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Grace Watts

Mrs. Grimes

English III AP

17 April 2016

Satire Rhetorical Analysis

In the age of consumerism, deceptive advertisers prey on the gullible public into buying

their products. In order to bring awareness to the topic and promote social change, the satirist

exposes this fraudulent practice. The author uses hyperboles and irony to illustrate that products

are falsely advertised to guilt the consumer, into believing the product is a necessity.

Hyperboles in this piece highlight the ridiculous claims about the product, MagnaSoles.

The satirist suggests, If the frequency of ones foot is out of alignment with the Earth, the entire

body will suffer (43-45). The exaggeration blows out of proportion the effectiveness of this fake

product. The public is persuaded to think that they cannot live without MagnaSoles. As well, the

claim instills fear within the buyer, inducing urgency to buy the product. This hyperbole suggests

that the product will cure not only the foot but the entire body, which further proves the

hypochondriac attitude of society.

The author of this piece utilizes irony to suggest how misleading and awry advertising is

to the consumer. The article states, Only MagnaSoles utilize the healing power of crystals to

restimulate dead foot cells with vibrational biofeedback (30-32), which claims that the insoles

can bring the dead back to life. Advertisements will claim anything to be true so long as the

consumer doesnt realize how absurd it is. Many people fall into this trap of false advertising

because of the ambiguous contradictions. The use of irony sets a humorous tone due to such
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overblown declarations and emphasizes how easily advertising companies take advantage of the

consumer.