I read a recent article from www.foxnews.com
regarding Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.
The article was packed with fact based claims on the details. One fact was the author including the number
of casualties, “…as many as 10,000 people are believed dead…mostly by drowning
and collapsing buildings”. Another fact
was around the burials, “…mass burial was planned Sunday in Palo town near
Tacloban…about 360 miles SE of the capital of the Philippines, Manila.” It was also noted from the Red Cross that
“nearly 800,000 people were forced to flee their homes and…about 4 million
people were affected by the typhoon.”
Pathos was the primary form of persuasion throughout
the article due to the immense tragedies.
One of the most powerful statements came from a Philippine-born
Australian, Mila Ward, who stated, “on the way to the airport we saw many
bodies along the street…they were covered with just anything – tarpaulin,
roofing sheets, cardboards…we passed well over 100 dead bodies along the
way.” Reuters also reported that
“…corpses hung from tree branches and were scattered along sidewalks…while
looters raided grocery stores and gas stations in search of food, fuel and
water.
I also feel the sub-context of the article was a
value based claim that people should do what they can to support those
devastated by this recent tragedy.
