Using Rhetorical Strategies Jose Vargas, an undocumented immigrant, believes hard work can greatly impact the ability to gain citizenship in the United States. In the article “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” Vargas explains his life and how much he struggled lying his way through school and work. To persuade the reader to believe that he should be considered an American citizen, Vargas uses rhetorical strategies throughout his essay. Vargas’ use of pathos was very effective because it caused the reader to empathize for him and providing information about his background made his character more reliable through ethos, however his lack of logos made a big difference throughout his article. Jose Vargas wrote the article “My Life as an Undocumented …show more content…
Vargas stated facts on undocumented immigrants entering our country writing that, “The Obama administration deported almost 800,000 people in the last two years-- they are speaking out. Their courage inspired me.” He stated this information because he knew he had a chance of entering the county legally with the proper documents and had hope. Vargas may have not felt as frightened as he did before after hearing this, so he opened up to his employers and started telling them the truth. After Vargas stated the statistic “There are 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States,” he reassured himself he was not the only in this situation. He might have written this so the reader knows he is not the only undocumented immigrant in this country illegally, and that he deserves a chance here. Using this statistic as a form of logos helped Vargas explain to the reader that he is not the only illegal immigrant in the United States, but he wants to also prove that he is different than them. Considering the facts that almost one million undocumented immigrants were let into our country and that 11 million undocumented immigrants are hiding in this country, Vargas is telling the reader that he could have a chance of living here legally. Using logos throughout his article helped him because it gives us a better idea of how many undocumented immigrants are living in our country and we need to be more welcoming since a lot of undocumented immigrants already live
Recently illegal immigration has become a very pressing issue among people. Many people around the borders are being greatly affected by the issue and think immediate action needs to be taken to put a stop to the issue. The Documentary Border War: Battle Over Illegal Immigration takes a stand on the issue using many examples of pathos, ethos, and logos to try and persuade people that illegal immigration is a very serious issue and we need to put a stop to it. This documentary follows the lives of people who have been affected by illegal immigration, and explains how they feel about the issue. Another way that people can look at the issue of illegal immigration is through the eyes of the immigrants, and the reasons why they might be trying migrate to another country. The documentary Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary focuses on the issue from this point of view. This documentary uses pathos and logos to show the lives and hardships of those people who are trying to migrate to a new country. Although Wetback used many examples of pathos and logos to show the struggles of the migrants, Border War did a better job showing pathos by following the lives of people who were affected by the illegal immigrants they were also very persuasive with ethos by following credible people.
In the article “An Immigrant Writes” Arnold Schwarzenegger argues, “America can have an immigration policy that strengthens and secures our borders while being sympathetic to immigrants” (26). By addressing opposing arguments, through the use of pathos, ethos, and logos and providing strong evidence, Mr. Schwarzenegger creates a convincing argument to support his stance on immigration.
Imagine moving to America and dreaming about riches, an easy life, no worries, safety and freedom. I hate to break it to you but… that is not that easy. To make the transition easier, it would be beneficial to learn English. This can be accomplished by forcing oneself to communicate with other Americans in English. Another way is to embrace the American culture. Finally, lose the false hopes. The streets are not lined in gold and money doesn't grow on trees. If you follow this you are sure to succeed!
Illegal immigrants has many background stories about how they survived through the journey and afterward. No one really knows about their life story until people actually read about them or know them in person. Many people leave their family members and come to the United States just for better job, education and life in general. Jose Antonio Vargas is also an illegal immigrant who came to the United States as a child with a stranger, leaving his mother behind. He didn’t know that he was an illegal immigrant until he went to get his driver 's license. Ever since he was ashamed of himself and wanted to reveal himself. That’s why he wrote an essay called “my life as an undocumented immigrant” in the New York Times magazine to tell everyone that he is an
Star Parkers essay, “Se Habla Entitlement” was published in 2006 on the website WorldNetDaily.com. In the essay, Parker attempts to convince the reader that the United States should not have an open border policy. She uses the techniques of Ethos, Pathos, and logos to present a compelling argument to the reader, which in the end falls a bit short.
"Why did she sing when she can’t even pronounce the words right? Haha that F.O.B. is so stupid!" These were the haunting words that I overheard my classmate utter to her friend as I was walking off the stage from my solo singing performance, cold sweat trickling down my face and warm tears welling up as my vision got blurry. These words remained etched in my memory as I was constantly reminded of the fact that I needed to improve my American accent to conform and assimilate into the American society.
The policies implemented by the United States to strengthen the border and enforce immigration policies have led to the abuse and profiling of undocumented immigrants. Undocumented immigrants live in constant fear of deportation and are subjected to multiple human rights violations as they are abused, exploited and discriminated against. Immigrants are racialized and stereotyped. The US government has passed laws that discriminate against undocumented immigrants, making it harder for them to live and survive in America. These laws are due to the perception that undocumented immigrants are a burden on the US economy, but on the contrary undocumented immigrants provide an economic benefit to the US, and due to the benefit they provide society
According to Aristotle, a speaker could frame any debate using three approaches: an appeal to logic, an appeal from credibility, or an appeal to emotions. All speakers and writers use the tripartite approach to rhetoric in varying degrees and ultimately the audience judges their effectiveness in the context presented. In America, few topics are as hotly debated as that of undocumented migration, and it can be difficult to pick through the partisan and often vitriolic rhetoric in order to come to a rational conclusion. Politicians frame the debate using elements of the American mythos. While the evidence they present to back their conclusions may be factual, it necessarily omits the full truth in order to present a partisan political front. As such, politicians predominantly rely on the reader or listener’s emotional satisfaction. And even the most scrupulous journalists—meant to impart objective fact to the public—are not free from personal bias, making the discourse even more convoluted. In analyzing three prominent voices in the immigration debate, US president Obama, journalist Sonia Nazario, and Arizona congressman J.D. Hayworth, we can evaluate the effectiveness of the different rhetorical approaches by whether or not they reach their intended audiences. Nazario fulfills her journalistic raison d’être by succeeding at objectivity, while Obama and Hayworth as politicians succeed by lying by omission in speeches and in writing in order to pursue policy goals and appease supporters.
Jose Antonio Vargas’s article on My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant is a writing about his childhood journey from the Philippines to the United States as an Undocumented Immigrant. Vargas writes this article to emphasize the topic of immigrant and undocumented immigrant in the United States. He uses all three appeals: pathos, ethos, and logic in his writing, in specific, he mostly uses pathos throughout of his entire article with a purpose for the reader to sympathize and to feel compassion for him. The use of these appeals attract many readers, they can feel and understand his purpose is to ask for others to join and support other people who undocumented immigrant like himself. In addition, it gives other undocumented immigrant people courage
As a kid growing up in a very abusive household my mother was a victim of Domestic Violence and for many years we were living in poverty this made it extra hard for me to handle secondary education until she decided to escape to the United States. At the age of seventeen my environment changed. The abuse stopped but we still struggled, as an illegal immigrant she was not qualified for a job and she worked cleaning houses and ironing clothes while I attended High School in Brooklyn New York.
Baca asks “Do they come on horses with rifles, and say, ese gringo, gimme’ your job?” (3) The answer is no; for the most part Mexican immigrants take jobs that many Americans don’t want. Most people that cross the border do so to provide for their family, or to have a better life. As a result, they take jobs that pay them pretty much nothing. He later states that Americans should actually look at the bigger picture. Mexicans need the jobs to feed and provide for their children. Baca’s use of imagery, and symbolism paint the picture of American hypocrisy on Mexicans taking away American jobs. Baca mocks the racist commentary made by Americans to help the reader rethink the situation to show how ludicrous this misconception is.
Furthermore, Vargas faced many personal and career obstacles in his story. For example, at the age of 12 his mother sent him thousands of miles away to live with Vargas’s grandparents in America who were both naturalized citizens because she wanted to give him a better life. After Vargas arrived in San Francisco, he fell in love with the area and loved living with his grandparents. As years went by, Vargas, who was 16 at this time, went to the D.M.V. to get his driver’s permit, but fortunately the clerk working at the office told Vargas that his Green Card was fake and never to come back. After questioning his grandparents, Vargas finds out that he was smuggled into the United States of America and all his documents were fraudulent. In Vargas’s essay, “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant”, his story fiddles with the readers emotions and makes the reader ponder the issue of immigration in the United States of
Bestseller journalist, Sonia Nazario, in her literacy non-fiction, Enrique’s Journey, describes a young man’s journey trying to reconcile with his mother in the United States, but has to go through many obstacles to reach her. Nazario’s purpose is to inform readers about how immigration affects children and their mothers in Central America. She adopts an optimistic/determined tone in order to reveal to her readers the difficulty and bravery the children have to face to get to the United States. Nazario begins her credibility with ethos to retrace an abandon teenager’s journey through Central America, pathos to follow the mother son relationship, and logos by giving facts and statistics for illegal immigrants in the U.S.
Jimmy Santiago Baca’s poem sends out a powerful message without the use of a strict structure. The modest wording and simple structure helps the writer send his message across. In addition, with the use of imagery, symbolism, diction, and tone, Baca is able to argue and ridicule American stereotypes on Mexican immigrants coming to the country and robbing them of job opportunities. The use of figurative language helps support Baca’s point of view on how the American misconception is irrational and prejudice.
Immigration has always been a large conflict people have faced all across the world. There are plenty of reasons why people migrate to a country, whether it may be the United States or any other particular one. Many people often come in an attempt to escape poverty, crime, or to simply have a better opportunity to better their lifestyle. Although there are people who migrate and commit severe crimes, there are others who sacrifice themselves in order to live a better life. In addition to that, I believe the government should approve new immigration laws in favor of immigrants who come to better their life and achieve their dreams.