Soapstone #2
Speaker: Eugene Robinson is the speaker who is very urgent and persuasive in his writing style and tells the nation what they must do because it is their job.
Occasion: The larger occasion is that many people in our country are unemployed and it doesn't seem likely that they will be getting jobs anywhere in the near future. The immediate occasion is that recently, Republicans blocked an act that would ensure long-term benefits for unemployed Americans.
Audience: The intended audience are those who keep up with and care about recent political events and those that can vote and have a say in it.
Purpose: The purpose of this article was to guilt trip all those who rejected the bill and those who didn't fight harder for it. The personal examples of unemployed americans that are struggling appealed to the readers' pathos by making them feel empathetic for those who will not get long-term unemployment benefits because of people who didn't allow this bill to pass.
Subject: The subject is that a bill that would extend long-term unemployment benefits to unemployed americans was rejected recently, so now there is a diminished sense of hope for those jobless.
Tone: The tone of this text was one that made the readers feel guilty and ashamed of those who would not let the bill pass. Robinson uses phrases like, "Shame on Republicans for blocking the resumption of long-term unemployment benefits for 1.3 million Americans. And shame on Democrats for letting them." in order to make the audience feel bad for allowing this or supporting this action. He also says, "Isn’t it in society’s interest to give them a chance?" which appeals to pathos by telling us that it is our fault (society=us) for letting this happen and allow countless americans to suffer.
The author provides information on this topic by telling the audience exactly what happened, when it happened, and whose fault it was. The author provides a suitable amount of background information but assumes that the readers have a good background of political knowledge in order to know why the Republicans rejected such a bill and why the Democrats allowed it. The author derives information from the result of the bill not being passed, and he obtains statements from a few unemployed Americans who were counting on this bill to pass in order to sustain their current standard of living. This topic is very important to Robinson because to him, it feels as if the Democrats failed to voice their opinions and let the Republicans allow all those that are unemployed to suffer, without so much as putting up a fight. This affects the general community because a large percent of America is unemployed, and many do not have a long-term source of money and will not due to this bill not passing.
Occasion: The larger occasion is that many people in our country are unemployed and it doesn't seem likely that they will be getting jobs anywhere in the near future. The immediate occasion is that recently, Republicans blocked an act that would ensure long-term benefits for unemployed Americans.
Audience: The intended audience are those who keep up with and care about recent political events and those that can vote and have a say in it.
Purpose: The purpose of this article was to guilt trip all those who rejected the bill and those who didn't fight harder for it. The personal examples of unemployed americans that are struggling appealed to the readers' pathos by making them feel empathetic for those who will not get long-term unemployment benefits because of people who didn't allow this bill to pass.
Subject: The subject is that a bill that would extend long-term unemployment benefits to unemployed americans was rejected recently, so now there is a diminished sense of hope for those jobless.
Tone: The tone of this text was one that made the readers feel guilty and ashamed of those who would not let the bill pass. Robinson uses phrases like, "Shame on Republicans for blocking the resumption of long-term unemployment benefits for 1.3 million Americans. And shame on Democrats for letting them." in order to make the audience feel bad for allowing this or supporting this action. He also says, "Isn’t it in society’s interest to give them a chance?" which appeals to pathos by telling us that it is our fault (society=us) for letting this happen and allow countless americans to suffer.
The author provides information on this topic by telling the audience exactly what happened, when it happened, and whose fault it was. The author provides a suitable amount of background information but assumes that the readers have a good background of political knowledge in order to know why the Republicans rejected such a bill and why the Democrats allowed it. The author derives information from the result of the bill not being passed, and he obtains statements from a few unemployed Americans who were counting on this bill to pass in order to sustain their current standard of living. This topic is very important to Robinson because to him, it feels as if the Democrats failed to voice their opinions and let the Republicans allow all those that are unemployed to suffer, without so much as putting up a fight. This affects the general community because a large percent of America is unemployed, and many do not have a long-term source of money and will not due to this bill not passing.