In Escudero’s essay, “Bariatric Surgery: The Unspoken Truth,” he explores the risks and benefits of gastric bypass surgery. In this argumentative essay the author explains what the surgery is, what it does and how the different lifestyles of the patients change drastically in order to support their new body. Escudero mentions how before reaching a decision there should be research conducted in order to determine whether the operation is right for the individual whose life is at risk. He begins with a background check of what the surgery does and then incorporates positive and negative feedback from the surgery.
Escudero’s intentions for writing this paper are difficult to understand. It seems to be an informative piece for the general audience because he talks about the advantages and disadvantages of the surgery but upon further inspection he points out how “the benefits outweigh the complications” making the paper a persuasive essay. In Escudero’s opening paragraph, a mood-setting prelude, a character is displayed awaiting the doctor’s decision for her “second chance in life” and is glad to hear that she is a candidate for gastric bypass surgery.
If you are like me not knowing what the surgery was upon reading the essay you believe that this surgery is a gift from god and the solution to many problems in America. Then as the essay progresses the author mentions the rapid increase of performed surgeries over the years and how it affects more than just the person’s weight: “It has been known to lower high blood pressure, prevent heart disease and even reverse diabetes.
” At this point you are thinking that nothing can go wrong with the surgery and that the doctors who perform this operation are miracle workers. A close analysis of this opening page uses a mixture of dynamic imagery and enticing promises to create an interest in potential new members which works to the author’s advantage by catching the reader’s attention early.
Although I do find this to be an exciting and fresh new topic concerning the well-being of several individuals, the author however, fails to write an effective argument or take a solid stance throughout the essay. Escudero’s thesis states that “the benefits outweigh the complications” contradict what the rest of his paper has to say. The depression, risk of seizures and sagging skin are some of the results he mentions after the surgery has been completed which leads me to believe he is against it. He emphasizes his interview with Mary Luz, an insightful perspective of a person who has gone through the surgery and the many changes it brings to her life.
Mary Luz’s interview ends with ‘Inside I will always be a fat person. I will think like a fat person and eat like a fat person. ’ These last few words create a sense of doubt entering the reader’s mind of undertaking the surgery in the first place making it seem that the benefits really do not outweigh the complications mentioned earlier in Escudero’s opening paragraphs. In addition, his appeal to logos, ethos, and pathos are scattered at best and do not mesh well together.
The information he gathered from his sources do encourage that he researched and studied his topics well but incorporating unreliable sources from Wikipedia “…the number of surgeries exceeded 120,000 in 2003 (Wikipedia 2),” and “the numbers have surely climbed since then. It is estimated that 200,000 operations were performed in the United States in 2008. (Wiki)” more than damage his credibility and respect as an author because of Wikipedia’s unreliable sources which anyone with an account can edit the material to their own liking.
Escudero’s emotional appeal is very effective from his encounter with Mary Luz. This leads me to my next point. As great of an asset as Mary Luz is for creating a strong appeal to pathos, not having a positive interview or an inspiring example of a gastric bypass patient diminishes the author’s appeal to logos because with no way to support his original claim it makes it seem as if he argues against himself. However, one must give credit where credit is due and the author of this essay should be recognized for his efforts in writing a paper with all the facts.
His visual aid of placing a picture of a real life example of sagging skin was embedded into my brain and he made sure that I will not soon forget that image. Most of the facts he discussed did come from professionals on the topic including nutritionists and doctors making his paper more credible. To a certain extent the author did convince the reader of his point of view although excluding some of the material in the later part of his paper or integrating the different side of the surgery would have aided his cause even more.
Despite the fact that I did learn quite a lot from reading this essay I disagree with the author in thinking that being put under the knife is necessary for a healthy life. If you are overweight and are physically in danger, than you should understand your situation by making the right choices and seeking help before it is too late. A drastic change in such a short amount of time is not needed and in many cases can be a self-destructive prophecy.
According to Mary Luz, ‘If I would have eaten the way I do now I would have never needed the surgery. ’ In conclusion, Escudero’s original claim is not well supported in this essay since he did not establish more arguments of why overweight individuals should go on with the surgery instead he emphasized the many factors such as “an iron and vitamin B12 deficiency” which lead to anemia and the skin bruising easily and even “the incidence of neurological problems” leading to seizures and subsequently death.
The essay had an effective first couple of pages but fell flat after that. Escudero argues that the benefits outweigh the complications but with little to no examples of the benefits and the constant reminder of the horrible side effects that could possibly end with death, along with the testimony of Mary Luz, it seems that this paper would have been better left as an informative essay instead of an argumentative one.