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  • Essay / Review of Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

    In the book Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, the most erratic combinations of topics are covered. Economics is approached in the most unconventional way and driven by questions that are not asked regularly, if at all, until now. Both Levitt and Dubner compare incongruous topics that capture your attention and leave you really wondering how they relate. Throughout the chapters, both authors support their claims using multiple rhetorical strategies. The authors state that there is no unifying theme to this book and this is proven throughout each chapter, but there is a common message, which is that economics is the study of incentives. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay In Chapter 6, “Would a Roshanda by Any Other Name Smell as Sweet? ”, the authors use logos and statistical evidence such as graphs. and graphics in order to support and persuade their audience to agree with their claims. The main focus of the chapter is the incentive behind the names parents choose for their newborns and what it represents. The authors used the following tables: "The twenty blackest girls' names", "The twenty blackest boys' names", "The twenty white boys' names which best signify parents with a high level of education and "Twenty White Girl Names That Best Signify High-Instrument Parents" to support their claims that the incentive to choose a particular name is based on the belief that it will influence the child's development and also extends to ethnicity and cultural beliefs. In Chapter 3, “Why Do Drug Dealers Still Live With Their Mothers?” ”, the authors use pathos to project their underlying message that economics is the study of incentives. The lifestyle of drug dealers is brought to the reader's attention through comparison. As the authors state, "an editorial assistant making $22 at a Manhattan publishing house, an unpaid high school quarterback, and a teenage crack dealer making $3.30 an hour are all playing the same game, a game that is best thought of as a tournament. The tournament rules are simple. You have to start at the bottom to have a chance.” With this comparison, the authors attempt to make the reader sympathize with the unfortunate situation of the dealer. Although many are disgusted by such a lifestyle, the authors make the audience understand that for the drug dealers, this was their only option and their best chance to succeed. The authors built their claim on pathos and emotionally appealed to their readers to understand what it means to be a drug dealer; incentives, or in this case, economics. In Chapter 4, “Where Have All the Criminals Gone?” ”, the incentives and outcomes of abortion are discussed. The authors argue that "the very factors that drove millions of American women to abort also seemed to predict that their children, if born, would have led unhappy and perhaps criminal lives." As a result, this claim was derived: “the legalization of abortion led to fewer non-desires; undesirability leads to high crime; “the legalization of abortion therefore led to less crime.” To support their claim, the authors provided the following statistics: "violent crime in the early states.