Stacey Smyth

Mr. Soeth

AP English 3

February 16, 2011

REHUGO Analysis - Government: Articles

A. Articles:

a. Title: "Bankruptcy Cost Me My Marriage" - Author: Alison Smith-Squire

b. Title: "The Bankruptcy Solution" - Author: Laura Cohn

B. Article links cited below.

C. Thesis:

a. In "Bankruptcy Cost Me My Marriage," Smith-Squire is interviewing Gabrielle Sneddon-Pike about the affects bankruptcy had on her and her husband. Throughout this article, Sneddon-Pike tells how bankruptcy can slowly tear a family apart as it did to her family. She stated that, "It is the most painful process, something that is irrevocably life-changing and should surely only ever be seen as the very last resort." She is attempting to discourage others from filing for bankruptcy, for she knows the effects that it can have on your life.

b. In "The Bankruptcy Solution," Cohn in Stephanie Monson and she gives tips and advice on how to file for bankruptcy. She first states that it should really only be used as a "last resort," as did Sneddon-Pike, however, she shows how filing for bankruptcy can actually help you in the future, as well as prevent you from falling further into debt. She is not encouraging people to file for bankruptcy, but she is providing the readers with tips on the correct when to go about doing so, without further crippling themselves financially and breaking up their families.

D. Evidence:

a. "Over the next few weeks, I consoled myself that the worst might not have happened. Paul worked day and night to try to stave off the bankruptcy-but it was to no avail. Withing months he lost the company he'd so lovingly built up and was officially declared bankruptcy." Her argument was very strongly pathos, for she used her own personal hardships to show that one should not file for bankruptcy, unless they are left with no other options. She stated that, "Our relationship began to suffer, too. I'd vowed to stand by Paul and was sure we could get through this difficult time and emerge a stronger couple - but although we tried to communicate, it was always about money and the misery we found ourselves in."

b. The second article establishes the authors ethos by her knowledge of all the secrets of the proper way to file for bankruptcy. She gives tips such as: seeking out an attorney, mentioning "The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act" and how it made it harder to file for bankruptcy, as well as using direct quotes from experts in this area.

E. Rhetorical Strategies:

a. The author uses patterns of development to organize what the interviewee had said to her. She listed and elaborated on all the events in chronological order, which made the article easy to follow. She also uses classification and division by titling main points and choosing one word to describe what was being said in the section below, almost as if they were titles of a chapter in a novel.

b. In the second article, the author uses process analysis to describe the steps you should go through if you were to file for bankruptcy. This is effective, for it gives a clear-cut way that one should go about filing for bankruptcy that will not ruin them financially or break apart their family. She also uses exemplification to show the events that Monson had gone through when her husband had filed for bankruptcy.

F. Although both articles make good, solid points, I would have to say that I agree with the first article, by Smith-Squire more. She had interviewed a women who had gone through much hardships when her husband had filed for bankruptcy and I have see what filing for bankruptcy can to to a family firsthand with my own uncle. I suppose the second article addresses how bankruptcy can be a useful solution, but is it really worth all the pain and heartache that comes along with it? The "formula" presented in the second article may work for some people, but it is more likely that the family will end up falling apart from the financial crisis that bankruptcy had put them in.

G. MLA Citation:

a. "Declaring Bankruptcy Can Destroy Families." Debt. Ed. Christina Fisanick. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 16 Feb. 2011.

b. "Declaring Bankruptcy Can Help Families Start Over." Debt. Ed. Christina Fisanick. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 16 Feb. 2011.