Rhetorical Analysis
October 16, 2012
Rhetorical Analysis: “You are being lied to about pirates”
In Johann Hari’s article “You are being lied to about pirates” (published Monday January 5, 2009 by the Independent) he uncovers for his audience/readers the truth behind piracy and how it is reflected in the ways that the government “tries” to inform the public. The article shows that his audience is the people he recognizes to be the real villains in destroying the pirate “organization” as well as the uneducated readers on the topic that are looking to grasp a new understanding of pirates and where it all started. Johann Hari is trying to prove to us that there is definitely more than one side to these Somali pirates, but people just have to be willing to listen to see the truth behind their story.
Johann Hari captured the truth behind piracy in so many ways in his article. In the first paragraph of his essay he states that the British Navy were taking on “villains” but when reading this you have to sit back and think who really are the villains in this whole situation. Many may believe that the pirates are the villains simply because during the 1650’s through 1730s pirates were portrayed as savages. So it’s easy to agree that the pirates are the evil and corrupt ones, while the British navies are the heroes; but in reality the roles are reversed. In the fourth paragraph in the article, Hari explains that Somalian pirates were the first people in the world to rebel against unjust treatment. Being that Somalia is located on the tip of the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden, this country takes up two bodies of water which gives them plentiful reliable resources of seafood. It’s said in the article that one of the reasons the pirates do what they do, is because of the disappearing of the fish as a result of the Europeans overfishing as well as the deadly outbreak of sickness caused by toxic waste dumping. This nuclear waste dumping began to cause the population to become very sick and
Rhetorical Analysis: “You are being lied to about pirates”
In Johann Hari’s article “You are being lied to about pirates” (published Monday January 5, 2009 by the Independent) he uncovers for his audience/readers the truth behind piracy and how it is reflected in the ways that the government “tries” to inform the public. The article shows that his audience is the people he recognizes to be the real villains in destroying the pirate “organization” as well as the uneducated readers on the topic that are looking to grasp a new understanding of pirates and where it all started. Johann Hari is trying to prove to us that there is definitely more than one side to these Somali pirates, but people just have to be willing to listen to see the truth behind their story.
Johann Hari captured the truth behind piracy in so many ways in his article. In the first paragraph of his essay he states that the British Navy were taking on “villains” but when reading this you have to sit back and think who really are the villains in this whole situation. Many may believe that the pirates are the villains simply because during the 1650’s through 1730s pirates were portrayed as savages. So it’s easy to agree that the pirates are the evil and corrupt ones, while the British navies are the heroes; but in reality the roles are reversed. In the fourth paragraph in the article, Hari explains that Somalian pirates were the first people in the world to rebel against unjust treatment. Being that Somalia is located on the tip of the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden, this country takes up two bodies of water which gives them plentiful reliable resources of seafood. It’s said in the article that one of the reasons the pirates do what they do, is because of the disappearing of the fish as a result of the Europeans overfishing as well as the deadly outbreak of sickness caused by toxic waste dumping. This nuclear waste dumping began to cause the population to become very sick and