Rhetorical Draft

The author is Sarah Kaplan and the article was published on December 6, 2019. Sarah Kaplan is a climate and science reporter for the Washington Post. She tredded on the Yoho National Park reserve to investigate the Burgess Shale. The Topic addressed at hand is a complex thought of how we as a collective race should begin to appreciate what our planet provides us. Kaplan goes into the argument that we have been so blind to the wonders of the world that we forgot to appreciate all the beauty it holds. The author motivates the importance of protecting our planet by dwelling on how long organisms have been alive on this planet. She states that for millions of years all or most species have been tackled by climate change yet, we as a collective can look back on the past and succumb to the same problems. However, Kaplan also insinuates the idea that although our life might come to an end, life on this planet will continue just like how it has been doing for all these years.

The publication reads like a short story that evokes the empathetic sides of readers to take a new perspective at the way the United States and other nations are tackling Climate change. The intended audience is educated individuals who share a collective belief in protecting the planet. One could also say that the audience is also those who do not believe in climate change because the whole article comes off as persuasive as it tries to get in touch with the reader’s emotional side and evoke a feeling of guilt. Moreover; because the Washington post publicized this article we can definitely state that the article is targeting male and female progressive thinkers of all races as it wants to reach the general audience to spread its message of collective unity. There are some political ideas being shared in the article specifically when Kaplan is talking about how the United States is the largest source of cumulative greenhouse gases yet they refused to cooperate on climate change mitigation. Therefore, we can state that the article is talking to mostly a democratic audience that care about enviromental disasters. Lastly, we could state that the author is also targeting other geologists to share her experience on a marvel of the world which was exploring the Burgess Shale which has been said to be a beautiful piece of history for anyone to work on.

The main development of the article is surrounded by the idea of unity and how we as a race need to form a solution for climate change. The author knows that we know about climate change but she dislikes how separated our solutions are she wants unity and urges us to see how naive we have all been when it comes to how climate change has affected other species in the past. ““We’re losing things we don’t even know about,” Sues says. “If we don’t understand this world, if we don’t appreciate how this world came into being, how can we be capable stewards of it?” The article is really more of a call to action on preventing our world from becoming more corrupted than it already is. However, the author does throw in a shock to the reader when she states that we already have the materials needed to prevent climate change yet we lack the willpower to place any of the actions into effect. This all together accomplishes the author to share a motivating call to action where unity is the solution.

Kaplan is sharing the idea that we as a collective need to prevent our world from collapsing because we’ve only just begun to explore it. The only barrier we face as a race is motivation and the endurance to finally begin to change our habits that damaged our earth in the first place. Several articles and studies share the same common idea of how climate change is affecting the world negativly. However, most of the articles shared are also posted by the same publication the washington post. Moreover, the facts stated by Kaplan are not shoved directly into the readers face like an eye sore but they are strategically and almost perfeclty blended into the article so that you dont feel smothered by all the negativity. 

Aspects of the text that stand out are moments where she does not talk about climate change but moments of her experience with the burgess shale. She hopes to appease her audience not by cramming their face full of facts and details about climate change but by talking about how mysterious our world really is and how we just began to explore it. By letting climate change take over we are leaving this mysterious world behind and are thus giving up its beauty without a fight. This outside talk about the burgess shale appeals to the reader by being different than the other articles that state only facts because Kaplan does a great job at reaching towards the reader’s emotions. Throughout the article Kaplan makes the reader feel morally obligated to change their habits through the use of phrases like “we already know” and “what a profound responsibility.” She is not directly telling us what she wants us to believe but is implying a sense of connection and accountability for the damage climate change has done.

On December 6, 2019, Sarah Kaplan through The Washington Post published “Ghosts of the Future.” Kaplan is a climate and science reporter for the Washington Post. She treaded on the Yoho National Park reserve to investigate the Burgess Shale. The Topic addressed at hand is a complex thought of how we should begin to appreciate what our planet provides us. Kaplan goes into the argument that we have been so blind to the wonders of the world that we forgot to appreciate all the beauty it beholds. The author motivates the importance of protecting our planet by dwelling on how long organisms have been alive on this planet. She states that for millions of years all or most species have been tackled by climate change yet, we can look back on the past and succumb to the same problems. However, Kaplan also insinuates the idea that although our life might come to an end, life on this planet will continue just like how it has been doing for all these years.

The Final Rhetorical Analysis

The publication reads like a short story that evokes the empathetic sides of readers to take a new perspective on the way the United States and other nations are tackling Climate change. The intended audience is educated individuals who share a collective belief in protecting the planet. One could also say that the audience is also those who do not believe in climate change because the whole article comes off as persuasive as it tries to get in touch with the reader’s emotional side and evokes a feeling of guilt. Moreover; because The Washington publicized this article we can state that the article is targeting male and female progressive thinkers of all races as it wants to reach the general audience to spread its message of collective unity. Some political ideas are being shared in the article specifically when Kaplan is talking about how the United States is the largest source of cumulative greenhouse gases yet they refused to cooperate on climate change mitigation. Therefore, we can state that the article is talking to mostly a democratic audience that cares about environmental disasters. We can infer that Kaplan is targeting a democratic audience as we know the democratic party is for the Paris accords and other environmentally friendly plans. Lastly, we could state that the author is also targeting other geologists to share her experience on a marvel of the world which was exploring the Burgess Shale which has been said to be a beautiful piece of history for anyone to work on.

The main development of the article is surrounded by the idea of unity and how we as a race need to form a solution for climate change. Kaplan knows that we know about climate change but she dislikes how separated our solutions are; Kaplan wants unity and urges us to see how naive we have all been when it comes to how climate change has affected other species in the past. “We’re losing things we don’t even know about,” Sues says. “If we don’t understand this world if we don’t appreciate how this world came into being, how can we be capable stewards of it?” The article is more of a call to action on preventing our world from becoming more corrupted than it already is. However, the author does throw in a shock to the reader when she states that we already have the materials needed to prevent climate change yet we lack the willpower to place any of the actions into effect. This all together accomplishes the author to share a motivating call to action where unity is the solution.

Kaplan is sharing the idea that we as a collective need to prevent our world from collapsing because we’ve only just begun to explore it. The only barrier we face as a race is a motivation and the endurance to finally begin to change our habits that damaged our earth in the first place. Several articles and studies addressed in the passage share the same common idea of how climate change is affecting the world negatively. However, most of the articles shared are also posted by the same media outlet The Washington Post. The similarity within the scholarly articles share can be biased and provide information that is mixed with opinions. Moreover, the facts stated by Kaplan are not shoved directly into the reader’s face like an eyesore but they are strategically and almost perfectly blended into the article so that you dont feel smothered by all the negativity. 

Aspects of the text that stand out are moments where she does not talk about climate change but moments of her experience with the burgess shale. She hopes to appease her audience not by cramming their face full of facts and details about climate change but by talking about how mysterious our world works and how we just began to explore it. By letting climate change take over we are leaving this mysterious world behind and are thus giving up its beauty without a fight. This outside talk about the burgess shale appeals to the reader by being different than the other articles that state only facts because Kaplan does a great job at reaching towards the reader’s emotions. Throughout the article Kaplan makes the reader feel morally obligated to change their habits through the use of phrases like “we already know” and “what a profound responsibility.” She is not directly telling us what she wants us to believe but is implying a sense of connection and accountability for the damage climate change has done.

In more ways than one, Margaret Atwood’s The Tent and “Ghosts of the Future” are more related than one might think. Margaret Atwood is a renowned writer with several publications and novels written throughout her lifetime. In her emotional novel, The Tent Atwood creates an emotional setting where a writer is left in the woods alone with only a candle and a pen the writer with no other purpose wrote every second of their experience because there was nothing else they knew how to do. 

The emotional read targets men and women with a goal to persevere in the face of danger and judgment.  The Tent describes the story of a lost writer who is left to fend for himself will do the only thing they know-how. When faced with danger and the paper tent began to burn down to a crisp the writer continued to write regardless of the consequence. Moreover, one can argue that Atwood targets a reader who is afraid of pursuing their goals. This is because of the quote “Your afraid for yourself but also for those you love.” This quote displays how someone might be hesitant to let someone into their life because of how fragile their mental space is. The overall goal is to share a message to people who are afraid of outsiders who might judge them and negatively influence them against their passions. 

The “tent” is symbolic of a person’s life; made out of paper it is fragile and supported solely by the one inside of it protected from the dangers of outsiders. Once the collapse of the tent occurs the person inside is faced to fend for themselves against all other forces with no aid around the person inside is left to continue on with their journey against all odds. One might think that their journey is over because of the collapse of the tent the person inside continued to write their story despite being completely abandoned and alone. 

Atwood creates an emotional setting through the use of imagery and suspense although there is never an actual threat present within the story the progression and suspense lead the reader to believe that the writer is in constant danger even at the end of the story the writer is never directly attached or hurt but is fearful to see what lies ahead now that his present is gone. 

This idea of perseverance and strength is related to Kaplan’s call to action which invokes a passion for environmentalism inside the reader. Kaplan’s motivational passage, as well as Atwood’s moving story both, insinuate the idea of moving forward and pursuing our goals in the face of certain defeat. Our world is similar to “the tent”, it is fragile, small, and finite. Although we might think that our tent will hold us up forever, we eventually will have to face our consequences, and just like in Atwood’s story we must continue to do work in the face of fear.

Both of these authors share similar strategies for motivating the reader through emotions and not through direct words that convey these emotions. For instance Kaplan and Atwood both invoke a message to pursue one’s passion. In the world of environmentalism, many people might attempt to mix up their mindset by stating their opinions on one’s own beliefs but just like in Atwood’s story one should continue on their own journey because they want to and not because they feel pressured to. Both of these passages share common instances of passion and motivation through one’s own will and not because one is forced. 

Conclusively a story on environmentalism and a novel on fear and passion are similar in strategic ways of invoking passion by implementing things like facts, personal experiences, and relatable emotional connections. Altogether two stories with two separate structures share a similar message on passion and perseverance.

Citations

Kaplan, Sarah. “Ghosts of the Future.” Washington Post, 6 Dec. 2019,   www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/12/06/ghosts-future

Washington Post. “Sarah Kaplan.” Washington Post, www.washingtonpost.com/people/sarah-kaplan   

Biography. Margaret Atwood. (2019, December 19). Retrieved October 19, 2021, from http://margaretatwood.ca/biography/.  

Atwood, M. (2007). The tent. Random House.