The article, “Anesthesia, the Drug Taken for Granted,” recounts the blessings of anesthesia with all the information that seems to be needed to support the thesis. The thesis of the article is: Anesthesia is indispensable, and a necessity for the progress of medical science. It is an accurate thesis, and the writer makes every effort to support it with facts. According to the article, there was little or no anesthesia available to the people of the past. But the people in our day have easy access to anesthesia, which is why surgeries and recoveries are successful, and medical science is progressing. The reason for the progress is, of course, that surgeries are too painful without anesthesia, and in the absence of anesthesia, most patients would not enter the operating room.
In the process of supporting the thesis, the writer defines “anesthesia,” besides recounting its history. This helps the reader to better understand the significance of anesthesia. The author further describes the negative side of anesthesia if it is administered by an unskilled doctor. This discussion allows the reader to grasp the importance of the various facets of the administration of anesthesia. By concluding the essay on a positive note about anesthesia, the writer confirms his thesis. Although the negative side of anesthesia is discussed with reference to incompetent doctors, the reader is by no means made to feel that anesthesia is bad. Thus, all of the information provided is integrated to support the thesis. At no point during the perusal of the article does the reader feel that anything mentioned in the article is unneeded or uncalled for.
Every paragraph of the article starts out with a topic sentence to introduce the central idea of the paragraph. The first paragraph begins with an image of a dental surgery, and refers to good news as well as bad news. In this paragraph, the reader is reminded that it is painful to have surgeries without the use of anesthesia, and it is bad news when a patient cannot use anesthesia during the surgery. The good news in this scenario is that the patient does not have to pay for anesthesia. However, this good news is not very important in the paragraph. The writer describes the bad news more clearly, for it is considered more important for the patient to avoid physical pain by paying the cost of anesthesia.
To recount the blessings of anesthesia, the author persuades by appealing to the emotions of the reader – using pathos abundantly – that in the absence of anesthesia, surgeries would be quite painful. As a matter of fact, the use of pathos starts out the essay when the author refers to “bad news” being that “We can’t put you to sleep or numb you while we pull your wisdom teeth.” These words related to physical pain immediately affect the emotions of the reader, who would like to avoid pain at all costs. The writer further persuades the reader through the use of reasoning or logos. This form of appeal is also used throughout the essay. The writer, for example, explains in the beginning of the essay that not having anesthesia is bad news for one who must visit the dentist to get his wisdom teeth pulled out. The reader must infer from this that it is painful to get one’s wisdom teeth pulled out without the use of anesthesia. The first paragraph of the article ends with the idea that it is because of anesthesia that we are experiencing successful surgeries and recoveries in our day.
The second paragraph recounts the history of anesthesia by first describing the origin of the word, anesthesia. The topic sentence with the origin of the word described is supported by the history of anesthesia to provide a general introduction to the properties of the miracle we refer to as anesthesia. The third paragraph begins with the words, “Anesthetics have not always been ‘local’ or advanced as we have today.” This takes the reader into further details about the history of anesthesia, before the writer compares the anesthesia of yesteryears with the anesthesia of today in the fourth paragraph. In the third paragraph, the writer does not describe the difference between general anesthesia and local anesthesia. Neither does he describe advancement in the science of anesthesia. Rather, the third paragraph is interlinked with the fourth paragraph in that the topic sentence of the third paragraph is supported by both of these paragraphs. So, although the topic sentence of the fourth paragraph is also supported by the fourth paragraph – that is, “Although people may feel apprehensive about their trip to the dentist’s office, most are in good hands” – this paragraph is supportive of the third paragraph’s topic sentence to boot. This is because local anesthesia is actually described in the fourth paragraph, and the advancement in anesthesiology is also described here.
In the fifth paragraph, it becomes clear to the reader that the writer is ethical in his approach. As far as ethos or ethical appeal is concerned – the essay is credible because the author uses research to explain the importance of anesthesia and its appropriate use. He writes about the history of anesthesia, as well as common mistakes made by doctors who do not use anesthesia properly. The reader is led to believe that the writer is concerned about the welfare of the reader, seeing that the writer is pointing out the problems related to the use of anesthesia in the fifth paragraph. By knowing the problems, the reader may very well try to avoid them.
The topic sentence of the fifth paragraph is, “While anesthesiology is a blessing, it comes coupled with a cursed counterpart.” The use of logos is apparent here, seeing as the author supports the topic sentence by describing how anesthesiology could become a curse. In order to explain his belief, the writer explains the curse with research into the practices of incompetent doctors using anesthesia.
The sixth paragraph sums up the article by pointing out once again that anesthesia is a real blessing. According to the writer, “Anesthesia has proven to be a large benefactor in both society today, and centuries past.” This topic sentence is followed by a few concluding sentences summing up the importance of anesthesia in its development stages and today. By pointing out that anesthesia has helped medical science to progress, because no doctor would operate without it, and no patient would like to experience the pains of surgery without anesthesia – the writer concludes that anesthesia is sure to help medical science continue progressing.
The paragraph uses pathos when the writer states, “It is anesthesia that calms people’s fears from getting their wisdom teeth pulled out, to knee surgery.” Once again, we are led to believe that if a patient had to decide whether to use anesthesia or not, his or her choice would be determined by emotions alone. Similarly, the use of logos is obvious in the conclusion of the essay. Once the writer has explained that improper use of anesthesia is possible, he ends his essay mentioning that proper use of anesthesia is essential for anesthesia to remain as a blessing: “Anesthesia has made it possible for medicine to come as far as it has today, and with the right medicine and doctors, anesthesia will continue to carry clinical research to new heights.”
