How does Mary Warnock persuade the readers to accept her viewpoint?

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Robert Matwiejczyk  10BZ

How does Mary Warnock persuade

the readers to accept her viewpoint?

The article observes the viewpoint of Mary Warnock on the Diane Pretty case. Diane Pretty had motor neurone disease and was almost at the point where she wouldn’t be able to move. She appealed to the judicial system in order to claim the right for her husband to assist her in ending her life, and not being prosecuted for doing so. This presented the government and courts with a very tough decision.

There are two main parts to Mary Warnock’s argument. One is that Diane Pretty should be granted assisted suicide, and the other is that the judges need to make an unbiased decision. However, her opinion is highly biased. She leans towards Pretty’s argument throughout her own. She is not, however, able to put forward just her own thoughts. Warnock has also to incorporate the opposite side of the argument.

At the beginning we see a hard, negative fact, referring to sickness with no recovery, which makes an impact on us, the readers. This increases our sympathy for those with terminal illness; in this case, Diane Pretty.  Warnock also uses a pattern of three in this paragraph. She uses the word ‘Nor’ as a substitute for ‘or’. The fact that she repeats it emphasises the negativity. The negativity makes us think about what it would be like to be in that type of situation. After reading this paragraph, you, the reader realise that no amount of words will comfort them.

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Warnock then shows us what the life of someone with a terminal illness is like. Warnock carefully chooses to say,  “They MAY know that they are within sight of death”. This is a good choice of words, as not all people with terminal illness will know they are near death. It also generalises the population of terminal illness, as Warnock did not use he/she.

She also uses very dramatic language such as “bleak, short future” This is another attempt at gaining sympathy from the readers.

Next, Mary Warnock gives a short description of Diane Pretty’s case.  “A mother ...

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