Rhetorical Analysis of “Life as an Undocumented Immigrant”
The article “Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” argues to convince the reader that illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay in the country as long as they are hard working. The author tell his account of being an undocumented immigrant in the attempt to gain empathy from the reader and convince them that he should be allowed to stay in the United States.
The author tries to paint himself in an innocent light throughout the article so he doesn 't look like a criminal. The article starts off with the author being awoken and sent on a plane with someone he thought was his uncle with no real grasp of the situation. This is used to show that it wasn 't his idea to come to America illegally …show more content…
He mentions how guilty it makes him feel and how he has to live in a different kind of reality because he is an undocumented citizen. To me it seems like he might be trying to justify his actions by using the excuse that he is living in this other reality where normal rules do not apply. I believe that the situation he found himself in should be taken into consideration when considering the crimes he has committed however that does not mean they can be ignored. I believe the message of being forced into crime is also used to entice the reader to consider the limited options a illegal immigrant has. They can turn to a life of crime and doing what they must to stay in the country or turn themselves in which will most likely lead to being deported. If they are deported they will be losing everything they have worked for in this country which is in a way like losing their own life so they really don 't have a choice when committing these …show more content…
His grandfather helped him alter his Social Security card and then make copies so he could get work. A teacher changed the destination of a choir trip to somewhere in the United States so he could go without a passport. He gets a private scholarship that pays for all his college after a recommendation from his principal. Peter Perl who is a veteran magazine writer becomes his mentor and gives him advice on what to do about his immigration status. All of these people are mentioned along with the actions they take to help the author. I believe that this might be an attempt to persuade the reader with the bandwagon fallacy. He wants the reader to get the misconception that all these individuals are helping him so the reader is in someway obligated to help so they won 't be left out.
After reading this article I am inclined to believe that the author should be allowed to stay in the United States because of all the hard work he put in. Although I am aware that the article gives a very narrow view of illegal immigrants and deliberately leaves out any negative connotations of illegal immigration. There is little to no logical basis to the argument that he should be allowed to stay in the United States but the emotional appeal is so great that it is enough to convince
The article “Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” argues to convince the reader that illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay in the country as long as they are hard working. The author tell his account of being an undocumented immigrant in the attempt to gain empathy from the reader and convince them that he should be allowed to stay in the United States.
The author tries to paint himself in an innocent light throughout the article so he doesn 't look like a criminal. The article starts off with the author being awoken and sent on a plane with someone he thought was his uncle with no real grasp of the situation. This is used to show that it wasn 't his idea to come to America illegally …show more content…
He mentions how guilty it makes him feel and how he has to live in a different kind of reality because he is an undocumented citizen. To me it seems like he might be trying to justify his actions by using the excuse that he is living in this other reality where normal rules do not apply. I believe that the situation he found himself in should be taken into consideration when considering the crimes he has committed however that does not mean they can be ignored. I believe the message of being forced into crime is also used to entice the reader to consider the limited options a illegal immigrant has. They can turn to a life of crime and doing what they must to stay in the country or turn themselves in which will most likely lead to being deported. If they are deported they will be losing everything they have worked for in this country which is in a way like losing their own life so they really don 't have a choice when committing these …show more content…
His grandfather helped him alter his Social Security card and then make copies so he could get work. A teacher changed the destination of a choir trip to somewhere in the United States so he could go without a passport. He gets a private scholarship that pays for all his college after a recommendation from his principal. Peter Perl who is a veteran magazine writer becomes his mentor and gives him advice on what to do about his immigration status. All of these people are mentioned along with the actions they take to help the author. I believe that this might be an attempt to persuade the reader with the bandwagon fallacy. He wants the reader to get the misconception that all these individuals are helping him so the reader is in someway obligated to help so they won 't be left out.
After reading this article I am inclined to believe that the author should be allowed to stay in the United States because of all the hard work he put in. Although I am aware that the article gives a very narrow view of illegal immigrants and deliberately leaves out any negative connotations of illegal immigration. There is little to no logical basis to the argument that he should be allowed to stay in the United States but the emotional appeal is so great that it is enough to convince