Where Sweatshops Are A Dream Rhetorical Analysis

Operating in an Uncontrolled Environment In his New York Times essay, “Where Sweatshops are a Dream,” writer Nicholas Kristof described the horrible living conditions of the people in Phnom Penh. Kristof writes that many who work in sweatshops believe that having a factory job is a way out of poverty and not as dangerous as working a dump. He opens the essay by describing the awful and gruesome living and working conditions in Phnom Penh. Kristof implies that the Democrats and the Americans are supporting Mr. Obama in the war against dangerous and cruel conditions in sweatshops. First, Kristof appeals to his audience by using pathos. He describes the garbage dump as toxic rubbish with a stench filling the air. This is like the artistic version of living in hell. Then Kristof talks about some fearless children rummaging through the garbage for plastic cups to recycle for five cents a pound. According to Dana Thomas, “children are sometimes sold or sent off by their families to work in clandestine factories” (104). He uses these vivid examples to explain how awful the living conditions are and how the poor people are being exploited. Next, Kristof appeals to his audience by using ethos. Kristof explains how he lived for years in East Asia, so he would know about the conditions people lived. Kristof adds that his wife lived in Phnom Penh and that he has seen firsthand the changes
Practical Arguments: A Text and Anthology. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford St. Martin, 2014. Print.
Kristof, Nicholas. “Where Sweatshops Are a Dream.” Practical Arguments: A Text and Anthology. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford St. Martin, 2014. 109-111. Print.
Ravisaankar, Rajeer. “Sweatshop Oppression.” Practical Arguments: A Text and Anthology. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford St. Martin, 2014. 107 – 109. Print.
Thomas, Dana. “Terror’s Purse Strings.” Practical Arguments: A Text and Anthology. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford St. Martin, 2014. 103-104.