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HAA002 Foundations of Critical Thinking

Assessment Task 4: Building Arguments
In this assessment task youll be constructing the basic ingredients for an argumentative
essay. It wont actually be an essay. Rather, it will be more like relatively complete
components that you could use to build an essay around. The core of that hypothetical essay
is an argument. In this exercise youll choose an overall conclusion that you want to defend.
It can be on any topic. We have also provided some paradigms of AT4 for you to read and
reflect on.

Remember the point of this exercise is for you to build your own argument. It defeats the
purpose if you go out looking for other peoples arguments to copy.

Answer each of the following questions in a numbered paragraph.

1. Briefly state the overall conclusion of your argument. Clarify it if necessary so that it is
perfectly clear what you are arguing for and what you are not.

I argue that the characters of Shouto Todoroki and Dabi from the manga series My Hero
Academia are estranged brothers, and that the series has provided several deliberate hints
towards this conclusion.

2. Who is the intended audience for your argument? What kinds of things will they already
understand? What kinds of premises can you assume theyll find uncontroversial starting
points to argue from?

The intended audience are people who are familiar with the series, and interested in
speculation about its future. They would need to have a reasonably current knowledge of
the manga up to the last appearance of either character, since some points of the argument
rely on information from later chapters. For the sake of making this argument easily
understood, some clarifications have been added that would not be necessary for those
familiar with the series.

3. Give an original argument in favour of your conclusion. You may need sub-arguments in
favour of some of the premises you use in your main argument if you think that your
audience would be likely to find those premises controversial.

The character of Dabi is highly mysterious. His real name, age, and origins are unknown, and
he refuses to answer when he is asked about his background. During the scene where the
names of the other villains on his team are revealed, he is unconscious, allowing his name to
remain a mystery.

Dabi shares several physical traits with the Todoroki family. His eyes are shown to be a blue-
green colour in the manga, and a bright blue in the anime. In both adaptations, this eye
colour is almost identical to Shoutos. Dabi also has straight spiky hair, that resembles a style
worn by Shoutos father (Enji Todoroki, also known as Endeavour) when he was younger.
When Shoutos older brothers are seen in a flashback, both of them have spiky hair.

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Another physical trait they share is their biologically inherited superhuman ability, referred
to as a Quirk in the series. Endeavours Quirk is called Hellflame, and it is the ability to
create and manipulate fire of extremely high temperatures. This fire is usually orange, but in
some circumstances, he can generate a blue fire that is much hotter. The specific abilities and
limits of Dabis Quirk are unknown, but it has been shown that he is able to produce a dark-
coloured fire. Shouto is able to use both ice (inherited from his mother) and fire (inherited
from his father). Endeavour has previously expressed that his specific intention was to
produce a child who would inherit both abilities, and he regards his other children to be
failed experiments for only having one ability. Therefore, it is highly possible that at least
one of Shoutos siblings has a fire-related Quirk. When Dabi uses his fire, he produces it from
his hand and arm and uses it as a long-range attack, in a very similar style to Shouto.

Dabis decision to join the League of Villains is primarily motivated by his admiration of a
particular villain, known as Hero Killer: Stain or simply Stain. Stains philosophy is that
superheroes who do not meet his standards of heroism are unworthy, and should be killed.
According to Stains beliefs, any hero who only works for fame or money, or who prioritises
personal emotions over the greater good of society, is a false hero. Due to Endeavours
physical and emotional abuse of his wife and children, and his quest to mold Shouto into a
powerful hero for the specific purpose of having him defeat All Might (the most powerful
hero in the series), it is clear that Endeavour would meet Stains definition of a false hero.
Endeavour is publicly credited as having been responsible for Stains arrest. After this, Dabi
decides to seek out the League of Villains, claiming that he intends to fulfil the Hero Killers
will. If Dabi was raised by Endeavour, and suffered abuse from him in the past, his
admiration of Stain and rejection of Endeavours ideals make a great deal of sense.

As of now, Dabi and Shouto have only had one direct interaction. During an attack on the
hero students training camp, Dabi mocks Shouto as he escapes, saying How sad, Shouto
Todoroki. Outside of this scene, Dabi shows very little interest in the students or
professional heroes, and does not appear to know any of their names. On its own, this scene
simply suggests a possible connection between them, but when combined with the other
premises, it contributes to the possibility of them being brothers. This would explain Dabis
actions, since Endeavour regarded him as failed or incomplete in comparison to Shouto,
but despite this, Shouto still failed to capture him.

4. State an objection to your argument in step 3 one that you anticipate your audience
might raise.

Some people may object to this theory by pointing out that despite clearly seeing his face,
Shouto did not recognise Dabi.

5. How can you reply to that objection?

From the age of five, Shouto was forced by Endeavour to spend most of the day training to
become a hero. He was not allowed to have contact with his siblings, even being instructed
not to look at them as he passed by. If he was forced to remain very distant from his siblings,
it is not unreasonable that he would not recognise their faces. Additionally, Dabis
appearance may have changed considerably since he became a villain. One of his

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distinguishing features is that large patches of his skin are a deep purple and appear to be
stapled onto his face. Dabi also has black hair, while flashbacks of the Todoroki children show
that they all had either red or white hair. The combination of dyed hair, altered skin, and a
general lack of familiarity to begin with could have easily rendered him unrecognisable to
Shouto.

6. (Optional Bonus) Can you describe the structure of your own argument? Is it an
argument by analogy? An inference to the best explanation?

My argument is an inference to the best explanation. Other explanations may exist for the
evidence I have presented, but I am arguing that Shouto and Dabi being brothers is the best
and most likely conclusion.