“Columbine: Whose Fault Is It?,” an essay wrote by Marilyn Manson and published in “Rolling Stone” magazine, addresses the problem of Columbine through the eyes of Manson himself. Through the use of pathos and ethos, Manson forces the reader to interpret his views from many different angles. Manson implements exotic word choice and imagery into his essay and creates a different feel for the reader because of his “hard rocker” status, but the effectiveness of these techniques varies greatly.
After Columbine occurred, the media pointed their finger at Manson. They suggested that his music and image played a key role is causing the tragedy at Columbine. Manson wrote this essay in response to those accusations. Manson presents the idea that the media, as well as society as a whole, is just as responsible as he is for causing the shootings in Columbine. The essay is very straightforward and direct in expressing Manson’s views of why the shootings in Littleton, Colorado occurred.
Manson states in the second line of his essay,“The day that Cain bashed his brother Abel’s brains in, the only motivation he needed was his own human disposition to violence,” this alerts the reader immediately to Manson’s unique rhetorical angle. By comparing past and present, Manson offers the reader with the logical question, “What makes Cain and Abel’s incident any different from that of Columbine?” This is an effective technique because the Cain and Abel example corresponds with that of Columbine, but didn’t involve the influence of movies, TV, or the music of Marilyn Manson. In turn, it provides a valid reason why Manson should not be blamed and that there are a number of other causes for violent actions.
Manson contends whether or not today’s media influences actually differ from that of the bible. This is a bold statement because he is putting blame on the bible, but it’s effective because it is a view that would not normally be looked at. Through ethos, Manson doesn’t use his authority, but the authority of the bible. He questions whether or not the bible is always right in the lessons that it teaches. Who would think of comparing, or evening blaming, such an act of violence with the book that so many people live their life by?
One of the obvious differences in Manson’s essay, compared to a “normally written essay,” is his unique word choice. His word choice is vulgar and, in some cases, borderline. This rhetorical tool is evident beginning with the quote mentioned in the previous paragraph. It illustrates Manson’s unique view of the situation at Columbine very appropriately because the Cain and Abel example is known by everyone, but no one has ever heard it described as a “brain bashing.” By depicting the story of Cain and Abel in that way, it forces the reader to analyze the story in a different context, just as Manson did with the shootings in Columbine.
His word choice creates an attitude that Manson is going to say what he wants, and not feel it necessary to write in a so called “politically correct” form. By writing this way, Manson challenges the “norm”because there is definitely a limited number of essays addressing Columbine that would refer to Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris as “dipshits,” like Manson did. This type of word choice attracts the readers attention throughout the whole essay. Not only do the different words attract attention, but the unusual combinations of words. For example, Manson used the phrase, “gruesome entertainment,” which the phrase by itself is some what contradicting. Most people would say entertainment is enjoyable and generally a good thing, but the use of the word gruesome right before entertainment changes the meaning completely. This illustrates Manson’s main point of his essay in that, entertainment can be gruesome, in terms of the media and news, and eventually contribute to violence.
Manson uses pathos in a very unorthodox way as well. Pathos is used many times to touch a person so that they feel good about the media being interpreted. Manson uses pathos in an alternative form. He touches on many things that are emotionally hard to deal with and talks about them very vulgarly. For example, Manson states, “...watching our president’s brains splattered all over Texas,” which if read by a certain person, could be very offensive and create a blow to the overall effect of the essay. On the contrary, that statement also has the potential of making an impression on the reader. It could be effective, not in a sense of making the reader feel good about something, but instead challenge the thought of the reader and possibly make he or she realize how truly unacceptable things like letting kids watch JFK footage really is. It could be that describing it in such an “in your face” way, makes Manson’s point that much more effective.
Through ethos, Manson uses humor and sarcasm to create a bond with the reader. A reader would not expect a Marilyn Manson essay to be cut and dry with no humor involved, so by doing this he earns the trust of the reader because he is being himself. By Manson saying “...Clinton shooting off his prick...,” he appeals to his own authority of being the “bad boy of hard rock,” where as, if someone like E.B. White used those words, it wouldn’t be effective because he is not the type of person who would use that phrase in their writing. It makes Manson appeal on more of a personal level to the reader because, like stated earlier, it reinforces who he is by writing in his own style.
Although Manson provides a nice change up in the way he uses rhetorical tools, it may be to no avail because Marilyn Manson himself wrote the essay. Manson states many times throughout the essay how not only was he being blamed for Columbine, but also the fact that he is not well liked by adults because as he states, “...most adults hate people who go against the grain,” and he willingly admits to being one of those people. This is a very valid point and could mean a major drop off of potential readers. With his tarnished image, his essay becomes less effective as it can not relate to as people as an essay written by an author who is well thought of in our society. If a person holds Manson highly responsible for what happened in Columbine, what would make that person take Manson seriously? Even if this person does read the essay, who is to say that he or she would not just assume, “sure, he is going to defend himself.”
The same rhetorical tools that were described as being effective could also be detrimental to expressing Manson’s views. The use of profanity, as well as gruesome description, could persuade the reader to only thinking worse of Manson. The fact that he is being blamed for Columbine because of his vulgar lyrics and word choice, using that same vulgarity could just render the essay even more ineffective. Half of Manson’s potential readers could respect him for who he is and the other half could despise him for the same reasons.
The Manson essay is indeed unique in its use of word choice and the variations of pathos, and ethos. The essay is effective because it forces the reader to look at the situation from a different angle. By looking back at the Cain and Abel example, and Manson’s description of the event, the reader has to use the story in a whole new context because of how it is presented. This type of critical thinking is provoked throughout the whole essay. Manson does an accurate job of giving practical examples to back up his belief that the media and society are just as responsible for this tragedy as anyone else. Manson’s essay is rhetorically successful, but even through all of this, the essay may only be accessed by few. Not everyone in this world subscribes to “Rolling Stone,” and some might not for the same reasons they don’t like Marilyn Manson, it promotes sexuality and controversial music. The Manson essay was effective if read and willingly interpreted, but that could be a hard task to perform if you were a mother of one of the victims from Littleton, Colorado.
