And I thought I was finished...

What effect does your chosen rhetorical term have on the argument?

In "The Lives of A Cell," Lewis Thomas uses hyperbole when he writes, “[Man] sits on the topmost tiers of polymer, glass, and steel, dangling his pulsing legs, surveying at a distance the writhing life of the planet” (p. 358). This quote appears early on in his essay (actually, in the beginning of the first paragraph), and intentionally so - he wants his audience to understand their place in the World in relation to nature and less powerful creatures/organisms today before he begins talking about the changes that the earth has undergone recently. And, he wants to do all of this without insulting his reader explicitly. (Who's gonna read it if he does that?) By writing the above quote, he shows the reader (in an exaggerated way) the status that humans hold in the world today (or, in 1971). By using hyperbole, he convinces his reader of the damage that his lofty social position in the World can incur as well as makes an appeal to pathos. Because he chose his words carefully, Thomas doesn't write "Humans have caused everything to go haywire in this World!" Instead, he writes in a more satirical (albeit, not necessarily humorous, but exaggerated nonetheless), yet effective, way. He makes Man look both very deadly and too powerful, which is a position that most of us humans would be unwilling and/or embarrassed to accept. When he makes his appeal to pathos, he wants the reader to feel affected by the status he holds in the world today - a status of ultimate power, yet the greatest wisdom. He doesn't, however, want to insult the reader with scathing words or a shaking of the finger. By citing out wisdom, Thomas sheds some hope on this unfortunate situation, knowing that humans can find a solution for the growing problems.