The Art of Persuasion

A Rhetorical Analysis of Amy Dunne’s Narration in Gone Girl

Abstract

Gillian Flynn’s 2012 novel Gone Girl portrays the story of a wife, Amy, whose suppressed resentment and dysfunctional marriage cause her to frame her husband, Nick, for her murder. This essay seeks to analyze the common rhetorical devices of emotional appeal, credibility, and common logic utilized by Amy Dunne’s character in the novel to manipulate other characters and media into believing that her husband killed her. It will also analyze how she uses those same rhetorical devices to attempt to convince the readers that her actions in framing her husband for her murder were justified. This analysis won’t solely focus on how she goes about persuading the characters, media, and the audience; It will also analyze why it was so easy for her to do so. As a result, this essay will reveal the power that mass media and public perception hold in regard to criminal justice cases, and how this pressure from the media corresponds with a present-day bias favoring privileged white women in America's criminal justice system.