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
Being a Hispanic have impacted all my entire life; I lived 15 years of my life in Mexico I love being there because most part of my family live in Nuevo Laredo, I was cursing my last months of 8th grade and one day my mom told me that she was thinking about send me here to the U.S to start learn English; since I’m a U.S citizen and I didn't know the language of my country, I accepted. The most hard prove was live without having my mom at my side, since I live with my aunt now; when the days passed here in the U.S I started to depressed myself because I missed so much my house and all my family, one day in the middle of the night I call my mom crying and I told her that I really want go back to Mexico, but she didn’t take into account my desire my mom just explained me that it will be the best for my future and with the time I will be thankful with her for don’t let me go back. My mom, and my grandmother are the ones who motivates me to be a better student. Actually I’m in dual enrollment and I have taken AP classes; sometimes is hard for me talk, read or write in another language that the one I was accustomed but, every time I fail I get up and persist until I’m able to do what I want.
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.
Mr. Schwarzenegger uses the power of persuasion and his knowledge on immigration to make his essay more effective rather than ineffective. At the beginning of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s essay, An Immigrant Writes, he mentions a statement from President Reagan about immigration. Afterwards he states “He believes, as I do, that we can have an immigration policy that both strengthens our boarders and welcomes immigrants.”(Schwarzenegger 26) Using this example is part of the reason why his essay is so effective.
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.
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
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.
I roll my r’s with pride and that pride carries me through my journey of being a first generation Mexican-American. I was born and raised in the town of Salinas, also referred to as the “salad bowl”. Beaming in culture, Salinas also possesses a dark side due to gang violence soliciting each young member of my town. Immigrating to the United States, my parents’ initial priority was to find a job rather than an education in order to survive and keep me away from the darker Salinas. To make sure of this, my parents always encouraged me to try my best in school and make it my main focus. At a young age I began to notice disadvantages I had including the lack of resources at school. Realizing we only had 5 books for about 30 students, I felt unmotivated
Mexican immigrants are misjudged for coming to the Unites States illegally and stealing jobs from American citizens. In the poem “So Mexicans Are Taking Jobs from Americans”, Jimmy Santiago Baca discusses the mistreatment that Americans have of immigrants and then explains the reality of the situation. Baca uses imagery, symbolism, diction, and tone to argue about the prejudices that Americans have of Mexican immigrants.
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.
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!
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
"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.
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.
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
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.