Batting Clean-Up And Striking Out Analysis
Are all neat people lazy, wasteful, insensitive, and less moral than sloppy people? Are all men more interested in sports while women focus their time on housework and cleaning? The answer to both of these questions is no. These questions bring up generalizations that are dealt with in both of the short essays which are which are as follows: “Neat People vs. Sloppy People” by Suzanne Britt, and “Batting Clean-up and Striking Out” by Dave Barry. Suzanne Britt describes the generalized behavior and mindset of neat and sloppy people, which is not a popular stereotype heard in everyday life. On the contrary, Dave Barry describes a stereotype that is absolutely heard in everyday life. It involves the ideal that women are not interested in sports
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Barry makes this argument by describing how women and sports do not mix, as well as how men and cleaning do not mix. He opens his argument by saying, “The primary difference between men and women is that women can see extremely small quantities of dirt” (Barry 261). Barry then continues his argument and switches his main point of comparison by saying, “The opposite side of the dirt coin, of course, is sports. This is an area where men tend to feel very sensitive and women tend to be extremely callous” (Barry 262). In his argument, Dave Barry uses humor, exaggeration, and a defensive yet lighthearted tone. However, similar to most writers, including Suzanne Britt, his writing should not be taken literally. Exaggeration and humor play the largest role in bringing out his purpose, which is to call out stereotypes of men and women. Barry understands that these generalizations are just generalizations. As a result, he took an opportunity to bring them to the attention of everyone reading so that they, too, would question why stereotypes
Barry makes this argument by describing how women and sports do not mix, as well as how men and cleaning do not mix. He opens his argument by saying, “The primary difference between men and women is that women can see extremely small quantities of dirt” (Barry 261). Barry then continues his argument and switches his main point of comparison by saying, “The opposite side of the dirt coin, of course, is sports. This is an area where men tend to feel very sensitive and women tend to be extremely callous” (Barry 262). In his argument, Dave Barry uses humor, exaggeration, and a defensive yet lighthearted tone. However, similar to most writers, including Suzanne Britt, his writing should not be taken literally. Exaggeration and humor play the largest role in bringing out his purpose, which is to call out stereotypes of men and women. Barry understands that these generalizations are just generalizations. As a result, he took an opportunity to bring them to the attention of everyone reading so that they, too, would question why stereotypes