Webb 1

Emily Webb
ENG 111-721
APRIL 17, 2019

“Consider the merits of the knife”

Guns. They are everywhere and in almost every home, mine included. They are

among popular subjects in today’s world. Most of violence you hear about on the news

has a gun involved. Molly Ivins passive-aggressive writing on the disapproval of guns is

a strong and purposeful read but lacks evidence. Throughout her argument of Get a Knife,

Get a Dog, but Get Rid of Guns, Ivins exhibits anger and annoyance in the emotional

words she choses and uses them to her advantage of pathos. Ivins writing demands the

argument against guns and does her best to demand your attention.

Does Ivins use pathos? Absolutely, the use of pathos is the only strength of the

argument. Ivins puts emotional tones of anger in her writing and tries to make it relatable.

Ivins mentions in her article:

The argument that "guns don't kill people" is patent

nonsense. Anyone who has ever worked in a cop shop
knows how many family arguments end in murder because
there was a gun in the house. Did the gun kill someone?
No. But if there had been no gun, no one would have died.
(Muller, Weiner 2003)

You may hear the saying “guns don’t kill people” (Muller, Weiner 2003) often. Ivins

takes this quote and makes a strong point to add to the argument that guns need to be

banned. The emotional connection to family fights and the use of guns may be relatable

to some and she hopes they would be able to see the danger in having them. The point

she makes about guns patently causing death is a strong argument. Ivins also states she is
 Webb 2

a civil libertarian and uses this to say she is in support of the Second Amendment and

how guns should only be used by a well-regulated militia. But, never actually mentions if

she is in fact anti-gun, we can only assume, and pro-knife. Great, but without the

emotional connection there isn’t concrete support on why guns are actually better than

knives or dogs and this is where defending the argument struggles.

Ivins get’s to you with the emotional connection to the pain and danger guns

cause, and she does this well. But, let’s take a glance at logos and ethos. Does she have

strong evidence and a creditable background to support her argument? No, and this is

where the argument falls apart. Ivins is a well-known journalist but without creditability

on guns, the argument is only left to be an overly opinionated and aggressive article.

Ivins can list all the facts she can but without a knowledgable background on the NRA

and facts about guns, trust would be lost in the argument. Ivins argument thrives on her

loaded language, examples such as; “But letting the noisy minority in the National Rifle

Association force us to allow this carnage to continue is just plain insane.” (Muller,

Weiner 2003) as well as, “I do think gun nuts have a power hang-up. I don't know what is

missing in their psyches that they need to feel they have to power to kill. But no sane

society would allow this to continue.” (Muller, Weiner 2003). Ivins is influencing her

audience by appealing to their emotions and fears. She is hitting points that the NRA is a

stereotypes that are power strung individual’s that need to be controlled by taking away

the one thing they thrive on, guns. Although, making strong points, Ivins is still very

opinionated and lacking factually information to support her argument.

Through the entire argument, Ivins uses her words to boost shame on guns and the

death that follows them. With every mention of guns, a negative side effect immediately
 Webb 3

follows. Ivins is successful in supporting of the argument against guns and the use of

pathos throughout. But, was she successful in the use of logos and ethos? No, but I don’t

feel that was the point. The point was to illustrate that you don’t see deaths, as much,

following the use of knives and near nothing following a dog. In conclusion as Ivins

would say:

Ban the damn things. Ban them all.

You want protection? Get a dog. (Muller, Weiner 2003)

Source:
Muller, Gilbert and Harvey Wiener. The Short Prose Reader, 10th edition. McGraw-Hill.
2003
Webb 4