And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie "You've forgotten the nursery rhyme. Red herrings are often used in fiction, especially in thriller, suspense, and mystery novels. While the news does excite the teacher, it still doesn’t address the fact that the assignment hasn’t been completed. In this exchange between a teacher and student, the student diverts attention from the fact that he didn’t finish his assignment by delivering news that he knows will make his English teacher proud. Teacher: Wow, that’s fantastic news, Greg! Student: I know I should have, but I was so busy last night working on my poem that won first prize at the poetry contest this morning. Teacher: The assignment was due last night, why haven’t you submitted it yet? ![]() The real exchange above, which took place during a presidential debate in 1984, shows Ronald Reagan’s wit as he turned the question of age back on his opponent. I am not going to exploit my opponent’s youth and inexperience.” Do you think that with the threat of nuclear war, age should be an issue in this campaign?” ![]() President, your opponent, Walter Mondale is considerably younger than you. Red Herring Examplesīelow are several examples of the red herring fallacy at play in everyday situations. See the examples below for a better understanding of how red herrings work. However, the red herring fallacy can be used by anyone as a way out of a losing argument. Red herrings are often used in thriller and suspense novels to mislead audiences or direct them toward false conclusions, so that when the truth is finally revealed, the impact of the twist is more significant. ![]() The red herring fallacy got its name from the red herring (a cured and salted fish) that was often used by fugitives to divert bloodhounds with its pungent smell. In writing, and in rhetoric more generally, a red herring or “red herring fallacy” refers to an argument or plot line that is used to divert an audience’s attention, either from the real argument (in nonfiction), or perhaps from the true culprit of a mystery novel (in fiction). No, it’s not another way to say that your writing smells fishy! You may have heard of a “red herring” being used in faulty arguments, or even in suspenseful literature.
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