Check out this article here: It's Time to Revisit Trump's History with Women
This article addresses an ongoing controversy and problem that is facing America and the world today: sexual assault. As of recently, victims of sexual assault have been coming out and accusing their assaulters of what they did. This started with accusations focused on those in Hollywood, such as Harvey Weinstein who was one of the first accused, with many to follow. With so many brave victims coming forward, it is starting a movement for others to call out these people who have sexually assaulted others. The author of this article, David Cohen believes all the allegations that deal with Trump assaulting women should be called into question. Cohen often uses informal diction as he addresses the matter and talks to the audience like they are there by using 'we.' Along with this, he uses short sentences and dashes as well that give off an informal diction in the article. This is shown when he adds "As a country, we didn't listen to those women last year" (Cohal). By adding this he creates a bond with the reader to connect with them as if they are mutuals, or friends. In addition to this, this shows his emotional attachment as he is stating how they, as Americans ignored those women when they shouldn't have, as this article tells how sexual assault should be addressed now. He uses short sentences as well that include words that convey an informal tone because of how short and brief they are: "And then there's politics" (Cohan). This is a way someone would talk to friends, making it informal. This also shows his criticizing tone as he introduces the topic in a way where it is worded to where the reader sees what follows the sentence will be negative. Cohen's emotional attachment is shown through: "Amid this seemingly massive culture shift around sexual harassment, assault and abuse, the brave women who have come forward with allegations against Trump deserve to be trusted as well" (Cohan). By including this statement that compliments the women who have come forward and talks about how them coming forward is a cultural shift, it conveys his positive viewpoints on this change, and his emotional involvement that is proud and criticizing as he calls for questioning of the President, and others. The author's tone is critical and optimistic as well. He shows a critical tone because of how he calls out the President for being the victim of many allegations of sexual assault, and others in America. Cohan writes, "All told, at least 16 women have accused Trump of harassment, assault or other abusive sexual behavior" (Cohan). After this, he states how Trump "...denied all those claims, at one point suggesting some of his accusers were too unattractive for him to have assaulted" (Cohan) calls Trump into question by criticizing what he did. In addition, he follows with criticizing Americans as he says how Americans ignored these allegations. The optimistic tone is shown by how he tells that the sexual assault is a big, pressing issue in the United States. He shows this by including "We're in the midst of a unique moment in modern history. Women are speaking up about the mistreatment they've suffered at the hands of powerful men – and people are actually listening" (Cohan). By adding this and then following the rest of the article with reasons why this is an important change, he implies an optimistic tone as he wants this to continue and to create positive change. Other rhetorical devices David Cohan appeals to is ethos and pathos. He appeals to ethos by inserting "As The New York Times reported last year, Trump is accused of sexually assaulting a woman on an airplane" (Cohan). By including this, he establishes credibility in his article by showing that this issue involving the President has indeed happened, and has happened multiple times as well. This also gives him evidence to show how this is an issue that needs to be reported and talked about more. In addition, it appeals to ethos because it is from the New York Times, a trusted and accredited news source. He appeals to pathos as well by adding "Trump has freely admitted that he would enter the dressing room at Miss Teen USA beauty pageants, with some contestants as young as 14" (Cohan). This is used to illicit an angry and scared response from readers, especially parents; this makes them angry that he did an act like this to children and scared that someone with as much power as Donald Trump would choose to do this. The author's purpose is to inform readers about the sexual assault allegations that have been surfacing, especially ones about the President. Along with this, he gives a call to action to push this change in culture to be mainstream, the change of women standing up and coming forward with their stories of sexual assault. His purpose is to aid other women in coming forward and to let America except and embrace this change. This is shown directly through the text in this excerpt: "We're in the midst of a unique moment in modern history. Women are speaking up about the mistreatment they've suffered at the hands of powerful men – and people are actually listening. Whether the end result will be a backlash or a radical reconfiguration of power dynamics in the workforce is yet to be seen, but there's no denying that something new is happening regarding sexual harassment, assault and abuse" (Cohan). This illustrates his purpose to inform about the sexual assault and change as he tells how this is a change in history. In addition, it shows his encouragement of women coming forward as he talks about this change in a positive light and how people are actually listening. Along with this it shows his want for people to support this by saying how this is something new and important that is happening in America. By writing this opinion, he wants to achieve a culture that accepts women coming forward and one that holds men accountable for what they have done. The worth of this argument and purpose is large because it deals with a serious negative topic, sexual assault. This purpose is important because it encourages women to come forward, for America is acknowledge this change in culture (of women coming forward and men being held accountable), and to inform the world of those who have been accused of such horrible acts.
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