Red Herring Logical Fallacy CAMDYN JOHNSON AND KAREN CRIST

A Red Herring is a fallacy in which an irrelevant topic is presented in order to divert attention from the original issue. The basic idea is to "win" an argument by leading attention away from the argument and to another topic.

Universal Example  2012 Presidential Debate : In the second debate between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, a woman asks how the two men will “limit the availability of assault weapons.” Neither man answered that specific question. Instead, Obama talked about catching violence before it gets out of control, and Romney focused on good schools and raising children in two-parent homes. They both diverted attention from the original question by using red herrings.

Fallacy demonstrated in The Crucible 1.Red Herring 2.Parris 3.Page: 211 “Do you read the Gospel, Mr. Proctor?” 4.Parris asks Proctor if he reads the Gospel to distract from the actual conversation. In the paragraphs before, Danforth is talking about the women being guilty for witchcraft. However, Proctor defends these women by saying they have lived with an upright reputation. Out of nowhere, Parris chimes in and questions Proctor.

Sources  "Red Herring Examples and Definition - Literary Devices." Literary Devices. N.p., 19 Oct Web. 12 Mar  "Obama+and+mitt+romney+debate - Google Search."Obama+and+mitt+romney+debate - Google Search. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar  "Red+herring+fallacy - Google Search." Red+herring+fallacy - Google Search. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar  Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. The Language of Literature. Eds. Evanston: McDougell Littell, Print.