefore, it is controversial to the amount of literary merit her essay should receive. Works of writing about mythology often become stereotyped for their childish topics or unworthy beliefs. Gibbs attacks this underlying notion by making sure her readers know that many people believe or will accept the existence of a vampire. This technique allows her to become an authoritative writer with a purpose and a goal. She was telling you what to believe by forcing you to see the evidence from previous authors. Mary Shelley and Stephanie Meyer tell the reader that he/she will believe them because they are famous and have literary merit to do so. By mentioning their names and philosophies, Gibbs has given herself a reputation that provides merit to her audience.
Gibbs writes in a way that I think is pretty common. She brings in a new paragraph for every new person or story she quotes and she goes in chronological order. Her stories of vampires changing over time begins at the beginning and ends in today's movie indulged society. Her style of writing doesn't strike me as new or revolutionary but rather as another article from Wikipedia.
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