Style and Analysis Essay for Soldier

you. Duty is a strong word that many of us take as another word for responsibility. In some perspectives duty is seen as a law; one must uphold a moral or legal obligation. Putting death before pleasure makes the reader feel obligated to respond with sympathy.

Not only does John Ruskin play on our emotions and guilt us into making soldiers seem more important, he makes a black and white statement about soldiers and merchants/manufacturers. John Ruskin makes a black and white statement by saying soldiers are different from merchants and manufactures because “men associated for purposes of violence and for purposes of manufacture; in that the former appear capable of self sacrifice. ” John Ruskin says that the general public should perceive that merchants/manufacturers are nothing if they don’t have the willingness to sacrifice themselves as soldiers do. The eaders don’t realize that the soldiers would be nothing without the merchants and manufacturers. The soldiers are provided in war, weapons, materials and food…but by whom? The manufacturers sacrificed time, materials, and food to support the soldiers. Ruskin is very heavy in using pathos, and once again tries play with the reader’s emotions. Using very well wording to emphasize emotions and change our view and perspectives, Ruskin draws out pathos. In the first sentence Ruskin says “that the former appear capable of self sacrifice. ” The word “capable” portrays as a very strong and demeaning word.

It makes readers see the merchants and manufacturers as weak, pathetic and selfish to not have the courage to die for ones country. Ruskin uses pathos, making the readers feel not only guilty and sympathetic, but also

proud that they have men willing to fight for their country. John Ruskin’s statement’s about soldiers deserving more precedence is invalid due to the use of logical fallacies. Generalizing people can turn out invalid because all people, whether they do the same things or not, have different interpretations of things. The motivations of the soldiers joining war are unknown and can vary depending on the person.

Making a black and white statement can also turnout invalid because there may be shades of gray in between. The merchants and manufacturers may seem small compared to the soldiers, but in actuality they are doing something just as important as the soldier. Ruskin’s argument is flawed with charged and specific selection of language that plays on the reader’s emotions, causing logic to be unsound. Ruskin’s use of language creates an impression of sympathy for the soldiers. In society, status will always be judged and argued by everyone through different understandings.