Sunday, October 9, 2011

AOW #5- "A Rare Pair"

"A Rare Pair"
by Gloria Hochman for the Philadelphia Inquirer (Sun. June 19, 2011)
http://www.philly.com/philly/health_and_science/20110619_A_Rare_Pair.html

This is a credible source because it is an article from the Philadelphia Inquirer, a very well-known newspaper with a long history as a trustworthy source of information. The author can be trusted because she works for the newspaper and is being published by them.

This article is about a set of twins who are conjoined by their heads. They have all separate limbs and organs, but they share a circulatory system. The article talks about the twins birth and what it was like to grow up conjoined. The parents are interviewed and talk about their sons and how their life has changed because of it. The twins are also autistic. This adds even further limitation to their lives, though they push through all limitations and exceed all expectations.

The context of this piece is the first ever interview about the twins. They are now 19 years old and have never before been featured in any public media. The parents chose to keep the news about their sons private until now. They finally decided to share their sons' story.

The purpose of this article is to tell the story of these conjoined twins and how they are so successful though they have such strong limitations as being conjoined and having autism. The author wants to share their story and show readers how anyone can get through hardships in their life and succeed.

The audience that this piece is written for is very general. It is obviously for all readers of the Philadelphia Inquirer. It more specifically targets those who are interested in health or the subject area of conjoined twins. It is an article that can be of interest to most all people.

Some rhetorical elements in this piece include:

  • appeal to pathos: There is a very strong appeal to pathos in this article. The reader is left with a constant sense of sympathy towards the twins and their parents, though there is also a sense of hopefulness and pride from the parents. Though the subject is sad and unfortunate, the article is uplifting and hopeful which inflicts these emotions on the reader.
  • tone- As stated above, the tone of this article is bright and optimistic. Though the content is so unhappy and ill-fated, the way that the article is written highlights a sense of hope and happiness to be taken away from the article.
The author accomplished their purpose in that I, as the reader, got a lot out of the article such as an insight into the lives of conjoined twins as well as autistic teenagers and information on a case I was previously unaware of. It was interesting and hopeful and left me with a sense of respect towards the parents and the twins. 

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