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Rhetorical Analysis

Decent Essays
October 16, 2012 Rhetorical Analysis: “You are being lied to about pirates” In Johann Hari’s article “You are being lied to about pirates” (published Monday January 5, 2009 by the Independent) he uncovers for his audience/readers the truth behind piracy and how it is reflected in the ways that the government “tries” to inform the public. The article shows that his audience is the people he recognizes to be the real villains in destroying the pirate “organization” as well as the uneducated readers on the topic that are looking to grasp a new understanding of pirates and where it all started. Johann Hari is trying to prove to us that there is definitely more than one side to these Somali pirates, but people just have to be willing to…show more content…
For months now rumors have been circulating about Johann’s reliability as a writer and have been said numerous times that Hari is a plagiarist and has even harassed his rival journalist. On September 15th, 2011 he proved these rumors and accusations to be true, by giving a formal public apology for his actions as well as surrendering his awards for journalist of the year. It’s hard to say whether or not author is knowledgeable about the topic simply because of what he has been accused of and this leaves the audience confused on if what was stated was his truth or his own ingredients to compose this article. In Hari’s defense there is a strong possibility that what was stated in this article was indeed his own work, because he includes a lot of his own emotion and opinion throughout the writing of this article. When interviewing Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah (UN envoy to Somalia) he included the “grief” that Abdallah was extending when saying that people were constantly dumping nuclear material in his country. Hari felt as though it was his duty to lean more towards an appeal to pathos in order for his audience to get a sense of what he and this envoy were feeling. He was looking for sympathy, disappointment, and a sign of relief in the hopes that through the situations that the
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