Analysis: The Sinking Of The Lusitania

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My topic is concerning the sinking of the Lusitania. The Lusitania was a British merchant ship that had 200 Americans on board. The Germans sunk the cruiser with submarine warfare on May 7th, 1915, claiming that the ship was carrying munitions. Though the Lusitania was not a weapons-bearing ship, later investigations proved there were a few munitions on board. When the ship sank, a total of 150 of the 1,100 casualties were Americans; thus, this crisis later became war propaganda in America. President Woodrow Wilson became frustrated with the transgression on the Germans’ part and issued them a warning. He claimed that the Germans violated American rights on the high seas, and that the Germans were accountable for their breach of …show more content…

It is encouraging all the young and able men to enlist and fight in the war to defeat the Germans. The slogan I used is “The Germans sunk our men and left them to drown. Boys, time to sink their hopes: Fight for the Crown!!”. The first sentence of the slogan is meant to incite hatred for the Germans within the hearts of all Americans, as the direct accusation of the Germans leaving the Americans to drown will most definitely rile people up. The second sentence has two key parts. “Boys, time to sink their hopes” is a play on words/ the situation, as the Germans had sunk the Americans. Thus, boys who enlist will see this as a perfect opportunity to get revenge by justly “sinking” the Germans’ chance at victory. The second part is “Fight with the Crown!!”, and this is a play with rhyme. Not only will the rhyme help the slogan stick in people’s heads, but this will further encourage boys to identify themselves as the good guys and fight alongside the good side. To accompany this slogan, there is a picture of the Lusitania sinking, a small crown under the slogan, and a lineup of soldiers with weapons at the ready. The picture of the sinking cruiser is to act as a visual for people to connect the slogan with; it also cements the harsh reality of the fact that there was in fact a cruiser that sank with their own people on board. The small crown is just to act as a visual connector with the Crown from the slogan. The …show more content…

This technique attempts to persuade the target audience to take a course of action, while reinforcing their natural desire to be on the winning side. The way my propaganda poster does this is by boldly stating “Boys, time to sink their hopes: Fight with the Crown!!”. The feeling of “it’s time to take action” excites many, and this creates the understanding that many boys would be ready and eager to enlist to fight against the Germans who thought the Americans were weak. The lineup of soldiers at the bottom of the paper creates this sort of illusion that many soldiers have already enlisted and are simply waiting for “you” (whoever views the poster). Thus, the viewer feels a bit left out and is prompted to enlist and join the ranks of many soldiers who will stand just like the soldiers in the poster, to fight with the Crown and against the Germans who did

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