FREE ESSAY ON PERSUASION

PERSUASION

Why Jerry Rockwood's Essay "Life Intrudes" is Effective
Jerry Rockwood's reflective essay "Life Intrudes" is effective because of the way in
which he has constructed the piece. He uses the four Reflective Strategies that are
derived from Reading Critically, Writing Well by Axelrod and Cooper. The strategies are;
Particular Occasion, Developing the Reflection, Topical Coherence, and Engaging the
Reader. It is because of Rockwood's strong and correct usage of these strategies that his
essay is effective at persuading the reader to believe in his thoughts on raising
children, more namely boys. In addition, Rockwood's essay is also effective at getting
the reader to reflect on their own personal experiences that are relative to the subject
of raising children.
The first of the four reflective strategies, Particular Occasion, is "the main experience
that started the writer thinking" (A&C p123). The key to this strategy is to present the
occasion in a manner that entices the reader to know more about what the writer is
thinking. Rockwood uses this strategy in paragraphs one and two when he vividly describes
his own childhood and refers to his "squelched aggression", and how his bottled up anger
helped him when he was acting. When he describes the situation that made him begin to
reflect, it causes the reader to want to read more. The reader becomes curious and wants
to know the reflections of the experience. Therefore, by presenting the particular
occasion Rockwood effectively captures the reader's attention.
The second reflective strategy that Rockwood effectively uses is Developing the
Reflection. Developing the reflection is a used to explore the subject that is introduced
by the Particular Occasion. This includes "both ideas about self and society and
development of these ideas." (A&C p124). Rockwood does this by giving examples of the
Cherokee Indian and Eskimo way of raising children. He also poses questions in paragraphs
three, eight, and nine. He asks, "What should I have told my son to do?" (A&C p137) which
makes the reader think of what values he should imposed on his son. In paragraph three he
states a thesis, so to speak, he says, "It makes me wonder about the values that we
impose in raising our children." (A&C p 136). That is Rockwood's main question, what
should our values be that we raise our children with? The author effectively presents
relative ideas about the subject, he also gets the reader thinking about his ideas.
The third of the four reflective strategies is Topical Coherence. Topical Coherence is
the veritable glue that holds reflective essays together. It is the "assurance that the
reader senses that all parts of the essay seem relevant to the topic." (A&C p124).
Rockwood's essay presents several different situations, but he ties them together by
showing their relativity through examples. Rockwood only uses relevant examples such as
how the boys of the Cherokee and Eskimo cultures are raised learning to deal with their
environment. Where as his son was raised in a very sheltered manner. By correctly
utilizing Topical Coherence, Rockwood keeps the reader's attention focused on the main
idea or question that is being presented.
The final of the four reflective strategies Engaging the Reader. This strategy is used to
make the reader reflect on their own experiences. This is done by making "surprisingly
apt examples, comparisons and contrasts." (A&C p126). Rockwood makes excellent use of
this strategy in his final three paragraphs. He questions, "are we wrong in presenting
only half the picture?" This question causes the reader to think for a moment, but he
immediately follows his question with an analogy which rhetorically answers his
previously stated question. The analogy is "Do you train a sailor by showing him how to
tie the ropes and neglect to tell him about wind direction and tides?" These questions
are effective at causing the reader to realize the idea that Rockwood is presenting.
I feel as though Rockwood's essay Life Intrudes is an effective reflective essay. It made
me reflect on not only how children should be raised, but also on how I should live my
life. "Life intrudes" as a statement, means so much. It means to me that no matter how
much you train and prepare, things go awry. This essay is certainly effective, it made me
reflect on my own childhood and how I was raised. My parents gave me rose colored
glasses, but they reminded me to take them off sometimes. The manner in which Rockwood
organizes his thoughts and uses the four Reflective Strategies, is the main reason for
which his essay is effective.