Introduction
The three web pages selected for rhetorical analysis are based on the same subject, the infamous Bhopal Gas Tragedy. The first one is Sambhvana Clinic’s review of the consequences of the incident “The children of Dow’s chemicals”, the second is Somani Sengupta’s article “Decades Later, Toxic Sludge Torments Bhopal.” And the third is “The Incident, Response, and Settlement” by Union Carbide.
Website 1: Rhetorical analysis
The website is devoted for the analysis of the aftermath of the tragedy and its effects on the residents. The web page states that a total of 25000 people died due to the gas leak.
The main attempt of the communication is to show the initial affects on the children of Bhopal. There is some heart wrenching pictures that successfully communicates the pain of the people to every one who browses the website and successfully influences the audience.
The entire web page is covered with visuals and statistics. All these are definitely helpful for the attempt. The significance of pathos, mainly through visuals, convinces the audience with the point of view of the author.
The strategy in this case is to overwhelm the audience with sympathetic visuals and attract their interest. The argument presented in the web page is fundamentally compilation of statistics about the tragedy and it is followed by persuasion to donate for the cause. The structure, and the species of rhetoric used in the page is the intelligent use of visual and statistics of causalities with text that generates sympathy in order to donate for the cause. The literary style used in this page is full of words that generate pathos, like “deafmute, brain-damaged, with hare-lips, cleft palates, webbed fingers, cerebral palsy” (Sambhvana Clinic 1) etc.
As per effectiveness is concern, it is clear that the website is successful in its attempt to show the horrible tragedy and what are they doing to help those who are affected.
Website 2: Rhetorical analysis
Sengupta’s article is to show that even after 25 years “Bhopal’s long suffering victims of Union Carbide disaster still fobbed off at every level” (Sengupta 1).
The main concern that this article is trying to communicate is the issue of justice. It is an evaluation of the incident in order to find justice for the victims. The main concern of this text is to make the audience think about the incident and feel that it time for justice to be done.
The setting of the page starts with the location of Bhopal pointed in a map, followed by several visuals accompanied by texts to describe the visuals. Then there is a continuous set of paragraphs evaluating the condition of the issue with statistics, interviews and analysis. The attempt of the writer is not to make the audience agree or disagree but to present the audience with information to evaluate the situation by themselves.
The strategy is very clear in this context. The writer presents an informative text for evaluation and it is assumed that the audience would follow an analytical path rather than an emotional one. Thus, the main approach is presentation of ethos rather than pathos.
Similarly, the structure and the rhetoric is presented in the most simplistic manner whereby the audience is provided with several details like “At least 3,000 people were killed immediately” (Sengupta 1) or “More than 500,000 people were declared to be affected” (Sengupta 1) and can evaluate the ethos by themselves.
The literary style is ethos and it helps the author by a great margin because the main purpose of the text is to spread awareness about the issue.
This method is very effective because it is completely unpretentious and honest. It presents the details and asks the audience to decide by themselves. This is a way to honor the intellect of the audience and thus, it is a very effective method.
Website 3: Rhetorical analysis
The third one can be enumerated as a report on the Bhopal Gas Tragedy and the effects that are still visible on the residents of the place even in today. It presents step by step details of the incident and its results.
As per communication is concerned, this web page is the compilation of facts and thus it can be termed as an informative text. The main idea of influencing the audience is through presentation of data and details.
There are no visuals or photographs and the authors have given the importance on the logical facts of the incident (Union Carbide 1). According to the number of facts that the website provides to the readers, we can say that it is one of the most comprehensive website on the Bhopal Gas Tragedy. But the website lacks any visual element that generally helps to grab the immediate attention of the viewers.
As per strategy, no argument is presented in the web page. Similarly, it has no specific assumptions too. It is full of information about the incident. The main audiences in this context are students and researchers.
The style of this text is extremely effective as rhetorical strategy. It generates neither ethos nor pathos; rather it is a plain informative report.
It is extremely effective because it is well known fact that the Bhopal Gas Tragedy is one of the biggest industrial tragedies in recent times. The sheer magnitude of the accident had invoked criticisms from all the corners of the World and many organizations have come to help the persons who were victims of the tragedy. Thus, rather than ethos and pathos the most helpful rhetoric method would be presentation in an informative manner.
Conclusion
The websites show that the people who had suffered from the tragedy are still suffering from the aftermath of the tragedy and there is no visible comfort for them. The websites are really doing a very noble job to promote the rights of these persons. However, each website used a different approach or strategy in accordance to their audience and each of them can be stated as successful by some degree.
References
Sambhvana Clinic. “The children of Dow’s chemicals.” bhopal.org. 2009. Web.
Sengupta, Somani. “Decades Later, Toxic Sludge Torments Bhopal.” The New York Times. 2008. Web.
Union Carbide. “The Incident, Response, and Settlement.” Union Carbide Corporation. 2010. Web.