The next section of the article starts by saying “It has been protected for more than 40 years” this quote may be used by the writer to show that the Japanese whalers are breaking rules, this can furthermore turn the reader against the whalers by portraying them as illegal. Projection is used in this paragraph, McCarthy states that “It might well lead to direct clashes at sea between whalers and Greenpeace activists of the sort that electrified the world in the 1970’s and 1980’s, and eventually led to the 1986 moratorium,” it may help the reader to think about the consequences of the whalers actions. Imagery is used “hurling themselves entirely clear of the water” it to gives the reader an impression of how amazing the creatures are and again helps the reader feel sympathy for the whales and the way they are being hunted down.
The Japanese whalers are shown to be brutal towards the whales when McDonald writes “Japan ignores the moratorium, and has killed whales for years” could imply to the reader that they are ignoring any international sanctions put in place. The article could be seen to victimise the Japanese as they are not the only country to hunt for whales, it is also popular in Scandinavian countries Norway and Iceland but readers may feel a growing outrage towards the Japanese whalers because their target number – which is 1035 – is said in the article to be “more than double the number the country hunted a decade ago.” The article shows that the Japanese whalers are ignoring the calls from Greenpeace activists, it quotes Hajime Ishikawa – often the function of a quote on newspaper article is to make it more objective by keeping a balanced viewpoint on matters but in this article the quote makes it more subjective, this could demonstrate bias towards the anti-whaling activists, “They’re violent environmental terrorists ... their violence is unforgivable ... we must fight against their hypocrisy and lies.”
The choice of photographs used in the article all reflect badly about the Japanese whalers – they are the ships leaving the port, a whale being caught, crew members toast before their voyage. They have been chosen by the newspaper to show to the reader how the Japanese prepare for the voyage and how the whales are captured. This may persuade the reader to think that the whalers are cruel and do not care about the whales and their habitat. The choice of words is important in the article as they can change the reader’s opinion of the article.
The verb “thriving” gives the reader the impression that the whale-watching industry is busy and lively and that by hunting the whales the Japanese whalers are depriving the industry of trade. The article continues to make the whalers seem like criminals, “This whaling programme is stealing Japanese taxpayers, and robbing other countries of much needed tourist income” this may turn the reader against the whalers as the writer is, making them sound like criminals, using verbs like “stealing” and “robbing”.
The extract is more likely to be from a broadsheet newspaper than a tabloid as the language is formal, metaphors are used rather than puns, rhetorical questions are used, there are more complex sentences and infrequent use of elision.
Overall the Japanese whalers are presented as being evil and inhumane in their pursuit of whales.
