Writing a rhetorical analysis - Reading and responding to arguments

Practical argument: A text and anthology - Laurie G. Kirszner, Stephen R. Mandell 2019

Writing a rhetorical analysis
Reading and responding to arguments

A photo shows numerous bags arranged on the racks in a store. Many of the bags have logos and tags hanging from them.

AT ISSUE

Is It Ethical to Buy Counterfeit Designer Merchandise?

The demand for counterfeit designer merchandise—handbags, shoes, and jewelry—has always been great. Wishing to avoid the high prices of genuine designer goods, American consumers spend hundreds of millions of dollars per year buying cheap imitations that are made primarily in factories in China (and in other countries as well). According to United States Customs and Border Protection statistics, the counterfeit goods seized in 2013 had a retail value of over $1.7 billion. In 2017, that figure went down to $1.2 billion, but much more counterfeit merchandise gets into the United States than is seized. However hard they try, law enforcement officials cannot seem to stem the tide of counterfeit merchandise that is sold in stores, in flea markets, and by street vendors as well as through the internet. As long as people want these illegal goods, there will be a market for them.

Purchasing counterfeit designer goods is not a victimless crime, however. Buyers are stealing the intellectual property of legitimate businesses that, unlike the manufacturers of fakes, pay their employees fair wages and provide good working conditions. In addition, because counterfeit goods are of low quality, they do not last as long as the genuine articles. This is not a serious problem when people are buying fake watches and handbags, but it can be life threatening when the counterfeit products include pharmaceuticals, tools, baby food, or automobile parts.

Later in this chapter, you will read a rhetorical analysis of an essay that takes a position on this issue, and you will be asked to write a rhetorical analysis of your own about another essay on this topic.

What Is a Rhetorical Analysis?

When you write a rhetorical analysis, you systematically examine the strategies a writer employs to achieve his or her purpose. In the process, you explain how these strategies work together to create an effective (or ineffective) argument. To carry out this task, you consider the argument’s rhetorical situation, the writer’s means of persuasion, and the rhetorical strategies that the writer uses.

OVERVIEW: “LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL” BY MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

Here and throughout the rest of this chapter, we will be analyzing “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr., which can be found online.

In 1963, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. organized a series of nonviolent demonstrations to protest the climate of racial segregation that existed in Birmingham, Alabama. He and his followers met opposition not only from white moderates but also from some African-American clergymen who thought that King was a troublemaker. During the demonstrations, King was arrested and jailed for eight days. He wrote his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” on April 16, 1963, from the city jail in response to a public statement by eight white Alabama clergymen titled “A Call for Unity.” This statement asked for an end to the demonstrations, which the clergymen called “untimely,” “unwise,” and “extreme.” (Their letter was addressed to the “white and Negro” population of Birmingham, not to King, whom they considered an “outsider.”)

King knew that the world was watching and that his response to the white clergymen would have both national and international significance. As a result, he used a variety of rhetorical strategies to convince readers that his demands were both valid and understandable and that contrary to the opinions of some, his actions were well within the mainstream of American social and political thought. Today, King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” stands as a model of clear and highly effective argumentation.

A black and white photo shows Martin Luther King Junior sitting behind the bars of Birmingham jail and looking at the distance. A margin note reads, Martin Luther King Junior in Birmingham Jail. April 1963.

Considering the Rhetorical Situation

Arguments do not take place in isolation. They are written by real people in response to a particular set of circumstances called the rhetorical situation (see pp. 9—13). The rhetorical situation consists of the following five elements:

§ The writer

§ The writer’s purpose

§ The writer’s audience

§ The question

§ The context

By analyzing the rhetorical situation, you are able to determine why the writer made the choices he or she did and how these choices affect the argument.

ANALYZING THE RHETORICAL SITUATION

To help you analyze the rhetorical situation of an argument, look for information about the essay and its author.

1. Look at the essay’s headnote. If the essay you are reading has a headnote, it can contain useful information about the writer, the issue being discussed, and the structure of the essay. For this reason, it is a good idea to read headnotes carefully.

2. Look for clues within the essay. The writer’s use of particular words and phrases can sometimes provide information about his or her preconceptions as well as about the cultural context of the argument. Historical or cultural references can indicate what ideas or information the writer expects readers to have.

3. Search the web. Often, just a few minutes online can give you a lot of useful information—such as the background of a particular debate or the biography of the writer. By looking at titles of the other books or essays the writer has written, you may also be able to get an idea of his or her biases or point of view.

The Writer

Begin your analysis of the rhetorical situation by trying to determine whether anything in the writer’s background (for example, the writer’s education, experience, race, gender, political beliefs, religion, age, and experiences) has influenced the content of the argument. Also consider whether the writer seems to have any preconceptions about the subject. (For a discussion of a writer’s biases and preconceptions, see pp. 9—10.)

ANALYZING THE WRITER

§ What is the writer’s background?

§ How does the writer’s background affect the content of the argument?

§ What preconceptions about the subject does the writer seem to have?

If you were analyzing “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” it would help to know that Martin Luther King Jr. was pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. In 1956, he organized a bus boycott that led to a United States Supreme Court decision that outlawed segregation on Alabama’s buses. In addition, King was a leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and strongly believed in nonviolent protest. His books include Stride towards Freedom (1958) and Why We Can’t Wait (1964). His “I Have a Dream” speech, which he delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963, is considered by scholars to be one of the most influential speeches of the twentieth century. In 1964, King won the Nobel Prize for peace.

In “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” King addresses the injustices that he sees in America—especially in the South—and makes a strong case for civil rights for all races. Throughout his argument, King includes numerous references to the Bible, to philosophers, and to political and religious thinkers. By doing so, he makes it clear to readers that he is aware of the social, cultural, religious, and political implications of his actions. Because he is a clergyman, King suggests that by battling in-justice, he, like the apostle Paul, is doing God’s work. This point is made clear in the following passage (para. 3):

A black and white photo shows Martin Luther King Junior standing on a raised platform and waving to a large crowd. A margin note reads, open quotes I have a Dream close quotes speech, Washington D. C. (1963).

But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their “thus saith the Lord” far beyond the boundaries of their home towns, and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco-Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid.

The Writer’s Purpose

Next, consider what the writer hopes to achieve with his or her argument. In other words, ask yourself if the writer is trying to challenge people’s ideas, persuade them to accept new points of view, or influence their behavior. (For a discussion of a writer’s purpose, see p. 10.)

ANALYZING THE WRITER’S PURPOSE

§ Does the writer state his or her purpose directly, or is the purpose implied?

§ Is the writer’s purpose simply to convince or to encourage action?

§ Does the writer rely primarily on logic or on emotion?

§ Does the writer have a hidden agenda?

It is clear that Martin Luther King Jr. wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail” to convince readers that even though he had been arrested, his actions were both honorable and just. To get readers to understand that, like Henry David Thoreau, he is protesting laws that he considers wrong, he draws a distinction between just and unjust laws. For him, a law is just if it “squares with the moral law or the law of God” (16). A law is unjust if it “is out of harmony with the moral law” (16). As a clergyman and a civil rights leader, King believed that he had an obligation both to point out the immorality of unjust laws and to protest them—even if it meant going to jail.

The Writer’s Audience

To analyze the writer’s audience, begin by considering whether the writer seems to see readers as friendly, hostile, or neutral. (For a discussion of types of audiences, see pp. 10—13.) Also, determine how much knowledge the writer assumes that readers have. Then, consider how the writer takes into account factors like the audience’s race, religion, gender, education, age, and ethnicity. Next, decide what preconceptions the writer thinks readers have about the subject. Finally, see if the writer shares any common ground with readers.

ANALYZING THE WRITER’S AUDIENCE

§ Who is the writer’s intended audience?

§ Does the writer see the audience as informed or uninformed?

§ Does the writer see the audience as hostile, friendly, or neutral?

§ What values does the writer think the audience holds?

§ What does the writer seem to assume about the audience’s background?

§ On what points do the writer and the audience agree? On what points do they disagree?

In “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” King addresses more than one audience. First, he speaks directly to eight clergymen from Birmingham, who are at worst hostile and at best skeptical. They consider King an outsider whose actions are “unwise and untimely” (1). Before addressing their concerns, King tries to establish common ground, referring to his readers as “fellow clergymen” and “my Christian and Jewish brothers.” He then goes on to say that he wishes that the clergymen had supported his actions instead of criticizing them. King ends his letter on a conciliatory note by asking his readers to forgive him if he has overstated his case or been unduly harsh.

King also speaks to white moderates, who he assumes are sympathetic to his cause but concerned about his methods. He understands that he has to influence this segment of his audience if he is to gain wide support for his cause. For this reason, King uses a restrained tone and emphasizes the universality of his message, ending his letter with a plea that is calculated to console and inspire those people who need reassurance (50):

Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.

Finally, King indirectly addresses the American people. He knows that because of his stature, his letter will be read by a broad, national audience, not just those who live in Birmingham, Alabama. King sees this audience as well meaning but confused about the racial situation in the United States. He realizes that to achieve his ends, he has to win over this audience and motivate them to take action. To do so, he appeals to their innate sense of justice and encourages them to do what’s morally right, despite any misgivings.

The Question

Try to determine what question the writer is trying to answer. Is the question suitable for argument? Decide if there are good arguments on both sides of the issue. For example, what issue (or issues) is the writer confronting? Does he or she address them adequately? (For a discussion of the question, see p. 13.)

ANALYZING THE QUESTION

§ What is the central question of the argument?

§ Are there solid arguments on both sides of the issue?

§ Has the writer answered the question fully enough?

The question King attempts to answer in “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is why he has decided to come to Birmingham to lead protests. Because the answer to this question is complicated, King addresses a number of issues. Although his main concern is with racial segregation in Alabama, he also is troubled by the indifference of white moderates who have urged him to call off his protests. In addition, he feels that he needs to explain his actions (for example, engaging in nonviolent protests) and address those who doubt his motives. King answers his critics (as well as his central question) by saying that because the people of the United States are interconnected, the injustices in one state will eventually affect the entire country.

The Context

The context is the set of circumstances that creates the need for the argument. As you analyze an argument, try to determine the social, historical, economic, political, and cultural events that set the stage for the argument and the part that these events play in the argument itself. (For a discussion of context, see p. 14.)

ANALYZING THE CONTEXT

§ What situation (or situations) set the stage for the argument?

§ What social, economic, political, and cultural events triggered the argument?

§ What historical references situate this argument in a particular place or time?

The immediate context of “Letter to Birmingham Jail” is well known: Martin Luther King Jr. wrote an open letter to eight white clergymen in which he defended his protests against racial segregation. However, the wider social and political context of the letter is less well known.

In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson that “separate but equal” accommodations on railroad cars gave African Americans the equal protection guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Well into the twentieth century, this decision was used to justify separate public facilities—including restrooms, water fountains, and even schools and hospitals—for blacks and whites.

In the mid-1950s, state support for segregation of the races and discrimination against African Americans began to be challenged. For example, Supreme Court decisions in 1954 and 1955 found that segregation in the public schools and other publicly financed locations was unconstitutional. At the same time, whites and blacks alike were calling for an end to racial discrimination. Their actions took the form of marches, boycotts, and sit-ins (organized nonviolent protests whose participants refused to move from a public area). Many whites, however, particularly in the South, strongly resisted any sudden changes in race relations.

A photo shows two water fountains, one reading White and the other reading Colored. A young African American man is standing at the fountain labeled Colored. A margin note reads, Segregated water fountains in North Carolina (1950).

King’s demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama, took place within this larger social and political context. His campaign was a continuation of the push for equal rights that had been gaining momentum in the United States for decades. King, along with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, had dispatched hundreds of people to Birmingham to engage in nonviolent demonstrations against those who were determined to keep African Americans from gaining their full rights as citizens.

Considering the Means of Persuasion: Logos, Pathos, Ethos

In the introduction to this book, you learned how writers of argument use three means of persuasion—logos, pathos, and ethos—to appeal to readers. You also saw how the rhetorical triangle represents the way these three appeals come into play within an argument. (See p. 19 for more information about the rhetorical triangle.) Of course, the degree to which a writer uses each of these appeals depends on the rhetorical situation. Moreover, a single argument can use more than one appeal—for example, an important research source would involve both the logic of the argument (logos) and the credibility of the writer (ethos). In “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” King uses all three appeals.

The Appeal to Reason (Logos)

In “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” King attempts to demonstrate the logic of his position. In paragraph 15, for example, he says that there are two types of laws—just and unjust. He then points out that he has both a legal and a moral responsibility to “disobey unjust laws.” In paragraph 16, King supports his position with references to various philosophers and theologians—for example, St. Thomas Aquinas, Martin Buber, and Paul Tillich. He also develops the logical argument that even though all Americans should obey the law, they are responsible to a higher moral authority—God.

The Appeal to the Emotions (Pathos)

Throughout “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” King attempts to create sympathy for his cause. In paragraph 14, for example, he catalogs the injustices of life in the United States for African Americans. He makes a particularly emotional appeal by quoting a hypothetical five-year-old boy who might ask, “Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?” In addition, he includes vivid images of racial injustice to provoke anger against those who deny African Americans equal rights. In this way, King creates sympathy (and possibly empathy) in readers.

The Appeal to Authority (Ethos)

To be persuasive, King has to establish his credibility. In paragraph 2, for example, he reminds readers that he is the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, “an organization operating in every southern state.” In paragraph 3, he compares himself to the apostle Paul, who carried the gospel “to the far corners of the Greco-Roman world.”

In addition, King attempts to show readers that what he is doing is well within the mainstream of American political and social thought. By alluding to Thomas Jefferson, Henry David Thoreau, and the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision that outlawed segregation in public schools, he tries to demonstrate that he is not the wild-eyed radical that some believe him to be. Thus, King establishes himself in both secular and religious terms as a leader who has the stature and the authority to present his case.

Finally, King repeatedly uses the words “we” and “us” to establish a connection to his readers. By doing so, he conveys the impression that like him, readers are part of the struggle to achieve social justice for African Americans.

Considering the Writer’s Rhetorical Strategies

Writers use various rhetorical strategies to present their ideas and opinions. Here are a few of the elements that you should examine when analyzing and evaluating an argument.

Thesis

The thesis—the main idea or claim that the argument supports—is of primary importance in every argument. When you analyze an argument, you should always ask, “What is the essay’s thesis, and why does the writer state it as he or she does?” You should also consider at what point in the argument the thesis is stated and what the effect of this placement is.

In “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. begins by telling readers that he is “confined here in the Birmingham city jail” and that he is writing his letter to answer clergymen who have called his demonstrations “unwise and untimely.” King clearly (and unapologetically) states his thesis (“But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here”) at the beginning of the third paragraph, right after he explains his purpose, so that readers will have no doubt what his position is as they read the rest of his argument.

Organization

The organization of an argument—how a writer arranges ideas—is also important. For example, after stating his thesis, King tells readers why he is in Birmingham and what he hopes to accomplish: he wants unjust laws to be abolished and the 1954 Supreme Court ruling to be enforced. King then refutes—disproves or calls into question—the specific charges that were leveled at him by the white clergymen who want him to stop his protests.

The structure of “Letter from Birmingham Jail” enables King to make his points clearly, logically, and convincingly:

§ King begins his argument by addressing the charge that his actions are untimely. If anything, says King, his actions are not timely enough: after all, African Americans have waited more than 340 years for their “constitutional and God-given rights” (14).

§ He then addresses the issue of his willingness to break laws and makes the distinction between just and unjust laws.

§ After chiding white moderates for not supporting his cause, he addresses their claim that he is extreme. According to King, this charge is false: if he had not embraced a philosophy of nonviolent protest, the streets of the South would “be flowing with blood” (29).

§ King then makes the point that the contemporary church must recapture the “sacrificial spirit of the early church” (42). He does this by linking his struggle for freedom with the “sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God” (44).

§ King ends his argument by asserting both his humility and his unity with the white clergy.

Evidence

To convince an audience, a writer must support the thesis with evidence—facts, observations, expert opinion, and so on. King presents a great deal of evidence to support his arguments. For instance, he uses numerous examples (both historical and personal) as well as many references to a wide range of philosophers, political thinkers, and theologians (such as Jesus, St. Paul, St. Augustine, Amos, Martin Luther, Martin Buber, and Abraham Lincoln). According to King, these individuals, who were once considered “extremists,” were not afraid of “making waves” when the need arose. Now, however, they are well within the mainstream of social, political, and religious thought. King also presents reasons, facts, and quotations to support his points.

Stylistic Techniques

Writers also use stylistic techniques to make their arguments more memorable and more convincing. For example, in “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” King uses figurative devices such as similes, metaphors, and allusions to enhance his argument.

Simile

A simile is a figure of speech that compares two unlike things using the word like or as.

Like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up but must be opened with all its ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must be exposed, … before it can be cured. (24)

Isn’t this like condemning a robbed man because his possession of money precipitated the evil act of robbery? (25)

Metaphor

A metaphor is a comparison in which two dissimilar things are compared without the word like or as. A metaphor suggests that two things that are very different share a quality.

Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct-action campaign that was “well timed” in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. (13)

[W]hen you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty … (14)

Allusion

An allusion is a reference within a work to a person, literary or biblical text, or historical event in order to enlarge the context of the situation being written about. The writer expects readers to recognize the allusion and to make the connection to the text they are reading.

I would agree with St. Augustine that “an unjust law is no law at all.” (15)

Of course, there is nothing new about this kind of civil disobedience. It was evidenced sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar, on the ground that a higher moral law was at stake. (21) [King expects his audience of clergymen to recognize this reference to the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament.]

In addition to those figurative devices, King uses stylistic techniques such as parallelism, repetition, and rhetorical questions to further his argument.

Parallelism

Parallelism, the use of similar grammatical structures to emphasize related ideas, makes a passage easier to follow.

In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action. (6)

Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection. (23)

I wish you had commended the Negro sit-inners and demonstrators of Birmingham for their sublime courage, their willingness to suffer, and their amazing discipline in the midst of great provocation. (47)

Repetition

Intentional repetition involves repeating a word or phrase for emphasis, clarity, or emotional impact.

“Are you able to accept blows without retaliating?” “Are you able to endure the ordeal of jail?” (8)

If I have said anything in this letter that overstates the truth and indicates an unreasonable impatience, I beg you to forgive me. If I have said anything that understates the truth and indicates my having patience that allows me to settle for anything less than brotherhood, I beg God to forgive me. (49)

Rhetorical questions

A rhetorical question is a question that is asked to encourage readers to reflect on an issue, not to elicit a reply.

One may well ask: “How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?” (15)

Will we be extremists for hate or for love? (31)

Assessing the Argument

No rhetorical analysis of an argument would be complete without an assessment of its effectiveness—whether the rhetorical strategies the writer uses create a clear and persuasive argument or whether they fall short. When you write a rhetorical analysis, you can begin with an assessment of the argument as a whole and go on to support it, or you can begin with a discussion of the various rhetorical strategies that the writer uses and then end with your assessment of the argument.

After analyzing “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” you could reasonably conclude that King has written a highly effective argument that is likely to convince his readers that his presence in Birmingham is both justified and necessary. Using logos, pathos, and ethos, he constructs a multifaceted argument that is calculated to appeal to the various segments of his audience—Southern clergymen, white moderates, and a cross section of Americans. In addition, King uses similes, metaphors, and allusions to enrich his argument and to make it more memorable, and he uses parallelism, repetition, and rhetorical questions to emphasize ideas and to reinforce his points. Because it is so clear and powerful, King’s argument—in particular, the distinction between just and unjust laws—addresses not only the injustices that were present in 1963 when it was written but also the injustices and inequalities that exist today. In this sense, King has written an argument that has broad significance beyond the audiences for which it was originally intended.

CHECKLIST

Preparing to Write a Rhetorical Analysis

As you read, ask the following questions:

· Who is the writer? Is there anything in the writer’s background that might influence what is (or is not) included in the argument?

· What is the writer’s purpose? What does the writer hope to achieve?

· What question has the writer decided to address? How broad is the question?

· What situation created the need for the argument?

· At what points in the argument does the writer appeal to logic? To the emotions? How does the writer try to establish his or her credibility?

· What is the argument’s thesis? Where is it stated? Why?

· How does the writer organize the argument? How effective is this arrangement of ideas?

· What evidence does the writer use to support the argument? Does the writer use enough evidence?

· Does the writer use similes, metaphors, and allusions?

· Does the writer use parallelism, repetition, and rhetorical questions?

· Given your analysis, what is your overall assessment of the argument?

Sample Rhetorical Analysis

In preparation for a research paper, Deniz Bilgutay, a student in a writing class, read the following essay, “Terror’s Purse Strings” by Dana Thomas, which makes an argument against buying counterfeit designer goods. Deniz then wrote the rhetorical analysis that appears on pages 119—121. (Deniz Bilgutay’s research paper, “The High Cost of Cheap Counterfeit Goods,” uses “Terror’s Purse Strings” as a source. See Appendix B.)

TERROR’S PURSE STRINGS

DANA THOMAS

This essay appeared in the New York Times on August 30, 2007.

Luxury fashion designers are busily putting final touches on the handbags they will present during the spring-summer women’s wear shows, which begin next week in New York City’s Bryant Park. To understand the importance of the handbag in fashion today consider this: According to consumer surveys conducted by Coach, the average American woman was buying two new handbags a year in 2000; by 2004, it was more than four. And the average luxury bag retails for 10 to 12 times its production cost.

“There is a kind of an obsession with bags,” the designer Miuccia Prada told me. “It’s so easy to make money.”

Counterfeiters agree. As soon as a handbag hits big, counterfeiters around the globe churn out fake versions by the thousands. And they have no trouble selling them. Shoppers descend on Canal Street in New York, Santee Alley in Los Angeles, and flea markets and purse parties around the country to pick up knockoffs for one-tenth the legitimate bag’s retail cost, then pass them off as real.

“Judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys shop here,” a private investigator told me as we toured the counterfeit section of Santee Alley. “Affluent people from Newport Beach.” According to a study by the British law firm Davenport Lyons, two-thirds of British consumers are “proud to tell their family and friends” that they bought fake luxury fashion items.

At least 11 percent of the world’s clothing is fake, according to 2000 figures from the Global Anti-Counterfeiting Group in Paris. Fashion is easy to copy: counterfeiters buy the real items, take them apart, scan the pieces to make patterns, and produce almost-perfect fakes.

“At least 11 percent of the world’s clothing is fake.”

Most people think that buying an imitation handbag or wallet is harmless, a victimless crime. But the counterfeiting rackets are run by crime syndicates that also deal in narcotics, weapons, child prostitution, human trafficking, and terrorism. Ronald K. Noble, the secretary general of Interpol,i told the House of Representatives Committee on International Relations that profits from the sale of counterfeit goods have gone to groups associated with Hezbollah, the Shiite terrorist group, paramilitary organizations in Northern Ireland, and FARC, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

Sales of counterfeit T-shirts may have helped finance the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, according to the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition. “Profits from counterfeiting are one of the three main sources of income supporting international terrorism,” said Magnus Ranstorp, a terrorism expert at the University of St. Andrews, in Scotland.

Most fakes today are produced in China, a good many of them by children. Children are sometimes sold or sent off by their families to work in clandestine factories that produce counterfeit luxury goods. Many in the West consider this an urban myth. But I have seen it myself.

On a warm winter afternoon in Guangzhou, I accompanied Chinese police officers on a factory raid in a decrepit tenement. Inside, we found two dozen children, ages 8 to 13, gluing and sewing together fake luxury-brand handbags. The police confiscated everything, arrested the owner, and sent the children out. Some punched their timecards, hoping to still get paid. (The average Chinese factory worker earns about $120 a month; the counterfeit factory worker earns half that or less.) As we made our way back to the police vans, the children threw bottles and cans at us. They were now jobless and, because the factory owner housed them, homeless. It was Oliver Twist in the 21st century.

What can we do to stop this? Much like the war on drugs, the effort to protect luxury brands must go after the source: the counterfeit manufacturers. The company that took me on the Chinese raid is one of the only luxury-goods makers that works directly with Chinese authorities to shut down factories, and it has one of the lowest rates of counterfeiting.

Luxury brands also need to teach consumers that the traffic in fake goods has many victims. But most companies refuse to speak publicly about counterfeiting—some won’t even authenticate questionable items for concerned customers—believing, like Victorians,ii that acknowledging despicable actions tarnishes their sterling reputations.

So it comes down to us. If we stop knowingly buying fakes, the supply chain will dry up and counterfeiters will go out of business. The crime syndicates will have far less money to finance their illicit activities and their terrorist plots. And the children? They can go home.

i An international criminal police organization

iiThe people who lived during the reign of Victoria (1819—1901), queen of Great Britain and Ireland, who are often associated with prudish behavior

A POWERFUL CALL TO ACTION

DENIZ BILGUTAY

An essay titled ’A Powerful Call to Action,’ by Deniz Bilgutay, has annotations within parentheses.

Text reads as follows:

First paragraph: In her New York Times essay, “Terror’s Purse Strings,” writer Dana Thomas uses the opening of New York’s fashion shows as an opportunity to expose a darker side of fashion — the impact of imitation designer goods (a corresponding margin note reads, Context). Thomas explains to her readers why buying counterfeit luxury items, like fake handbags, are a serious problem. Her first goal is to raise awareness of the dangerous ties between counterfeiters who sell fake luxury merchandise and international criminal organizations that support terrorism and child labor. Her second goal is to explain how people can be a part of the solution by refusing to buy the counterfeit goods that finance these criminal activities. By establishing her credibility, building ( A corresponding margin note reads, Thesis statement: Assessment of essay; text from the essay continues on the next page].

The continuation of the essay, from the previous page, with annotations in parentheses.

Text continues as follows:

Continuation of the first paragraph: her case slowly, and appealing to both logic and emotions, Thomas

Succeeds in writing an interesting and informative argument.

Second paragraph: For Thomas’s argument to work, she has to earn her readers’ trust (a corresponding margin note reads, Analysis of writer’s audience). She does so first by anticipating a sympathetic, well-intentioned, educated audience and then by establishing her own credibility. To avoid sounding accuSATory, Thomas assumes that her readers are unaware of the problem posed by counterfeit goods. She demonstrates this by presenting basic factual information and by acknowledging what “most people think” or what “many in the West consider”: that buying counterfeit goods is harmless (a corresponding margin note reads, Writer’s use of similes, metaphors, allusions). She also acknowledges her readers’ high level of education by drawing comparisons with history and literature— specifically, the Victorians and Oliver Twist (a corresponding margin note reads, Writer’s use of ethos). To further earn the audience’s trust, she uses her knowledge and position to gain credibility. As the Paris correspondent for Newsweek and as the author of a book on luxury goods, Thomas has credibility. Showing her familiarity with the world of fashion by referring to a converSATion with renowned designer Miuccia Prada, she further establishes this credibility (Analysis of the writer). LATer in the article, she shares her experience of witnessing the abuse that accompanies the production of fake designer handbags. This anecdote allows her to say, “I’ve seen it myself,” confirming her knowledge not just of the fashion world but also of the world of counterfeiting. Despite her authority, she does not distance herself from readers. In fact, she goes out of her way to identify with them, using informal style and first person, noting “it comes down to us” and asking what “we” can do.

In Thomas’s argument, both the organization and the use of evidence are effective (a corresponding margin note reads, Analysis of essay’s organization). Thomas begins her article with statements that are easy to accept, and as she proceeds, she addresses more serious issues (a corresponding margin note reads, Writer’s use of logos). In the first paragraph, she simply asks readers to “understand the importance of the handbag in fashion today.” She demonstrates the wide-ranging influence and appeal of counterfeit designer goods, pointing out that “at least 11 percent of the world’s clothing is fake.” Thomas then makes the point that the act of purchasing these seemingly frivolous goods can actually have serious consequences. For example, crime syndicates and possibly even terrorist organizations actually run “the counterfeiting rackets” that produce these popular items (a corresponding margin note reads, Writer’s use of evidence). To support this point, she relies on two kinds of evidence—quotations from terrorism experts (specifically, the leader of a respected international police organization as well as a scholar in the field) and her own [text continues on the next page].

The continuation of the essay, from the previous page, with annotations in parentheses.

Text continues as follows:

The second paragraph continues as follows: personal experience at a Chinese factory. Both kinds of evidence appeal to our emotions. Discussions of terrorism, especially those that recall the terrorist attacks on the United States, create fear (a corresponding margin note reads, Writer’s use of pathos). Descriptions of child labor in China encourage readers to feel sympathy.

Fourth paragraph: Thomas waits until the end of her argument to present her thesis because she assumes that her readers know little about the problem she is discussing. The one flaw in her argument is her failure to provide the evidence needed to establish connections between some causes and their effects (a corresponding margin note reads, Analysis of the essay’s weakness). For example in paragraph 7, Thomas says that the sale of counterfeit T-shirts “may have helped finance the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.” By using the word may, she qualifies her claim and weakens her argument. The same is true when Thomas says that profits from the sale of counterfeit goods “have gone to groups associated with Hezbollah, the Shiite terrorist group.” Readers are left to wonder what specific groups are “associated with Hezbollah” and whether these groups are in fact terrorist organizations. Without this information, her assertion remains unsupported. In spite of these shortcomings, Thomas’s argument is clear and well organized. More definite links between causes and effects, however, would have made it more convincing than it is.

EXERCISE 4.1 WRITING A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

Read the following essay, “Sweatshop Oppression,” by Rajeev Ravisankar. Then, write a one-paragraph rhetorical analysis of the essay. Follow the template on page 123, filling in the blanks to create your analysis.

SWEATSHOP OPPRESSION

RAJEEV RAVISANKAR

This opinion essay was published in the Lantern, the student newspaper of the Ohio State University, on April 19, 2006.

Being the “poor” college students that we all are, many of us undoubtedly place an emphasis on finding the lowest prices. Some take this to the extreme and camp out in front of a massive retail store in the wee hours of the morning on Black Friday,i waiting for the opportunity to buy as much as we can for as little as possible.

What often gets lost in this rampant, low-cost driven consumerism is the high human cost it takes to achieve lower and lower prices. Specifically, this means the extensive use of sweatshop labor.

Many of us are familiar with the term sweatshop,ii but have difficulty really understanding how abhorrent the hours, wages, and conditions are. Many of these workers are forced to work 70—80 hours per week making pennies per hour. Workers are discouraged or intimidated from forming unions.

They must fulfill certain quotas for the day and stay extra hours (with no pay) if these are not fulfilled. Some are forced to sit in front of a machine for hours as they are not permitted to take breaks unless the manager allows them to do so. Unsanitary bathrooms, poor ventilation, and extreme heat, upward of 90 degrees, are also prevalent. Child labor is utilized in some factories as well.

“. . . Corporations are interested in doing anything to increase profits.”

Facing mounting pressure from labor rights activists, trade unions, student protests, and human-rights groups, companies claimed that they would make improvements. Many of the aforementioned conditions, however, persist. In many cases, even a few pennies more could make a substantial difference in the lives of these workers. Of course, multinational corporations are not interested in giving charity; they are interested in doing anything to increase profits. Also, many consumers in the West refuse to pay a little bit more even if it would improve the lives of sweatshop workers.

Free-market economic fundamentalists have argued that claims made by those who oppose sweatshops actually have a negative impact on the plight of the poor in the developing world. They suggest that by criticizing labor and human-rights conditions, anti-sweatshop activists have forced companies to pull out of some locations, resulting in workers losing their jobs. To shift the blame in this manner is to neglect a simple fact: Companies, not the anti-sweatshop protestors, make the decision to shift to locations where they can find cheaper labor and weaker labor restrictions.

Simply put, the onus should always be on companies such as Nike, Reebok, Adidas, Champion, Gap, Wal-Mart, etc. They are to blame for perpetuating a system of exploitation which seeks to get as much out of each worker for the least possible price.

By continuing to strive for lower wages and lower input costs, they are taking part in a phenomenon which has been described as “the race to the bottom.” The continual decline of wages and working conditions will be accompanied by a lower standard of living. This hardly seems like the best way to bring the developing world out of the pits of poverty.

So what can we do about it? Currently, the total disregard for human well-being through sweatshop oppression is being addressed by a number of organizations, including University Students against Sweatshops. USAS seeks to make universities source their apparel in factories that respect workers’ rights, especially the right to freely form unions.

According to an article in The Nation, universities purchase nearly “$3 billion in T-shirts, sweatshirts, caps, sneakers and sports uniforms adorned with their institutions’ names and logos.” Because brands do not want to risk losing this money, it puts pressure on them to provide living wages and reasonable conditions for workers. Campaigns such as this are necessary if we are to stop the long race to the bottom.

TEMPLATE FOR WRITING A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

Ravisankar begins his essay by . The problem he identifies is . Ravisankar assumes his readers are . His purpose in this essay is to . In order to accomplish this purpose, he appeals mainly to . He also appeals to . In his essay, Ravisankar addresses the main argument against his thesis, the idea that. He refutes this argument by saying . Finally, he concludes by making the point that . Overall, the argument Ravisankar makes [is/is not] effective because .

EXERCISE 4.2 WRITING A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

Read the following essay, “Sweatshops Are Good,” by Jerome Sieger, a student at American University. Then, write a rhetorical analysis of Sieger’s essay. Be sure to consider the rhetorical situation, the means of persuasion, and the writer’s rhetorical strategies. End your rhetorical analysis with an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of Sieger’s argument.

i The Friday after Thanksgiving, traditionally the biggest shopping day of the year

ii A work environment with long hours, low wages, and difficult or dangerous conditions

SWEATSHOPS ARE GOOD

JEROME SIEGER

This opinion column was published in The Eagle, American University’s student newspaper, on February 15, 2017.

If you can, take off one of your shoes. Go ahead; I’ll wait. Check to see where it was made. Chances are your shoes, like most clothing we wear, were manufactured in a developing country in Asia or Latin America. Mine, for instance, were made in Vietnam. We all know that our clothes were made in factories commonly referred to as “sweatshops.” If you’re anything like most people, the thought of buying the products of such sweatshop labor makes you exceedingly guilty. Don’t be. When put into their proper context, sweatshops are necessary and beneficial to workers. To quote the renowned Keynesian Jeffrey Sachs, “my concern is not that there are too many sweatshops, but that there are too few.”

The ultimate problem for opponents of sweatshops is a failure of imagination. They simply lack empathy—the ability to imagine someone else’s perspective. I would not want to work in a sweatshop, and if you have the privilege of attending a university in America, neither would you. But not everyone is a middle-class American. Our country is rich enough to afford such a high minimum wage and strict labor standards. But the truth is, for hundreds of millions of people, sweatshops offer the best hope to escape crippling poverty.

I will present data to back up this point, but just the story of how much effort people put in to work in sweatshops should suffice to prove it. Some 150 million people in China alone have left their homes and moved across the country to get factory jobs. One simply does not uproot their life and leave their home to get a job they don’t really want. When factory jobs open up, thousands of people wait in line to apply. The fact that sweatshop workers choose their jobs, and that they put in so much effort to get them, must mean something. Simply put, as bad as sweatshops are, most alternatives are much worse.

And the numbers bear this out. This 2006 study in the Journal of Labor Research analyzed sweatshops across Asia and Latin America and found that in 90 percent of countries analyzed, working ten-hour days in sweatshops lifts the worker’s income above the national average. In half of those countries, income rose to three times the national average. And this 2012 study from researchers at Duke University found that sweatshop workers in El Salvador believed that their factory jobs represented an improvement over their previous jobs in areas such as working conditions, job stability, location, benefits, and schedule.

The research is pretty clear that sweatshops are significantly better than alternatives, but something is lost when you reduce the difference to numbers alone. It helps us empathize with sweatshop workers if we imagine the kinds of jobs they go to when factory work is not an option. Before they work in sweatshops, most factory workers in developing countries work in subsistence agriculture, which is one of the three most dangerous industries in the world according to the International Labor Organization—rivaled only by construction and mining. And if they’re not in subsistence agriculture, they might be in commercial agriculture, often as the slave of a chocolate company, for instance. Furthermore, in the past, when sweatshops have shut down due to boycotts, many workers have “turned to street hustling, stone crushing, and prostitution.” When people bash sweatshops, they are unknowingly advocating that poor workers take up these jobs instead.

“Not everyone is a middle-class American.”

And sweatshops not only reduce poverty, but they also provide empowerment for women. Research has shown that work in sweatshops delays marriage and pregnancy for women and girls, and also increases their school enrollment. Poor women in developing countries are among the most vulnerable people on the planet. Support of sweatshops is a feminist position.

So, what’s the endgame here? Surely, even if sweatshop labor is better than its wretched alternatives, we would ultimately want workers in developing countries to move to jobs even better than that. We would want to see an eventual end to long hours and child labor. These wants are legitimate, and the path to achieving them is through the arduous process of development. An economy can’t just jump from Bangladesh to Belgium over night, no matter how much you protest GAP. The truth of the matter is that factory labor is a necessary step in economic development. The notorious super liberal and Nobel laureate economist Paul Krugman explains:

“[T]he growth of manufacturing … has a ripple effect throughout the economy. The pressure on the land becomes less intense, so rural wages rise; the pool of unemployed urban dwellers always anxious for work shrinks, so factories start to compete with each other for workers, and urban wages also begin to rise.”

The past success stories of sweatshops illustrate this principle and provide a model for the rising economies of today. For instance, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore used sweatshop labor to raise incomes from 10 percent of American levels to 40 percent in just one generation.

Sweatshops are used as a stepping stone to open up new possibilities for workers. Once these new jobs are made available, sweatshop work is no longer preferable, and conditions inevitably improve. We cannot ascend a ladder by knocking out the next few rungs.

For all these reasons, boycotting sweatshops is perhaps the worst thing rich, American consumers can do to the world’s poor. One more time, look at your shoe. If you bought it, or anything else, from a sweatshop in a developing country, pat yourself on the back. You made the world a better place.