User:Atcovi/ENG111-M26B/Essay 2


 * What is the title of the essay you selected? Briefly summarize it here: "The Desperate Journey" formulated by Kevin Frayer and Andrew Katz. Two journalists, Frayer (photographer) and Katz (writer), dwell into the Rohingya crisis, where the Rohingyas, an ethnic Muslim group from Myanmar, are being ethnically cleansed by the Myanmar government and are forced to leave their homes and flee to poor-quality refugee homes in Bangladesh. Exquisite and graphic black-and-white photographs, detailing the journey of the refugees, are drizzled all over the article to emotionally appeal to the readers and to leave a lasting remark on the experiences of the Rohingyas.
 * How is this essay effective or not effective? Explain, specifically. This essay is effective because of their extensive imagery which appeals to emotion. Although Frayer and Katz are not refugees themselves, their graphic detail into the situation of the Rohingyas, complemented by several pictures showcasing the Rohingya's journey, all appeals to the emotions of the reader.
 * Who is the target audience for this article? How do you know? The target audience is any English-speaking person that is able to make a change (through donations, lobbying or just spreading the word). This is obvious because there are no specific "callings" or terminologies being used in the article that may belong to a certain group and it uses language that can apply to anyone (mentioning that no one's doing anything about it and is actually being justified by the Myanmar government themselves).
 * What is the author's purpose in writing this? How do you know? The author's purpose is to be informative and to spread awareness of the horrors of the Rohingyas. This may be in hopes that any person reading the article can do something about the situation, whether it may be spreading the word to legislating acts against the Myanmar government for their atrocities.
 * What issue is the author writing about, if there is one? The author's writing about the Rohingya crisis, an ongoing genoicide of the Rohingya ethnic group in Myanmar.
 * How is the author's background important to this article, if applicable? Explain. Although the author is not a refugee or a victim of the crisis himself, he is a journalist. A journalist is someone who writes about events to a news organization. His job entails him to dwell deep into situations, such as this genocide, and write extensively on what's going on. This means that the audience knows that this is a legitimate piece of writing vs. a blogpost by a random amateur.
 * How does the author use pathos (emotional) appeals to affect his/her audience? Explain. The author appeals to the reader's emotions by using black-and-white pictures. The black-and-white color adds to the shock value of the pictures, making the situation seem more dark and scary. He also details the story of a small, young boy holding a random man's leg, crying for food.
 * How does the author use logos (logic/facts) appeals to affect his/her audience? Explain. The author details the journey of the refugees story to arriving onto Shah Porir Dwip island in Bangladesh. This gives context to the emotional part of the article (the pictures) so the reader is able to understand the contextual aspect of the pictures, aiding in appealing to the readers about the refugees' situation.
 * How does the author come across as a credible individual and earn the reader's trust on the issue? Explain. The author doesn't force his credibility on the users, but he uses emotions very well through imagery and detailed stories. The pictures are high-quality and black-and-white and the stories detailed by the author are so specific and realistic that there is no question to the authenticity of it. This allows the reader to be emotionally invested in the story. He also mentions he was at Myanmar during the crisis and the pictures were taken by one of the authors.
 * How is the essay organized? Why is it organized in this way?  What was the author's purpose in arranging his/her ideas in this order? Explain. The essay's organized from the beginning of the trip to an abrupt ending of the trip (detailing the crying boy). The author organized it this way in order to leave the lasting impression to be of the boy crying for food (with context being provided in the beginning). There is no imagery for this story because the author wants the reader to imagine it themselves and be heavily swayed by it.
 * What specific words or writing techniques stick out to you? Are there any fallacies? What about analogies, metaphors, and other writing techniques the author utilizes that sticks out? The "hook" in the beginning got me, implying it was safer to arrive to the island during the dark (which has historically been a "scary" atmosphere). This intrigued me to continue reading. No literary techniques strike out to me other than the appeal to emotions.