Juan Covarrubias

Czajkowski – 6

9 October 2008

AP English.

Tom Wolfe, in his social critique, “O Rotten Gotham” asserts that

overcrowding is a serious dilemma that is of no concern to “the aristocratic rats”
that do not seem to be directly affected by it. Wolfe illuminates his argument by
observing the citizens of New York and closely analyzing experiments featuring
Norway rats; while only two out of the forty-eight were able to reproduce and live
normally, the rest of them had the least idea of what an ordinary life was because of
overcrowding. Wolfe utilizes rhetorical devices such as metaphors, which serve to
compare the New Yorkers to inferior animals like the experiment rats, as well as
personification to give rats human qualities in order for the reader to further
understand the meaning of the Behavioral Sink, and a shifting tone to switch
between discussing the inferiority of New York citizens and the observations of the
experiment. This piece is a work intended for an educated audience that includes
teachers, or well-rounded individuals because of its use of a complicated vocabulary
and rhetorical devices.

Anthony Johnston, in his autobiographical narrative, “My Mother the

Catwoman,” claims that portraying emotions such as love, hope, sadness, and
healing can be done by reciting stories that utilize pets as their character. Johnston
clarifies his observation by telling stories about his childhood and the loss of his
father by using cats to ease the pain of loss.

Tom Wolfe and Anthony Johnston both utilize metaphors to compare unlike
things; Wolfe compares New Yorkers to animals to portray inferiority, and Johnston
compares a busy street where cats were usually ran over to Population Control in
order to show the enormous quantity of cats owned by his mother; then Wolfe and
Anthony use personification with animals, giving them human-like qualities, to show
relation between animals and individuals, and lastly, Johnston utilizes a shifting tone
in the story to mark the death of his dad, while Wolfe uses it to refer to individuals
inhabiting New York and then referring to the rat experiment.

Anthony Johnston and Wolfe, utilize metaphors throughout their essay to

compare two unlike things in order to prove their argument. In contrast, Wolfe uses
metaphors to portray New Yorkers as inferior, because they do everything in such a
hurry that they become “autistic, sadistic, (…) hot-in-the-pants, (…) numb (213),”
while Johnston uses metaphors to show the numerous amount of cats owned by his
mother. “We called the busy street where (…) we found their bodies Population
Control (202).” Even though the purpose of the metaphors was different, they both
refer to overcrowding. Anthony Johnston shows this because Population Control is
used to reduce the birth rates, and therefore preventing overcrowding. Similarly,
Tom Wolfe’s main argument states that overcrowding is a dilemma, therefore
making these statements similarities.