Nicholas Kristof: Muslims, Marriage and Bigotry
Speaker: Nicholas Kristof, a well educated, well traveled, journalist who also has a law degree from Oxford University.
Occasion: Written in response to bigotry we see in the United States including the recent murder of three young Muslims and a setback in the fight for the legalization of gay marriage in Alabama.
Audience: Anyone wanting to know about bigotry in today's society and to bigots themselves, making them think about their own actions.
Purpose: To highlight major issues in today's society and to make people think about their own actions regarding these issues.
Subject: The shooting of three Muslim students at Chapel Hill last week and setbacks in the fight to legalize gay marriage in Alabama and bigotry around the world in general.
Tone: Forthright when describing the issues and accusatory when discussing bigotry in order to make us think about our own actions.
Kristof uses various rhetorical devices throughout the article including imagery, formal diction, and appeals to logos. Kristof uses imagery throughout the article in order to make the stories he is discussing feel more personal and real. This is important because often times we hear stories like in the article on the news and do not even give it a second thought because we are so desensitized to it. Kristof uses imagery to make the stories feel more personal when when he is discussing the murders at Chapel hill and he says, "three young Muslims who were active in charity work were murdered, allegedly by a man who identified as atheist and expressed hostility to Islam and other faiths." This shows imagery throughout and especially when he is describing the men who were murdered as he gives a lot of details about their lives. Kristof does this to make us feel more close to the murders because by telling us about the personalities of the young people who were murdered he is establishing that they were real people with real lives. Kristof uses formal diction throughout the piece in order to make us trust what he says in the articles as we are more likely to trust people who sound smart. Kristof does this when discussing what peoples actions should be in response to bigotry and he says, "But it does seem useful for everyone to reflect on our capacity to “otherize” people of a different faith, race, nationality or sexuality — and to turn that other-ness into a threat". This passage uses many formal and monosyllabic words such as "otherize" and "nationality". these words make Kristof seem more credible as they show that he is smart and therefore more likely to know what he is talking about. Kristof also uses appeals to logos in order to make "Christians" against gay marriage see the flaws in their logic. For example, Kristof quotes bible verses multiple times that tell Christians to be accepting and loving people. He does this to show "Christians" that by not accepting gay marriage they are not being loving and therefore are not following their own holy text.
Occasion: Written in response to bigotry we see in the United States including the recent murder of three young Muslims and a setback in the fight for the legalization of gay marriage in Alabama.
Audience: Anyone wanting to know about bigotry in today's society and to bigots themselves, making them think about their own actions.
Purpose: To highlight major issues in today's society and to make people think about their own actions regarding these issues.
Subject: The shooting of three Muslim students at Chapel Hill last week and setbacks in the fight to legalize gay marriage in Alabama and bigotry around the world in general.
Tone: Forthright when describing the issues and accusatory when discussing bigotry in order to make us think about our own actions.
Kristof uses various rhetorical devices throughout the article including imagery, formal diction, and appeals to logos. Kristof uses imagery throughout the article in order to make the stories he is discussing feel more personal and real. This is important because often times we hear stories like in the article on the news and do not even give it a second thought because we are so desensitized to it. Kristof uses imagery to make the stories feel more personal when when he is discussing the murders at Chapel hill and he says, "three young Muslims who were active in charity work were murdered, allegedly by a man who identified as atheist and expressed hostility to Islam and other faiths." This shows imagery throughout and especially when he is describing the men who were murdered as he gives a lot of details about their lives. Kristof does this to make us feel more close to the murders because by telling us about the personalities of the young people who were murdered he is establishing that they were real people with real lives. Kristof uses formal diction throughout the piece in order to make us trust what he says in the articles as we are more likely to trust people who sound smart. Kristof does this when discussing what peoples actions should be in response to bigotry and he says, "But it does seem useful for everyone to reflect on our capacity to “otherize” people of a different faith, race, nationality or sexuality — and to turn that other-ness into a threat". This passage uses many formal and monosyllabic words such as "otherize" and "nationality". these words make Kristof seem more credible as they show that he is smart and therefore more likely to know what he is talking about. Kristof also uses appeals to logos in order to make "Christians" against gay marriage see the flaws in their logic. For example, Kristof quotes bible verses multiple times that tell Christians to be accepting and loving people. He does this to show "Christians" that by not accepting gay marriage they are not being loving and therefore are not following their own holy text.