Rhetorical Analysis
Davis 1
Raven Davis
Professor Bunde
English 1011
26 September 2012
Rhetorical Analysis of “Outcasts United: A True Story about Soccer and Immigration Made for Hollywood?
Pitch Invasion journalist, Andrew Guest, writes the article “Outcasts United: A True Story about Soccer and Immigration Made for Hollywood” from a sarcastic viewpoint. Guest starts by allowing his reader to get acquainted with Warren St. John’s cover article on “Outcast United,” which later became a book. He introduces the awestruck fact that Universal Studios wants to pay St. John and his main character, Luma Mufleh, $3 million to create a corresponding film to “Outcasts United.” Guest then debates the question of why youth soccer appeals to Hollywood so much. He is concerned that their story will not be as serious, nor will it offer unity and enmity just as the original story did. Guest’s second worry is that St. John’s book version is nothing but a work of heartfelt journalism, instead of what he thought would be “more lighthearted” (par.5). Andrew Guest does not build on ethos and there is very little logos, but does formulate his opinions through pathos, word choice, and tone. Guest wants to lure the audience whom has read “Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team” and that are familiar with it. He uses strong pathos to persuade the readers more closely. For example, Guest says, “But I was also worried that the real appeal here was the kind ‘heartwarming’ pabulum so often associated with the popular sports media…” (par.2). He wants the reader to feel that Hollywood’s intentions may not be what they are expecting just as well as
Davis 2 he does. Furthermore, he explains that the story answered his questions but did not stop his worrying. Guest also uses pathos in his repetition of “heartwarming” (par.7) to reveal how the truth would really be portrayed by Hollywood. A cliché, such as this, would make the readers question whether Hollywood is sincere in what they are trying
Raven Davis
Professor Bunde
English 1011
26 September 2012
Rhetorical Analysis of “Outcasts United: A True Story about Soccer and Immigration Made for Hollywood?
Pitch Invasion journalist, Andrew Guest, writes the article “Outcasts United: A True Story about Soccer and Immigration Made for Hollywood” from a sarcastic viewpoint. Guest starts by allowing his reader to get acquainted with Warren St. John’s cover article on “Outcast United,” which later became a book. He introduces the awestruck fact that Universal Studios wants to pay St. John and his main character, Luma Mufleh, $3 million to create a corresponding film to “Outcasts United.” Guest then debates the question of why youth soccer appeals to Hollywood so much. He is concerned that their story will not be as serious, nor will it offer unity and enmity just as the original story did. Guest’s second worry is that St. John’s book version is nothing but a work of heartfelt journalism, instead of what he thought would be “more lighthearted” (par.5). Andrew Guest does not build on ethos and there is very little logos, but does formulate his opinions through pathos, word choice, and tone. Guest wants to lure the audience whom has read “Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team” and that are familiar with it. He uses strong pathos to persuade the readers more closely. For example, Guest says, “But I was also worried that the real appeal here was the kind ‘heartwarming’ pabulum so often associated with the popular sports media…” (par.2). He wants the reader to feel that Hollywood’s intentions may not be what they are expecting just as well as
Davis 2 he does. Furthermore, he explains that the story answered his questions but did not stop his worrying. Guest also uses pathos in his repetition of “heartwarming” (par.7) to reveal how the truth would really be portrayed by Hollywood. A cliché, such as this, would make the readers question whether Hollywood is sincere in what they are trying
Cited: Guest, Andrew. “Outcasts United: A True Story about Soccer and Immigration Made for Hollywood?” Pitch Invasion. Pitch Invasion, 17 Aug. 2009. Web. 19 Sep. 2012. Writer’s Memo On my rhetorical analysis draft I feel like my introduction was precise and effective. Some things I have lacked were supporting a couple of my topic sentences. I did not include the best examples of logos because Andrew Guest does not really build on it, so it was difficult to include in the essay. My weakest mark on my paper was trying to comprehend the author’s main point because there seemed to be more than one.