Rhetorical Analysis Of Our Gas Guzzlers, Their Lives Essay

Simon Yang Tompkins English 101 9/24/15 Rough Draft: Rhetorical Analysis on â€Å"Our Gas Guzzlers, Their Lives† In his article â€Å"Our Gas Guzzlers, Their Lives† Nicholas Kristof writes about Africa, specifically the country of Burundi. Crop failure and water shortage are causing or will cause all sorts of major problems. These environmental changes are linked directly to us, and the greenhouse gases emitted through non eco-friendly vehicles. Using the rhetoric tools of ethos, pathos, and logos he clearly makes his case of how essential it is to stop or at least reduce the carbon emissions we produce. Kristof has strengths and flaws in all his rhetoric tools especially in his pathos, and his ethos which is damaged by the setup of the article. First of all, one of the most heavily used instruments in this article, pathos, is very effective, but certainly has its flaws. Every example about how the lives of the people in the poorest country in the world are being jeopardized by the gases that our cars produce is compelling. Kristof states, â€Å"†¦Changing weather patterns in recent years have already caused crop failures-and when the crops fail, people starve† (564). He has simplified the whole process of how the gases go from the cars to ultimately killing these people. It’s a very long process, but when he puts it this way, the effects of the cars seem to be killing off Burundi immediately. However, his pathos can be seen through at some points to be more of a guilt trip to stopShow MoreRelatedRhetorical Analysis of Kristof792 Words   |  4 PagesBoyer-White 2/10/11 Rhetorical Analysis of Kristof Nicholas Kristof wrote a compelling article titled â€Å"Our Gas Guzzlers, Their Lives†. In the article he is arguing that wealthier country’s greenhouse gas emissions are severely damaging life in many African countries. In fact Charles Ehrhart, a Care staff member in Kenya, states, â€Å"The negative impact of the West’s carbon emissions will overwhelm the positive effects of aid† (Kristof 580). So although we are trying to aid, it is our lifestyles that are