The Life You Can Save Rhetorical Analysis

Advertisements are everywhere. From billboards, to magazines, to newspapers, flyers and TV commercials, chances are that you won’t go a day without observing some sort of ad. In most cases, companies use these ads as persuasive tools, deploying rhetorical appeals—logos, pathos, and ethos—to move their audiences to think or act in a certain way. The two magazine ads featured here, both endorsing Pedigree products, serve as excellent examples of how these modes of persuasion are strategically used.

In May of 1998, Kipland Kinkel brought a gun to his school. Over the course of two days this escalated from: being sent home, to murdering his father and mother, to murdering 2 students and wounding 26, earning a lifetime sentence of 111 years and 8 months in prison. In the court case being examined, the presiding judge addresses the original case, defendants ground for appeal, and the justification for the State’s decision to deny the appeal. Judge Haselton effectively uses ethos, logos, and pathos to support the Higher Court’s decision to deny the appeal because the original sentence was constitutional and just.

Until I started this rhetorical analysis paper I wasn’t aware that the things I display in my room say things about me. I never thought about how they make me look as a person or what my audience would assume about me based on these items. When I started analyzing, all these questions started popping up. I was finally able to step back and see myself how others might see me. When asked by my teacher to pick 3 items that describe myself from my bedroom I didn’t have any trouble picking them out. When it came down to it, I 'd always choose the same 3 items: A wall of family pictures, a Pride flag and a mirror with notes and pictures all over it.

From two perspectives, we see a world plagued by the ignoble aspects of human nature. Through one set of eyes we are shown the global ecosystem imitating the opening motions of a mass extinction, through another we see the inevitable and hellish effects of culturalized greed. In both cases we are treated to the observations of an aggrieved observer, but the means by which these observers show us their perspective on the world are by no means identical. Here we will explore the strategies, expressions, argumentations, and appeals of two authors with intertwining stories to tell.

The president, Barack Obama gave a speech at Howard University commencement ceremony. Speaking to the graduating class about the need to keep pushing for change he gave the students at the historically black university advise on how to shape your own future and to always strike for better. The president argues that the U.S and the world is becoming a better place than when he was a collage student. However, there is still work to be done when it comes to employment, achievements, and justice for African Americans. The president also mentions to be confident in your heritage and to aim for greatness. Also that empathy should be extended to all people who are struggling to achieve success or a goal. Furthermore, the president advised the grad

A rhetorical aim that illustrates that issues on gun control would be to analyze and interpret. Suggested from the two articles; “Why the U.S. is No. 1 – in mass shootings”, and Not just guns: New study looks at why the U.S. is No. 1 in mass shootings, most mass shootings are a result of the deteriorating American Dream. The rhetorical aim, analyze and interpret”, offer readers a different approach on a specific subject matter. For instance, prior to reading the two texts on America’s advancing gun control issues, it was believed that mental illness would be the root cause for mass shootings. However, these two articles have offered different insight on why America is the leading country of mass shootings. Fame, can persuade Americans into

Since before the moon launch, America has been infatuated with winning at any cost. This competitive nature translates from war rooms to athletic fields to the top of corporate ladders. If this is truly our nation’s identity, then why have we not constructed a space elevator? A space elevator is one of the more extravagant ideas from sci-fi and now is being thought of by the capitol of our beloved country. The US must take the initiative and build a space elevator, allowing travel into space at a cheaper price, act as a symbol of greatness for our country, and carry payloads of 11,193kg at once (allowing eight climbers to be sent up by the tether (Chang 2011)) [cumulative sentence]. The thought that an elevator could, or even should, stretch from the Earth into space, allowing people to ride a capsule into orbit baffles many, yet there are

In Bj Gallagher’s article “Donald Trump Is the Epitome of Everything the World Detests -- And Admires -- About America”(Sep.2, 2015), She Implies the positive and negative attributes in Donald Trump, and whether you should vote for him or not. Gallagher first demonstrates by showing the negatives of Donald Trump and his “arrogance” in an article written by Paul Thomas; Gallagher then argued the positive, admirable side of him by comparing his life to one we would all like to live, and to conclude she suggests that Trump is a “fresh breath of air” for millions of Americans by demonstrate that he is unique compared to past presidential leaders. Her purpose is to surpass his brash ego in order to to show he is worth putting your trust in.

College is one of the biggest financial burdens in today’s society for many. Since the recession, people often ponder what the best financial options for students looking to go to college are and what path they should take to get them there. Mike Rose, faculty member at the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Karen Lawrence, the president of Sarah Lawrence College, have both written articles about this epidemic stating the advantages and some possible downsides to pursuing a higher education. During these articles, the two writers are trying to persuade their intended audience that college is an option that could be beneficial for them to take advantage of. They both have different

In their article, Students Step up to Lead Tech Implementation at Their Elementary School, Taryn Handlon and Tiffany Costa write about how TechXpert all started with an idea for prominent engagement. The Roosevelt Elementary School in Park Ridge, Illinois, had begun implementing new tools such as Chromebooks, Spheros, Dash and Dots, Cubelets, Snap Circuits, Osmos, Marble Mazes and a 3D printer to the classrooms, which highlighted the schools desire to collaborate technology with learning. This would not only transform the whole classroom environment, but also open the door for young students to explore computer science and technical engineering. The only issue seemed to be that teachers had no time to educate themselves on the tools and how

The audience to which this paper is directed towards is the college aged baseball fan in America. They are interested in the game and love to go to the ballpark to watch a game, and if they can’t make it to the game they will try to watch it on TV or catch some of the highlights. They hear the stories about steroids and the various scandals, but don't possess a deep understanding of them. My audience’s attitude towards my culture is admiration for the players and teams. However, likely objections could include the steroid scandals and some fans may be hesitant to accept the fact the these players makes huge salaries each year. Professional baseball players come from all over the world, so while it is likely that my audience share similar backgrounds

In the online article found on the CNN website titled, “U.S gun violence: The story in charts and graphs” the article provides the readers with multiple graphs from bar graphs to pie charts. The graph I will be looking at critically is titled “Firearm background checks by months since 2012.” It’s important to note that this article was written in December of 2015. For this reason, the graph stops on December 2015. Before providing the graph to its readers the author states that the year of 2015 was “was a record year for background checks on guns. Some have pointed out the requests for background checks have gone up after mass shootings, the idea being that shootings cause people to worry about their safety and buy a gun to protect themselves.”

Singer defines a utilitarian philosopher as, “one who judges whether acts are right or wrong based by their consequences.” By doing this, Singer aids to his credibility. By setting a firm understanding of his title and position, Singer also makes his intentions behind his argument

Peter Singer makes the point that some things are agreed upon to be bad by nearly everyone, one of such things being death or suffering from starvation. Singer then makes the argument that if it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance, we ought, morally to do it (Singer 4). In this paper I will argue against Singer based on the fact that this is not an argument that can be taken as moral law, but merely a suggestion. In both the strong and weak versions of Singer’s argument he suggests that one must, in order to be morally right or righteous, forgo other options when they are capable of preventing something bad from happening.

Response - Singer initially states that living an ethical life is contingent on being an effective altruist - i.e. an individual that donates the majority of their salary to the less fortunate, thereby surviving on the essentials required to live. (Igneski, 147) He argues that individuals are not living the most ethical life possible unless they follow the utilitarian principle of creating the most good for the greatest number of people. (Igneski, 148) However, upon further study of individuals mentioned in Singer’s work Practical Ethics and the Life You Can Save, we are able to recognize that effective altruists are not required to be utilitarians, they can value their children and friendships as much as they do strangers, they do not have to sacrifice important life projects in order to help others, and they can live with more than the bare minimum needed to survive. (Igneski, 148) Although Igneski disagrees with Singer’s initial statement that in order to live an ethical life you need to be an effective altruist, she agrees that people are morally obligated to help those in need. She holds that living an ethical life does not solely mean aiding needy persons, but also requires people to act out of emotion and attachment for their loved ones, while expressing concern for those nearby. (Igneski, 148) For example, an individual that once suffered from a heroin addiction now has an occupation as a drug abuse counsellor and donates to an organization that helps substance abusers across the world. This person is able to fulfill their desired life project of helping those suffering from drug abuse after receiving help