An Anatomical Gift

Semrau’s main point of his article is written in the statement, “Quite simply, use what you have until it can no longer function.” He strategically writes his article to ease the reader into the very unusual idea of donating your body to science. He takes the popular idea of going “green” to engage readers and get their approval. He then proceeds to tell about his past careers and medical interest. By examining his past, some of his reasons for his decision become known. He had always encompassed a strong desire to be of constant use to people. The reader is then able to tie this desire to be useful to the well promoted idea of reusing items. Together they make it easier to understand the surprising end to the article. His rational reasons for wanting to donate his body in addition to his creative writing technique help to encourage his audience to accept his decision. His writing strategy was therefore very successful in ensuring that the donation of a cadaver could be seen as a useful gift to the medical field instead of a somewhat controversial act. Readers leave the article intrigued at the idea of reusing the human body.