Apocalypse Rhetorical Analysis

The Article, Cheer up, it’s only the end of the world states that there are two major threats to the world which could lead to an apocalypse: nuclear extermination and environmental extinction. World War I started the nuclear age in history and “novelist Ken Vonnegut lamented that the threat of nuclear war had robbed us of plain old death…” (pg.2). America had a new fear that this would lead to the end of everything, “final destruction of the world”. (pg. 2). Environmental extinction is the second major threat and also known as, “history’s first slow motion apocalypse” (pg.2). Climate change is slowly approaching the world more often. “Melting glaciers, open water arctic seas, smog blinding Chinese cities increasingly powerful storms, and prolonged droughts” (pg. 3) are examples of the environmental effects causing issues. The thoughts behind these ideas can be better understood with an analysis of the article. …show more content…
The rhetorical appeal used in the article is pathos because it scares the readers with the threat of an apocalypse and how they are not being addressed as a priority to try and prevent. People no longer think about dying the simple traditional death of old age. People now see dying via apocalypse, either all at once in a catastrophic event or dying of slow environmental extinction. Chernus writes about climate change and its effects on the world. Without proper attention, it will eventually start to kill people off from lack of resources or something being environmentally