The Bagpipe Rhetorical Analysis

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Reporting on Racsim I am writing in response to your request as an editor of The Bagpipe that I analyze Hanna Guthrie’s “Black History Month?” and make a recommendation for or against publication in The Bagpipe. After reading and evaluating the article’s rhetorical appeals, I recommend that The Bagpipe does not publish this particular editorial as the article does not provide enough evidence to support its claim in order to persuade the readers of The Bagpipe. However, this topic would still interest many students at Highland Park High School especially due to campaigns such as the Student Council sponsored Race to End Racism. Additionally, most teachers, specifically history and English teachers, prefer their students to keep up with current events, which includes debates about the way to treat racism. In the article, Guthrie’s central claim is that devoting days, weeks, months, terms, clubs, or organizations to minority groups divides citizens into racial groups instead of uniting the country as Americans. In order to support her claim, Guthrie writes, “I would argue that focusing on everyone’s ethnic background — American-born or not — in the form of …show more content…

In one instance, the author writes, “Americans must have the freedom to take personal responsibility and to critique others without having the threat of racism hanging over their heads.” By employing words such as “America” and “Freedom,” the author positively affects the reader by associating the article with positive American ideals. Nonetheless, Guthrie negatively influences the reader’s perception of the article by including the statement: “As it is, you probably think I am a racist for delving into this issue to begin with.” This statement causes the reader to perceive the author as racist, which influences the reader’s impression of the article, most likely in a negative

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