Syrian Refugees Rhetorical Analysis

1a. The target audience for this article is United States citizens, particularly those who side with Democratic political views. I believe this because the article is about how the United States of America is responding to the Paris Attacks in regards to the admission of Syrian refugees into our country. The main focus of this piece is on the ideas some Republican leaders have shared that they believe to be the best way to handle this issue. By selectively shedding light on these chosen responses, the authors shows that he is writing to those who don’t agree with these Republicans, which is most commonly Democrats.
1b. The author has chosen to write to a fairly narrow audience. Those reading the article are likely to side with the opposing

This audience is addressed by citing historical evidence of the Holocaust. It is hard to argue with history, especially with an event as appalling as the Holocaust. By doing so the author is forcing this hostile audience to take a hard look at the similarities between that time period and present day. It is important to study history so that we can learn from mistakes and prevent that situation from happening again, which is the point the author tried to make by drawing this conclusion. The comparison to this atrocious time period also subliminally hints to the ethics of allowing refugees into the country because it is morally correct and would be the best way to show that we have learned enough from the Holocaust to attempt preventing another

The majority of this article is emotion appeals. The author draws the conclusion that the way the Republican leaders in the United States are responding to this refugee situation is a way of repeating history. The number inferences made between the current situation and the Holocaust pull at the audience’s emotions. The Holocaust is such an powerful part of history with extreme hate and tragedy that at the mere mention of the word “Holocaust” emotions are being affected. The author furthers this tug at emotions by mentioning the story of St. Louis, reminding the us that United States has turned away people in need before and forced them into a death by ignoring their need for help. He continues by mentioning the fact that in time of Jewish Refugees they were not violent. The Jewish Refugees were coming to our country, not to destroy but to find salvation from the terrors of their