David Suzuki is a Canadian scholar and an environmentalist. Born in 1936, Suzuki has been a great scientist known for the campaigns of a sustainable environment. Suzuki has written many articles and books that have been noticed to intrigue the public with his words and form of writing (Suzuki, p2). This essay will focus on the analysis of three of David’s writings. The first article goes by the title, get your kids way from the screen to the green. This was an article that appeared in the western star column on 30/09/12.
The second article: Climate change deniers are almost extinct was also written by the same author and featured in the western star magazine on 25/08/12. The third article has the title are plastic bags necessary and was also located in the western star magazine on 5/08/12. One style of writing that is manifested in all the three articles by David Suzuki is the use of the first person point of view, specifically the use of the word “we”. David uses this word in his entire articles to draw the attention into his articles.
He uses this world to share in his thoughts and also make them engaged in his work through the deep connection created between the readers and the author. This makes the reader feel that there is a need to work together with David or rather that they should be together in the context (Gaskel, p12). For instance in the first article, Get your kids away from the screen, David says,” what we need to do is to encourage them… We need to make sure… ” This makes the reader feel involved in what needs to be done to the children. In the second article, climate change, David says, “we can all work to reduce our individual impact, but we can….
Here the readers are reminded that all activities by everyone on the planet have an impact on climate change. In the third article, David says,” if we have any hope of finding… We have to learn to use our resources efficiently. Still in this article the use of the world we, makes the reader feel involved in the need for better resource utilization (Western Star Magazine). The use of logos is evident and common in all the works of David. In his articles, David clearly brings out reason or rational that aims to convince the readers of his points of view.
According to Joyce (p 4) logos is based on facts or evidence some of which are the works of other writers. In the first article, David uses surveys conducted by his Foundation and the Kaiser family foundation to estimate that 70% of children are found indoors instead of out. He goes on to say that kids are affected by Facebook and other indoor activities instead of getting dirty outside, which is contributed by parents. In the second article, David points out that sign of global warming has been experienced in the world. “heat record is being broken down… scientists say the situation is… “.
An the article, about plastics bags, David point out to birds having bellies full of plastics. He also points out to the number of plastic bags consumed in Canada. “Canadians use between 9-15 billion plastic bags per year. ” The use of logic in David’s work highlight the ethos is his work too, ethos, in this case, shows that the writer is aware and has a deep understanding of the topics he is writing about. If an author shows a clear understanding of the written work, then readers are convinced and believe in the message passed on (Joyce, p6). An instance of displayed ethos is evident in the first article.
The author uses his experience to show the readers that he knows what playing in the environment entails. He also forces the readers to remember their childhood. “when I was a kid… being outside made me happy… “. The use of first person narration is only seen in the first article but absent in the other two articles. Another common persuasive technique used by David Suzuki is the pathos. In his work David uses different ways that appeal to the emotion of the readers (Joyce, p 8). In the article get your kids away from the screen, his reflection as being a kid to bring out the excitement that comes with playing outside.
This feeling of adventures of children makes the parents see that they need to let their children play outside to enjoy a period full of joy and happiness. As a reader is reading this, he or she also remembers individual childhood days thus stirring out happy emotions. The author’s choice of words stirs up concerns and fears to the readers in the middle of the article. “The gap between the time spent inside and outside is widening… if we don’t, we will never raise… ” this helps create awareness of what readers are a parent should be aware and take action to avoid regrets.
In climate change article, David creates an appeal of fear by stating that global warming is real and has negative effects. “… global warming is real… it is too late to stop it now, but we can lessen the severity and the impacts. ” The rhetoric question on the title of the third article, are necessary plastic intrigues the reader and makes their minds full of curiosity (Grethlein, p20). The use of imagery is also evident in the articles by David Suzuki. In the articles, David uses familiar cases and setting to create the proper image to the readers.
This helps to bring out a clear picture of the meaning in his messages (Grethlein, p15). For instance, in the articles: get your kids away from the screen, David uses the image of a child playing in the natural environment to depict fun and adventure. In the article: climate change, David uses the drought, floods and melting ice to show the effect of global warming on earth. In the article: are plastics necessary, David uses the image of birds with full stomachs to demonstrate that plastics are non-biodegradable evident in the consumption of the birds” one bird had 454 pieces of plastic in its stomach”.
He also uses the grocery product carriage to reflect on man’s constant use of plastic bags. Much similarity is noticed in the three articles by David Suzuki. The use of ethos, logos and pathos are noticed to be similar to the work. David put out his message in a way that reaches all the readers and creates an effect that involves them and forms a deep connection with them. The other use of style such as imagery brings the message home with a clear understanding. The similarities in the articles can thus make us conclude that the one author, David Suzuki, has one voice.
