Essay Sample on "Faux Friendship" on William Deresiewicz

Introduction

William Deresiewicz in "Faux Friendship" carries out a contextual analysis of the changes in the meaning and the value of friendship over time. The author elaboration of acquaintance in the 21st century is in-depth and informed by the historical evaluation of different characters who have over time helped define friendship and other relationships between people of all genders in society. According to the author, the meaning of friendship has significantly undergone a transformation and how association is perceived and demonstrated today is substantially different from the historical presentation of friendship in the time of David and Jonathan or even Achilles and Patroclus with the primary focus is the changing value of bond and its attached meaning (Deresiewicz). This rhetoric analysis seeks to establish how Deresiewicz delivers the topic of changing value and meaning to friendship today due to the growth of social media based interactions and friendships which has led to the diminishing of more intimate associations.

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Author's Development of Content

The author systematically develops his argument on the changing nature of friendship, starting from the old iconic and celebrated friendships to the modern social media friendships that are common among the many young people.

With the systematic approach, there are two important themes of friendship in which before friendship was not valued on the number of friends, family history, and the length of time that one has known somebody. Instead, by giving the example of David and Jonathan or Achilles and Patroclus the author shows the value of friendship is the shared bond and the potential of an individual to make sacrifices that go beyond family and brotherhood. In the case of David and Jonathan, Deresiewicz shows that despite the enmity between Jonathan's father and David, this did not hinder their friendship from growing stronger (Deresiewicz).On the contrary, the author shows that today, harmonies are incredibly delicate and based upon what one can do and also other hidden agendas, especially when it comes to the bond between family members. The author makes a comparative analysis of friendship based on function.

Biblical relationships were more intimate and highly resourceful with all parties immensely benefiting, physically, emotionally, and psychologically. Old friendship like in the case of David and Jonathan is more capable in that the stakeholders were physically present and were able to provide material and emotional assistance to their friends when they were in need (Deresiewicz). Unlike old friendship, as portrayed in the author's 18th and 19th century, medieval England, and the Roman Catholic friendship analysis by the author shows more intimate relationships between families and individuals that involved great sharing and bearing the overall burden together. In contrast, the author provides a typical scenario of friendship, based on pride due to the high number of friends that one has and attachments where individuals are selfishly used knowing or unknowingly. This aspect of friendship in contemporary times is measured by the number of friends that one has on social media platforms shows very weak and association just in name and not deed. This comparative analysis and perception have been critical in the development of content for "Faux Friendship" by Deresiewicz, which can be used to further understand the friendship context change over time.

Rhetorical Appeals

Deresiewicz uses logical appeal, which is primarily derived from reason to argue on how the word 'friendship' has changed meaning in the advent of social media. Being an essay set on an academic discourse logical appeal makes it more appealing and convincing due to the historical evidence provided that shows different times and what' friendship' meant in each independent time. The author's proposition of association is successful due to the appeal of logos. However, there is a limitation in that the author heavily relies on his perception. In his definition of Facebook friends, Deresiewicz views them as dehydrated packets of information and images in which the author seeks to expound that although Facebook seeks to show that digital friends are real, that is not the case which is a logical opinion.

There are cases of repetition and diction in the essay, which is critical in grabbing the attention of the reader. A comparison is also a form of logos argument in which different types of renowned friendships are sited and compared to modern digital bonds (Deresiewicz). Deresiewicz uses ethos in the essay, which is the credibility of the text by stating facts that appear to be perceptions which are deeply looted on actual observation of the changing value of friendship today. Ethos is used to appeal to the audience through the approach of delivery and composed interpretation of association over time in which Deresiewicz uses an example of David and Jonathan and also narrates of how medieval England and the Romantic era valued friendship which was highly honored as a virtue. The author does not use pathos appeal in the essay, but through accurate perception and narration of the different representations of friendship over time makes the essay highly credible to the audience.

Organization and Word Choice

The choice of the title "Faux Friendship" and the overall organization of the essay play a significant role in its appeal and ability to deliver the desired information to the audience. The author begins the piece through a detailed elaboration of contemporary times and social relationship and how they have influenced friendship. This is followed by an in-depth analysis of the social media influence on conventional bonds, which is contrary to the actual meaning and representation of friendship. Using phrases such as "How did we come to this pass?" evokes a desire by the audience to continue reading in which Deresiewicz assess the ancient representation of friendship both from biblical and classical settings where an association is perceived to have more excellent value and meaning. Finally, the author addresses the social changes and how group friendship influenced new friendships in the 20th century and the 21st century where bond undergoes a complete metamorphosis to be measured value based on the number of friends and not the value each relationship is bringing.

Conclusions

The author successful meets his purpose in writing "Faux Friendships" by addressing the overall chronological changes in friendship based on an accurate analysis of different contexts. This approach makes it easy for the audience to directly identify the difference and how it has influenced the modern understanding of friendship. Advanced technological applications are depicted to be the sole source of friendship devaluation where friends are not able to share intimately like it was the case before. However, this shows the author failure to accept change by failing to recognize the positive aspects of social media and the value of having many friends as opposed to the ancient situations of monopolized friendships.

Works Cited

Deresiewicz, William. "Faux friendship." Copyright Fountainhead Press (2011).