Mark Hertsgaards purpose in writing his article is to convince us not to hate the American people, as it is the government that should be blamed. He begins by saying that Americans are told by their media that the outside world hates them, but he says that they receive “pseudo-news”, and it is not their fault that they suffer from a “global naiveté”. He goes on to say that they receive “semi-official propaganda” from their biased media. He proves that they are biased, by using statistics. He tells us that a poll found out that only 32% of Americans knew that more Palestinians than Israelis had died in the fighting that spring. Mark Hertsgaard is trying to show that the American media is pro-Israeli, as it has convinced Americans that more Israelis had died, and still justifies Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land. He also makes the point that the media function like a “palace court press”, and therefore are extremely biased in favour of the government. He ends his article by asking us not to judge “his compatriots too harshly” because they receive “pseudo-news”.
Tony Parsons article uses emotive and provocative words and phrases such as “atrocities”, “merciless” and “burned alive”. He uses these words to create a graphic and very visual image of the incident. He also uses words such as “butchered”, “slaughtered” and “ripped apart”, to make the reader feel horrified, and to also make the attackers seem evil, as we can associate these words with killing animals. He uses emotive phrases such as “gut wrenching tapes…weeping men…phoning their wives to say I love you” to highlight how desperate the victims were, and also uses the phrase “smiling face of the beautiful little girl” to convince the reader to realise the innocence of the victims, by showing people we can identify as being totally innocent such as little children. Tony Parsons uses repetition. This is proven when he says, “Remember, Remember” throughout the article. One whole paragraph even consists of just these words. He wants the reader to remember his point so they will reflect on it. An example of this is when he says “so cruel, so calculating, so utterly merciless”. His repetition throughout the article of the phrase “America is hated” is used to emphasise his point, and the words “tell it” are used to sound commanding and to make the reader feel sympathy towards America. His use of rhetorical questions are used to make the reader feel that Islamic countries are evil by saying “How many in the Islamic world will have a minutes silence for the slaughtered innocents…How many Islamic leaders will have the guts to say that the mass murder of 9/11 was an abomination”. Parsons uses many quotations such as a father saying “I love you” which makes the situation seem more real and creates an image of love which shows how caring, loving and innocent the victims were. He also uses quotations to create a horrible image and also tries to show the reader how extreme terrorists are by saying, “opening the gates of hell” and “war on terrorism”. Tony Parsons’s use of hyperbole tries to suggest that Muslim countries are a terrible place to live in when he uses Saudi Arabia as an example and says “I’d rather be a dog in New York City than a Prince in Riyadh”. He uses contrast as a device to prove to the reader that America is a better place to live in than any Islamic country, which is intended to convince the readers that America is more ethical. He does this by contrasting the reaction in America to the reaction in Palestine after the attacks. He tries to show the reader that America is morally right by saying Americans thought that it was an “abomination” while Palestinians were “dancing in the street”. He also shows that Islamic countries are evil by contrasting Saddam Hussein’s real image with the image he projects. He says that Saddam Hussein “tortured his own people” but tries to give a friendly image by saying that he “likes Quality Street”. He speaks to the reader in first person as an effective way to bring his own feelings to the article, for example when he says, “I love America”. He also speaks in first person to make the article more personal when he says, “It turns my stomach”. Tony Parsons uses mainly simple vocabulary in the article, which is aimed at his audience, the daily mirror readers, although he does use a mix of complex and simple vocabulary in some cases such as “meticulously planned slaughter”. Tony Parsons uses sarcasm in the article to show that the victims were innocent. He compares them to the complaint of the “tourists” who couldn’t get a trial at Camp X-Ray, and uses sarcasm by saying, “Pass the Kleenex”. He does this to show his anger at the people who are sympathetic towards the terrorists (some who are wrongly accused), and to make them appear guilty by saying that their problems are not as important as the victims of the 9/11 attacks.
Mark Hertsgaard uses particular words and phrases to describe Americans by using words such as “ignorant” and “arrogant” which implies that they lack knowledge about the outside world and then tries to make the reader feel sympathetic towards them rather than angry by describing Americans with words such as “poorly-served”, “misunderstand” and “global naiveté”. His use of the first person is to show the reader that he has first hand knowledge and he is also including himself in the article when he says, “But we as Americans”. He also speaks in first person to defend his “compatriots”. His use of facts to support his points makes the reader more confident about his assertions, and also makes the argument more believable. For example he makes the point that Americans receive little information about their governments foreign policy. He supports this point by reminding the reader of the coup in Chile in 1973 and the fact that Americans were unaware of this. His use of contrast illustrates that the American media are selective in the information that they give to the public. He shows this by contrasting the “International Herald Tribune” with “Le Monde” regarding the fact that the Tribune placed a famous comment by Bush “You are with us or without us” in the middle of the newspaper. Mark Hertsgaard addresses the reader directly many times throughout the article, for example when he says, “I spent six months travelling the world before and after September 11th” and “think twice foreign friends”. He does this so he can make the reader react and interact with the article more. He quotes people many times to make the situation more realistic and so the reader can imagine the circumstances when the word would have been said. This is shown when he quotes “evil doers”, “why they hate us?” and “either you’re with us or with the terrorist”. As this is a broadsheet newspaper Mark Hertsgaard uses complex vocabulary such as “the media function like a palace court press”, which is designed to have reasonably literate readers. He uses many rhetorical questions such as “would outsiders be more forgiving if they knew how little critical information we Americans receive about our governments foreign policies?” He uses these as statements, which are designed to provoke a response from the reader.
The mirror article has a large bold headline, which covers almost half of the article. It is also underlined and is very eye catching. The headline says “Shame on you self-loathing, American-hating liberals who make me sick to my stomach”. This shows us Tony Parsons’ feelings about people who hate America. The headline is very effective at grabbing the reader’s attention because it is very emotive and uses provocative language. Embedded in the article are two large pictures showing victims of the 9/11 attacks. They are both photographs, which Tony Parsons deliberately uses to show us that they were real incidents that happened, and may people were killed. Underneath the first picture there is a caption which says, “VICTIM: Ruth” and a picture of a young girl above. This is designed to make the reader feel considerate towards the victims of the attacks by showing their innocence, which is greatly represented as a young, harmless girl. Underneath the photo the word “VICTIM” is written in capital letters to catch the readers attention and to emphasise that innocent individuals, and some naïve were murdered. The second image is a photo of a cemetery and the caption underneath reads: “REMEMBER: At a Church in North Carolina”. This is designed to show the reader the vast numbers of people, which had died. The word “REMEMBER” in the caption is also used to grab the readers attention and to make sure the reader will never forget. He has also repeated this word many times throughout the article and has also placed it underneath the photograph, as it is his most important point that he makes. The images were used in the article because they stand out and cause the reader to feel sympathy and empathy towards the victims’ families. The newspaper has decided to use a banner headline to grab the readers’ attention, because it is written on a black background, which stands out in front of the title and the images. The banner says “9/11: ONE Year On: Tony Parsons’ verdict” and it also contains a photograph of Tony Parsons. This is used to tell the reader what the article is about unlike the headline, and because it stands out. The headline just draws attention towards Tony Parsons’ disgust for people who hate America, which entices the reader to read on to understand what the article is about. The banner shows a photograph of Tony Parsons so the reader so the reader knows who he is and would want to read his opinion. The article is very concise and has thirty six paragraphs although the article covers only half a page. This is very typical of a tabloid newspaper. One paragraph in the article is only two words long, “Remember, remember.” Tony Parsons uses bold writing on two occasions in the article. In the first occasion it is written at the beginning to grab the readers attention at the start. It uses very emotive and provocative words to create a graphic image and to make the reader feel horrified. He does this by using words such as “mass murder”. On the second occasion it is designed to make the reader feel that America is good. It shows Americas morality by saying, “America could have turned a large chunk of the world into a parking lot. That it didn’t is a sign of strength”. At the end of the article Tony Parsons uses italics. It says, “No, do more than remember. Never forget”. He has chosen to write this particular line in italics so his reader will remember it.
The headline for the “Guardian” article says, “Why we still don’t get it, one year on” in large bold letters. The headline is large compared to the writing and does stand out, but not as much as the “Mirror” headline. The headline is used to make the reader want to read the article because it is vary vague. It would make the reader want to find out what the article is about. Underneath the headline is a sub-heading, which says, “Americans are badly served by semi-official propaganda”. This is slightly smaller than the headline and gradually brings the reader down to the article. It also progressively gives the reader more information about the article. There are only twelve paragraphs in the article but they are very long and the article is fairly large. The sentences are also large and use complex words. This is designed for readers who are fairly literate. This is typical of a broadsheet newspaper. The article also has no pictures, which makes it dull. It is not very eye-catching and this is also typical of a broadsheet. In the middle of the article a sentence is highlighted in large bold lettering which says “ September 11 is also the date of the US-backed coup against a democratic Chile”. This is eye-catching and shows the reader facts about America’s foreign policy, which is designed to make you want to read the article. At the end of the article there is information written about Mark Hertsgaard. It includes books that he has written and his occupation. I think this is important because it illustrates that a professional journalist and author wrote the article about this subject and that he can be trusted to make his assumptions.
