Cover Letter

I have kept most of the structure of the rhetorical analysis, and the content that was in the
previous submission. I reread the essay and the comments, and it was clear to me that I spent
most of the time talking about Spider Man and his background as opposed to talking about the
scenes on which the Rhetorical Analysis, are focused on. One of the drawbacks of the rhetorical
analysis, or of the particular object on which I am examining, is that it is somewhat hard for me
not to go on and on about Spider Man considering, how much I know.
Regardless, some of the changes that I have made are scratching out some of the
unnecessary general information regarding the franchise or the character. One of the suggestions
was to move up the analysis that had the most juice, but I felt like the sequence would benefit the
reader in comprehending my message more. What I did do, was look at that input and analysis,
and added more to the previous scenes that help bring in the whole picture. The way I look at it, I
made the base strong, and because of it I added more analysis to the main focus. I am grateful for
the comments as they assisted me in discovering that at the start I had deviated from my main
focus, which was meant to focus on why the producers decided to do the things they did in the
manner that they did.

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Rhetorical Analysis of The Amazing Spider Man

The Amazing Spider Man, was developed in the comic books, in what is referred to as
the Golden Age of comics. The Golden Age comics are the comics that started the superhero
fandom and obsession, an escape from reality for all kinds of individuals, with each book
appealing to different audiences. Spider Man may be one of the most iconic superheroes, to
have been created by Marvel Comics Universe (MCU). The story has been told, for decades with
the comic books reaching 700 comics of The Amazing Spider Man, not counting other
editions, which differ from the original story, it has also been made into cartoons and movies that
have made Spider Man a well-known pop culture icon. The story of Peter Parker an average
teen, who happens to get bit by a radioactive spider, his DNA is recoded such that Peter Parker
gains the abilities possessed by the spider, and later becomes his crime fighting alter ego, known
as Spider Man.
My analysis will focus on a specific scene that occurs in the Amazing Spider Man and
other scenes that will aid in the comprehension of this analysis. The movie was released in 2012,
a cinematographic film developed by Marc Webb. This movie is appealing to a range of
audiences, teens and children are targeted because of Peter Parkers persona and age, the
conflicts and dilemmas that other people can relate to, and science fiction lovers. Peter Parker is
your average teen, who gets bit by a radioactive spider, and gains the abilities possessed by the
spider. Before we analyze the scene we must first acknowledge the fact that Peter is bullied by
Flash Thompson, the popular jock. When Peter gets bitten he gets stronger and more than
capable of defending himself, his eyesight improves such that he doesnt need corrective eye
glasses, and we see Peter transform his appearance from geek to average. Although Uncle Bens

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death is a transformative event, that changes his belief and that establishes his core belief that he
carries with him from then on, I will further examine the scenes before his death.
Having set the image of who Peter Parker is, we see one of the introductory scenes, Peter
stands up for another peer, the audience is supposed to applaud the protagonist because he stood
up for what he believed to be morally right. The person he stands up for is being bullied by Flash
T. In the scene Flash recognizes Peter who is holding a camera, and requests that Peter take the
picture of him bullying another kid, when he refuses in participating in the humiliation of another
peer, Flash, confronts him. A fight ensues and Flash ends up hitting Peter, after a minute or two
Gwen Stacy, the love interest in the film, interrupts the fight. The audience feels mixed emotions
at this point, we feel bad for Peter that he got hit for doing whats right, we appreciate Gwen for
saving Peters skin, and we antagonize Flash for being the offender, and the cause of the conflict.
A couple of scenes later after being bitten and discovering his powers, Peter Parker finds himself
in a gymnasium, while Flash is playing basketball, he blocks a shot and the ball hits a can of
paint near the benches, and it spills blue paint onto a banner that this female character is painting.
She gets mad at Flash for having done so intentionally. Peter reaches to help her, when lightning
strikes twice, and Peter with the aid of his fast reflexes catches the ball before hitting the banner
once again. Whether it was the grin on Flashs face when he knocked over the paint, perhaps it
was that he felt no remorse or the fact that he ruined her work, that the audience is instilled with
this dislike towards Flash.
Since, Peter has the ball, Flash demanded the ball so that they may resume basketball
training; Peter gets cocky with his newfound abilities, and teases Flash to get the ball from him.
Peter is arrogant, and instead of disliking him, we feel the need identify with Peter because he is
finally able to stand up for himself, he is sticking up for someone else so it makes it harder for

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the audience to dislike him. The scene causes some humor as Flash is unable to get the ball from
Peter. In a last attempt to get the ball, Flash tries to get the ball from Peter one last time before he
gives up. Peter bounces the ball, and Flash dares him to score. Peter runs travels and rushes past
Flash only to jump in midair to shatter the backboard, like Shaquille ONeal. The audience has
been led to believe that Peters actions were justified, so that Flash would be stop harassing
others, the audience could also validate the retribution as an eye for an eye thing, the fact that
humor is added to the scene makes it seem as though Peters actions were warranted.
The scene on which I want to place my focus for this analysis is the following scene. We
find Uncle Ben and Peter Parker in an office, we see Uncle Ben staring at the desk, while Peter
has his head down. This again appeals to anyone who has ever had their parents called only to
come to school, and sit to hear about the bad things that were committed, and thus the audience
understands when Peter has his head down, as a sign of shame. After they get out of the office,
they find themselves talking in the halls. Peter is preoccupied with the fact that they may have to
pay for the backboard that he broke. Uncle Ben states that he is not preoccupied with the
backboard, but rather how he had humiliated Flash in front of everyone at the gymnasium. I
would say that the intended audience for this scene would be teens; this said audience would
figure that a lecture would be imminent, as soon as they saw him in the principals office or as
soon as he said that he didnt care about the backboard. Peter admits to humiliating Flash, and as
he tries to justify himself his uncle stops him, and Peter exclaims that Flash deserved it. The
audience admires the honesty and sincerity that Peter has towards his Uncle, yet there is this
feeling that makes an appeal to Peters side that he did deserve it, as it was portrayed through the
aforementioned scenes.

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Uncle Ben doesnt say much throughout the conversation, and in the end Uncle Ben
asked him if this Flash that he had humiliated him was the same guy who had bullied him before.
Peter turns his sight away, not wanting to answer and his uncle asked again, and Peter confirmed
it, after which Uncle Ben much like a father tells Peter if it felt good. Peter looks down, and
Uncle Ben is reaffirmed that he shows remorse. This scene is the central focus of my rhetorical
analysis, and the out of the possible audiences that I have discussed, this particular scene seems
to address anyone who feels wronged by either someone else or by something that makes them
feel the need for vengeance.
If we regard that audience, it will encompass people of all ages, gender and diversity, yet
the ideal audience of this scene are teens and people in their twenties, who feel wronged or taken
advantage of. When someone finally has the opportunity to, hurt the person who hurt them in the
first place, whats to stop them? This particular scene portrays a morality, of right and wrong,
although Flash did deserve it and it may have seemed like it was the right thing, this scene shows
otherwise, that in the aftermath, we dont feel any better or worse for it. Someone else was hurt,
and nothing was gained, which makes the action committed by Peter morally wrong. The
director of the film inserts this scene to prove that revenge, is not worth it because although we
may envision that revenge will help us, when we finally have the opportunity we never feel as
good as we thought. Before the conversation, the audience feels pleased that Peter got the
opportunity to humiliate his bully, and the conversation shatters that feeling, only to make the
audience feel disgrace for what Peter did to Flash. This scene portrays most of the emotions and
remorse by non verbal communication that the audience interprets.
As I mentioned before the Spider Man, franchise is already well known, so it wasnt
difficult for Marc Webb to appeal to the audience. Its credibility was already built off of the

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comics, something that has existed for over 50 years. Flash Thompson, has always been a bully
to Peter, and in such the audience already expected the dynamic between Flash and Peter, such
that it doesnt surprise its audience. The audience knew that Peter Parker was going to retaliate
but the dialogue was new, and its message was short but efficient, as it portrayed its message
regarding how vengeance doesnt make you feel better. The scene structures its argument around
the values that we have been indoctrinated, such as ethical behaviors, being respectful and
considerate of others. Peters upbringing makes it difficult to feel better after exacting his
revenge, and because of it, this scene portrays that its not worth hurting others just to
compensate for the hurt that they caused, and thus instilling this morality onto its audience,
which we established to be adolescents and people in their twenties.
Its interesting that this scene occurred in school, and as such we can see why the targeted
audience is young, it brings a sense of familiarity for people who are still in school. Whether its
the halls of the school or if its being in the Principal or Assistant Principals office, the audience
identifies with this. All these familiar elements, help the audience identify with the movie, and
the feeling of vengeance that Peter exacts on Flash. At first we antagonize Flash, as the first
scene to wish we are introduced to his character is the one in which he bullies Peter. After Peter
humiliates Flash, in his retaliation, the audience acknowledges that Flash shouldnt have been
humiliated, and later on the audience sympathizes with him in following scenes in the movie.
To sum up my analysis I think that Marc Webb managed to persuade his audience, based
on how he presented the scenes. We are presented at the start of the movie how Richard Parker,
Peters father leaves him in the capable hands of Uncle Ben and Aunt May, right from the start
we start feeling sorry for Peter, being left by his parents manipulates the emotions of the viewer
to feel compassion towards him. When Peter Parker confronts Flash, we feel proud that he will

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not submit to participate in the bullying taking place, so when Peter humiliates Flash we root for
Peter, and alienate and dislike Flash. In addition the director adds some sense of humor to it so
that Peter will not be antagonized. Peter is unscathed, and we still find that the hero learned a
valuable lesson, that the story hopes to instill in its audience.