Rhetorical Analysis of a Scientist: “I Am the Enemy”
Between the life of an animal and that of a human being, which one is more valuable than the other from an ethical point of view? This is an ethical dilemma that medical research experts have been contemplating over for many years. It is an issue that has subjected them to cruel criticism from animal rights activists. In his article, a scientist: “I am the enemy” Ron Kline analyses the dilemma they face as medical researchers and how a section of the society, primarily animal rights activists, reacts to the nature of their job. Ron points out that Medical researchers have been labeled as individuals who inflict torture and pain on animals for the sole reason of developing their careers, while the truth of the matter is that these individuals perform their duties to the best of their abilities given the passion and sympathy they have for well being of humanity in general. Ron further points out the inadequacy presented by the suggested alternatives, like the use of computer simulation instead of performing the actual experiment. Utilization of such alternatives will result in underutilization of the available resources, thereby stagnating medical advancement. In this paper, I will analyze how Ron Kline uses the three artistic proofs, which are ethos, pathos, and logos, in presenting such an emotional and convincing article.
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The first strategy employed by Ron Kline is an emotional appeal in which he states in the first paragraph that he became a pediatrician out of his love for children. He adds that while he was in school, he saw a considerable number of children succumb to prematurity, leukemia, and traumatic injury (Kline, 1). However, through medical research, a significant number of death cases resulting from these life conditions have been reduced through the development of new surgical techniques, potent antibiotics, and infant respirators. In spite of these developments and healthcare improvements made as a result of excellence in medical research, experts in this field are still being labeled as the enemy to the society. By outlining how unjust and unfair the society is treating medical experts despite their immense contribution in enhancing life Ron emotionally appeal to his audience
The second strategy that Ron employs in his argument is the use of facts. In the fourth paragraph, he states that much is made from the pain that animals are subjected to in medical research. Nonetheless, such pain cannot be compared with what humans undergo through when their toddlers sink into the bottom of a swimming pool while they were busy with the hectic and demanding survival-related duties. Additionally, Teenagers get thrown from the back of a pickup truck and suffer severe head injuries. He further adds in the eighth paragraph that parents are always grieved with the demise of their children, a reality that the majority of us are shielded from, and only doctors like him are exposed to (Kline, 3)
The third strategy that Ron utilizes in this article is establishing credibility. Ron Kline tries to convince his audience on the need for the use of animals in medical research by stating out how much it means for the survival and well being of humanity in the current generation and future generation. In the sixth paragraph, he states that some suggested alternatives to the use of animals in medical research like a computer simulation can never be as effective and efficient as the use of animals in medical research. Such alternatives result in underutilization of the available resources and will negatively impact the well being of humanity for years. The fundamental biological process that might have been developed will not be developed, drugs that might have been developed will not be developed, and surgical techniques that might have been developed will not be developed (Kline, 2).
The fourth strategy that Ron utilizes in presenting his argument to the audience in a coherent manner is creating a personal level connection with the audience. In the seventh paragraph, he states that fortunately enough for most of his audience together with him, they enjoy good health and rarely experiences the trauma of watching their children die. He further states that they should all be thankful and appreciative of both the good life they enjoy and the advances that make it possible (Kline, 2). Though Ron himself had witnessed children die of diseases such as leukemia and traumatic injuries earlier in his life while still at school, he lowers his level of experience to that of his audience to implore them on the need for being appreciative and thankful of the success the humanity is enjoying.
In conclusion, Ron Kline effectively applies several rhetorical strategies in presenting a coherent and convincing argument to his audience. It is no doubt that the article is convincing as it should be. Still, I feel there is room for improvement in this article. If Ron could have added real-time statistics, it would have been more appealing than it is. This essay makes me contemplate on how ungrateful humanity is. It is only through medical research that the majority of us enjoy good health; still, we find it easy to criticize and label medical research experts as evil human beings. It calls for a close reassessment of our values and culture as humanity. The safety and lives of all human beings should precede the safety of any other animal in the universe.
Work Cited
Kline, Ron. “A scientist: “i am the enemy.” 2019, p. 3, www.csus.edu/indiv/t/tanakar/eng20/i%20am%20the%20enemy.htm. Accessed 2020.
