Why Do We Hate Immigrants?

I denne study guide finder du hjælp til at analysere Kevin Powells artikel “Why Do We Hate Immigrants?” I tillæg til hjælp til din analyse, så får du også et summary af teksten og idéer til at diskutere den.

Hvis du har brug for hjælp til Assignment 1-3 fra den skriftlige eksamen på HHX A den 18. august 2020, kan du læse vores vejledning her.

Kevin Powell (f. 1966) er en amerikansk forfatter og politisk aktivist, som har kæmpet mod politibrutalitet og racebetinget uretfærdighed. Han har skrevet artikler for The Washington Post, Newsweek og Esquire og udgivet 11 bøger. Artiklen “Why Do We Hate Immigrants?” fra 2019 blev udgivet på onlineversionen af The Nation, som er et af ældste ugemagasiner i USA.

Uddrag

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Pathos

Powell appeals to pathos when he mentions the El Paso mass shooting in Texas (ll. 32-34). This makes him appeal to emotions such as anger and helplessness. Powell also appeals to pathos by offering vivid descriptions of human suffering, like in the following example:

If they are lying and sleeping in their own vomit and feces in freezing-cold detention centers, then I am transported back to the hulls of those slave ships where my ancestors were forced to be and lie and sleep in their vomit and feces too. (ll. 48-51)

This is meant to make the readers feel anger at the ill-treatment of immigrants. Powell describes the suffering of black people in the US (ll. 12-13), encouraging people to feel able to speak out. He also tries to inspire empathy in his white audience and reminds his African-American audience of shared ancestral experiences.