Manipulation

Teenagers and parents don't always see eye to eye, especially about curfew or material goods. How does one convince his parents for an extension or an early gift? He uses manipulation, a more extreme form of persuasion.
Like in Thomas Paine's "The Crisis",we teenagers also formulate our thoughts into a format that convinces our listener to agree with us. Paine's ethical appeal, "if there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace", forces the reader into considering there is a right and wrong choice: to stand against the rebellion or to let the fight fall to his children. This parallels the teenagers' attempt when we ask to stay out later because "all the other kids are" or to have something because "all the other kids have it". We try to guilt our parents into thinking they're doing something wrong, that their decision is misinformed and that the way "all the other kids" parents are doing it is right.


Most children have asked for sweets and, like this picture, have appealed to their parents' emotions. How could they say no if their darling angel is so sad without it? Thomas Paine appeals to his fellow Continental Army men by saying their children will "curse his cowardice" because a successful fight would have made them "happy", free from British rule. By playing on the heartstrings of both parents and guilt of the soldiers, both listeners are agree.

Persuasive rhetoric isn't only found in literature. If we look around- or even examine ourselves- we'll see we take persuasion to the next level in our lives: manipulation for what we want.