The television blares in the well-lit living room as the bother and sister argued heatedly with each other. What is the “poor and helpless” brother supposed to do when he wants to watch the television while his sister wants to do her homework in peace? This was the predicament the brother found himself in on that lone, chilly weekend night.

Admittedly, from the sister’s viewpoint, it is quite reasonable of her wanting to do her homework in a peaceful and quiet surrounding. The homework is extremely difficult and she needs to do well. Turning off the television would enable her to be more concentrated and efficient. Sadly, her brother does not seem to understand this fact, instead wanting to watch the seemingly loudest, most obnoxious shows currently being played. This of course, bothers the sister and makes it seem to her that the only choice is to bicker with the brother. It might even escalate to the point of the sister, having no other choice, slamming the remote to turn the television off. 

On the other hand, from the brother’s viewpoint, this is simply another case of the overbearing, tyrannical, older sister trying to bully him into doing something that the she wants. Of course she has to do her homework (as she does every single night), but the brother wants to watch the television as well! Further more, the simple solution, allowing both of them to do what each would like to accomplish, would be for the sister to move from the living room to her room and do her homework there. She doesn’t necessarily have to do her homework in the living room, seeing as she has a perfectly adequate room herself. However, the living room has the television in it, while most of the other rooms do not. Because of this fact, the brother believes that he is right.

In short, both viewpoints have valid points, but I do believe that the brother’s viewpoint and argument is correct. The fundamental flaw of the sister’s argument is that she has a room to go to that is distraction free, whereas the brother cannot leave. The basic course of action would be to force or persuade the sister to accept this and go to her room where she can then finish her homework in peace. Of course, you probably have concluded that the brother, is in fact, me. And, if I do say so myself, my argument is both compelling and logical. Logic and the compelling aspect of an argument is usually lost in said argument, however. In the end it usually comes down to who can yell the loudest.