Goodwell Nzou Trophy Hunting Analysis

Doctoral student in molecular and cellular biosciences at Wake Forest University and member of the African Nzou clan, Goodwell Nzou, in his opinion contribution to the New York Times, effectively claims that trophy hunting is not as bad as Americans are making it out to be. First, he supports this claim by asserting that lions are considered killers in African villages. Nzou uses cause and effect to appeal to pathos when stating, “When I was 9 years old, a solitary lion prowled villages near my home. After it killed a few chickens, some goats and finally a cow, we were warned to walk to school in groups and stop playing outside. My sisters no longer went alone to the river to collect water or wash dishes; my mother waited for my father and older brothers, armed with machetes, axes and spears, to
Because of the lion’s dangerous actions, the villagers had to alter their society and be scared of the “beast”. The cause and effect makes the lion appear to be a figure of terror; not an affectionate creature. Next, Goodwell Nzou supports his second claim by asserting that Americans are hypocritical because they are doing things that are similar to trophy hunting in their own country. He uses an anaphora to appeal to logos when stating, “Don’t tell us what to do with out animals when you allowed your own mountain lions to be hunted to near extinction in the eastern United States. Don’t bemoan the clear-cutting of our forests when you turned yours into concrete jungles” (Nzou). For this claim, the author uses the anaphora to repeat “don’t” to emphasize the fact that Americans should not be criticizing Africans for the killing of Cecil when they do just as much harm to their own country. The readers can clearly see what the Americans are doing to their societies, and begin to wonder if they support the ban for trophy