TOW #24: "Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal" (IRB)

Consider the very point in space that you are occupying right now. Now consider that within a mile of you, there are probably an abundance of fast food restaurants, waiting to exchange money for “happiness.” Eric Schlosser did not believe in this “happiness” however, when he wrote his book: Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. In his novel, Schlosser extrapolates on the hidden mechanisms that make fast food such a bad thing from his perspective. Through his use of statistics and an extended example, Schlosser is able to convince readers that the speculated “dangers” of fast food do exist.

Schlosser’s frequent use of statistics helps to convince the audience of specific dangers associated with fast food, due to their exemplification of hard facts. For example, when Schlosser discusses the In-n-Out fast food chain, he uses statistics such as the average salary of workers, the amount of each food served, and more to show to readers the contrast between In-n-Out and other fast food restaurant chains. These statistics are also used in other places in the text, especially when Schlosser brings up a difficult topic for discussion. In these cases, the statistics help to ground his examples with facts that more blatantly show the differences between fast food and home food. In this way, Schlosser’s argument becomes easier to understand with each topic, which is why Schlosser is able to convince readers of the dangers of fast food.

Schlosser also uses an extended example throughout the entire book in order to relate topics presented in various places in the text. The extended example he uses is the city of Colorado Springs, whose growth is analogous to how the fast food industry moved throughout the country. Colorado Springs is brought up multiple times during the text, as it allows Schlosser to tie in different concepts to something that the audience is already familiar with as the book goes on. As the growth of Colorado Springs in terms of fast food becomes more and more clear to readers, it serves as a similarity to the entire country. This characteristic was particularly effective in making Schlosser’s argument easier to understand. Therefore, Schlosser is able to convince his readers of the dangers of fast food.

Throughout the reading of this book, I found it quite similar to Freakonomics, a novel that I read previously. This is because the two books share the same characteristic of describing the hidden sides to topics. Fast Food Nation was particularly enjoyable and informative, and Schlosser’s rhetorical techniques made it very easy to understand and informative. At least for me, his purpose was achieved, I don’t think I’m going to step inside a fast food restaurant again.