“By this point, you might be wondering, and possibly feeling guilty about wondering, why Brannan doesn’t just get divorced.“

This quotes is an Proposal Claim because it proposes that idea that you may be wondering why Brannan has not left her husband. The point of this is to address any confusion as to why Brannan is staying in her situation, and the reasoning attests to her resilience and loyalty.

“In the wake of Vietnam, 38 percent of marriages failed within the first six months of a veteran’s return stateside; the divorce rate was twice as high for vets with PTSD as for those without.“

This is a Factual Claim because it gives a clear statistic on how many marriages failed after the Vietnam War. Bringing up this fact sheds light on how miserable war veterans can be after they come back and the toll it has on their personal relationships. This quote is also a Comparative Claim because the author later goes on to say that the divorce rate was twice as high for vets with PTSD than without which can’t be proven because the results of Veterans with PTSD was previously claimed as being difficult to judge meaning that those numbers aren’t fully accurate. It is still about double meaning it is a comparative claim. This is also an Analogy Claim because the author is comparing vets with PTSD to vets without.

“In the wake of Vietnam, 38 percent of marriages failed within the first six months of a veteran’s return stateside; the divorce rate was twice as high for vets with PTSD as for those without.”

This is a Factual Claim because it gives a clear statistic that severe PTSD results in more marriage failures. This is still a fact compared to the previous claim because severe PTSD is able to be easily diagnosed because it is severe. Severe PTSD is shown as ever more problematic and in need of repair. This is also an Analogy Claim because the author is comparing vets with severe PTSD to vets without. This allows the author to paint the clear difference in how much PTSD is affecting soldiers.

“Army records also show that 65 percent of active-duty suicides, which now outpace combat deaths, are precipitated by broken relationships.”

This is a Numerical Claim because the results are coming from the Army records which potentially doesn’t account for marines and other military groups that may also be suffering from PTSD, yet it is still giving numerical data on suicide rates. This is also a Causal Claim because in the quote, broken relationships are causing 65% more active-duty suicides. By explaining the cause that broken relationships have, it makes Brannan seem even more admirable for staying with her husband. This is also a Analogy Claim because it compares active-duty suicides to combat deaths. This claim is mind-blowing because it points out the scary fact that more soldiers are dying from suicide than even fighting in the war. Even after surviving combat, soldiers’ lives are still at risk.

” But even ignoring that though vets make up 7 percent of the United States, they account for 20 percent of its suicides —or that children and teenagers of a parent who’s committed suicide are three times more likely to kill themselves, too—or a whole bunch of equally grim statistics, Brannan’s got her reasons for sticking it out with Caleb.”

This is a Causal Claim because the author is explaining the causes of Brannan’s decision to stay with her husband. She cares about his safety enough to put up with the emotional damage it is causing to her family which shows how amazing Brannan is. This is also Categorical Claim because vets being 20% of suicides, children of suicide victims are more likely to commit suicide, and other grim statistics all fall under the category of grim statistics/reasons Brannan stays. It is also a Numerical Claim because it gives numerical values in the grim statistics that were reported. By highlighting these numbers, the author is scaring the reader about the harms that suicide is having on families.

“He is her friend, and her first love, and her rock, and her lifeline, her blossoming young daughter’s father, her ally, and her hero, she tells Caleb when he asks.“

This quote is a Categorical Claim because the author names several examples of what Caleb is for Brannan. This works really well because it provides a clear illustration as to why Brannan doesn’t leave Caleb, which is basically that he means a lot to her. This quote is also a Definition Claim because Brannan also defines what Caleb is to her.