Elephants on a Plane
In the Article, “18 Elephants on a Plane: Move from Swaziland to U.S. is Criticized” written by Christine Hauser, she demonstrates many rhetorical strategies including ethos and pathos, and her organization helps persuade the reader as well. As I was reading this article it did make me feel open minded about elephants in captivity because in this article the elephants were being saved from a hazardous environment, that was being criticized by many. Hauser’s organization in the article really helps persuade the reader and pathos encourages you to understand what she’s arguing from her point. She helps us understand that bringing these elephants to the United States and keeping them in three different zoos will be a benefit to these elephants because their condition in Swaziland is too dangerous for them to live there.
Throughout the article, the author uses ethos, pathos, and logos, which is the most important strategies in persuading a reader. She uses ethos many times in the article which shows us that the author is giving valid information from credible sources which convinces you that you of the authors point. Logos is another important characteristic when persuading someone because you are providing your readers with reasoning. Hauser used logos multiple times which encourages you to change your point of view is you did not have an open mind about the subject like the same way I did. Ethos and logos did start changing my opinion on the subject because I was supporting the side that disagrees on not bringing these elephants to America, but after ethos and logos were put into the context, it made me change my mind about it. If we didn’t have these three rhetorical strategies, it wouldn’t be as persuading.
Also, as I continued to read the article, the organization really helped persuade me into being open minded by the subject because it started off by introducing the topic then, they continued to give the reasons why people disagree and finally they explain themselves and why they are doing what they are doing. The organization did play a major role in persuasion because it slowly convinced me into changing my point of view. Throughout the article I found myself accepting it more and more as I went as if the author was taking small steps into convincing me about the subject.
When writing a rhetorical analysis, you have to persuade the audience to believe in what you are trying to present. You have to do these things by using rhetorical strategies such as pathos, logos, ethos, also organization. Hauser uses these rhetorical strategies encouraging me to be open minded about a subject I have a hard head for and turning my opinion around persuading me into looking at the subject from their perspective. Since the author did use these strategies, it gave me a better understanding of this arrangement of the elephants being transported for their own safety and that why they are being held captive, instead of forcing them to be held captive just for their own personal use.