"Can You Hear Libya Now?" by Dan Gonzales and Sarah Harting | Published 3/4/11 | An Editorial Analysis

The authors of "Can You Hear Libya Now?" use rhetorical devices to help the reader understand the argument that we should send cellphone base stations to Libya to facilitate communication and to help the argument flow. For example, they use imagery when they write, "the revolutions that are rocking Arab countries." This helps paint a vivid picture in the reader's mind of the historic events that are happening. The authors also write, "fighting for their voices to be heard," creating an image in the readers' minds reminiscent of the American Revolution in which colonists fought for democracy. The authors also use syntax for better flow so the reader can be more receptive to their message, such as when they use alliteration to ease the flow of the passage, such as when they write, "democracy demonstrators have had a harder time" They also take advantage of the natural rhythm of English to leave the important information for the end, where the reader will remember most, such as when they write, "Fortunately, there is an easy step the United States and its allies could take to help: deploying cellphone base stations on aircraft or tethered balloons."

I thought the main weakness of this essay was that it should've included more details of the personal impact that its proposal of increasing cellphone communication would have. The essay overall seemed too impersonal for me.

In this essay, the narrative persona is very biased and passionate. The authors builds such tones mainly through their use of diction, such as when they use the words, "trapped" (hopeless connotation), "confisticated" , and "deteriorated (disease connotation)," thus making their position clear in that they are obviously condemning the situation in Libya. The authors also use imagery and syntax to further build up the narrative persona. This tone makes me like the essay more because I know the author cares for the issue, thus I feel like I should care too. Furthermore, such clear positions created by the tone helps me understand the topic and the sides involved as I am reading the article.

I think the speaker would still be appropriate if this were an AP essay because the speakers really try to reach out to the reader, but they do it in a way so as to still sound formal. Moreover, the authors make claims, support it with evidence, and link them with warrants.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/05/opinion/05Gonzales.html?_r=1