Rhetorical Analysis of “The Caging of America” The article “The Caging of America” is written By Adam Gopnik and published in the New Yorker. In his article Gopnik is discussing the relationship between mass incarceration, and criminal justice in America. He is also touching the current sad condition of prison rape, in American prisons. Gopnik is mainly talking about crime and their differences, and how mass incarceration is related to a crime. Gopnik also touches the history of America. And in this article he spends a couple of pages about the history, and the past. He starts with “How did we get here?” Which is like a wake-up call to his readers. He is comparing how crime rates and its punishment were back in the day then now. To support
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Because today it's well known that we lock more people up in America than any other country. And the reason the writer wrote about this topic is because today “mass incarceration on a scale almost unexampled in human history is a fundamental fact of our country today- perhaps the fundamental fact, as slavery was a fundamental fact in 1850.” (Gopnik) As Gopnik expressed in here too “In truth there are more black men in the grip of the criminal -justice system-- in prison, on probation, or on parole – than were in slavery then” He is claiming that this is who we were and this is where we are today. Which means that there were less men in prison in the past, then there are today. Because we as American trap more people in prison. He is saying mass incarceration defines us today, as slavery did in the history. And most people are not aware of this …show more content…
And secondly Gopnik is especially talking to upper and Mid-class white people, And here is, what he is saying to his privilege readers “for great many poor people in America, particularly poor black men, prison is destination that braids through and ordinary life, as much as high school and college do for rich white ones.” In this saying Gopnik is specifically pointing out to rich white people, saying that, this is what the kids of the people you live in the same country with go through. In his pathos, before he calms down his readers Gopnik is talking about the intolerable conditions in American prisons. By using this gripping evidence “There were about two hundred and twenty people incarcerated for every hundred thousand Americans” whereas, “This number had more than tripled from 2010.” so in this case Gopnik is indicating the severe situation of mass incarceration, by compering the American prisons to Soviet prisons. And this shocks his readers at first. But then as worldly-wise writer Gopnik is using this beautiful example “Most of the time in
Because today it's well known that we lock more people up in America than any other country. And the reason the writer wrote about this topic is because today “mass incarceration on a scale almost unexampled in human history is a fundamental fact of our country today- perhaps the fundamental fact, as slavery was a fundamental fact in 1850.” (Gopnik) As Gopnik expressed in here too “In truth there are more black men in the grip of the criminal -justice system-- in prison, on probation, or on parole – than were in slavery then” He is claiming that this is who we were and this is where we are today. Which means that there were less men in prison in the past, then there are today. Because we as American trap more people in prison. He is saying mass incarceration defines us today, as slavery did in the history. And most people are not aware of this …show more content…
And secondly Gopnik is especially talking to upper and Mid-class white people, And here is, what he is saying to his privilege readers “for great many poor people in America, particularly poor black men, prison is destination that braids through and ordinary life, as much as high school and college do for rich white ones.” In this saying Gopnik is specifically pointing out to rich white people, saying that, this is what the kids of the people you live in the same country with go through. In his pathos, before he calms down his readers Gopnik is talking about the intolerable conditions in American prisons. By using this gripping evidence “There were about two hundred and twenty people incarcerated for every hundred thousand Americans” whereas, “This number had more than tripled from 2010.” so in this case Gopnik is indicating the severe situation of mass incarceration, by compering the American prisons to Soviet prisons. And this shocks his readers at first. But then as worldly-wise writer Gopnik is using this beautiful example “Most of the time in