Analyzing the arrangement of “Lessons from the Game; Lessons from Life”The analysis of organization and arrangement first explains and interprets the meaning of events. It predicts what can happen given certain events, discusses the consequences of actions, and provides a perspective from which the reader can follow subsequent developments as they unfold. This is exemplified in this piece by Henry Petroski's “Lessons From Play”; Lessons From Life,” writing on the engineering concept of “fatigue failure” in 1992. He begins his topic and general approach with an opening statement that broadly covers the overall topic of his essay: “fatigue failure (p. 21). " Here, the author establishes credibility with the reader by demonstrating his theory through a class experiment by asking his students to bend paper clips to the point of breaking (p. 21). The writer is telling the reader, "So, the students they recognize at the same time the phenomenon of fatigue and the fact that fatigue failure is not an exactly predictable event (p. 22). "What follows is as if the author is thinking aloud as he mulls over why things fracture through repeated use. Figurative language such as burning light bulbs and breaking shoelaces add texture to the writer's thoughts (p. 22). Petroski drives home his point through a colorful anecdote and the use of metaphors via his son's use of the computer toy Speak and Spell (p. 22). to set the stage for a more detailed argument of his proposal. The author illustrates the claims that “the most frequently pressed plastic buttons on the toy were among the first to break” (p. 23). body of the text provides details that support the writer's thesis. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay asks a question: “Why didn't the toy designers apparently foresee this problem? Why didn't they use buttons that would last longer than electronic toys? Why haven't they solved the problem of fatigue, the problem that has defined the durability of mechanical and structural designs for centuries (p. 24)? The differences are in tone, and in both cases the author uses the authority of his own opinions and that of an engineering expert. One of the ways the author provides support for the thesis that “fatigue failure” and not design failure is the main reason why things break is a simple enumeration of cases: bridge collapse and crash of an airplane (p. 24 ), failure of the Hyatt Regency runway designs and DC-10 airplanes, as well as automobile failures (p. 26). Furthermore, the writer takes a strong stance on what might actually happen in an alternative scenario “(that) unless we are commonly fussy, we live dangerously and pay little attention to preventative maintenance of our frayed laces or our aging light bulbs. Although we may still ask ourselves “Why? ” when they break, we already know and accept the answer (p. 27). ”In the following paragraphs, the writer uses repetition as a rhetorical device: the wear and tear due to the repeated use of strings and light bulbs, as well as the repeated bending of paper clips (pp. 27-28) strikes the reader again and once again while the author drives home his point as if with a hammer. Instead, the writer summarizes the key concepts of Murphy's Law - "arguing that anything can go wrong (p. 28)" -. 33).