Persuasive Essay On Gun Control
Gun Control
Gun control policies are laws that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms. These laws or policies vary widely around the world. Some countries such as United Kingdom, have very strict limits on gun possession while others like the United States, have laws that vary significantly within their states. However due to recent events the government is trying to pass and enforce new gun laws that would make certain types of weapons illegal as well as the amount of rounds a clip can hold. Some U.S citizens are for gun control and some are against gun control. This paper will discuss two different genres which might approve or disapprove of gun control. A video of Piers Morgan, a British journalist who hosted Piers Morgan Live on CNN; is trying to convince the audience to fight for gun control laws while filming his last show on CNN. The second genre is an image that best describes what most people who aren’t for gun control feel about gun control. The poster shows a group of people who seem to be sad, and praying. The Image also has a very powerful message in its caption. It repeats the words “unarmed” and “helpless”. It seems as if the editor of the image is trying to prove a point or relay a subliminal message to its audience.
Audience and Purpose
After carefully analyzing this video I came to a conclusion to believe that the …show more content…
targeted audience for Pierce Morgan’s video isn’t just American Citizen’s but American residents just like himself. I believe this to be true because there isn’t just American citizens in the United States, we also have a numerous amount of residents that live here that are from foreign countries. The purpose of this video is to persuade the intended audience that having gun control is the right thing.
While analyzing the image I would agree that the intended audience for it would be the family members of the victims who were involved in the shootings described in the caption, as well as all other U.S citizens. I feel that the purpose of the image is to both inform and persuade its intended audience. The reason it’s informing is because the caption in the image provides facts about the victims whose lives were lost in the tragedies mentioned. On the other hand because it’s so informative I feel that it somehow makes the image somewhat persuasive as well. I feel that it persuades you to fight against gun control because the innocent people who died didn’t have guns on them. And if something like that happens around you, you don’t want to end up being “unarmed” and “helpless”.
Ethos
Morgan uses Ethos by quoting Josh Sugarmann, the Executive Director of the Violence Policy Center who once said, "We recoil in horror and search for explanations, but we never face up to the obvious preventive measure: a ban on the handy killing machines that make crimes so easy”.
However Morgan isn’t an expert in gun violence, nor gun laws. Therefore this weakens his ethos.
The image lacks a sense of Ethos. The caption provided under the image is the only source of Ethos in the entire image. This genre would have better Ethos if it went more in depth in statistics.
Pathos
In the video I analyzed of Piers Morgan I certainly noticed a few different ways in which he appealed to pathos. One way in which he used pathos was by using pictures. Morgan used two pictures in his video. One was a picture of the Movie theatre in which the shooting occurred. In this picture you can see a few officers guarding the theatre behind yellow caution tape. The second picture shows a few teachers escorting a handful of children away from their Elementary school and into safety. This picture seems to carry a lot of emotion in it because you can actually see the fear in the kids’ faces. Morgan knew that bringing this example up would really hit home to a lot of people in America. The reason for that is because a lot of people are parents and couldn’t imagine what it’d be like to lose their kid in a school shooting. Another way Morgan displays pathos is by the tone of his voice. When he talks about the unfortunate events that have taken place, Morgan’s voice seemed to get a little lighter and comforting. Morgan uses Pathos by putting a sense of guilt on American citizens. He does this by saying, “The gun lobby in America, led by the NRA (National Rifle Association), has bullied this nation 's politicians into cowardly, supine silence. Even when 20 young children are blown away in their classrooms. This is a shameful situation that has made me very angry. So angry, in fact, that some people have criticized me for being too loud, opinionated, and even rude when I have debated the issue of guns. But I make no apologies for that.” Said Morgan (2014).
The image has a strong Pathos appeal to it. The image shows a group of people holding hands and what seems to be mourning the lost lives of their loved ones. Another Pathos appeal in this image would be the repetition of the words “unarmed” and “helpless”. The repetition of these words seem to give off a feeling of innocence and guilt.
Logos
Piers Morgan appeals to logos by stating facts. In the video Morgan (2014) said, “I assumed that after 70 people were shot in a movie theater, and then, just a few months later, 20 first-graders were murdered with an assault rifle in an elementary school, the absurd gun laws in this country would change.” The shooting occurred on July 20, 2012 in Aurora Colorado. This took place during the midnight showing of The Dark Night Rises. The elementary school shooting Morgan talks about occurred on December 14, 2012 in Newtown Connecticut. Piers Morgan supported his opinions with Logos. Morgan gave facts about the dangers weapons have caused America as well as statistics that have been recorded. “Gun violence in America kills more than 30,000 and injures almost 70,000 each year” Morgan (2014).
I believe that Piers Morgan tries to make a syllogistic argument. He says that A) if things hurt people they B) need to be regulated better and if C) guns are A) are things that hurt people then C) guns B) need to be regulated better!
The image also has a strong appeal to logos. The repetition of the words “unarmed” and “helpless" persuade you that the victims were in fact unarmed and helpless. Once you’ve been persuaded that they were “unarmed” and “helpless” you get a sense of uneasiness. This is the reason why the image has a good appeal to logos.
Structure
Piers Morgan starts off by introducing his subject, Gun Control. Morgan next states that America is, “a magnificent country and a land of opportunity”. Morgan then complements Americans by saying, “the vast majority of Americans that I’ve met are, hardworking, decent, thoroughly, dependable people”. Morgan next specifies that he believes guns belong only a military battlefield, in the hands of highly trained men and women fighting for democracy and freedom and not in the hands of civilians. Morgan then gives statistics of hoe many people on average get shot, killed or commit suicide by way of a gun. Next Morgan delivers his first appeals of emotion. He appeals to Ethos, Pathos, and logos with a few pictures and statements describing the images. Morgan then pushes his appeals of Pathos to really hit home for the viewers by talking about the young children who were gunned down at the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Morgan now appeals to logos, to persuade the audience that gun control is what America needs in order to keep tragedies like the ones he mentioned in the video from happening again.
The structure of the image was great. The topic of the image is really noticeable because the text on the tittle was in all caps, and it was much larger than any other text in the image. Another thing that catches your attention are the words, “unarmed” and “helpless”. The reason for that is because they repeat. They are in each sentence of the caption. What stands pout the most is the word, “unarmed” the reason is not only because it’s repetitive but also because it is the only word in the text that is underlined. Last but not least the main picture in the image seems to focus in on a group of people. This group of people are all looking down and holding hands. They look like they might be praying or mourning the deaths of the victims portrayed in the caption below.
Delivery
The reason this delivery was so successful is simply because Morgan delivered just the right amount of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. He’s an accredited journalist and definitely knows what he is talking about. Morgan’s appeal to pathos and logos was outstanding. Morgan knew that if he was going to be successful he had to make his ethos appeal relatable to EVERYONE watching. Therefore he brought up the young children who were gunned down at the elementary school; which could have been anyone’s brother, sister, cousin, grandson, granddaughter, son, or daughter. Morgan then finds a way to turn the non-believers into believers by stating, “To those who claim my gun control campaign has been anti-American, well, the reverse is true. I 'm so pro-American I want more of you to stay alive," he said, adding, "Now it 's down to you." Because Morgan spoke with confidence and determination it also makes his appeals stronger solid.
The delivery of the image was very successful. All the tools used in the image such as the text, fonts, cropping and design all help convey its message. All this was very important to the overall genre because they all complement one another. Without the repetition of the words “unarmed” and “helpless” the viewer wouldn’t receive the same feeling.
Conclusion
Overall both genres described the topic very well. The first genre was more complex than the second, simply because it was a video and the second one was an image. However they both had two different viewpoints and got their different views across.
References
Jayme Deerwester, USA TODAY (2014, 03-29) Piers Morgan Signs Off with Gun Control Plea Retrieved from: http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2014/03/29/piers-morgan-last-show/7052009/
Gun Control Google Images
Retrieved from:
http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120828072434/truecapitalist/images/4/4a/Guncontrol.jpg
Gun control policies are laws that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms. These laws or policies vary widely around the world. Some countries such as United Kingdom, have very strict limits on gun possession while others like the United States, have laws that vary significantly within their states. However due to recent events the government is trying to pass and enforce new gun laws that would make certain types of weapons illegal as well as the amount of rounds a clip can hold. Some U.S citizens are for gun control and some are against gun control. This paper will discuss two different genres which might approve or disapprove of gun control. A video of Piers Morgan, a British journalist who hosted Piers Morgan Live on CNN; is trying to convince the audience to fight for gun control laws while filming his last show on CNN. The second genre is an image that best describes what most people who aren’t for gun control feel about gun control. The poster shows a group of people who seem to be sad, and praying. The Image also has a very powerful message in its caption. It repeats the words “unarmed” and “helpless”. It seems as if the editor of the image is trying to prove a point or relay a subliminal message to its audience.
Audience and Purpose
After carefully analyzing this video I came to a conclusion to believe that the …show more content…
targeted audience for Pierce Morgan’s video isn’t just American Citizen’s but American residents just like himself. I believe this to be true because there isn’t just American citizens in the United States, we also have a numerous amount of residents that live here that are from foreign countries. The purpose of this video is to persuade the intended audience that having gun control is the right thing.
While analyzing the image I would agree that the intended audience for it would be the family members of the victims who were involved in the shootings described in the caption, as well as all other U.S citizens. I feel that the purpose of the image is to both inform and persuade its intended audience. The reason it’s informing is because the caption in the image provides facts about the victims whose lives were lost in the tragedies mentioned. On the other hand because it’s so informative I feel that it somehow makes the image somewhat persuasive as well. I feel that it persuades you to fight against gun control because the innocent people who died didn’t have guns on them. And if something like that happens around you, you don’t want to end up being “unarmed” and “helpless”.
Ethos
Morgan uses Ethos by quoting Josh Sugarmann, the Executive Director of the Violence Policy Center who once said, "We recoil in horror and search for explanations, but we never face up to the obvious preventive measure: a ban on the handy killing machines that make crimes so easy”.
However Morgan isn’t an expert in gun violence, nor gun laws. Therefore this weakens his ethos.
The image lacks a sense of Ethos. The caption provided under the image is the only source of Ethos in the entire image. This genre would have better Ethos if it went more in depth in statistics.
Pathos
In the video I analyzed of Piers Morgan I certainly noticed a few different ways in which he appealed to pathos. One way in which he used pathos was by using pictures. Morgan used two pictures in his video. One was a picture of the Movie theatre in which the shooting occurred. In this picture you can see a few officers guarding the theatre behind yellow caution tape. The second picture shows a few teachers escorting a handful of children away from their Elementary school and into safety. This picture seems to carry a lot of emotion in it because you can actually see the fear in the kids’ faces. Morgan knew that bringing this example up would really hit home to a lot of people in America. The reason for that is because a lot of people are parents and couldn’t imagine what it’d be like to lose their kid in a school shooting. Another way Morgan displays pathos is by the tone of his voice. When he talks about the unfortunate events that have taken place, Morgan’s voice seemed to get a little lighter and comforting. Morgan uses Pathos by putting a sense of guilt on American citizens. He does this by saying, “The gun lobby in America, led by the NRA (National Rifle Association), has bullied this nation 's politicians into cowardly, supine silence. Even when 20 young children are blown away in their classrooms. This is a shameful situation that has made me very angry. So angry, in fact, that some people have criticized me for being too loud, opinionated, and even rude when I have debated the issue of guns. But I make no apologies for that.” Said Morgan (2014).
The image has a strong Pathos appeal to it. The image shows a group of people holding hands and what seems to be mourning the lost lives of their loved ones. Another Pathos appeal in this image would be the repetition of the words “unarmed” and “helpless”. The repetition of these words seem to give off a feeling of innocence and guilt.
Logos
Piers Morgan appeals to logos by stating facts. In the video Morgan (2014) said, “I assumed that after 70 people were shot in a movie theater, and then, just a few months later, 20 first-graders were murdered with an assault rifle in an elementary school, the absurd gun laws in this country would change.” The shooting occurred on July 20, 2012 in Aurora Colorado. This took place during the midnight showing of The Dark Night Rises. The elementary school shooting Morgan talks about occurred on December 14, 2012 in Newtown Connecticut. Piers Morgan supported his opinions with Logos. Morgan gave facts about the dangers weapons have caused America as well as statistics that have been recorded. “Gun violence in America kills more than 30,000 and injures almost 70,000 each year” Morgan (2014).
I believe that Piers Morgan tries to make a syllogistic argument. He says that A) if things hurt people they B) need to be regulated better and if C) guns are A) are things that hurt people then C) guns B) need to be regulated better!
The image also has a strong appeal to logos. The repetition of the words “unarmed” and “helpless" persuade you that the victims were in fact unarmed and helpless. Once you’ve been persuaded that they were “unarmed” and “helpless” you get a sense of uneasiness. This is the reason why the image has a good appeal to logos.
Structure
Piers Morgan starts off by introducing his subject, Gun Control. Morgan next states that America is, “a magnificent country and a land of opportunity”. Morgan then complements Americans by saying, “the vast majority of Americans that I’ve met are, hardworking, decent, thoroughly, dependable people”. Morgan next specifies that he believes guns belong only a military battlefield, in the hands of highly trained men and women fighting for democracy and freedom and not in the hands of civilians. Morgan then gives statistics of hoe many people on average get shot, killed or commit suicide by way of a gun. Next Morgan delivers his first appeals of emotion. He appeals to Ethos, Pathos, and logos with a few pictures and statements describing the images. Morgan then pushes his appeals of Pathos to really hit home for the viewers by talking about the young children who were gunned down at the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Morgan now appeals to logos, to persuade the audience that gun control is what America needs in order to keep tragedies like the ones he mentioned in the video from happening again.
The structure of the image was great. The topic of the image is really noticeable because the text on the tittle was in all caps, and it was much larger than any other text in the image. Another thing that catches your attention are the words, “unarmed” and “helpless”. The reason for that is because they repeat. They are in each sentence of the caption. What stands pout the most is the word, “unarmed” the reason is not only because it’s repetitive but also because it is the only word in the text that is underlined. Last but not least the main picture in the image seems to focus in on a group of people. This group of people are all looking down and holding hands. They look like they might be praying or mourning the deaths of the victims portrayed in the caption below.
Delivery
The reason this delivery was so successful is simply because Morgan delivered just the right amount of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. He’s an accredited journalist and definitely knows what he is talking about. Morgan’s appeal to pathos and logos was outstanding. Morgan knew that if he was going to be successful he had to make his ethos appeal relatable to EVERYONE watching. Therefore he brought up the young children who were gunned down at the elementary school; which could have been anyone’s brother, sister, cousin, grandson, granddaughter, son, or daughter. Morgan then finds a way to turn the non-believers into believers by stating, “To those who claim my gun control campaign has been anti-American, well, the reverse is true. I 'm so pro-American I want more of you to stay alive," he said, adding, "Now it 's down to you." Because Morgan spoke with confidence and determination it also makes his appeals stronger solid.
The delivery of the image was very successful. All the tools used in the image such as the text, fonts, cropping and design all help convey its message. All this was very important to the overall genre because they all complement one another. Without the repetition of the words “unarmed” and “helpless” the viewer wouldn’t receive the same feeling.
Conclusion
Overall both genres described the topic very well. The first genre was more complex than the second, simply because it was a video and the second one was an image. However they both had two different viewpoints and got their different views across.
References
Jayme Deerwester, USA TODAY (2014, 03-29) Piers Morgan Signs Off with Gun Control Plea Retrieved from: http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2014/03/29/piers-morgan-last-show/7052009/
Gun Control Google Images
Retrieved from:
http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120828072434/truecapitalist/images/4/4a/Guncontrol.jpg