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Rhetorical Analysis Persuasive Speech

Decent Essays

Nicholas Kristof’s, New York Times article, “I Am Very Afraid I Will Die Tonight”, covers the nightmares that are going on in Syria and why the USA should be taking action to put it to an end. Civilians are currently being terrorized by their own government as they are intentionally dropping bombs on on them. They are doing this as a method of attempting to fight back against the extremists. According to Kristof’s article, the United States has put minimal effort towards stopping these horrors, and there is much more we can do to stop it. To carry out his argument, Kristof uses different rhetorical appeals. In the start of the argument, pathos is used to set a certain mood. Pathos is a rhetorical tool in which writers use to set a personal …show more content…

Kristof’s starts out by proving to the readers that Syria does indeed have a serious problem and that the civilians are not only struggling to live but are scared for their lives. “ ‘I am very afraid I will die tonight’ ‘This bombs will kill me now’” (Par 3). These quotes are from victims and they are clearly explaining that are unsure if they will even survive. Showing examples like this made me, and potentially other readers feel a sense of sorrow that makes you realise something needs to be done in order stop what is happening. Kristof continues to give real life examples of what the living conditions are like, and how the government if negatively affecting them. Kristof gets in contact with Fatemah and Bana who are current civilians and victims of their own government. Kristof shows that even simple communication for them is complicated and difficult. “ I interviewed Fatemah and Bana by email, which they access on a cellphone that they recharge with a solar panel. The examples shown do a good job convincing me that the argument is valid and make me side with what he is

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