Alec Mallery Essays - Firearms, Gun Politics, Communication

Alec Mallery Katie O'Neill WRTG 105 6 November 2017 Pro-gun rhetorical analysis Gun control has been a highly debated topic recently because of the recent tragedies involving firearms. This ad depicts a teacher holding a gun and text on the chalkboard saying, "If you trust me with 30 children you should trust me with 30 bullets.". The purpose of this ad is to say that if parents trust the teacher to be with their child that they should also trust the teacher to be equipped with a firearm to protect them in case of a school shooting. A pro-gun website was the creator of this ad and their motivation for making this was in response to multiple ad's that depicted children and suggested stricter gun control laws. This ad is promoting pro-gun laws and teachers being able to be equipped with firearms in schools. The target audience of this ad would be the people in favor of anti-gun laws that would take guns away from people that have the opportunity to protect others in case of an emergency. Through the use of imagery and the text that is depicted, it promotes teacher s being able to protect their students with guns. One of the rhetorical strategies used is through the use of the text on the chalkboard. The text affects the ad by evoking an emotional response from the audience when they see this ad. The ad is using the text to inform the reader that if they trust the teacher enough to send their child to school to be with them, they should trust the teacher enough to have a gun to be able to protect their child. This is effective because it makes the audience realize that if you trust them to be around your child, you should also trust them to carry a firearm in the case of an emergency such as a school shooter in the building. If the teacher were to be carrying a gun like depicted in the ad, the teacher might be able to take out the threat while keeping the children safe and preventing a tragedy. If the text was taken out of the ad it would have a different meaning. When the text is there the audience knows what the main purpose of the ad is and that is a trusted teacher should be able to carry a gun. If the text was removed the ad would have very different meaning because there would just be a woman holding a gun in front of a child which could be mistaken for something else. The tone of the text is a very serious. The reason why it is serious is because it could be life or death. The teacher could possibly save someone with a gun, but without a gun the teacher is just as powerless as the children. This is how the text of the ad affects the meaning of the ad and evokes emotion from the audience. The last rhetorical strategy used in the ad is imagery. The teacher holding the gun is what stands out and what the eyes are drawn too when you first look at the ad. Guns can either represent violence or protection and in this case the gun is representing protection for the teacher and the kids the teacher is responsible for. Kids being depicted in the ad evokes the emotion of fear from the audience because children represent good and innocence and in the event of a shooter an unarmed teacher would not be able to protect those children. The use of the colors black and white can imply that there is a yes or no answer. The ad suggests that if the parents trust the teacher they should also trust them to have a gun but if they do not trust the teacher they should not be having that teacher teach them. The teacher is starring straight into the camera at the audience with a neutral expression which helps connect with the audience. The last image represents something is the picture of Georg e Washington on the right side of the ad. This was intended to be placed there because it represents the constitution and the second amendment which is the right to