Three Cups of Tea
Maddie Daly
September 28, 2010
AP Language, Monroe
When mountaineer Greg Mortenson first encountered the people of rural Pakistan, he was easily able to recognize the problems they faced every day. The people were isolated, embattled, impoverished, malnourished and exploited. But what shocked Greg the most was that most people did not have the opportunity to receive an education. The memoir Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Relin describe Mortenson’s struggle to bring education and empowerment to the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan. While it was easy for Greg to identify the problems of life in the Middle East, the leaders and public Western Hemisphere ignores them. For years, the relationships between Western society and the Middle East have been characterized by suspicion and stereotypes. The Middle East has often been depicted as a primitive land of warfare and violence. The graphic images of the newsreels often replace reality and thus ruin the public perception of the people in the Middle East. In the book Three Cups of Tea, author Greg Mortenson challenges the ideas, attitudes, and images associated with the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan. In order to gain support for his cause, Mortenson uses pathos and imagery as rhetorical devices to humanize the misrepresented people of the Middle East.
While it is an inspirational book, Greg Mortenson wrote Three Cups of Tea for a specific reason. Mortenson uses his memoir as a tool to gain support for his charity organization and humanitarian mission. Mortenson is trying to gain sympathy from Western society for the plight of the impoverished in the Middle East. In order for Mortenson to continue his mission to build schools for destitute children, he needs financial support. Due to a wide cultural divide and hostile political conflict, it is difficult for Westerners to assist or emphasize with the problems of Middle Easterners. This book was needed to give the misunderstood people of the
September 28, 2010
AP Language, Monroe
When mountaineer Greg Mortenson first encountered the people of rural Pakistan, he was easily able to recognize the problems they faced every day. The people were isolated, embattled, impoverished, malnourished and exploited. But what shocked Greg the most was that most people did not have the opportunity to receive an education. The memoir Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Relin describe Mortenson’s struggle to bring education and empowerment to the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan. While it was easy for Greg to identify the problems of life in the Middle East, the leaders and public Western Hemisphere ignores them. For years, the relationships between Western society and the Middle East have been characterized by suspicion and stereotypes. The Middle East has often been depicted as a primitive land of warfare and violence. The graphic images of the newsreels often replace reality and thus ruin the public perception of the people in the Middle East. In the book Three Cups of Tea, author Greg Mortenson challenges the ideas, attitudes, and images associated with the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan. In order to gain support for his cause, Mortenson uses pathos and imagery as rhetorical devices to humanize the misrepresented people of the Middle East.
While it is an inspirational book, Greg Mortenson wrote Three Cups of Tea for a specific reason. Mortenson uses his memoir as a tool to gain support for his charity organization and humanitarian mission. Mortenson is trying to gain sympathy from Western society for the plight of the impoverished in the Middle East. In order for Mortenson to continue his mission to build schools for destitute children, he needs financial support. Due to a wide cultural divide and hostile political conflict, it is difficult for Westerners to assist or emphasize with the problems of Middle Easterners. This book was needed to give the misunderstood people of the