Errors of Human Apathy Trough Using Rhetorical and Literary Devices

Introduction

There are things in life as humans that we do naturally: lie, gossip, etc. Like those things we do, we also tend to think of ourselves as good people. But are we doing the best we can as a human race? Sviatoslav Richter from “Two Ruminations On a Homeless Brother” and “Tun Lin was Trapped for 11 Years on a Slave Ship. Now He’s Fighting to End Slavery,” are both pointing out the humanistic error of apathy using rhetorical devices. Both also encourage critical thinking of empathy. On the other hand, Sviatoslav Richter focuses more on evoking empathy, while Tun Lin concentrates on arousing action.

Errors of Human Apathy Through Rhetorical and Literary Devices

As outsiders, it is hard to find empathy for others that are in situations that we are not dealing with, so some of us turn to apathy instead. In Sviatoslav Richter, David Means highlights this apathy in his text by using dialogism, taking the thoughts of the people passing the homeless man. Means suggests that people from the outside looking in view homelessness “as a way of escaping responsibilities, dodging them for the poetic stance of being the odd homeless gent.” What would be poetic about living on the streets and living day by day eating food from dumpsters? These aren’t individuals who are minimalistic and are trying to spread their message of an easier way to live. A 2015 study researched the link between homelessness and mental illness and found that 25% of homeless individuals showed signs of severe mental illness and 45% showed signs of less severe mental illness. Other factors play a role in homelessness, such as mental illness, divorce, and job loss. To ignore these factors and to treat every homeless person as if they are just trying to “dodge responsibilities,” is very callous.

Joe McCarthy similarly shows this issue of apathy within humans, using the ethos appeal to help us visualize the lack of ethics within these practices. Using quotes such as “different nationalities and languages involved, those laborers become an easy group for the companies and governments to exploit” McCarthy indicates the Thai fishing companies cared about choosing the individuals that were easily manipulated, vulnerable, and could be taken advantage of. We, as consumers of this seafood that is brought in through these slave boats, are not showing empathy to their situation, because we are still consuming it. This multi-billion Thailand company is being used worldwide for restaurants and supermarkets. McCarthy also uses pathos, putting the reader in the shoes of Tun Lin, feeling his pain from his injury, “The captain then told him he would have to jump into the water and swim to a nearby boat if he wanted treatment.” Making a man swim to a nearby boat after he had just had his hand crushed, mind you this is modern-day, as in going on today. If an individual were to get injured on the clock in the United States of America, they would be assisted with medical help and would receive compensation. Tun Lin was pretty much thrown into the ocean for shark bait. In schools, we talk about equality and JUSTICE FOR ALL, but does this sound like justice for all? As people who do not deal with these situations every day, we are apathetic to the injuries, the inhumane conditions of living, and the exploitation of vulnerable individuals. Both authors want us to think about whether we are really doing the best we can, or if our apathy is larger than we think.

Evoking Empathy and Encouraging Action

In Sviatoslav Richter, David Means gets us to critically think about our empathetic side by using Point of View language to get the reader to look through the homeless brother’s eyes. “the thought that he is, in a way, say, a reflection,” this is a poke at our selfishly made empathy, we only feel something if we can see ourselves being in this position if we can see ourselves walking a mile in their shoes. However, that’s what David Means wants us to do, he wants us to create an image in our minds of us walking in the homeless man’s shoes. Speaking of shoes, Means also describes the way the homeless brother looks, he mentions his shoes that do not fit correctly and his clothes that are not suitable for his situation of being outside in the winter and summer. Means doing this gets the reader to realize that people who are homeless do not get their basic needs met, which is taboo for everyday individuals. Due to it not being a regular problem for the everyday man, “Sviatoslav Richter” makes the reader think of how hard it would be to survive that way. The thought of an individual not being able to shower every day, walking and sweating in the same clothes day after day, year after year, it evokes empathy.

Working with the same concept, Joe McCarthy tries to evoke empathy using imagery, “worked against his will in dangerous, abusive, and humiliating conditions, cut off from his family, and denied any sort of compensation,” vibrant words of suffering such as dangerous, abusive, and humiliating solicit the reader to deeply think of the inhuman conditions Tun Lin was living through. In the article, McCarthy utilizes images that show live humans made of flesh and blood working on these boats because looking at a picture is different than reading words. Looking at real photos puts a sense of reality to the situation. McCarthy also uses logistics to communicate with our empathic side. “Globally, there are more than 40 million slaves exploited in a range of industries,” McCarthy added the figure of 40 million slaves to show that this is not a small number of individuals being exploited for their services, it is a major issue that the world is still facing. If we as humans think of slavery, we think of the horrible conditions and inhumane treatment of our kin. These two pieces of work encourage us to deeply think empathetically, not just feel bad for the people that are going through times like these, but to think of ourselves going through those trials.

Conclusion

Sviatoslav Richter evokes empathy throughout the literary piece. The Tun Lin article, while evoking empathy, also advocates for change and action from society. By inserting the fact that the victim of this heinous practice is fighting for not only his own and for others' rights and the suffering that they went through, but McCarthy also encourages the individuals that did not have to deal with the injuries and never-ending hope of being a free soul, to go out and make a change in the world. McCarthy also encourages change by describing how the change has already started, “Advanced satellite and tracking technology is helping to close the gaps that allow slave ships to continue to exist.” The process of eliminating these slave labor forces has already started, but showing that the cause has pre-existing support encourages the audience to join. McCarthy demonstrates slave labor elimination has support when he states “supermarkets and other businesses have vowed to investigate their supply chains as a result of these efforts,” But this isn’t enough. If Tun Lin survived the torture and is strong enough to fight, people who don’t have to go through the massive waves and storms can fight as well.

David Means and Joe McCarthy use their writing skills to exemplify the errors of human apathy by using rhetorical and literary devices. At the same time, they both encourage empathy from the reader towards the homeless brother and Tun Lin. Because of our apathy, we don’t always see the rest of the problems in the world, and that’s what Means and McCarthy point out. Although both works evoke empathy, the article about Tun Lin also evokes change and action from the audience using examples of how the change has already begun, to show that there is more as a whole that we can do to help dissolve these social issues.

References

1. Means, D. (n.d.). Two Ruminations On a Homeless Brother.
2. McCarthy, J. (n.d.). Tun Lin was Trapped for 11 Years on a Slave Ship. Now He’s Fighting to End Slavery.
3. National Coalition for the Homeless. (2015). Mental Illness and Homelessness. Retrieved from http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/Mental_Illness.pdf
4. Global Slavery Index. (n.d.). Modern Slavery: A Global Phenomenon. Retrieved from https://www.globalslaveryindex.org/
5. United Nations. (n.d.). Slavery and Forced Labour. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/slavery/index.html