Rhetorical Analysis Example

Avy Estudiante

Scott Whitington

English 1010

04 April 2017

Too High A Price To Pay

Without doubt most people over sixteen years of age drive a car. Our entire population feels the burning sting in their wallet as gas prices continue to rise. Our entire economy is dependent on cheap transportation— all those cheap products from China wouldn’t be cheap if the enormous transport ships starting charging double due to fuel costs.  Why has the price of gas seemed to spike recently? Could it have something to do with the weakening of the U.S. dollar, inflation, or commodities trading? It’s possible, but like most items, oil prices are affected by supply and demand. There is speculation that the current rising prices may be attributed to the turmoil in the Middle East. Kimberly Amadeo, who has 20 years experience in economic analysis, confirms this on her blog. Her blog on About.com states that “high oil prices were caused by investors' fears about unrest in Libya and Egypt.” Both Libya and Egypt are members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, commonly referred to as OPEC. There is a specific piece of rhetoric making a number of claims on this issue: the “Petrocide” t-shirt is a powerful satirical image.

                                      

This piece of rhetoric, in the medium of a t-shirt, was made to appeal to young, progressive men and women who strive for change in both society and government. This shirt should also identify with most people on certain levels, like the average American driver for instance. It presents its stated claim with a graphic image of a featureless human figure literally committing suicide with a gasoline nozzle on the center right of the t-shirt’s front. Its implied claim is that gas prices can lead people to commit suicide; this is very interesting whether viewed on a global or national level. This shirt is not only drawing on certain economical stressors and their relation to suicide, but it may also be addressing other deaths associated with the power struggle for oil and gas. Yet another thing we could surmise is perhaps it is an environmental statement addressing how we are held hostage by gasoline by both the prices and our reliance. So on some level it is suggesting a person seek alternate modes of transportation that benefits both their wallet and piece of mind. A figure of a man stands on a green background holding a gas nozzle to his head like a pistol; the figure blows out his brains with the nozzle of the gas pump. Sharp white lines and scattered dots come shooting out the other side of his head representing the splatter in this death by petroleum. The four glaring dollar signs in the window of the gas pump help deliver this shirt’s shock and its wit. The whiteness of the pump and figure contrast nicely compared to the green of the background. The green on the shirt no doubt symbolizing greed or environmentalism, and is making a statement about the negative aspects of gasoline or the benefits of freeing one’s self from it. The white perhaps represents emptiness or an inability to stand against it, though innocence or purity of its victims could be another possibility.

This shirt’s image presents itself solely as a joke since logically a person cannot commit suicide with a gasoline pump without some form of ignition or treat the nozzle as a pistol in hopes of reaching some sort of end. This would be considered some form of fallacy, either a visual non sequitur due to the conveyed action not following its premise or an oversimplification as it leaves out relevant considerations. Despite, if fallacious presentation, it does relay an interesting assertion relating to logos, an appeal to logic that is extremely difficult to ignore. It is true that many strains in life often lead to suicide and these strains can often factor in a variety of social or economic stressors, though they’re mostly attributed to economic factors such as job loss or debt. According Jonathan Harris of the Huffington Post among others, this established pattern between economic strain and suicide has been observed in the United States since the Great Depression were “the suicide rate increased by 21 percent in the early 1930s.” Though the rising of gas prices add a significant amount of economic strain, the evidence to support a direct correlation with suicide seems lacking unless you take into account how gas prices effect the prices of other trade goods. An implied claim also addresses the plight of many people in oil rich countries like Iraq and Libya. Many die so our supply of gasoline remains intact. Whether due to over exaggeration or perhaps an image with a ringing of truth behind it, this t-shirt presents a picture that its target audience should find both disturbing and illuminating.

This t-shirt image’s strongest appeal to support its claim is pathos, an emotional appeal to its audience. As this shirt addresses both the topic of death and gas prices, an overwhelming wave of mixed emotions among both the target audience and broad audience in relation to the imagery is both complicated and expected. Its target audience should find its morbid imagery somewhat humorous, as combines its social commentary and ironic wit to create a dark, visual satirical image. It exaggerates its stated claim with very little basis in reality and presents an interesting idea that gasoline—the livelihood of this country— could very well be the death of us whether literally or economically. The dually implied claim that gasoline is associated with suicide and other deaths may make its target audience feel hopeful, like they are making a difference in the world. They would more inclined to buy in terms of helping communicate this message that gasoline does contribute to death in some way and that perhaps something should be done to help rectify it. The shirt’s broader audience is harder to define in terms of emotion. Some will be overwhelmed with their frustration and the anger one initially feels over the shirt’s context in its relation to gasoline. Others may be offended by the imagery itself and how it relates to suicide in particular. While it could be considered edgy and fun in some peoples’ eyes, it could also be considered irreverent in someone else’s with its graphic depiction of violence. This very depiction of violence may be where this piece of rhetoric’s emotional appeal is weakened as it could potentially alienate its broader audience who cannot see the deeper meaning presented by the shirt’s author and publisher.

The publisher of this t-shirt, NorthernSun.com, doesn’t provide much in ways to appeal to ethos, a character’s authority or reputation, to support their claim. In fact, their own proposed authority is over the making of fine witty novelty goods. Appealing mostly to a liberal audience with a biased sense of moral certitude, their site mostly contains novelty goods leaning towards the progressive that should appeal to its target audience of young progressive men and women, though its broader appeal may not mesh well with this particular source, as some would find it contemptuous or sophomoric. This website establishes political, economical and environmental arguments and rhetoric through various mediums, like the position taken up with this t-shirt over current gas prices. Therefore taking this site’s authority on the matter would be suspect. This publisher does not have the appropriate qualifications or the right observational attitude for addressing social and economic issues such as the claim they have made with this t-shirt on the issue of gas prices. Though while arguably an expert in exhibiting humor on various platforms, this website should be considered a false authority as its credibility comes into question regarding its actual knowledge of socioeconomic cause and effect.

After analyzing the T-shirts claims through the appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos, this argument presents itself rather strongly despite its lack of authority. It is clear that this piece of rhetoric’s emotional appeal played the greatest role in the effectiveness of this argument. This image’s impact plays off both the stated and implied claims of the image, and could elicit a variety of responses from both its primary and secondary audiences, depending how they interpret the image’s context and the symbolic meaning behind it. Its logical appeal is also warranted due to the underlying truths it presents in the causation between gasoline and death. Unfortunately, the anonymity of the author and the bias of the publisher prevent it being truly noteworthy as the issue of trust comes into question. Still, its emotional conviction and logical backbone make this piece of rhetoric something that is not easily forgotten.

Works Cited

Amadeo, Kimberly. “Why Gas Prices Are So High.” U.S. Economy. About.com,

03 March 2011. Web. 29 March 2011.

Harris, Jonathan Daniel. “Suicide Rate Up Since Recession Began, Debt A ‘Way Of

Life’ For 99ers.” Huffpost Impact. Huffington Post, 24 Sep. 2010. Web.

29 March 2011.