Science is a subject that is proved to be unexplanable and impossible. Therefore, it takes a very well educated and poised man to be a scientist. Science creates many obstacles and frustration for some, but once a scientist discovers something beyond belief, or proves his or her own theory, there is no more frustration..just success and excitement. John M Barry's The Great Influenza describes the hardships of being a scientist, as well as the many successes of taking on the scientific profession. Barry uses rhetorical devices in his passage such as metahpors and paradoxes to better display his argument about the subject of science and what it takes to become a successful scientist.
Barry uses metaphors to describe where a striving scientist must go to achieve their dreams. He uses the term "wildreness" to identify the path of a scientist looking for success. The wilderness is made into a setting of where the ammature scientist must go. "The best among them move deep into a wilderness where they know almost nothing, where the very tools and techniques needed to clear the wilderness, to bring order to it, do not exist." (lines 25-29) Barry uses the wilderness to also persuade the reader that it is nothing close to easy to become a scientist; one must go beyond their usual borders to find the true meaning of the profession.
Paradoxes go hand in hand with science. One must always review both sides of a theory for instance, to be ready for any outcome to occur. What if it works? What if it fails? Every scientist has to test their theories to truly know which actually work or not. "Would a pick be best, or would dynamite be better--or would dynamite be too indescriminately destructive? If teh rock is penetrable, if dynamite would destroy what one is looking for, is there another way of getting information about what the rock holds?" (lines 40 -45) Barry uses the rhetorical device, metaphor, to distinguish that scientists always have to question their beliefs and findings. If one is looking for something, and may have to risk their discovery becuase of the way to find it, is it really worth it? Every scientist has to face these obstacles in order to someday prove their intelligence of being a scientist.
Uncertainty is like a monster that never leaves a scientist's side; always watching over everything they do and think. Scientist have to always face this uncertainty with a confidence that may well be powerful enough to break through the uncertainty and create a known fact. "Not all scientific investigators can deal comfortably with uncertainty, and those who can may not be creative enough to understand and design the experiments that will illuminate a subject--to know both where and how to look." (lines 56-60) John M Barry proved his argument of becoming a scientist through the use of metaphors and paradoxes, in such a way that comes across to the reader that not all people can be a scientist. It takes a fearless fighter who is ready to take on any obstacle thrown in their path.
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