This news article describes violent protests in Cairo that happened recently; after the Egypt public was able to overthrow President Mubarak in February, the military claimed temporary rule. Although the new constitution that the military leaders drafted did give power to a democratically civilian-based branch in government, many citizens feel that too much control was left to the military – the military’s policies and budget would not be able to be affected by the civilian-based branch. This article was published by BBC News, a news organization based in England that has bases all over the world. The author establishes ethos by quoting protesters and the BBC news-reporter stationed in Cairo at the time of the protests (rhetorical device). This event is taking place currently in Egypt (exigence) and was written for citizens of democratic countries outside of Egypt (audience) as a reminder that even though the protesters were successful earlier this year in overthrowing Mubarak, they are still struggling to accomplish a democracy (purpose). The outbursts in Cairo and elsewhere in the Middle East were major headlines earlier in 2011 and were widely discussed in outside countries like America. However, they haven’t been featured in the news until now and the events have slipped to the back of the minds of many people outside of the Middle East. This is why the author’s use of imagery (rhetorical device) in the beginning of the piece is so important – the article reads, “police were beating protesters - ‘about 20 or 30 of them I saw, covered in blood’”. This immediately draws attention to the events by evoking sympathy for the protesters, who foreigners cheered for earlier in the year (rhetorical device). The author did achieve their purpose of reminding foreigners that the revolutions in the Middle East are still major issues and have not been completed as successful yet.
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