In “Add Cake, Subtract Self-Esteem” by Caroline Knapp, she claims that society inflicts our eating habits. Using personal experience as supportive evidence towards her claim, she captures her audience. Referencing an era in the 90’s, where society puts an ideal image of what women were supposed to look like, this led to anorexia. Claiming that society succeeded in their goal, resulting in many women becoming anorexic including herself. By using these first-hand experiences, she accomplishes her goal of informing the public of the wrongdoings of society.
Knapp claims that even in today’s society, we are still told what the ideal body type and shape are supposed to look like. Using real life scenarios, Knapp and her friends still debate what they will eat, even though society has drifted from the claimed 90’s ideal image. Knapp claims that this…show more content… Claiming that, people should not have to feel guilty for these actions, but society is making the public have self-esteem issues. In addition, she also talks about how society puts the ideas of what is sexy and what is not. This only adds to the self-esteem and confidence issues in our culture today. Claiming that society has put these ideas in the public’s eye and it is harming all ages and body images in the community.
Knapp uses many personal experiences to capture her audience’s attention. Many women may have thought these same thoughts so they can relate more to her claim. She educates us but would probably benefit from more core evidence. As in statistics, journals, and other things that would back her claim even more. Personal evidence is a great way to capture the audience’s attention and feelings, but many people also need to know that status of something to feel even more passionate about the claim. Overall, Knapp captures her audiences in a heartfelt, raw, real, and powerful
