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Techniques Used In Michael Levin's The Case For Torture

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In Michael Levin’s “The Case for Torture”, he uses many cases of emotional appeal to persuade the reader that torture is necessary in extreme cases. There are many terms/statements that stick with the reader throughout the essay so that they will have more attachment to what is being said. Levin is particularly leaning to an audience based in the United States because he uses an allusion to reference an event that happened within the states and will better relate to the people that were impacted by it. The emotional appeals used in this essay are used for the purpose of persuading the reader to agree that in extreme instances torture is necessary and the United States should begin considering it as a tactic for future cases of extremity. One major eye catching factor of this essay is the repetitive use of words that imply certain stigmas. Levin uses words that will automatically create a feel of moral and the lack there of. He …show more content…

The word terrorist attaches to every part of this essay so that the reader will view them in a negative light and become persuaded to believe that torture is a necessary action to perform on them (terrorists). The word innocent also attaches to every part of this essay to make the reader become a defender to those “who never asked to be in danger”. This word (innocent) also connects with the word baby because whenever a person thinks about a baby the adjectives that are associated with it are helpless, unknowing, innocent, and unaware to the danger that surrounds them. This connection is made because the one thing any (moral) human being would care about over their own self would be their children. Levin uses this connection so that it is very relatable to the audience’s everyday life and the emotional appeal is able to have more influence since it is a scenario any

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