Rhetorical Analysis​ Final ​Draft

“Marie Kondo and the Privilege of Clutter” By Arielle Berstein.

In “Marie Kondo and the Privilege of Clutter '' published on March 26, 2016, Bernstein
discusses why simplicity is becoming a growing trend in American society and how a minimalist
lifestyle requires lots of trust​. Many Americans find a level of relief when cleaning out their old
belongings and are fortunate enough to not worry about basic necessities. For many such as
immigrants or children of refugees, it's quite difficult to adapt to since they’ve lost those
privileges. The author offers the reader a story about her grandparents and mother’s traumatic
experience and explains why they became prone to hoarding when they immigrated to the
United States. As Bernstein introduces KonMari, a method to bring organization and reduce
clutter in one's home, she starts off by pointing out what she agrees with such as living a
comfortable and tidy life without worrying about the past, but later realizes why people struggle
throwing things away. ​Bernstein’s article uses plenty of pathos along with some ethos and logos
to further highlight to average Americans that the idea of getting rid of items, sentimental or not,
is easier said than done.
One of the most effective rhetorical strategies that Bernstein uses in their article is
pathos. Before mentioning the KonMari method, she tells a story about her grandparent’s
experience during World War II and the effects of Fidel Castro when he came to power in 1959.
The author describes the impact by emphasising the losses of her grandparents (and mother)
such as their material comforts and business which shaped their habit of hoarding and fear of
having an inadequate amount of supplies. This is effective because the author tugs on the
reader’s heartstrings by describing the hardships and mentally damaging past of her
grandparents to further display the reasons responsible for their surplus amounts of storage and
inability to throw away excess items. She uses the words “frightening”, “threatening”, and
“trauma” to create an emotional response from her reader and feel a level of sympathy to
convince her audience of her claim. Since the KonMari method encourages people to remove
unnecessary items from their lives because it's viewed as “undisciplined”, Bernstein utilizes her
story to demonstrate that in a refugee’s perspective, disposing items casually is unheard of.
Another example of pathos, along with ethos, that's used in Arielle’s article is when she
describes her experience while cleaning her childhood room during a visit home. She starts off
by informing the reader that it would be a great opportunity to donate her old possessions to
charity, but then admits her sudden difficulty to let them go as she goes through her collection of
favorite books, CDs and other nostalgic items. The author reminds the reader that Kondo
encourages people to let go of objects we adore deeply, but completely contradicts the entire
method as she realizes why people hang onto items. As she concludes her decluttering project,
she states, “Objects imbued with memories of a person I once was, and a person that part of
me always will be...I didn’t want to give any of it up” and somewhat connects her feelings with
her grandparents/mother. Bernstein wishes to hold onto these valuables for the memories and
define herself as a person, while her grandparents held things for confirmation of their survival
during times of uncertainty. The use of pathos in this particular segment of the article is effective
because the author shares a story that almost everyone can relate to, letting things go is hard.
The author implements ethos by sharing a personal experience, Bernstein herself as a figure of
credibility to convince her audience that KonMari that there’s more to keeping old possessions
and that it's easier said than done.
While Bernstein’s article showcases multiple pieces of pathos and ethos, logos is
another rhetorical strategy used in her writing. She uses Gwyneth Paltrow’s wellness website
Goop​ t​ o discuss how having excess amounts of stuff is common in American culture, being that
the United States is a consumer society. The author uses this as evidence to explain why
Americans desire a minimalist lifestyle and how Marie Kondo’s method is growing in popularity.
This helps define the viewpoints of two different generations. Bernstein addresses in her article,
“I was often exhausted by this proliferation of items—” during her childhood while her mother
believes “..the KonMari method isn’t joyful; it’s cold. Americans love throwing things away.” This
demonstrates a compare and contrast relationship considering that Arielle grew up in the United
States and her mother immigrated there due to tragic events. An additional example of logos
used in her article is the quoting of sources relating to the KonMari method such as ​The
Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up​ and S ​ park Joy​. She also shares details on the refugee crisis
with Vice’s article ​All the Stuff Syrian Refugees Leave Behind During Their Journey to Europe.
She connects this piece with her grandparents since they also had to flee “..leaving everything
but a few pieces of clothing behind.” The author incorporates logos into her article to further
convince her intended audience that converting to the KonMari method isn’t that simple. She
offers the reader with facts and quotes from published sources to support her claim.
In conclusion, Bernstein’s article reveals that the KonMari method isn’t for everyone
especially for those who had to flee their homes and leave almost everything behind. Arielle’s
easy disposal of items is explained by growing up in America while her grandparents lost the
privilege of being able to buy new things. The author relies heavily on pathos, but incorporates
ethos and logos smoothly to balance her article with multiple rhetorical strategies. Bernstein’s
overall argument is successful because with the use of logos to offer the reader facts, the
addition of her grandparent’s anecdote and personal experiences as pathos and ethos, she
effectively persuades her audience that Marie Kondo ignores some important truths of being
human. She reminds her readers that hoarding has a negative impression in American society
and organizing one's possessions by throwing away expendable objects will never be easy for
someone who has experienced loss.
Works Cited:
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/03/marie-kondo-and-the-privilege-of-clu
tter/475266/

Word Count​:
1015

Peer Review Comments:

(​✓ to show the reviewed area was edited)

Oliver Anderson​:
● necessities. Run on sentence. I would end it after necessities ✓ 
● however, needs a comma ✓ 
● I'm lost. Can you maybe clear this up a bit? Very confused at the moment ✓ 
● comma here as well because it is a list. ✓ 
● I believe there should be a comma after lives but this sentence also doesn't make sense. 
Remove since would help or reshape the sentence to make it make more sense. Also end the 
sentence here instead of keeping it going with the comma after undisciplined. ✓ 
● Use the authors last name. There is a lot of use of her. It would help your story greatly. There 
is 4 hers in one sentence here ✓ 
● project, she states, ✓ 
● comma here so the sentence doesn't continue for so long. ✓ 
● There should be a pause here the sentence is long. ✓ 
● fix this. Should there be "explain" after to. It doesn't make sense here. ✓ 
 
Aracely Zavala​: 
● Write the article name and author, as well as the link to the article as your "title" ✓ 
● Put a period after "necessities" and make the following phrase a different sentence. ✓ 
● Who's the author's intended audience? ✓ 
● Before stating the rhetorical strategies the author used, give an objective summary of the 
text. (100-200 words) ✓ 
● I suggest adding a direct quote from the article to add on to your statement. ✓ 
● After the word "and" add the word "to" "...memories and to define herself..." ✓ 
● Convince her audience what? That she's credible or that letting things go can be hard? ✓ 
● Previous to this sentence you state how having excess amounts of stuff is common, as the 
US is a consumer society, but go on to say that Americans desire a minimalist lifestyle. I'm a 
bit confused, so if you can maybe explain why Americans want to become minimalists. ✓ 
(answered on annotated doc)  
● I suggest adding a direct quote the author used from this source to support her point so it 
can further support yours. ✓ 
● After "ethos" add a period to split up this sentence. ✓ 
 
Austin Shepherd:
● This is a really strong first paragraph. You did a really good job of showing that author's 
perspective without giving too much information . ​✓ 
● Some sentences in this paragraph run a little long. I would suggest cutting these up to help 
your writing run smoothly. ​✓ 
● Nice first paragraph. I think this will really make the reader want to keep reading ✓
​  
● I like how you gave an example, and then explained why the example was effective. ✓
​  
● I think this sentence really strengthens your article. Nicely done. ​✓ 
● I would like to see more quotes to add more credibility to your writing. ​✓ 
● This sentence is running really long as well ​✓ 
● Is this the name of the website? ✓ (Answered on annotated doc, inserted additional link to 
website)  
● I think that by providing this information you really help the reader understand the tone of the 
original article. ✓