Incarceration And Social Inequality Rhetorical Analysis

The United States was created with the intentions of equality for all its citizens. Author Bruce Western & Becky Pettit of “Incarceration & Social Inequality” argue that equality seems to come to an end when it applies to prisoners. Incarcerations rates in the recent years have soared, the authors assert that these rising numbers have created a new social group of disadvantaged individuals. Most importantly this group is predominantly composed of African American men with no of little high school education. When someone is labelled a felon many limitations are placed on the individual to the extent that he or she has a difficult time converging back into society. Benefits that are critical to survival in this society are stripped away leaving these individuals homeless, jobless, and without food. Western & Pettit successful uses ethos, logos, and pathos to persuade their audience that social inequality produced by mass incarceration of African American men with limited education …show more content…
They then procced to write about how mass incarceration relates to inequality and how this effects the lives individuals labeled as a felon and their families.
Throughout their article, Western & Becky uses many strong sources that strengthen their credibility and appeal to ethos, as well as structuring their argument. The sources include, “Punishment and inequality in America”, “Race, Crime, and Finding Work in an Era of Mass Incarceration”, “Citizenship and Social class” and many more other sources. By citing these sources, the author maintains their credibility by showing that they have indeed done their research on the subject