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Victor Alleyne
Rhetoric and Civic Life
Dr. Lyn Freymiller
Rhetorical Analysis Essay
10/4/16
Whos going to help the Tigers?

In 1979, the last Javan Tiger died as the rest of its species had been wiped out by intense

agricultural encroachment that resulted in habitat loss and extensive poaching of these animals

by natives (Frater). This is one of many examples of animals that have gone extinct at the hands

of humans. People have long since been responsible for the mass decline and extinction of

animals, making it a world issue. Animal conservation is an important topic to the globe because

the disappearance of animals from the wild not only disrupts ecosystems, but also valuable food

sources, cultural and historical connections, and advancements in fighting diseases. My first

artifact is of a quote from Anthony Douglas Williams, a writer and animal activist, with a picture

of a tiger in the background. It was made to place agency on humans and question whether we

have done all that we can in order to prevent more species from becoming extinct. My second

artifact is from a National Geographic magazine from 2011, which isnt clearly indicated in the

image. The photograph depicts a tiger cub with a quote that makes a similar appeal to mankind

concerning specifically, the state of the population of tigers and its implications for tigers and

humans urging people to aid conservation efforts of endangered animals. Both of my artifacts are

successful in distinct manners in emphasizing the significance and critical nature of human

involvement in reducing the number of endangered, threatened and potentially-extinct species.

The artifacts accomplish this goal by employing emotional appeals through visual elements,

logical persuasion in quotes and historical context of endangered species in the world.

The artifact by Steve Winter uses pathos mainly through visual elements, but also slightly

through the quote on the image. This is distinct to the artifact by National Geographic that
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appeals emotionally primarily through text, however also minimally through the optical aspect of

the source. In this way, both artifacts are alike in that they take advantage of visual and textual

evidence to a large and smaller extent to support emotional claims that personalize the

experience for the audience. Williamss artifact contains an adult tiger walking at night in the

forest staring directly at the camera. The focal point is the tigers face as its faintly slanted to the

side as if asking a question, which when coupled with the quote is instrumental in catching the

audiences attention. The background of night in the forest creates an ominous feeling that in turn

draws focus to the stark white large letters of the quote, producing a serious mood with the

presence of dark and neutral colors. This helps greatly to appeal emotionally to the audience

because theyre prepared for the gravity of the situation introduced in the quote: survival of

endangered and threatened animals. The repetition of whether and will are powerful because

they place agency on humans, personalizing the experience, almost asking the reader to self-

reflect on the sacrifices they have made for endangered animals. Combined with diction like

survive and save, the idea that humans are responsible for whether or not animals will

remain alive due to their actions is reinforced and emphasizes that humans must be willing to

take action and stand up for animals. In this way, the artifact effectively uses pathos to place

culpability of endangered species on human actions.

Differentiating from this artifact, the National Geographic image centers more on textual

concepts to make emotional appeals that also serve to personalize the experience and seek to

connect with a gentler aspect of people. The quote reads: Two months old. Scared. Hungry.

Jumping at every sudden sound. Wondering whether his mothers coming back. Maybe she

isnt. The pathos in this excerpt alone serves as the most imperative factor of the artifact in

grabbing the audiences attention and sustaining it. Given that the picture is in a magazine, the
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audience is most likely adults, perhaps some children, nonetheless both demographics are

affected by the imagery portrayed in the quote. The vocabulary of two months old, scared and

hungry describes a high level of vulnerability that can be attributed to that of a new born baby.

This description is easily relatable by both children and adults because it takes them back to a

stage where they were dependent on their parents/guardians for food, shelter and other basic

necessities. The strategic phrase Wondering whether his mothers coming back. Maybe she

isnt is tremendously efficient in creating a long-lasting effect of how the tiger cub is desperate

for protection and attention. It makes the scene personal because the audience might question

their course of action if they were left to fend for themselves at such a young age. This is a

different approach from the other artifact because it targets a more sensitive area, guardianship at

a young age. It doesnt semi-subtly enforce the fate of endangered species on humans which is a

straightforward approach, but might not be as successful because of how it is being thrown into

the readers face. The emotional appeal through visual elements is seen in the portrayal of a tiger

cub staring off into the distance in a posture that demonstrates its fear and anxiousness for

something, which fits perfectly with the quote. Thus, both artifacts utilize pathos in imagery and

text of the images adequately to show why its up to the humans to bring animals from the brink

of extinction by personalizing the experience and appealing to different emotions.

The first artifact from Williams is distinct from the other in the magazine due to its

logical persuasions via the text because it is presented in a more frank and general manner. The

second artifact logically appeals majorly to the conservation of tigers which is specific, but not as

effective for the greater cause because it is limited to only one species. The logos in the first

artifact pertains to human efforts to save the animals, similar to the other image, however it holds

a more serious tone in that it is a clear assertion that asks the reader what theyve done for
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endangered species. This direct implication isnt as influential in terms of pathos, though it does

enable the reader to think about what they could be doing to help local or exotic endangered

animals. Common organizations like World Wildlife Organization, Oceana, Nature

Conservancy and International Fund for Animal Welfare have protected over 100 million acres of

land with teams as large as 1.3 million people and legislated local and international laws for the

purpose of helping endangered species (Strauss). A simple search on the internet could yield

these results of institutions that gratefully accept miniscule donations which is very reasonable

for the majority of people. The use of animals broadens the scope for animal conservation and

is a beneficial difference as it serves to make opportunities at assisting preservation and

conservation more accessible by opening up the genre of animals that can be donated to. The

quote is logical in the sense that its call to action is directly embedded in the actions of humans

that created this global mess, and rational thought would question why humans wouldnt solve

the problem they started. This is achieved by again placing the agency of survival of animals on

humans because they didnt have these problems until poaching, deforestation and introduction

of invasive species, among other factors, caused, all by humans.

The second artifact by National Geographic, as aforementioned, is very unambiguous in

that it negates its intended effect or perhaps it captures its goal perfectly. If the images focus was

the overall protection of threatened and endangered species then it failed logically because the

scope was too narrow. Findings from a study done by the International Union for Conservation

of Nature show: As of 2016, there are 41,415 endangered species in the world. In the last 500

years, humans have directly caused the extinction of 800+ species (Kasnoff). With this

information, logic leads to the conclusion that the artifact grossly underrepresents the seriousness

of endangered species as a global predicament because of its linear focus on tigers. However, if
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its intention was to raise awareness for the dire situation of tigers then it was very effective in

that the lone quote above the tiger cubs body, Just 1,411 left, is incredibly intriguing. It serves

as a proper logical appeal because it will more than likely catch the attention of the audience as

they profoundly think about whether this statistic is actually correct. This may lead to further

research on the topic thus accomplishing its goal of sparking interest in humans for the sake of

endangered animals, though the logical appeal of the first artifact most likely overcomes that of

this artifact because of its broad and general lenses that allow an enormously larger system of

opportunities to aid the cause.

Finally, the historical context of the first artifact is important to the message it is

attempting to convey because it contains a unique kairotic appeal in that it emphasizes time

running out on endangered species; however, it varies because of the current 41,415 endangered

species (Kasnoff) will all go extinct at different times if humans dont make greater efforts to

save them, an idea emphasized greatly in the quote. In comparison to the first artifact, the

National Geographic photograph taken in 2011 has a reversely, direct kairotic appeal seen

through the use of the quoteJust 1,411 left. The focus of the first quote contains a multitude of

urgency appeals as the scope is much larger than that of the second artifact. One is able to see

this in the artifact when Williams writes: survive, its whether man has the will to save them

which opens up the potential to be able to donate and complete activist work for endangered

species. Additionally, it is essential because with these numerous animals to be saved, humans

might be specifically intrigued to assist in conservation because of the historical and social

importance of animals that would highly motivate those working to prevent the extinction of

anymore species.
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Contrastingly, the definite nature of the historical context of the second artifact has to

deal with the National Geographic article that it accompanies. It is effective in passing its

message because it gives the audience a sole animal to focus on and again the kariotic appeal of

Just 1,411 left is extremely riveting because it displays an even greater sense of urgency in

comparison to the first one. With the first artifact, the historical context is all over the place and

isnt as efficient in this case as the second artifact because the message is also transferred

through the magazine. Recurrent websites that deal with easy ways to save endangered species

consist of advice like this: adopt a tiger from an organization, make small donations, change to

eco-friendly products and speak up against illegal poaching and deforestation on all platforms

(Cheek).

To summarize, both artifacts effectively applied appeals such as logos, kairos and pathos;

and historical context which varied in success respectively, however they were able to stress the

main idea of humans feeling responsible for their actions that have led to these endangered

species and that they must do something about it now. Undoubtedly, more organizations must be

founded in order to make greater positive impacts for threatened, endangered and near-extinct

species. Until then, ask yourself what have you done recently to help the situation? Will you sit

idly by as more species become extinct or will you act?


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Works Cited

Bourne, Alexander. Just 1411 Left. Tiger.National Geographic Magazine 2011, Ranthambore National

Park, India. Web. 04 Oct. 2016. <https://jyothsnay.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/tiger-blog.jpg>.

Cheek, Lia. "10 Easy Things You Can Do To Save Endangered Species." Endangered Species Coalition.

N.p., 2015. Web. 20 Sept. 2016. <http://www.endangered.org/10-easy-things-you-can-do-to-

save-endangered-species/>.

Frater, Jamie. "10 Recently Extinct Animals." Listverse. Listverse Ltd., 16 June 2014. Web. 4 Oct. 2016.

<http://listverse.com/2009/07/25/10-recently-extinct-animals/>.

Kasnoff, Craig. "The Plight of Endangered Species." Endangered Earth. WordPress, 1999. Web. 20

Sept. 2016. <http://www.endangeredearth.com/>.

Strauss, Bob. "10 Wildlife Organizations Will Make The Most Of Your Donation." About.com

Education. N.p., 16 Sept. 2016. Web. 20 Sept. 2016.

<http://animals.about.com/od/wildlifeconservation/ss/The-Top-10-Wildlife-Conservation-

Organizations.htm>.

Winter, Steve. A Cry for the Tiger. 2011.Web. 04 Oct. 2016.

<https://naturallyhillary.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/quote-170713.jpg>.
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