CL 1/28

I believe for this article, Joel Stein’s intended audience was the average American. It sounds like, since Joel is trying to be sarcastic and add irony to this piece, it would be intended that the reader would take it personally and miss any irony or sarcasm that was added by the author. Any professional writer that read this piece would easily pick up on the irony and sarcasm. But they wouldn’t be offended, so what fun would that be for Joel Stein?

In this article, the author tries to appeal to everyone, that is the average American citizen. As Americans, naturally we are boisterous, proactive, opinionated and proud. But at the same time, the average Americans can be uneducated, pompous, deserving, complainers and disputers. I believe Joel Stein utilizes these mix of characteristics in Americans to this advantage in order to stir controversy within his overall audience. In this process, he is able to emit his message more easily, without sounding dry or being seen as a blatant faultfinder.

1. His partition, confirmation and conclusion are emphasized very well here.
2. What he doesn’t do well here, and on purpose, is the refutation. Mainly because he spends a majority of time focussing on his point and his partition
3. People who wish to understand multiple views. His article questions common knowledge of the audience and if the audience picks up on what Joel Stein is trying to communicate to them, then it should stimulate further research from the audience.