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MacKenna Baker Dr. Diane Chardon ENG 101 13 April 2014 Rhetorical Analysis of â€Å"Capital Punishment: Society’s Self Defense† Capital punishment is not a topic for the faint of heart. Whether or not society should accept capital punishment is a seriously difficult discussion to have. No two people have the same amount opinions on capital punishment and that is why it can be a very hard task to convince people one way or the other. Amber Young’s â€Å"Capital Punishment: Society’s Self Defense† argument is a powerful one that most definitely could sway anyone from the opposing party. Her aim is to convince the general public that capital punishment is acceptable because it is society’s self-defense against harmful people. She uses many†¦show more content†¦This rhetorical strategy helped push Young’s view on capital punishment. Persuading the reader to see that the death penalty is the only way that this hurt and sadness will end is crucial. A main rhetorical strategy that was used along with pathos was the real life anecdotes that Young mentions. Young tells the story of Georgeann, â€Å"a pretty †¦. honor student, a cheerleader, and Daffodil Princess in high school† or the girl murdered when Ted Bundy escaped from prison, â€Å"twelve-year-old Kimberly Diane Leach†. Ted Bundy â€Å"dumped her strangled, broken body in an abandoned pig barn.† These are real crimes and stories about real women. Young using these real life anecdotes reaches out to her readers and grabs their attention. If capital punishment could keep a man like Ted Bundy, who was real and committed real life horror stories, off of our streets forever then why wouldn’t the public pursue its legality? Also Young brings to her argument some real life anecdotes from the people on the other side stating that, â€Å"In fact, many prisoners would prefer to die than to languish in prison. While some might still want to read and expand their minds even while their bodies are confined, for those who are not intellectually or spiritually oriented, life in prison would be a fate worse than death.† When Young states that even the prisoners would rather be dead, that would persuade those readers who are opposed to the death penalty purely because of the belief that it is