After the devastating shooting in Parkland, Florida, author Patricia Mazzei dove into why it is so difficult for Florida to pass stricter gun legislation. Mazzei used simple yet powerful diction and a worn out tone to explain the issues with Florida lawmakers. An example of Mazzei’s simple diction that still comes across with a powerful feeling comes from her sentence that claims, “democrats are powerless in capital.” Since democrats are historically the ones in favor of stricter gun laws, it hits the reader to learn that democrats simply do not have the numbers in Florida’s government.
Mazzei also seems to have a worn out tone; gun control is a topic always frantically discussed after a shooting, but nothing ever seems to be accomplished. An example of this tone is found when Mazzei discusses the brief two year moratorium as she states, “Tellingly, though, that two year moratorium lasted 15 minutes.” This shows the frustration of the back and forth votes. This article was written for individuals questioning Florida’s stance on gun control, and the author’s purpose was to explain the lack of support for gun laws wanted by the general public even more so after the Parkland, Florida tragedy.
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The State of the Union: normally an annual event in which the U.S President addresses congress, informing them of future legislation plans. This year, however, it seemed to be an opportunity for Mr. Trump (commonly referred to now as '45' on social media), to divide the nation even further! Author Kashana Cauley utilized a sarcastic tone and simplified diction as she expressed 45's only accomplishment of the night was in fact widening the divide between his white supporters and literally every other American. Cauley's sarcastic tone is evident as she explains that last night, 45 "reminded us that as president, he has picked fights with black N.F.L players protesting police brutality. . . Instead of unifying the country, President Trump, made it clear, once again, that he supports only white Americans- to hell with everyone else." She mentions 45's recent immature act of harassing football players for exercising their freedom of expression as one example of his failure at unity.
Cauley also utilizes simplified diction to get across her disgust at 45's performance at the State of the Union. Simplified diction is evident as she lists several of the controversial topics discussed last night, such as: "the most extreme crackdown on immigration since 1924 [and] an expansion of our nuclear arms program." Simply explaining these policies betters the reader's understanding of what could be in store for America. Overall, Cauley described 45's unity failure by writing with a sarcastic tone and simplified diction. 45 truly failed at the union part of the 2018 State of the Union. Call your senators! Text 'RESIST'! These seem like phrases we have been hearing a lot lately. In an article titled In Protests of Net Neutrality Repeal, Teenage Voices Stood Out, author Cecilia Kang utilizes a hopeful tone and appeals to pathos to express that teenagers were some of the most outspoken during the recent outrage over net neutrality. An example of Kang's hopeful tone appears when she explains "AT&T and Comcast have promised they won't block or throttle sites", showing that some internet providers appear to be on the side of the American people. Kang also ends the article on a positive note as she quotes Anooha Dasari, who states: "' I will tweet and email and call and stay in the process. We have time and we won't go away."' This quote gives hope to the millions of concerned teens across America.
Kang also includes appeals to pathos by quoting teenagers who explain how essential the internet is to their life. A specific quote that appeals to pathos comes from Matthew Baxley, as he explains, "I've met a lot of friends on Instagram and I communicate with my mom and my friends at least 10 times a day on social media." This causes the reader to feel for the teenager, not wanting him to lose the constant connection with friends and family. We have all heard bits and pieces about lingering threats and growing correspondence between North Korea and our new administration. Authors Adam B. Ellick and Jonah M. Kessel utilize simplified diction and appeals to pathos to briefly discuss an excursion to North Korea meant to research the possibility of a war between North Korea and the U.S. An example of simplified diction in this piece is when they call for both sides to seek "exit ramps for peace", expressing that they believe it is best for the lives in both countries to quickly find a way to calm this situation. In order to express the urgency of the situation, Ellick and Kessel appeal to pathos, claiming "the risk of war is greater than the public appreciates". Statements like these spark fear within the reader to help them understand the main purpose of this piece, which is to express that the North Korea threats are very much real and should be dealt with quickly. The intended audience of this piece is U.S citizens on both sides of the aisle; North Korea is to be dealt with as something endangering human lives, regardless of political affiliation.
Lately it seems news sources have moved on from covering the devastation of hurricane Maria, and on to other tragedies in our world. However, these victims must not be forgotten. In an article titled Stranded by Maria, Puerto Ricans Get Creative to Survive, a story of individuals living in a remote village named Charco Abajo is told. Depressing diction is used as author Caitlin Dickerson describes the remains of the village as "post-apocalyptic". Appeals to pathos are evident as the author explains that in order to get food, individuals in this village had to "buil[d] a pulley that now spans the gap where [a] bridge once was, and attached a shopping cart, after removing its legs and wheels, which they have been using to transfer food, water, and supplies across the divide". This heartbreaking tale draws attention back to the people of Puerto Rico who are still struggling to piece their lives back together. Neighbors are going door to door to check on neighbors, using all methods possible to keep one another alive. Dickerson's purpose was to emphasize that simply because we are not hearing about the hurricane anymore does not mean the people do not still desperately need our assistance.
In an article titled Trump Lashes out at Puerto Rico Mayor Who Criticized Storm Response writer Peter Baker utilizes a passive aggressive tone and incriminating diction to address the tweets from Donald Trump on September 30th. Baker explains the desperate situation currently occurring in Puerto Rico, a U.S territory with a population of over 3 million people. The entire island does not have electricity and has very few ways to distribute supplies due to road conditions and lack of communication.
Baker wrote this piece to bash Trump's response to the situation and make the readers aware of the dire situation and how our leadership is not doing much to help. He creates a passive aggressive tone as he cites celebrities' reactions towards Trump's tweets, for example, "'[The Mayor] has been working 24/7' ... Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote on twitter, 'YOU have been golfing. You're going straight to hell. Fastest golf cart you ever took'". Baker also includes a few more phrases including incriminating diction. Two examples of this is when he states "Mr. Trump took her outcry as a personal assault on him" and "the president was spending the weekend in the comfort of his golf club while the mayor was struggling". This incriminating word choice shows that Baker is repeatedly slamming Trump for his behavior during this crisis. |
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