Consider the Lobster analysis

In the article Consider the Lobster, by David Foster he explores the concept of eating lobster in New England. There, its considered to be a valued tradition and something everyone partakes in, especially during festivals and other celebrations. The focal point of his article centers around how lobsters can feel pain and the way they are killed to be eaten causes them great distress. Many organizations, as Fosters lists, are against the way lobsters are eaten and killed. Organizations like PETA have protested outwardly against the festivals in New England and have tried to encourage other people to not eat lobsters. On the other side of the argument, many who do not eat lobster have little knowledge or opinion about how lobsters are killed and how they feel pain. Foster provides many expert examples and data collected from scientific tests in order to organize his point. Foster’s set up of the piece relates to Huxley’s second form, moving towards object, historical facts, which are the concrete evidence displayed in this article. This speaks to the logos of his writing. The ethos appeals to the reader’s sensitivity to boiling lobsters alive, even though the majority of the argument is based in facts rather than personal appeals. This article is mostly informative as many people do not stop and think about how a lobster is prepared for them, nor do they think about how lobsters actually have pain receptors. In the title of the article, Foster phrases it in such a way that asks readers to question something they might not have thought about otherwise. Overall, Foster has chosen a point of interest where the standpoints are polar extremes. One is either incredibly passionate about it or they do not care at all. It provides another perspective without swaying the reader to one side or another.