Bring A Little Warmth To The Homeless Analysis

Elise Elliott's opinion piece published in the Herald Sun addresses the issue of homelessness. Titled 'Let's bring a little warmth to the homeless,' Elliott communicates the importance of being aware of homeless situations and the help that the homeless require, to the residents of Melbourne. Throughout the article, she builds on the idea that homeless people are normal people too, wanting the audience to understand that and to take action to help people just like themselves. Elliott begins and ends with a light, encouraging tone which shifts into a more serious and heavier tone in the bulk of the article.

Elliott opens the article with an anecdote, bringing her experience with a homeless man to add a personal connection to the term 'homeless.' She invokes pity within the reader right from the beginning by placing the image of homeless people sleeping in the cold in the reader's mind, through the statement, 'when darkness falls and the temperature follows, I think of Shannon.' Elliott uses Shannon's story to defy the stereotypes of homeless people. She
When she moves on and broadens the issue, the reader is forced to be reminded of Shannon, enforcing compassion and pity onto the reader, while also making the reader more receptive to the point she is trying to make.

Elliott then moves on to a more serious note, addressing the dangers that these homeless people face. She builds on the personal connection established with Shannon, to humanise and evoke sympathy on 'the homeless man, Wayne 'Mouse' Perr, [who] was stabbed to death.' She includes Shannon in these statements to place him in the same situation as Perr, making the audience imagine this happening to Shannon. In this way, Elliott succeeds in humanising Perr so he is not just a name and is instead considered a