Method, Hodos, Slow - Food, wha?

So, I just finished reading the introduction to the Ramage text, and I must admit it was an interesting experience, to say the least. I have mixed feelings about the reading, although some things seemed to be way over my head.

First of all, I really thought that beginning through the voice of someone who was Anti - Rhetoric was pretty interesting. Rhetoric, at least to me, has a somewhat vague and hazy definition. Ramage allowed us to form our own opinions on what exactly Rhetoric was and what we thought of it as a way of thinking. Although these opinions may change in the following chapters, I still find that it was a really great way to start the book. It engaged us from the get go.

Apart from the engaging first few sections, I oftentimes found myself just jumping from line to line with my eyes waiting for him to finally get his point across. Metaphors are a big thing with Ramage, as far as I can discern, but sometimes it feels as though he can't tie things together neatly at the end. Perhaps I am more a "Serious Person". Despite the somewhat wordy paragraphs, I really loved his use of different philosophical ideas (particularly about free-will) and how Rhetoric related to it, as a means of expressing your ideas and opinions freely. It made me even more curious about how I can utilize rhetoric in my writing.

I hope the discussions in class will help clear up the areas of the text that seemed a bit foggy. Overall though, it wasn't too bad, and I'm interested to see what the next chapter holds.