The Ugly Canadian Analysis

Travis R. Drakeford
09/21/2014
EN1420
ITT Technical Institute

Elizabeth Hermans

The Ugly Canadian An article from Amir Attaran called “The Ugly Canadian” is an article have Mr. Attaran fighting for Canadian rights. Attaran studied law and decided to become a Canadian despite learning its disappointing flaws throughout his educational career. Amir Attaran really was aim to convince Canadians that the government is disgracing their image and that they are not living up to the standards that have been set for their selves. He has presented a convincing argument that the Canadian government believes in the “exceptionalism” (Attaran 217) of our country and this has tarnished our country’s progression in becoming
a respected nation. The ways that Attaran done that was by describing Canada’s trading health and human rights laws and instilling a vision in his audience of a corrupt and cruel nation. His target audience was all the Canadian, political leader or student studying Canadian history. His lack of source have him have little evidence to support his argument or amplify his ethos. Attaran believe and had faith in a man name Lester Pearson’s ideology drives his passion and dislike for the new agenda Canada’s government has adopted, that will highly persuades his audience.
Amir Attaran enforces his ethos by allowing his readers to see he is experienced and well educated in his discipline.
This creates a sense of believability and encourages his audience to trust that his argument is true. Although, he lacks sources in this particular article which diminishes his ethical appeal. He gives a lot of examples of how the Canadian government is ineffectively helping Canada maintain a healthy image, yet shows no evidence of where he find this information at. Attaran does state in his note that “he knows the subjects he’s talking about and he can confirm his information is correct” (Attaran 221). However, this is not a good reference and does not apply to all his examples or support his
argument. Attaran’s ethos has been damaged by his lack of proof. His writing is clear and very easy to understand. However, he have no hidden meaning behind the language he utilizes and is straight forward with his arguments. He express himself very engaging like one of the phase he say in the article is “we are hazardously far down the road of becoming a country of diverse ugly Canadians – and if we do not check this tendency karma could pay us back” (Attaran 216). This quote have me thinking that the Canadian need to change.
Attaran’s interest in his discipline is strong and his passion for Canada does not go unnoticed.
As mentioned earlier, he is an American who was drawn to Canada for its “very Pearsonian” diplomacy and despite this country’s faults he “still loves this place” (Attaran 216). Also the author’s respect for Lester Pearson is very inspiring and evokes positive emotions for Canada and the image it portrays. Attaran uses Canadian cases of global trade, corporate, health and human rights laws to persuade his audience; describing the negative direction the Canadian government has adopted to address these affairs. Canada prides itself on their commitment towards their Human Rights but Attaran informs us of Canada’s refusal to sign the “enforced disappearance treaty” (Attaran 219) and of the government’s ignorance to protect its citizens. Here he enforces the idea that Canada’s government sees their country as an “exceptionalist” nation and this evidence leaves the audience feel angry at the government, guilty and even embarrassed by their actions that are disgracing Canada’s brand. Finally, He suggests ways Canada could improve their diplomacy, which would benefit all of Canada economically and socially (Attaran 221). The author explains, “A diplomatic corps that can better understand foreigners and explain Canadian actions to them will better advance Canada’s political and economic interests abroad” (Attaran 220). This strong structure not only increased the author’s ethos but also it
took the audience through many emotions.
Article “The Ugly Canadian”, Amir Attaran has clearly informed the audience that Canada is on its way to damaging its image. He persuades his readers of this by the use of the ethological and pathetic appeals. Attaran’s lack of sources negatively impacts his ethos but the structure of his writing supports his ethical appeal and he regains his credibility. The structure also positively affects the author’s pathetic appeal by creating a broad spectrum of emotions throughout the work. These efforts Attaran has made to convince his audience of his arguments has left Canadians and others hopeful for Canada and its future.

Works Cited
Attaran, Amir. “The Ugly Canadian.” The Active Reader. Ed. Eric Henderson. Don Mills: Oxford UP, 2008. Print. 215-21.