Rhetorical Analysis of The Theory of Multiple Intelligences
             "We believe that human cognitive competence is better described in terms of a set of abilities, talents, or mental skills, which we call intelligences." (Gardner 379)
             In 1993, when Howard Gardner wrote this essay, people focused most of their attention on linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligence. They esteem the highly articulate or logical people. IQ test devised by Alfred Binet was the only indicator that measures permanent basic intelligence. Howard Gardner proposes a new view of intelligence that is rapidly being incorporated in school curricula. In his Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Gardner expanded the concept of intelligence to also include such areas as music, special relations, and interpersonal/intrapersonal knowledge in addition to mathematical and linguistic ability. From his book Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice (1993), he proposes that there are at least seven distinct intelligences. Additionally he wants to let the public know his different view. He spent 2 pages of his essay to tell us a story which shows that something is wrong. He is trying to facilitate communication for modern public readers. That must be the reason why this essay has simple language and a brief structure. He hides the details of his research but tells us a story which can be easily understood by most of us. He is introducing the new concept of human intelligence to the public.
             First, I'll discuss about the structure of this essay. First thing that catches my eyes is the way he list the seven different kinds of intelligence with parallel structure. From musical to intrapersonal intelligence, he explains each kind of intelligence as simply as possible with the exact same structure. He begins with a story that identifies the specific intelligence. For example, in the musical intelligence part, he tells a story about a three year old boy who was f...