"Eyeing Apple"

In most contemporary conversations that involve technology, Apple is a common discussion topic. The company has risen to international prevalence over the last decade. Generally, its market status has agreed with this trend. Recently, however, its stocks have taken quite the plunge (35% since September). Not surprisingly, this turn has left stockholders and investors in a panic. A company that used to be characterized by reverence and stability is now getting wary reactions from the people that matter most. Jakes Surowiecki, an author for The New Yorker, quells these fears in his piece entitled “Eyeing Apple.” Surowiecki accomplishes this goal through a variety of rhetorical devices including cause and effect and metaphor.

Apple’s downward plunge is effectively explained through a cause and effect description. Uniquely, the article begins by describing the effect. The piece begins by detailing the stock depreciation and responses from outside sources. The switch to the explanation of the cause is noted by the rhetorical question “So why the sudden fall from grace?” The article then details the circumstances that have caused the depreciations. A metaphor towards the end of the article is extremely effective in resolving the fears of Apple’s recent downward spiral. “It’s always been the proverbial bumblebee: it shouldn’t be able to fly but it does. A wobble in flight is all it takes for people to proclaim its inevitable crash.”Surowiecki compares the history of Apple to a bumblebee. One small error in a bumblebee’s flight does not necessarily indicate crash, just as Apple’s downward trend does not indicate its death. Putting the company in this perspective is largely what makes the piece effective in accomplishing its intended goal.