Ron Popeil Thesis Argument Anonymous 12th Grade

In the book What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures, Malcolm Gladwell talks about Ron Popeil, the “Set it, and forget it” man in the segment “The Pitchman: Ron Popeil and the Conquest of the American Kitchen”. In this segment, Gladwell writes mainly about the personal life of Ron Popeil. This proves the thesis that even though people may be good at what they do and extremely well known, people don’t know the person behind the face, as is apparent from evidence drawn from within the segment.

Ron Popeil is well-known for his Ronco equipment such as the Electric Food Dehydrator, Hair in a Can Spray, The Showtime Rotisserie, Smokeless Ashtray, and countless others. Many people know these products, but not many know the face behind the products. Ron Popeil has been called an “old-school” man by many. “In his habits Popeil is, by Beverly Hills standards, old school. … As often as twice a day, he can be found buying poultry or fish or meat at one of the local grocery stores- in particular Costco, which he favors because the chickens there are $0.99 a pound, as opposed to a $1.49 at standard supermarkets.” (Gladwell, 5) No one would know that about Ron Popeil unless they lived with him in his later years. This proves the thesis, as no...