Facts and Laughs

I chose to research more information about the article "Wal-Martian Invasion". I searched the author's name in google and found her Columnist Biography for the New York Times. This biography gave me a lot of her background information. Barbara Ehrenreich is a very accomplished writer. I found that she has authored a lot of books that usually have a socio-economic appeal. Also, I noticed that her articles and books often have a witty, interesting title. This is a sign that Ehrenreich usually writes in a sarcastic and satirical style. Ehrenreich's background information leads me to believe that she is writing for a somewhat informed audience that also wants to be entertained. Ehrenreich uses facts to support her argument such as "Wal-Mart fails at least five out of 10 criteria set by the Worker Rights Consortium". This shows that Ehrenreich is aware of the nature of her audience and uses these facts to establish her ethos. She also shows that she is sensitive to the fact that her audience wants to be entertained when she says, "Earth to Wal-Mars, or wherever you come from:Live with us or go back to the mothership."