Alyssa Jensen
Evaluative Essay
Intro to Critical Thinking
8/21/14
This essay is to given a critical evaluation of H.L. Mencken’s work of “The Penalty of Death” in determining whether it was successful or not and what the strengths and weaknesses are. This is a topic that is important to me and in which I have a strong opinion about it. By completing this critical evaluation, it will not only allow the article to be better understood and comprehended but will allow the true meaning of the author to be delivered. If this critical evaluation is successful, one could only hope that the reader would be able to take valuable insight into the topic after reading the evaluation. From completing this assignment I have learned a few new…show more content… Since the dawn of time the old saying of “Ye have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth” (The Holy Bible) illustrates that the death penalty of execution as taught in the bible was practiced as such. Mencken stated that up lifters argue on two most common arguments that the job of a hangman and the witness are dreadful business and revolting and that being sentenced to death is now useless, for it does not deter others from the same crime (Phillips and Bostian, 524). Both of these two arguments do have some validity within the essay which has both strengths and weaknesses that will be discussed and presented…show more content… This was shown when Mencken was able to inject humor into a controversial subject as the death penalty and not only make it work but also wrote the article in a way that made it appealing to the reader. A fallacies or issue with the data that Mencken presents in supporting this argument are weak and not factual. Mencken also uses several paragraphs to ultimately state that the death penalty is basically closure for the victims; however, he never presents factual data or determines if the death penalty actually deters folks from conducting the same